Author: blake

This was my sixth consecutive year running the Race to Robie Creek. I was very excited coming into this race. Last fall I injured a tendon in my foot, and I wasn’t able to train for a couple months. By January I was fully recovered and had three and a half solid months of training going into Robie. Besides that, I really liked this year’s theme: Gora! The Running of the Toads. I was looking forward to a great race.

Some Background on the Race to Robie Creek

For those that aren’t familiar with the running scene in the Treasure Valley, the Race to Robie Creek is a rite of passage for runners in the Boise area. This year (2015) was the 38th Annual Race to Robie Creek that has been put on by the Rocky Canyon Sailtoads, a local running group. It’s run by about 2300 people every year, which makes it one of Boise’s biggest races. It’s covered pretty thoroughly by the local media outlets and is always front page news the Sunday after the race. Besides that, Robie Creek is a unique race embedded with tradition. Race registration takes place at “high noon” on Presidents’ Day. The race starts at “high noon” on the third Saturday of April. There is always a different theme for the race and usually some skit or artsy presentation 10 minutes before the start when everyone is lined up.

This year’s theme was Gora! The Running of the Toads. Boise has the largest Basque population outside of Spain, which drove the theme. It was fun to see a few people dressed up in white with red scarfs and sashes.

I’ve been training for the Newport Marathon in late May, so the Race to Robie Creek fell nicely into my training regimen. I debated how seriously I should run the race. I obviously wanted a good time, but I was unsure whether I should taper or just treat it as a typical long Saturday run. Fortunately, I had embedded a couple extra weeks into my 16 week marathon training schedule, so after some internal debate I decided to use one of my extra weeks to do a taper the week previous to Robie. My training was going well enough that was confident I could beat my previous best Robie time from last year (1:40:17, 2014), but I wasn’t quite sure by how much. I had worked in some hills to my long runs during my marathon training and I was hoping they would pay dividends.

Tapering

For my taper, I did an 8 mile run eight days before the Race to Robie Creek on a Friday. Micron, my employer, was putting on the Fab-ulous 5k the Saturday before Robie, so I ran that as well. It had around 150-200 people I think, and it amazed me what a little competition can do for my race time. I was able to run about 18:48 at the 5k since I had some people to run against. I had no idea I could maintain a 6 minute pace for three miles, and this was a big confidence booster going into Robie. I hadn’t run a 5k in two years, and it had been since early November that I had done any competition.

To finish my taper, I did a couple 400m intervals during a six mile treadmill run on Monday, then cross trained on Tuesday (stationary bike and rowing), then did a 5.5 mile run on Thursday with 3 miles at 7min/mile pace.

In-laws Arriving

By Friday night I was anxious and excited. My father-in-law, Jerry, and sister-in-law, Kara, arrived in town to run the race as well, along with my mother-in-law and Kara’s daughter. Jerry and Kara ran with me last year (2014) and had a good time; however, Kara had a rough day as she puked a couple miles into the race for some reason. She really wanted revenge on the hill and wanted to have a better run this year. We were sure to get to bed relatively early.

Since it’s a noon race, it’s tough to properly fuel for Robie Creek. I ended up eating some cereal in the morning, then lightly snacking until about 10am, at which point I ate a small PBH sandwich. We left the house around 10:30 and arrived at the starting area after 11am. We sat on the grass and walked around a bit and got ready to go. I had been worried about the wind as the forecast called for 20mph winds on Saturday. Fortunately the wind hadn’t picked up enough to be bothersome. I hardly noticed it going up the hill.

I learned that if you don’t want to start slow you need to be towards the front of the pack, so I lined up just a couple people back from the starting line. Besides that, I knew that if I hit my primary goal of 1:35:00 I would be in the top 30 or so finishers. After a welcome by the race director and some words from Boise Mayor Dave Bieter, who is Basque, there was a Basque dance on the stage to the left of the lined-up runners. After the dance, the mayor yelled “Gora! Gora!” which took the place of the gun to send the race off.

