Nebo ½ marathon
I had registered for this race months
ago. I planned on it being an A race. When the opportunity to do the Mexico
City marathon came along this one dropped in priority.
After my experience the Sunday before
in the MX marathon I had no idea what I could do or what would happen at this
super downhill ½. I got a pretty good night’s sleep on Thursday. Friday night I
went to the Rooftop concert in Provo. I finally got to bed around 11:30.
My alarm went off at 03:15. I got up,
got dressed and headed out. It took about 30 minutes to get to the high school
where we would catch the bus to the start line. I am not a real social person
on the bus rides. I like to take the time to relax and visualize the course. I
did get to meetup with Bill Hiatt and Vince Massa for the ride up.
When I arrived at the start line I
went and rolled out my sleeping pad. I then stood in line for the porta-john. I
was then able to lie down on my pad and keep warm and relax for a while.
When it got close to star time I got
myself ready and went over to the road. I saw David Taylor and we talked about
our plans. I knew David would bonsai the start at least. I went and did a
warm-up, going up the canyon a ways and then back a couple of times.
The start was delayed a bit. Not a
problem as I was able to have a good time talking with friends. I had made a
pace band for a 1:14 time. I knew David would be faster and so I just figured I
would hang with him for a while.
Finally the countdown and the start.
David was off flying down. We ran side by side for the first ¼ mile, then I
slowed to conserve for later. The canyon is steep and I knew I would need to
conserve some energy for the lower section rollers. The first mile was a 5:15.
By then David had a 100yd lead and building. The next 2 miles were a 5:22 then
5:13. Miles 4 was the fastest for me. I did it in 5:06. I was feeling pretty
good overall. Mile 6 is where you go past the Grotto. So far there had been
about 5 vehicles going up the canyon. I was doing a good job of running the
tangents. Mile 7 clicked on my watch about 20 yards before the flag. Mile 8 we
passed the Maple Dell campground. I took out my gel and tried to take some. I
only got a little in. I was breathing so heavily that eating anything was just
slowing me down. In mile 9 is where the flatter stuff really starts. I was able
to hold a good pace still. Mile 9 was done in 5:27. Mile 10 is where the
fatigue started to slow me down. I could only muster a 5:40 here. I did see David
now. I was starting to gain on him. I started to worry if 3rd place
was gaining on me. Over the next few miles I did take a few glances over my
shoulder. I never did see anyone. Miles 11 and 12 were slower still, 5:51 and
5:52. I was hanging on with all I had. When I made the left turn at the mouth
of the canyon I couldn’t see David. I slowed more but just kept going. As I got
close to the high school I finally saw David. I was even closer. I didn’t have
much left in the tank. It is a winding track to the finish with several turns.
I finally saw the track and the finish line. There was David just up ahead. I
dug as deep as I could and did my best finish sprint.
I crossed the line and
earned a new PR, 1:11:47 and placed 2nd overall. I had pulled to within
less than a minute of David.
I stumbled a bit after crossing the
line. Shaylee got to me and gave me my medal and congratulations. Wow I felt
awesome about this accomplishment. Lara had made it just in time to take some
great pictures.
Top 3 finishers
After a short recovery I went and ran
in with a few people. I then notice that they needed help at the recovery food
table. I joined in and cut melon, oranges and bananas. It was great to see the
other runners finishing. I also filled water cups to give to the finishers. It
was very rewarding to see and congratulate so many. After all of the food was
cut I want and helped to give out the finisher medals. This was super fun. I
was also able to help quite a few runners who had given there all and had
nothing left after crossing the finish line. Wow, how cool it was to support
these great runners.
Not matter what their finish time it was a full effort for
all of them.
Sojourners represent with top finishes for all
This was a fun and great course. The
organization was done well. I am planning on doing this one again.
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