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Deseret News Marathon

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Location:

Salt Lake City,UT,USA

Member Since:

Jan 01, 2009

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

Hood to Coast 2011 (31:32:39)

Wasatch Back 2011 (31:08:54)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RZeUjUmr-o

Wasatch Back 2010 (30:21:29)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BaoleQmhjoA

Wasatch Back 2009 (31:01:17)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DBm5Bz2sp8

Wasatch Back 2008 (29:14:47)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yErvZKrPxGQ

Boston Marthon 2008 (3:07:55)

Deseret News Marathon 2011 (2:39:50)

Deseret News Marathon 2010 (2:40:14)

Salt Lake City Marathon 2010 (2:49:28)

Philadelphia Marathon 2009 (2:50:58)

Fight for Air Climb 2011: 31 climbs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC7VrGf8oUU

Short-Term Running Goals:

To run as a member of Shoulda Bought Puts: Team of Sams for the 2011 Wasatch Back!

 

To have fun running three marathons (Salt Lake, D-News, and NYC Marathon) and a trail race (probably the XTERRA Trail Running National Championship) in 2011

 

To improve my agility/balance

 

To take constructive steps to eat healthier

 

To get more quality sleep

Long-Term Running Goals:

To increase my overall strength and conditioning

To return to Hopkinton for the Boston Marathon

To freshen up on my French to run the Paris Marathon

Personal:

Hobbies are studying for the CFA exam and recycling

Favorite Blogs:

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Miles:This week: 0.00 Month: 0.00 Year: 0.00
Race: Deseret News Marathon (26.2 Miles) 02:39:50
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesTotal Distance
0.0026.200.000.0026.20

Just in case you are not aware, my favorite marathon was today, the Des News!!!  It was my sixth time running it and I clearly remember in 2006 swearing that I would never, ever try it again.  Consequently, do not believe anything I say, at least in regards to anything that inflicts such physical and mental anguish upon myself.  With the exception of this toll, it’s an absolute blast!

Like clockwork, I was up at 2:00 am operating on very little sleep (i.e., the fireworks that people shot off through the night at Big Cottonwood Park just kept me up).  My back was feeling much better today, that is, I just slept on it wrong, thus causing a weekend of discomfort.  After packing all my gear, I headed up to the University to catch one of the middle buses up to the Big-Mountain starting line.  This year the only eligible runners for prize money were residents of Utah; therefore, there was more local (but still really fast) talent competing in the race.  After taking a nice hour-long nap under the stars, it was time to get the Pioneer Day started.

At 5:30 am, it was on.  As usual I had very little patience, thus I took off fast and just enjoyed cruising the first three miles down Big Mountain at a ridiculously fast pace (a little headwind, but no big deal).  It was nice to talk to Fritz a little bit (growing up in the same part of town and with almost all of my junior high friends going to Oly, it seems like I have always heard of him) and to meet Jon Kotter, a former BYU runner.  They both dusted my just after mile marker two which was really impressive since last year the elite runners waited all the way to mile four to drop me.  It was sure fun to feel really fast for a few minutes!

I kept trotting along and achieved my goal of a sub-7:00 pace all the way up Little Mountain which felt so great that I was almost hoping for a freak injury so I could leave the race on this high note.  Seriously, I could not believe when my Garmin chimed in 6:49 on mile seven which has always been a greater than a 7:00 mile for me.  Knowing that James (aka, Fiddy) was in this race, I absolutely had the feeling of being hunted.  Maybe this pushed me a little harder up Little Mountain knowing how easy this guy flew up the Ultra Ragnar Leg (1:07 is sick).  Not hearing or seeing him, I started my descent down the Emigration Canyon.  Just when I began to think that I might be able to keep third place through the first ten miles, I heard light and fast footsteps and there was no doubt who was going to take ownership of third place very soon.  It was great to talk to James for a half-mile or so because I knew this rest of my race was going to be pretty lonely for me.  The nice thing is that there are a few straight stretches down the remaining part of the Canyon, thus seeing James slowly increase the lead ahead of me helped pull me along for a few miles.  I reached the halfway mark in a time of 1:14:56 (which was really fast for me).

I felt pretty good going up Crestview Drive then down past the golf course, but then all of a sudden my legs became really heavy.  I just kept the focus on my breathing and trying to pick up my legs at a relatively fast rhythm.  By the ways, thank goodness UDOT stepping it up and finishing paving Foothill Drive because I was not looking forward to hyperventilating while trying to run through the dust and tar fumes.  Thanks UDOT!