The Course

The Race to Robie Creek starts in a parking lot at Fort Boise and continues onto a road which loops around some softball fields. By the time we were a half mile into the run, I was surprised at how many people were in front of me. I was glancing at my Garmin and purposefully slowing my pace. There is so much build up and adrenaline going into a race that it’s hard not to get caught up in the moment. Knowing I’d be at a top-30 race pace, I was surprised to see about 200 people ahead of me. Once we hit the beginning of the “little” hill at Mile 1, I began passing people and continued to do so until about Mile 8.

For my race plan, I broke up the course into three sections:

1. Before the Dirt: The first 3.4 miles consist of a flat mile 1, then a second mile up a decent hill, then a small downhill followed by some rising, rolling hills to mile 3.4. I planned on running this section at about a 6:50-7:00 pace.
2. The Hill: Starting at Mile 3.4 is a dirt road and a hill. The 1700 foot, 6.5% grade hill is exactly 5 miles long and only has a couple short flat spots. Sometimes I break it up into 4 hills in my mind as there are 4 really steep parts, but it’s really one huge hill and it gives The Race to Robie Creek most of its stigma. The last ~0.8 mile of the hill is crazy steep and most racers walk some of it. I planned to run at about 8:20/mile on this part, but I knew this would make or break my time.
3. The Downhill: Starting at ~Mile 8.4, there’s a crazy downhill to the finish line — about 1700 feet, which is a 7% average grade (I think). The first couple miles are really steep. Then it seems to flatten out somewhat, but it’s still knee-pounding downhill all the way to the finish. I wanted to do this section at 6:20 pace.

Despite my attempts to calm down, my first mile came in at 6:16. I knew it would be fast so I wasn’t too worried. I felt good and made my way up the “little” hill. There are groups of spectators all along this paved part of Shaw Mountain Rd which winds through a ritzy subdivision. It makes for an exciting time. Right at the top of the hill at about Mile 2 there is the first aid station and a large crowd as it’s a nice place for spectators. After this crowd, the spectating subsides. I was feeling good at the top of the hill and the runners were beginning to thin out. I chatted a bit with a guy on my way down. I could tell that I was going to beat my target pace for the first section and I was fine with that. I was feeling pretty good still.

I hit the second section at about a 6:40/mile pace, which I was happy with. This is where the race really begins and I knew that my pace on the hill would be crucial. I felt that in my 2014 race I had not attacked the hill hard enough, so I didn’t want to make that mistake again. I worked hard on the uphills and didn’t let up too much on the flattish parts. People tend to get quiet on the hill, especially the last mile death-march. I tried to smile and wave to a few groups of spectators and gave a fist-pump to the little band that is always present on the hillside around Mile 4.5.

I was using Clif Shot Bloks for my primary nutrition and grabbing water at the stations. I try to down a Blok every couple miles or so. The hill went well. I ended up around 8:20/mile on average. Part of me was hoping I could pull of 8:00/mile which would have left me in striking distance of a 1:35:00, but when I got to the top I still knew I was well on my way for a PR. At about Mile 8 I passed the Temptation Station, which is always entertaining and a welcome distraction during that final climb. I didn’t consume any donuts or whatever else they had there. My pace slowed to over 11:00/mile on parts of the last section, but I didn’t walk and kept driving up. About a quarter-mile before the top I passed the lead female runner. I gave her a word of encouragement and kept going. Truthfully I was pretty happy to pass her and I hoped I’d beat all the women for the first time. I know that’s not politically correct to write.

Ah, the Summit

Reaching the summit of the Race to Robie Creek is such a relief. There’s a small crowd and some cow bells making noise. You step on the timing pad at the peak and grab a water, then the ankle-breaking downhill commences.

I’ve generally been weak on the downhill, getting passed by multiple racers and losing energy. This year I was much more ready for it as I had done a couple 20 mile runs during my training as well as some intervals to help with my turnover. I focused on getting back as much time as possible out of the downhill. It went well for the first couple miles, then my abs started to lock up. This happened to me last year and I wasn’t excited to be cramping up again. I think that the pounding makes me tighten up my stomach too much. Fortunately the cramping only lasted about a half mile, but it got in my mind and slowed me down. Up to the cramping I thought I may have a chance at breaking 1:30:00, but the cramping pretty much extinguished those prospects.

