blake – Page 3 – blake runs

123rd Boston Marathon (2019) Race Report

On Monday I had the privilege of running the Boston Marathon for the second time. The Boston Marathon is my favorite marathon and I had a blast… at least for the first half.

Approaching the Boston Marathon

I trained pretty hard this winter. The only comparable training block I’ve done was leading up to the 2017 Boston Marathon. However, I wanted to enjoy Boston and relieve some of the pressure that comes with lots of training, a trip across the country, and a huge race. Therefore, I decided to do the Yakima River Canyon Marathon 16 days before Boston. I know that was a little stupid, but the Yakima Marathon went really well for me, so I’m glad I did it.

I ate lots of protein and tried to recover as much as possible between Yakima and Boston. It went pretty well, although my left quad became pretty sore a few days before marathon Monday. I cut off some planned mileage and got as much rest as possible.

Cyndi couldn’t come on this trip, so my friend, Greg, came with me. We flew out on Saturday and arrived late Saturday night to Boston Logan International Airport. We got an expensive Uber to Greg’s brother-in-law’s house and went to bed. On Sunday we:

Went to church at 9am.
Went to packet pickup. I just walked in, grabbed my bib, and walked out since we couldn’t find a parking spot. It took about 20 minutes. I would have liked to go to the Expo, but I went last time and I don’t need any expensive compression boots or more running clothes.
Drove to Newport, Rhode Island to see some opulent mansions.
Drove to Providence to meet up with Greg’s friend Jesse.
Drove back to the brother-in-law’s.
Played a game of Camel Up and discussed plans for Monday.
Went to bed around 10:30, which was a little later than intended, but I didn’t sleep well anyways.

One photo I grabbed while getting my bib. I didn’t walk through the expo since we couldn’t find parking and Greg was aimlessly driving the car around busy streets.

The Newport Mansions were opulent and fascinating to walk through. Maybe a little too much walking and standing the day before the marathon. Oh well.

I woke up earlier than expected, grabbed my stuff and hailed an Uber. The Uber took me to the wrong side of the bag drop-off area, but it actually turned out to be exactly the right spot for my bib number. It was rainy.

It was a rainy ride in the Uber and all the way to Hopkinton.

On the bus ride to Hopkinton I met a guy named Kyle from Chicago. He’d done Boston a few times. During the ride there was a bright flash from a lightning strike that I’m sure made everyone think, “Just don’t cancel the race!” Luckily the storm passed through, it stopped raining before the start, and we had clear skies during parts of the race.

At Hopkinton I found myself a coveted tent pole to lean against. I also ran into Tyson, who was on my team for Ragnar Trail Zion. This was his first Boston Marathon, so I’m pretty sure he was even more anxious than me. I had about 2 hours to sit around and talk to people about marathons. Part of what makes the Boston Marathon fun is that there are a bunch of “serious runners” gathered in one spot. You can talk to others about marathon times, favorite marathons, training, etc.

Eventually the rain stopped and we made the 0.7 mile walk/jog to the start line. I dumped all my warm clothing and lined up. I was more calm this time than when I ran in 2017, which was nice. It was still really exciting though. The jets did a flyby, the National Anthem was sung, and we started the race.

Boston Marathon Miles 1-8: 6:50, 6:32, 6:35, 6:32, 6:43, 6:35, 6:31, 6:42

The first several miles of the Boston Marathon are mostly a blur. It was so fun to be out there!

The first mile got started a little slow. I was much more conservative this time around, so I was patient and tried to stay in my spot and not move around too much. Since my bib was 3604 this time, I was a bit farther back in the pack and maybe that made it more crowded. Around mile 2 a guy near me was tripped in the crowd, got very upset, and said some choice words. I asked if he was ok and he said, “Bleep bleep bleep no, but thanks for asking.”

The crowds are just so incredible! There is tremendous pent up energy in the runners and the crowds add energy and make it fun. I gave lots of high-fives to kids and other spectators. There were flags waving, signs flashing, people clapping, music blasting, and lots of smiles. It’s really one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had. It may have even been more enjoyable the second time around since I was less worried about my time.

