September 20, 2014

2014 Top of Utah Marathon

Final stretch of TOU 2014

I couldn't resist being at the 2014 Top of Utah Marathon one way or another. I won this race in 2012 and came in second last year. With Chicago only a few weeks away (21 days!), I had to be careful with my effort today - too fast, and I'd regret my decision to run TOU. On Friday I laid out my goals for the race: the aim was 2:30 +/- 2 minutes, and hopefully sneak into the top 3 and win a little cash in the process. This was at the end of another big mileage week, so I still have a lot of cumulative fatigue in the legs. I'm glad I continue to feel so strong despite (or probably because of) the big volume.


TOU Marathon - 2:28:14, 3rd place. Came through the first half in 1:14:24 and then ran the second half in 1:13:50. A controlled, even effort... stuck right to my plan. Mile splits were very consistent and not worth typing out.

Tylor Thatcher and Jason Holt took off at a quick pace, which ended up being a very good thing because it forced me to decide right away whether I was going to follow my plan or give chase. I ran most of the first 14 miles with Nate Hornock and Jon Heslop. Once we hit Hollow Road I pulled away a bit and ran the rest of the way solo. Overall it was a good effort and just what I needed today - a high quality long run that would continue to build fitness and not take anything out of the bank.

TOU always puts on the best races. I'm happy to add another moose trophy to the collection.

Andrea and Amiee were out on the second half of the course providing encouragement and giving me someone to briefly talk to every couple miles. All of these photos are from Amiee...



I took 5 gels today - PR! (I'm liking the liquid consistency of the Powerbar gels)

I also took a 20 minute ice bath afterwards - another PR!

Millville Hill



Our friend Devra won the women's race and got to wear the moose ears
"Good job not being stupid today" -Love, Andrea
The floppy hair is something new :-)

2 comments:

  1. Looked like some tough competition this year! Running shorts over tights...don't you read LetsRun?

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    Replies
    1. Hamstring compression sleeve on one leg. Big difference! I wouldn't wear shorts over tights, I'm not a fool!

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