Trying to keep it together, I made it to the Wells Fargo Bank on 1300 East and between 200 and 300 South, which is appropriately my 4-miles-to-go marker.  I looked down at my Garmin and the total time just changed to 2:14:00.  I was really hoping this would be 2:12:00 to allow me to run a 7:00 pace to the finish line because taking into account the hills, my pace was really diminishing with each mile.  Knowing a sub-6:30 pace for the final four miles would achieve my goal of a sub-2:40 marathon, I just gritted my teeth and went for it.  I knew I might not be able to keep it together, but the Des-News only happens once a year, so why not?  In short, it was an all out grind to the finish line, but I made it in with a time of 2:39:50 (6:06 pace and PR by 24 seconds)!!!  I was completely depleted, but the sense of accomplishment made it all worth it.  Also, it was great to see a number of FRBers at the Liberty-Park finish line (RAD and Allie just to name a few) and the Pioneer Day festivities made it all worth it.

A summary of my splits for the race are as follows: 4:43, 4:39, 4:51, 5:23, 5:45, 6:15, 6:49, 6:32, 5:38, 5:58, 5:53, 5:56, 5:56, 5:57, 6:00, 6:03, 6:12, 6:42, 6:37, 6:31, 6:57 (slowest mile, Sunnyside Incline), 6:13, 6:33, 6:27, 6:25, 6:33, and 2:22 (a 5:55 pace on this split for 0.40 of a mile).

Happy Pioneer Day and I am already looking forward to running it again next year!

Night Sleep Time: 3.50Nap Time: 3.17Total Sleep Time: 6.67
Comments
From Fritz on Tue, Jul 26, 2011 at 16:10:54 from 65.116.116.6

Great job on the PR, hitting your goal time and picking it up those last few miles. I am not so sure it was smart of me to follow you out the gate but I agree that it was good time and also good for the turnover. This was my 4th Des News Marathon but the first since they changed the course in 2004 or 2005. Definitely a different experience that I might have to try again. It was good to chat with you and good luck with the recovery.

From allie on Tue, Jul 26, 2011 at 16:11:31 from 161.38.218.168

ah, the addicting spell of des news. so painful, but always worth it in the end. :)

you ran a great race yesterday, rossy. big congrats on the sub-2:40. nice job on putting it all out there, especially in those final grueling miles. i loved reading about the sub-7 split on little mountain. i remember you talking about that after last year, and you totally met your goal with 11 seconds to spare. i am glad that UDOT finished up their work, as it was pretty torn up just a few days ago but everything seemed great yesterday. i am happy you met your goals and had another successful des news experience. it was nice talking to you yesterday. enjoy some time off to rest those legs!

From Kelli on Tue, Jul 26, 2011 at 21:27:08 from 71.219.99.3

SO AWESOME, but, wait, I already said that!

Hope you are feeling well today. You have earned some serious junk food, hope you enjoyed a little. Forget the veggies. ;o)

From I Just Run on Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 10:40:29 from 67.79.11.242

Wow...Good job Rossy! Sounds like you really enjoyed this race. It's really cool to read you "really good runners" race experiences, trials and triumphs. Thanks for sharing :-)

From fiddy on Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 14:49:44 from 155.101.96.134

You climbed little mountain very well. In hindsight I should have let you stay in front of me until 10 because I think I threw in my big surge about 3 miles too soon. I think next year I will go out much slower.

From jtshad on Wed, Jul 27, 2011 at 15:24:27 from 204.134.132.225

Great race and congrats on the PR and the mental and physical strength to push those last four miles.

From Burt on Thu, Jul 28, 2011 at 17:02:52 from 206.19.214.144

Great job Rossy! Those first three miles are crazy! What was it, a free fall?

From Rossy on Mon, Aug 15, 2011 at 01:34:32 from 4.254.235.183

Thanks everyone for the kind feedback! I am finally recovered from the Des News and from just being crazy busy at work (i.e., I work in the financial services industry, so you think the markets were a little bit volatile last week?).

Fritz--thanks and awesome race and you will absolutely have to try it again. Also, it's really tough not to go fast at the start and it's so steep that I'm not sure if 1:30 slower for the first 5k is going to make that much of a difference. See you around!

Allie--yeah, the "addicting spell of Des News," love it! Thanks and a sub-7:00 pace of Little Mountain felt great because as you know how this was a big goal of mine. You'll get that sub-7:00 pace up Little Mountain next year and smash your PR, I'm confident of this! Good luck with the TOU!!!

Kelli--thanks again for cheering us in and I did have a few awful (but they tasted so good) hot dogs the evening of the 25th. Now it's back to trying to eat healthy.

Preston--thanks and you are absolutely a real runner in my book!

Fiddy--thanks again and awesome race! Love your strategy (starting at a reasonable pace is so hard on this course) and we'll do it again next year!

Jeff--thanks and those last four miles were so brutal, it just felt good to finish!

Burt--thanks and those first three miles were just a complete jailbreak, cannonball run, freefall!!!

Happy Running!

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