0.729 Marathon man.

A month or two ago one of my friends and colleagues, Scot Weaver invited my son and myself to run in the Ogden Marathon. I had just completed the Half Ironman and thought it would be a fun run. To make it even MORE fun, I'd be running with my son, JJ. I had never run a marathon relay but I figured that running 6 or 7 miles would be a piece of cake. Shortly after we signed up, my partner in crime decided to run the entire 26.2 distance. ARE YOU SERIOUS!!! Well, I was pretty jealous but he and I continued to train. We were running greater and greater distances each week in preparation. But because of pain I was dealing with from the last century ride the training wasn't going too hot. Lately I've been taking these Nutriex Sport supplements. I'll have to see how it goes and I'll give my feedback some other time.

So JJ and I planned on driving up on Friday and we stayed with Scot and his family up Ogden Canyon. We had a good time together he and I away from homework, computers, cell phones, school and work. Just before we went to bed JJ exclaimed "Dude, where are my SHOES???" He had left them back at home. Good thing Tri-Rich was coming up in the morning. We met up with Rich and Sharla close to where my race was going to start. What a great day for a race.


Here is the start of the marathon race where JJ and Tri-Rich were dropped off. Holy poop, Batman! Is this Woodstock? Nope, just 2000 nervous runners.

Here is where I started. 7 miles down from the start of the race. After Tri-Rich signed up I decided that if I couldn't run the entire marathon, I could at least run my leg and then the rest of the distance with TR. Now, I'm nowhere near as good of a runner as he is but I could at least try. So I had decided to become 0.729 marathon wanna-be.

As I expected, JJ came smoking down the canyon. He was the 4th relay runner to reach our transition. He did awesome keeping a sub 7 minute pace. I know that he could do even better if he hadn't been hurt most of track season this Spring. I quick hug and the transfer of the timing chip and I was off. I would see JJ later on in the race.

I ran my 6.1 mile segment feeling just great. I had no negative splits (don't really know what the big deal is with that anyhow). I started off at just over 7 minute/mile pace but ended up at just under 8 min/mile pace for the entire segment. I was very pleased. I reached the midpoint and handed off the timing chip to a guy I had never met, I cannot remember his name, and I would never see again. Pretty funny. I got a drink, used one of those cool green potties, and waited for TR to show up. Shortly thereafter the two of us headed down the canyon. This race is actually quite pretty. There were plenty of volunteers, food, and support. Here we are crossing the Pineview Reservoir dam. Yes, I'm wearing my gay socks!

I had never ran anything close to 19 miles. I knew I could but I also knew that it was going to be tough. I was fine until about mile 24 marker. It was getting hard. I wanted to stop. I couldn't stop. If I did, my right knee/hip would pretty much seize up. Keep moving, keep moving forward. No stopping at the aid stations, gulp some Gatorade, throw some cold water on the back. By the time we reached Grant Street (the last stretch), I was just about in tears. My calves were completely cramping. Was I going to crawl across the finish line? I looked to the side of me to see TR and I thought if he can do it so could I. After all, he ran the ENTIRE 26.2 distance. I searched until I found a song that could bring me home. My choice" "Fooling Yourself" by Styx. It worked for me and TR and I crossed the finish line in just under 4 hours. Wow! I filled up on Jamba smoothies and Creamies. Again, the race staff were great!

Here we are 4/5s of our relay team, JJ, me, Scot, and his wife Lisa. Scot ran the 4th leg and then ran with Lisa on the last leg. We had a great time and I cannot wait to run this next year but for the entire race. Although I was a little stiff, I really felt pretty good for running 19.1 miles.