Speaking of my time, I feel like I went out at a great pace. I wanted to beat my Yakima time, even though it was unlikely, but it was pretty hot. Humidity was very high thanks to the morning storm, and the temperature was in the mid-60’s. This may not seem too hot, but I don’t think I’d run in weather warmer than 45 since October, and most of my training I had done in morning temperatures at or below freezing. Therefore, mid-60’s felt hot. The sun broke through the clouds and added to the heat. From the first aid station I dumped water on my head and I drank a lot throughout the race.

Due to the heat, I was fine hitting splits around 6:40. I figured if I felt great later on I could try to speed up to beat my Yakima time, but I didn’t want to kill myself in the early miles.

At mile 8 I was still feeling good, which was comforting since that’s where I first felt signs of issues in the 2017 Boston Marathon.

I was noticing that my heart rate was unusually high — in the 170’s. That should have only been the case during a half marathon or even a 10K. I don’t know if my watch was off, or if it was all the anxiety, or the heat, or what. This was a little concerning.

Another thing I noticed this time around, is that Boston is full of hills. It’s not just the Newton hills and Heartbreak, the whole course is basically either going up or down. I had heard someone mention this, but this time I really noticed it for myself.

Boston Marathon Miles 9-16: 6:39, 6:44, 6:36, 6:30, 6:39, 6:39, 6:45, 6:23

I continued to feel pretty good in the next few miles. I didn’t really experience much fatigue or signs that I needed to slow down. My pace continued to be right around 6:40, which I was happy with.

I talked to a few people during the marathon, but not too many. Many of the runners seemed to be taking the race pretty seriously and were focused. I was willing to talk, but I didn’t come across anyone that really opened up. I’m not the most outgoing person, so maybe I didn’t try enough people.

I continued to give high-fives every once in a while, but I tried not to get carried away because I remembered from Boston 2017 that whenever I got pumped up I naturally sped up. The Wellesley Scream Tunnel was energizing, although I didn’t exchange any kisses (as promised to Cyndi).

There’s a downhill on mile 16 which was really nice, and I took it pretty fast as I was still feeling decent.

Boston Marathon Miles 17-21: 7:01, 7:14, 6:54, 7:21, 8:03

Mile 17 of the Boston Marathon is where the wheels started falling off for me. I was running up the first in the set of four hills, when my right quad suddenly tightened. It was enough of a change that I noted what mile I was on and thought, “Oh no.” When I hit The Wall, it’s usually my quads that go first and that feel the worst throughout the race. At the Yakima River Canyon Marathon I had evaded The Wall and I hoped I could repeat that glorious accomplishment at Boston.

Boston Marathon Miles 22-26.2: 7:41, 8:22, 8:17, 8:45, 9:00, 8:25/mile

The uphills slowed me down, and I started losing speed on the downhills. By the time I got to Heartbreak Hill I was pretty much wiped out. I’m a pretty strong climber, so I wasn’t getting passed too badly, but when I peaked on Heartbreak I didn’t have much left for the downhill and after that it was a complete slog. I had hit The Wall hard and I couldn’t wait to get to the finish line and be done. The first 17 miles of the marathon were exhilarating, the last 5 miles were excruciating. Miles 18-21 were somewhere in between.

Occasionally I would pass someone walking, or limping. I saw one guy step on a water bottle on Heartbreak Hill and roll his ankle. I thought he was ok but then he started limping pretty badly. I encouraged him along. For a while it felt like I was standing still in a river of runners that were flowing past me. Eventually everyone started slowing down and I felt a little better, but not before I’d been passed by hundreds of runners. That was even despite the fact that I didn’t walk.

It took forever to get to the right turn on Hereford, but I was so glad when I did! I was in my own world those last few miles just trying to put one foot in front of the other. I started looking for Greg and Jesse. I scanned the crowd as my head swam with fatigue and delusion. I finally found them at the top of the hill right on the corner of Boylston. It was great to see them and exchange high fives.

I couldn’t believe how far I still had to go to the finish line. It took forever to get there, but I was so happy when I could finally let myself walk!

Final time: 3:07:27. Better than 2017 (thankfully!), but not as good as I wanted. I really didn’t feel too disappointed. I knew doing the Yakima River Canyon Marathon 16 days prior was a risk, and I think my legs just weren’t up for another marathon yet. The heat didn’t help either.