I exchanged positions with a couple other runners a few times; I can’t remember if my net position improved or worsened on the downhill. I felt that was good since usually I am passed by several people going down.

Beat by a Girl (Not the First Time or the Last)

Just when I was thinking I had bested the top female runner, she passed me at Mile 12. I was starting to weaken and my pace had suddenly slowed unconsciously. Right then she blew by me and said something like, “C’mon you can do better than that!” I didn’t know she was the one behind me. I sped up and tried to hold on. I was able to maintain a better pace, but I couldn’t keep up with her. She had a strong finish and a well-deserved 1st place.

That final Robie mile always seems long. I always expect spectators to be closer to Mile 12. As it happens, very few spectators venture 100 yards in front of the finish line, and the windy dirt road seems to go on indefinitely. Finally I saw the finish and finished strong. Seeing my time of 1:31:10 was a sight to behold for me. It beat my PR from last year by over nine minutes and I couldn’t have been happier with how the race went. Later on I saw that I had placed 18th, which I never imagined I could do.

Post Race Party

After crossing the finish line I made my way to the bag pickup. I saw my high school teammate Kenny McDaniel sitting down and taking his shoes off. “Hey Kenny! How did it go?” I asked. I knew he would be in the top few runners as he has worked hard ever since we graduated together from Meridian High. “Well, I won,” he stated matter-of-factly. I congratulated him and he gave me a few more details. I have to say that it was well-deserved for him, and it’s inspirational to me that my old teammate pulled it off. It is a testament of his hard work and dedication over the years.

I got to see a few friends and coworkers come through the finish area. It was fun to talk to them and most of them ran their best time. Jerry and Kara had solid races and felt way better than last year. The Race to Robie Creek always has great food and plenty of refreshments — everything from chocolate milk (for me) to beer (for others). We grabbed some food and gatorade and took the long bus ride home.

Wrap-up

Three years ago I finished in 2:08:28 at the Race to Robie Creek in 414th place. I recall at Mile 11 being absolutely miserable and committing to never running a marathon again, with doubts about running another half. I never thought I’d be able to place in the top 100 runners. Fast forward three years and it was a completely different experience. I recovered quickly and felt great afterwards. I immediately looked forward to running it again next year. The difference has been that I’ve persistently exercised throughout the year. I’ve worked harder and not taken months off like I used to. I have a supportive wife who gives the kids breakfast while I take off for a couple hours every Saturday morning. I’ve also been blessed to be injury-free for the past few months. I hope I can remain healthy and improve again in the future. If things work out, I’ll be running Boston rather than Robie next year, but I’ll be looking forward to 2017 for several months to come!

I was somewhat nervous to be running the 2014 Zeitgeist Half Marathon. In early September I strained a tendon in my foot and it had been giving me problems. I went ahead and ran the St. George Marathon on the first Saturday of October, but since then I hadn’t done any runs longer than 6 miles. All but one of those runs were on a treadmill where I could easily step off if my foot was bugging me too much. Nevertheless, I had signed up for the race and I wanted to test my foot out, so I went ahead with the attempt.

Zeitgeist Half Marathon Background

The Zeitgeist Half Marathon is a solid event for the Boise area. While it’s not nearly as prestigious as the Race to Robie Creek, it still boasts 600-1000 participants and is one of the largest races around Boise. Taking place on the first Saturday of November, it’s usually pretty cold and windy for the race, but this year it was around 40 degrees Fahrenheit. A couple years ago there was snow on the shoulder of the road during the race.

The Zeitgeist course follows the “dump loop.” It commences at the Optimist football field parking lot in Eagle, Idaho and makes its way towards a Seaman’s Gulch Rd, which is a nice hill that passes the entry to the landfill (don’t worry, the course doesn’t smell). After rising 600ft, a steep downhill begins at Mile 3.1 which leads into the quaint, modern town of Hidden Springs. Winding through a neighborhood the course eventually summits a 150ft hill and drops down before a second steep 350ft hill. Peaking at Mile 8.3, the course then follows a road down for 3 miles and then is mostly flat for the final 2 miles. There’s a nice little bump about a quarter mile before the finish line.

