Runner Fantasies and Paranoias

The St. George Marathon on October 3 was supposed to be the first leg of what I was calling a “trifecta.”  In my loose definition, this was a marathon, a 50-miler (Le Grizz in Hungry Horse, MT on October 10) and a 100-miler (the “Javelina Jundred” on October 31) all in a calendar month.  As it turned out, this idea was a complete fantasy, and a really bizarre one at that.

St. George is a pavement pounding, downhill marathon, the type that wreaks havoc on the quadriceps muscles and results in a “beat up” post-race feeling.  Further, I didn’t take it easy and instead ran it at something near full effort.  For some reason, I thought my aging legs would spring back to life after a couple of days and be ready for a 50 miler seven days later.  I even got a massage early in the week to speed healing. By midweek, I was feeling OK.

My flight to Denver then Kalispell, MT was scheduled to leave late Thursday afternoon for an evening arrival.    The Montana weather forecast took a severe turn at midweek, with record low temperatures forecast for the weekend (like, three degrees at the start).  This wasn’t so much of a deterrent, although not particularly desirable.  But suddenly four inches of snow appeared in the forecast (after a period of freezing rain), timed to coincide with my arrival.  This did give me some concern….flying a small plane into a small airport for a 20 mile drive in inclement weather.  Considering it was also the last weekend before the October 15 filing deadline, and the associated crisis projects, I opted to pass on the trip.

Of course, forecasting snow is no more accurate in Montana than in Missouri.  I’m not sure if it ever snowed, but the flights were on time and any wet weather held off until well into the night.  I was pretty disgusted with the turn of events and my decision to miss Le Grizz.  And I still needed a long run before Javelina–Le Grizz was supposed to fill that bill.  So I headed out early Saturday morning for a planned 40-miler, still sort of grousing inwardly about the turn of events and my decision making.

About 30 minutes into it, the “fantasy” part was fully in evidence.  Stiff legs, general fatigue.  There was no way I was going to make the planned 40 mile distance, and if I’d been at Le Grizz it would very likely have been a DNF…..or a death march for a whole bunch of miles to a very late finish.  As it turns out, I ended up with a modest 29 mile training run, and was dang tired and sore afterward.  What the hell was I thinking when I put this schedule together?

So now comes the paranoia…..have I done enough training for Javelina?  In my three previous hundreds I’ve always done something between 40 and 50 miles for a last training run.  I did the Lean Horse 100 seven weeks ago, or 10 weeks before Javelina.  Since then, there have been three runs / races of 26-29 miles.  Is this enough?  There should be some conditioning left over from Lean Horse, shouldn’t there?  Man, I just don’t know if I’m ready.  I guess we’ll see on “Jalloween.”

Running with an Old Friend

The St. George Marathon, October 3, 2009

I ran my 11th St. George Marathon this year, the most of any event I’ve done.  St. George is my only marathon of 2009, and was my only marathon of 2008.  Further, my focus has been on longer, off road events for the past few years.  So why did I run it yet again?

Pretty simple.  I really like this event.  I like the time of year, the part of the country, the organization, the proximity to the sports books in Vegas and, yes, the downhill nature that leads to (relatively) fast times.  My first St. George was in 1993, with a 3:25.  My best St. George was in 1996, with a 2:57, my first and only trip (anywhere) in under three hours.  There was the streak of 2005 – 2007 with times of 3:20, 3:21 and 3:22. The 2008 version fell apart with the recovery from a stress fracture and an uncharacteristic all day rain, resulting in a time of 3:38.  In a perfectly symmetrical world,  2009 would have gotten back on track with a 3:24.  It did not, with a finishing time of 3:26.  I guess the Lean Horse Hundred six weeks earlier messed up my speed.

So here’s the blow by blow…..arrived in Vegas Friday afternoon and made the two hour drive to St. George.  Stayed in Mesquite, Nevada at the Casablanca Hotel and Casino.  Mesquite apparently exists solely for the ease of those in Arizona and Utah, so that they don’t have to drive all the way to Vegas for gaming.  It’s a 40 mile drive up I-15 to St. George.  Timing is a bit odd, since Nevada is on Pacific time and Utah on Mountain time.  The early race start has me getting up at 2:15 AM Nevada time, when most self-respecting gamblers are just getting warmed up on the “free” booze and tight slots.  Arriving shortly after 4 AM then catching the bus to the start gets me to staging area at 5 AM or so, well before the 6:45 AM start.  (Accountants like to be timely and prepared).  The organizers have a series of bonfires so the runners can stay warm in the early morning mountain chill.

The start is always a bit surreal, with 6,000+ runners lined up and taking off down a deserted highway in the pre-dawn darkness.  The first few miles are run in the dark as dawn slowly appears in the Eastern sky.  The course is a net downhill, although much of that occurs in the second half.  The first half is generally pretty level, with a few rolling hills.  I first notice the real downhill nature of the course between the 14 and 15 mile marker, which is also one of the prettiest spots on the course.  Snow Canyon State Park appears on the right, with the morning sun illuminating the red cliffs.  That, combined with the opportunity to stretch out heading downhill, is really nice.  Splits were 1:47 and 1:39, reflecting the effect of the downhills.

The bad part of a downhill road marathon is that it is hard on the legs, particularly the quads.  Strangely, I could feel the effects early in the race, and had the nagging suspicion I should slow down, considering my entry into the Le Grizz 50-miler a week later.  But I sorta wanted to break 3:30, and I was feeling pretty good……in any event, I was pretty tired at the end, and probably should have saved some for next week.  But we’ll see how things feel then.

Overall, I really enjoyed this event.  It is, well, different than the ultras I’ve been doing.  Hell, 6,000 runners, with kids, all showing up at the expo / pasta dinner at the same time is a real zoo.  But I expect I’ll be back next year.  Need to get back on track with a 3:25.