Post Race

Once again, getting through from the finish line to a place where I could collect myself was excruciating. The second I stopped running I just wanted to faint or lay down; however, I didn’t want to get stuck in a medical tent. I did my best to keep on my feet. I had to find a rail a few times to lean against for 30 seconds so that I could keep walking. I got my medal, grabbed a bag of food, grabbed my bag, and finally found a curb that I could just sit down on. I remember this same feeling from some other races, in particular the Utah Valley Marathon and the Boston Marathon in 2017, both races where I hit the wall hard (although it has happened many other times).

I had a guy take my photo while I collected myself on the curb and rested. He was speaking Spanish, so I asked him, “Podria tomar una foto, por favor?” “Si.”

After resting for several minutes, I made my way to meet up with Greg and Jesse. I rested more at Boston Commons while they grabbed some pizza. Then we slowly made our way back to the hotel.

After a shower/bath and a game of Camel Up, I felt a lot better. We walked some of the Freedom Trail and ate some delicious Italian. I also downed two Canolies from Mike’s Pastry. (Two is probably too much, even after a marathon.)

As far as we got on Boston’s Freedom Trail

I just love the Boston Marathon! It’s full of energy and enthusiasm. It’s full of hope and potential disappointment. It’s full of athletes that are out to prove something to themselves or to someone else, or to just experience the event. I’m glad I could leave everything on the course and have another amazing experience, even if I hoped for more. It’s easily my favorite marathon to run and I hope to return again someday.

(Yes I used Glide before and Vaseline during, but by then it was too late. You can only do so much when you’re drenched for 26.2 miles.)

Yakima River Canyon Marathon 2019 Race Report

I’ve had my eye on the Yakima River Canyon Marathon for 4 or 5 years. It occurs on the last Saturday of March or the first Saturday of April. Since I usually run the Race to Robie Creek in mid-April, I haven’t wanted to run a marathon shortly before it and jeopardize my Robie time.

This year I’m planning on running the Boston Marathon. I trained hard all winter and my training went very well. I started thinking about whether my training would be best directed at Boston. The Boston Marathon is a hard course to set a PR at, as I found out in my first attempt. There are a few reasons for this:

Since it’s a destination in an awesome area, it’s hard to rest properly and avoid touring and walking around leading up to the marathon.
The race itself requires walking to the buses, walking from the buses to the waiting area in Hopkinton, and walking from the waiting area to the start line.
Since it’s the Boston Marathon, it’s hard not to get caught up in the moment and run a stupid race. Been there, done that.
The Boston Marathon course is somewhat challenging, with early downhill and late rolling hills.
The weather is completely unpredictable. Will it be 90F (2012) or 34F (2018) or somewhere in between?

I also just want to enjoy Boston and have no pressure. Because of those reasons, and some others, I decided to use my training this year to focus on running a good race at the Yakima River Canyon Marathon. That would leave me with 16 days to recover and see what I can still pull off at Boston. My wife, Cyndi, also ended up signing up for the Half Marathon at Yakima.

Yakima is about a 5.5 hour drive from the Boise area. We left late morning on Friday and went straight to packet pickup at race headquarters in Selah. The Yakima River Canyon Marathon race organizers put on a full weekend event for those interested. We decided not to participate in the spaghetti feed since we had our 6 kids with us (2*$10 + 6*$5 = $50 for spaghetti) and we aren’t the most extroverted people anyways. Instead we ate a McDonald’s (kids) and Subway (adults), which is always a safe, consistent choice before a marathon. I’d been eating all day, so a 6″ was great for me along with a few fries I taxed from the kids.

We went to a nearby hotel and let the kids swim. I did a couple laps in the pool and sat in the hot tub for 20 minutes or so. I find hot tubs very relaxing before a marathon, but I try to limit my time.

My sister-in-law met us at the hotel, which was great. She took most of the kids to her room so that Cyndi and I could get some rest. I got to bed around 10pm. Success!

I woke up at 2:30am by chance and ate half of my PB Honey sandwich. Then I slept until 5am and finished it off. By 6am I was on the bus and finishing my Lemon Lime Gatorade. It was chilly, but near the starting line there was a hotel with a clubhouse that runners could hang out in. I talked to one runner on the bus ride, but I was pretty introverted otherwise. There were lots of Marathon Maniacs at the race (they were having a reunion) so I heard some stories. I think there was a guy there that had run 1400+ marathons. There were definitely a few people that had done hundreds. Crazy.

