Salt Lake City Marathon

Well, it's over (and I survived)!

I ran the Salt Lake City Marathon on Saturday, June 3, with two of my very good friends, Rick Pearmain and Steve Backus (we were in the River 5th Elders Quorum Presidency together as well).

We had our "carb-loading" dinner at the Olive Garden on Friday night with our wives, and then drove up to the Gateway in downtown together early Saturday morning (4:30 a.m.). We took UTA Trax up to the Olympic Legacy Bridge, and the gun sounded at 6:45 a.m.

It took a while to have the pack thin out (there were a lot of runners--upwards of 3,000). We kept a good pace to start the race (8:35-8:45 minute mile) and were able to remain steady until about mile 13 or 14. At mile 21, my thighs were tightening up so I told Rick to continue without me and I'd try to catch up. At about mile 24, I was able to make it back to him and he said to go ahead of him. Then, about .5 mile from the finish, he came back and we ran the rest of the way together.


Overall, it was a good day. We wanted to break 4 hours, but we ended up at 4 hours 10 minutes. Last July I ran a 4 hour 26 minute marathon, so I have improved a little, although this year's course was considerably less mountainous.


THINGS I LEARNED:
1-My next marathon (did I just type that? I plan on doing this again?) will be either a spring or fall affair.
The two I have run so far have been in hot weather months, and I do not do well in heat and direct sun. I train early in the morning, and Rick and I ran 22 miles in 3 hours just a few weeks back, so I think I could improve 5-10 minutes in cooler weather with no change in training regimen. I did have some signs of heat stroke after the run, but got them under control quickly.

2-It is great to have running buddies.
I know I would have walked early and/or more often were it not for Rick and Steve. It is part camaraderie/part competitive.