Big Cottonwood Recap

I think I am finally recovered from the marathon last month.  I have been doing a little running but nothing too major.  Motivation has been an issue, mainly because I haven’t had any definite goals in front of me.  Actually, I have so many conflicting running goals I haven’t been sure where to start.  I really want to run a marathon in January, but I think I would be better off completing a program geared toward a shorter race.  My ultimate goal of beating all my previous PR’s is still something I just can’t let go of as well.  Several friends have been having some success with the FIRST training program.  Jake used it to train for Big Cottonwood and although he missed qualifying for Boston by 35 seconds, he did set a PR.  Todd, who I ran cross country with in high school, has been using it to train for New York next month and seems to be having good results.

I can’t let being unsure of what to do keep me from doing anything at all (there is some cool quote about doing a little is better than doing nothing at all that I am being to lazy to look up.  I think the quote has more to do with making a difference in the world, but I guess I can hijack the idea and apply it for my own personal gain.).  As I am writing this I have decided to follow the FIRST program for a 5k. Maybe I can use it to get some speed into these legs.

OK, I have been putting off a recap of the race.  Overall it was a great weekend.  We flew in on Friday and went straight to the expo.  At the expo Jake bought me a pacing wristband, because they were having a 2 for $5 special.  I chose to get the 3:45 band.  My first marathon was a 4:05.  I should probably have just set a goal to break 4:00, but for some reason 3:45 had been stuck in my head.

After the expo we had the opportunity to drive the course.  We stayed with Jake’s aunt and uncle, who live about 15 minutes from the race finish.  They were extremely welcoming and supportive throughout the weekend.  On race day we drove to the finish area where we took school buses up the mountain to the race start.  It was pretty cold at the start, but we had bought some sweats at a thrift store the day before which helped a lot.  A couple of the buses were late so the start was delayed almost 30 minutes.

The first mile was a little rough because of the cold and elevation.  On mile 2 I was able to settle in, and felt pretty comfortable.  With the steep downhill it is very difficult to judge pace, but I was able to stay focused.  I hit all my splits for the first 15 miles according to my wristband.  At mile 15 the course levels off for an out and back section of “rolling hills”.  I know it is impossible, but I would swear that both the “out” and “back” were both uphill.

(to be continued)