The starting line was about a quarter-half mile from where we were. This made for a nice warm-up. A lady sang the National Anthem and the gun fired around 8:05am. I wore a tank top and gloves, which I ditched after a couple miles.

Getting Started, Miles 1-5: 6:32, 6:33, 6:39, 6:37, 6:40

Why is it so hard to not go faster than target pace at the beginning of a marathon? I was looking at my watch ever few seconds and doing everything I could to SLOW DOWN. It felt so easy. I was able to keep my first mile to 6:32, which was a success. My target pace for the first half of the marathon was 6:40, but I was willing to be in the 6:30’s if I felt good.

Two fast-looking guys took the lead during the first mile, followed by a third man. Just ahead of me a group of 3 people formed, two ladies and a guy. I thought about going with them but they were definitely going faster than 6:30, so I let them go and trailed behind them.

This group continued to build a bigger lead from me, but I stayed within the boundaries I had set. Around mile 2 or 3 another guy passed me and then went passed the group after the third place guy.

The first 5 miles of the marathon are ran on country roads outside Ellensburg. We actually enter the beautiful canyon around mile 5. The rest of the race follows the Yakima River through the canyon on a 2-lane highway. The canyon is green with grass and sparse trees. It has rocks, bluffs, and hills surrounding it. There are birds of prey and pretty vistas. Traffic is pretty much closed down, except for an occasional car passing very slowly.

Meeting Steve, Miles 6-12: 6:34, 6:32, 6:36, 6:38, 6:40, 6:35, 6:41

Right at mile 6 is the first notable hill. Actually, there are two hills about 40 feet each back-to-back. The group of three ahead of me began to break up. One of the ladies fell back and another charged ahead. I took the downhill portions of the hill pretty fast, so I passed one lady and caught up to the guy.

His name was Steve and he was very friendly. We started chatting and ended up running the next 7-8 miles together. He was from Seattle and had done 40+ marathons. Even though he was 50 years old, he was keeping right up with me. It was a pleasure to talk with him. I don’t think I’ve ever hung with someone for that long in a marathon before. We talked marathons in general, Boston and Yakima in specific, and various other things.

It was nice to pass the miles with someone and not worry too much about how I was feeling. He was pushing a little harder than intended, both with the previous two ladies and with me, but it was definitely within his range. I was right where I wanted to be, running mostly in the 6:30’s, pretty close to my target of 6:40.

During this part of the race, runners will probably really notice the road curvature. The road winds back and forth along the river, but the road is also slanted, so you’re never really running on flat terrain. Fortunately there are enough curves that the angle of the road alternates between angling down to the right and angling down to the left. It didn’t bother me a ton, but I could see it aggravating knees/ankles in some runners.

Around mile 10 my quads were feeling pretty heavy, but there wasn’t much I could do about it besides plug on.

A Kiss for Cyndi and Leaving Steve, Miles 13-17: 6:37, 6:43, 7:03, 6:15, 6:41

As Steve and I approached the Half, we could see the Half Marathon runners corralled up ahead. We joked with each other about not breaking into a sprint as we got pumped up by the large, cheering crowd. I’m pretty sure most marathoners have made that mistake before.

Since we were the ~6th and 7th marathoners through, the Halfers were cheering pretty loudly and it was fun. They were going to start their race in 3 or 4 minutes. Cyndi, who was waiting to start the Half Marathon, separated from the crowd to give me a high five. I stopped and gave her a quick kiss, which led to an “Awwwww” from the crowd. It was fun to see her and wish her luck for her race.

At mile 14 things got serious again. We could see the first big hill ahead: a 140ft climb over a half mile. We started plugging up the hill. It isn’t terribly steep, so my pace didn’t go much above 7:30 for any part of the hill. I started to separate from Steve during the climb, and I knew I’d take the downhill pretty fast. I wished him luck as we approached the top.

As I sped back down towards the level of the river, I noticed the lady ahead of me was slowing a bit. Steve had said that she told him she’d be happy with a 3 hour marathon, so it was likely that she was going too fast to maintain. I caught her around mile 16 or 17. She was still going pretty strong and would end up getting 1st Female.

