Well, St George wasn't as good to me this year. Last year I ran what I felt was the perfect race setting a huge PR and finally qualifying for Boston. The weather was perfect, I was in great shape and I had one of those days you dream about where running just felt easy. That was not the case this year.
Race day greeted us with a strong headwind and a good soaking rain. The rain started on the bus ride up to the start and really didn't stop that much until I was done running. The temps were in the low 50's to start which wasn't too bad. Sadie, Tara and I rode the buses together up to the start where the race organizers set up small bonfires to help keep the runners warm. Everyone at the start is either waiting in one of lines for the toilets or standing around the fires.
The cool thing for me is that my predicted finish time qualified me for elite runner status. I had access to the elite starting corral which has it's own fires and restrooms. While Sadie and Tara waited in the long lines for the "regular" toilets, I excused myself, strolled over to the fenced off elite area and had my choice of clean porta-potties with no lines. I thought about just sitting in there until the race started to stay dry. I didn't know about the elite perks last year until the start, so I was happy to take advantage of it this time.
My race plan was the same as last year, but with a lower goal: sub-3:00. At mile 7 I should be ahead of pace so that I could slow a little through the next 5 miles which are mostly uphill. At the half I wanted to be around 1:30 or even a minute or two slower. From that point the course goes screaming downhill and I felt like I could go faster than MGP (6:52). Last year I had a 4 min. negative split and felt like I eased up towards the end. This year I wanted to see what I could do if I pushed it.
Just before the start it seemed like the rain picked up a little. The gun went off and we took off running into the wind and rain. My first two miles were slow (7:10, 7:19), but I wasn't too concerned. It was dark, I was trying not to run into anyone and a little uphill. I started trying to draft off other runners as much as I could.
The next three miles started the first good downhill section and I tried to get into a good rhythm. Looking back, I think this is where I lost my goal. Miles 3-5 only averaged 6:59. Seven seconds slower than MGP. I needed to be a little faster here to make up for the first two. Miles 6-7 were better as we descended into Veyo (6:40, 6:41), but that's where the uphill section starts.
The longest, steepest hill on the course is at Mile 7 coming out of Veyo. It's about 1/2 mile long and feels like some of the steeper sections of Scenic Dr. I knew I would be slower for the next 5 miles as we climbed out of the valley, but I was more off pace than I intended. I felt like I was working, but the wind kept beating on me and my shoes were getting heavy. My mile splits were all between 7:41-7:19. I didn't know exactly how slow I was, but I could feel it slipping away.
I crossed the half at 1:34:45, ten seconds faster than last year but with a lot more effort. My math skills were a little off at this point and I told myself I could still break 3 hrs if I ran the 2nd half 4 minutes faster (just like last year). That made me feel better until I realized I couldn't add very well. I really need to negative split by 8 minutes. That didn't sound very easy, but I told myself to give it a shot. I really had nothing to lose. I started down the hills and made a big effort to pick up my pace.
Mile 14 was only 7:07. Uh oh. Mile 15 was 6:49. Better but not enough. Mile 16 was 7:07 and I knew I was in trouble. I gave it one last good effort over the next couple miles but all I could get was two 6:55 miles. My right foot was bothering me, I was soaking wet, I was sick of Powergel and I'd had enough. My sub-3:00 goal was out the window so I decided to slow down and try to enjoy the rest of the race. The area around St George is very pretty and I tried to soak it all in.
I kept up with my splits though and I was still averaging around 7:30 mile. I was more relaxed than I had been before and going down some sweet downhills. I just wanted to finish. The 3:10 group blasted by me around Mile 20 and I just watched them go. I just wanted to break 3:15 and extend my Boston-qualifying through 2010.
The funny thing was at Mile 24 my total time was 2:53:25 and I could see the 3:10 group getting closer. They had been completely out of sight before, but I was gaining on them. I realized with a little effort I could still beat 3:10. I picked it up a little and started reeling them in. I turned the last corner and they were about 30 yards ahead. I started chasing them down. They beat me to the line, but I was focused on the clock. I was running as hard as I could through the finish chute and staring at the numbers. I crossed the finish line as the clock changed to 3:10.
Official finish time of 3:09:46.
I have to be happy with that time. It took me 5 tries to break 3:10 in a marathon and now I had just done it on a bad day in bad weather where I had backed off the pace with 8 miles to go. It wasn't what I wanted, but it was a nice consolation prize.
In the finish area I finally started feeling cold. It could have been the ice cream sandwich I was eating, but more likely because I was soaking wet. After a quick picture with my sandwich
I set off to find my bag with dry clothes and wait for Sadie and Tara to finish.