The Race

I decided to take it easy the first mile to make sure my foot was warmed up and feeling good. I chatted with Cyndi, who was also running despite being 13 weeks pregnant. Then I sped up and caught a friend, Travis, and chatted with him for a couple hundred yards. Then I sped up more and chatted with a coworker, Matt, for a bit. By that time we were on the hill and I decided to increase the effort to about as much as I thought I could sustain. My foot was feeling well and it was nice to be at 100% again. In late August I was in the best shape of my life (for marathon distance), but my injury meant a slower and careful St. George Marathon and no fast pace for the two months leading into Zeitgeist.

I climbed the hill at about a 7:50/mile pace and at that point I figured I had a shot at a course PR. I pushed down the hill in mid 6 min/mile pace and came out of it feeling pretty good. By the half way mark I was starting to drag a bit, and I felt a little weak on the tiny middle hill. However, I was still able to pass several people going up to the top. Climbing is my strength — I don’t know if it’s because I overdo it on the uphill and pay on the downhill, or if I’m just better on uphill than downhill.

One guy I passed near the top was an older gentleman. He ended up really pushing me on the downhill as we exchanged places a few times. He pulled away from me after a while and beat me to the finish. After the race I noted that he was 64 years old — not bad at all.

As I came to a 90 degree turn at the bottom of the downhill I took a wide approach so that I wouldn’t have to slow down and so I wouldn’t strain my foot. It freaked the crossing guard out a little which I thought was funny. She thought I was going to go the wrong way.

Those last couple flat miles are always a little difficult. After a ~6:35 pace on the downhill, ~7:05 on the flat feels slow. I had one more person I thought I could catch, and that kept me going. I passed him around Mile 12 and then tried to hold on for the finish. My watch measured the distance at ~13.25 miles, which caused me a little consternation when I passed the 13.1 mark and still wasn’t across the finish line. Nevertheless, I was happy with a 1:35:07 finish as that beat my previous course best by almost 5 minutes. This was also my fastest Half Marathon finish, excluding a downhill training run I did in early September (the Saturday before hurting my foot).

Wrap-up

It was nice not only to get my best time at the Zeitgeist Half Marathon, but to be able to finish at all. My foot was on the mend and I was happy about that. I realized later that I was 3rd in my age group, which was probably the first time I’ve placed in a decent sized race. I grabbed some hot soup and waited for Cyndi to cross the finish. She did so, which is impressive for being one trimester through a pregnancy!

Coming off of two sequential marathon PR’s at the St. George Marathon and the Phoenix Marathon as well as a PR at the 2014 Race to Robie Creek, I was really looking forward to the Utah Valley Marathon. Unfortunately it didn’t end up being a great finish for me due to an injury and a risky race strategy.

Prologue

I ran the St. George Marathon in October 2013 after a four year marathon hiatus. St. George was good to me: I loved the course, I loved the event, and I hit a PR after not really knowing what I was capable of. My PR of 3:24:53 made me realize that with more dedication and training I could potentially qualify for Boston at some point. I ended up signing up for the Phoenix Marathon which took place on March 1, 2014 and achieved another PR of 3:21:34. About seven weeks later I clipped 8 minutes of my PR at the Race to Robie Creek half marathon. I had two months of training in front of me before the Utah Valley Marathon and was determined to PR once again. On April 30 I was out on a run with my friend, Greg, and decided to push the last mile after he turned to go home. I hit a nice pace but a few hundred meters before I finished my calf knotted up. This had never happened to me before so I wasn’t very concerned about it. I became more concerned as my calf ached for the rest of the day and I limped around the office. I quickly realized that I had strained my calf and that I was going to need some time off. I did my best to actively recover — doing stationary rowing and riding as much as possible as long as it didn’t hurt. I also found that I could do some elliptical, but of course none of these activities is the same as running. After two weeks I began tacking on some easy miles and I was careful not to re-injure myself. I worked up to a 9 mile run. My overall fitness was capable of more and still mostly intact. On the Saturday three weeks before the marathon I decided that it was time to make a go/no-go decision. The determining factor would be whether I could complete a 20 mile run. Cyndi, my wife, was signed up for the marathon as well and had been building up her training. We got a babysitter for the kids on a Saturday morning and headed to Boise’s Greenbelt pathway to do a big loop. I didn’t feel my calf at all until about mile 6, but after it tightened it began to loosen up and I ended up running ~21 miles and then an additional 2 mile jog while doubling back to meet up with Cyndi. The Utah Valley Marathon was a go!

Pre-Race

Due to my irregular training, I had no idea what pace I was capable of for the marathon. To complicate matters, the Utah Valley Marathon has a typical Utah marathon profile: large downhill at relatively high elevation. The marathon begins at 6200 feet elevation and ends around 4500. The Phoenix Marathon only drops about 800 feet, but is at lower elevation — this was my most recent experience I could use to compare.

We drove down from Idaho to Utah and stayed with my big brother, Rich, and his family. We brought our kids so they could stay and play with their cousins, and Rich and his wife kindly agreed to take care of them while Cyndi and I ran. My youngest brother, Jake, was also in town, so it made for some nice family time before the race. The expo was great and Cyndi and I were excited.

I was talking with my brothers the night before the race and telling them of my aspirations to qualify for Boston and my uncertainty of what pace I should run the Utah Valley Marathon in. I also showed them a tantalizing photo of the shirt that any qualifiers would receive which the marathon organizers had posted on Facebook. My brothers convinced me that I should see what I could do. I decided that it wouldn’t hurt (proverbially speaking) to take a risk and experiment a little. Cyndi and I woke up early and excited on Saturday morning. The bus loading went smoothly and we were on our way. The bus took us up the canyon and deposited us in a field next to the starting line. There were bonfires going to keep the runners warm, but it wasn’t terribly cold out (not as cold as St George). We huddled around for about an hour as we waited for the starting gun. There was one memorable lady we were next to at the bonfire. She was older and complaining about her hip hurting when she sat a certain way. It felt ok when she ran but not when she was sitting on the ground. It turns out she had visited a doctor about her hip and she was told she needed a replacement. She asked the doctor if her hip would be ok for a marathon. He thought she was crazy but that it probably wouldn’t make anything worse. She said, “Good, because I have to run 6 more to hit 100.” Utah Valley was going to be her 94th marathon. [I later saw her complete her 100th marathon at St George in October, 2014.] Gun time approached and Cyndi and I lined up to run. After some thoughts from the announcer we were off! One tip for marathoners racing in cool temperatures: Take an old long sleeve shirt you don’t care about or buy one for $3 from a thrift store. Start the race in it and then just leave it at an aid station when you’re warmed up. It’s way better than hanging on to a beloved shirt for 22 extra miles or freezing for the first 5 miles.

Running the Utah Valley Marathon

I pushed the first few miles of the Utah Valley Marathon. My first four miles clocked in at ~6:55. The downhill was nice and I was enjoying it. I had my heart rate monitor on and I could see that I was maintaining 170 BPM, which is just under 90% of my max and obviously not sustainable. Like I said, it was an experiment and I figured I would slow down once the decline let up. I chatted with a guy that looked just like Chris McDougall (author of Born to Run). He was experienced and friendly. I also overheard a young guy and lady talking about their weekly training mileage. The guy was saying he initially hoped to reach 80 miles per week, but ended up only doing about 60 miles. Obviously he was much more prepared than I was — my average was in the low 30’s, EXCLUDING my weeks off for injury. Someone was not happy that the Utah Valley Marathon was taking place, and they had spray-painted obscenities and hate messages in the road for the first several miles of the marathon. I have never seen something like this before and I can’t believe that someone would care that much. Oh well. The Utah Valley Marathon is scenic. It starts high and runs through some quiet towns as the course approaches Deer Creek Reservoir. The course follows a two lane road for the first 8 miles before turning onto a highway. Half of the four lane highway was blocked off which allowed plenty of room for runners. Admittedly, I was a little annoyed by the loud cars driving on the other side at some points. I don’t know why — they were just loud. Otherwise the course follows a beautiful canyon down into the city — passing trees, going through a tunnel, and getting a view of bridal veil falls. At Mile 8 there was a nice 150+ ft climb and my heart rate reached as high as 184 BPM. By this time I knew that I needed to slow down and that I was likely going to pay dearly. I slowed down to about 7:15 to 7:30 pace for the next few miles. Around Mile 15-17 we hit a headwind that sucked out the remaining energy I had. There was one point around Mile 17 where I was running up an incline into the wind and really feeling it. I saw the Chris McDougall look-alike and told him I was starting to feel it. He said, “You’re looking great. Your form is still solid. Hang in there.” Or something like that. Maybe I was maintaining form, but I was falling apart inside. By Mile 18, as we entered Utah Valley, my new goal was to not walk. I tried to hold the line at an 8 minute/mile pace, but at Mile 20 the line broke. I became reaquainted with The Wall: Often talked about but seldom encountered during regular training, The Wall is real and it hurts. How was I going to keep moving for 6 more miles? To make matters worse, the Utah Valley Marathon ends right next to the new temple in Provo. I could see the temple and the finish line for at least 4 miles as the last few miles are “strait and narrow”. At another time, in another situation, knowing the temple was there might have given me some hope or comfort, but not on this day. Fortunately Rich lived close to the marathon course, so I expected to see him and the kids around Mile 23. They were all there waiting anxiously and it was fun to run by them and wave and give high 5’s. It’s always nice to get a little boost at a time like that. I kept trudging onward, at first hoping I could hold the line for a PR, but quickly realizing that wasn’t going to happen either. My final 3 miles hovered in the mid 10’s per mile. It took everything I had to keep from walking. Finally I crossed the line that I had been running directly towards for 4 miles and I could walk.

Cool Down

I grabbed some food (including a Premium Creamie) and stumbled out of the finish area. I kept moving for a few minutes before sitting on some steps at one of the buildings downtown. I felt absolutely terrible. I think I sat there for 20 minutes or so before gathering up the energy to get moving again. I made my way back to the race course and waited for Cyndi to come in. I tried to move around and prevent my legs from locking up too much. Rich arrived with the kids and we waited for Cyndi together. When she came in and all of us started cheering and encouraging her she got emotional and burst into tears. The kids didn’t quite understand, so I tried to explain to them that marathons are difficult and finally arriving at the finish line is both exhilarating and exhausting — emotionally and physically.

Cyndi and I were happy to be finished and it was fun to have the kids there with us. The Utah Valley Marathon put on a fun little 1k kids run after the marathon was over. All our kids participated and got medals and were thrilled. It was nice to be able to jog with them and loosen up a bit.

I was talking to another dad before the kids run. I still had my watch and heart rate monitor on and we started discussing GPS watches. We looked down at mine and my heart rate was still going over 100 BPM! It had been 1.5 or 2 hours since the race by this time, so this was pretty startling to me. I think my body wasn’t happy about what I’d done to it. We headed back to Rich’s house and after a welcome shower we enjoyed a nice burger with everyone at Five Guys. The guy taking Cyndi’s order heard we had run a marathon that day. “You ran a marathon today!? That’s awesome!” Many people take marathon running for granted, so we really appreciated his enthusiasm. We drove home to Idaho later that day after visiting one of Cyndi’s old college roommates.

 

Lessons Learned

Marathons can be great learning experiences, and the Utah Valley Marathon certainly taught me some lessons. Coming off two marathon PR’s I was over-confident. That may have contributed to an injury and certainly contributed to a huge bonk on race day. On the other hand, sometimes it’s interesting to experiment. Many people never test themselves and therefore never improve. I learned about pacing and that it really matters. I learned that I wasn’t quite ready for Boston and I had more work to do. Despite the misery of the last few miles, I’m excited for another challenge and I look forward to a better time another day.