I was feeling good at this point. There were no major alarms going off. I was trying to keep the pace in the 6:30’s.

Last Stretch Before the Final Hill, Miles 18-21: 6:15, 6:35, 6:38, 6:43

A few miles back, I had also seen the 4th place guy seeming to slow down. I felt like if I had a strong race I’d be able to catch him in the last few miles. Sure enough, I closed on him around mile 18 as he began to fade a bit.

There happen to be some tiny rolling hills in this section of the marathon. Most of them go by unnoticed. I realized this when I myself really pushing to maintain a 6:40 pace in miles 19-21. It didn’t seem like my legs were that tired yet. I determined that it was a combination of some slight uphill portions and a steady headwind that we had encountered throughout the race depending on which way the road curves were headed. I really wish it had been a tailwind. Fortunately it was pretty light. Maybe 5-8mph at its strongest.

I was saving a little energy for the last hill while still trying to keep my pace.

A few fast half-marathoners passed me. It was nice to have some of them to keep me distracted.

The Bigger Hill, Miles 22-26.2: 6:49, 7:33, 6:08, 6:25, 6:10, 5:56 pace

Finally during mile 22 I could see the big hill. It was definitely long and steady. It rose about 275 feet over a little more than a mile. I dug into the hill the best I could. I was past the spot I’d normally hit the Wall, so my confidence grew as I ran up the hill.

The nice thing about a hill at this stage of a marathon, is that it gives your legs something different to deal with. To some degree I appreciated this change of slope.

But even more, I appreciated the downhill! The final downhill is long and fairly steep. I went fast and tried to make up for the slow uphill.

After a half mile of downhill I felt my right hamstring start to tighten into a cramp. I slowed down in time to keep it at bay, although I was a little annoyed. I was sure to grab some PowerAde at the next station to get all the fluid and electrolytes I could.

I continued charging down the hill and I was able to maintain a fast past for the last flat portion leading into Yakima. I couldn’t believe how much energy I had going into the finish. It was by far my best marathon finish ever.

I ended with a time of ~2:53:55. This was my second best marathon finish ever, and my best on a course without significant downhill (my PR was at the Big Cottonwood Marathon). I was very pleased with my time; I beat my primary goal by about 1 minute.

I celebrated with the other runners as they came in — especially Steve. He ended up around 3:05 and the 1st lady was close behind him.

Cyndi finished the half marathon in about 2:05, which was great for her coming off her 6th childbirth in July.

After cleaning up we got some KFC (hard to beat after a marathon) and went to a park with the kids for a while. The weather was great in Yakima, which polished off a good day before driving home.

I would highly recommend the Yakima River Canyon Marathon. The organization is good, the scenery is excellent, and the course is fast.

Now it’s on to the Boston Marathon in 16 days. In the meantime, recover recover recover recover recover…

Zeitgeist Half Marathon 2018 – 2nd Overall

Today I ran the Zeitgeist Half Marathon for my 7th time. It’s a great race and I enjoy running it just about every year.

This year I was joined by Cyndi, my father-in-law Jerry, my sister-in-law Kara, and our friend Joe. Cyndi ran with me last year when she was 4 weeks pregnant. We had our baby in July and Cyndi was able to run again this year just 3.5 months later. She’s pretty amazing.

I wanted to continue my trend of Zeitgeist course PR’s this year, but I wasn’t sure if it was plausible since I ran in the SoJo Marathon two weeks ago. During the two intervening weeks I did my best to recover and maintain some speed, but my legs had felt tired ever since the marathon. The time for me to beat was 1:22:54 from last year.

We arrived at about 9:15 for packet pickup. We picked up our numbers and I was happy to see that I got #1 again (probably because I got 2nd last year and 1st place wasn’t running again). It was chilly, but as the starting time drew near it warmed up. I ended up running in a tank top in weather that was ideal. We started right at 10am.

I went out at ~5:50 pace and held a little under 6:00 for the first mile. There was one high school runner with me for part of it, but I didn’t think he would hang on for very long.

After mile 1, another young looking runner caught me and passed me. He was another high school runner from Mtn Home. He and I ran together for a mile when another runner, Andrew, caught up to us. Those two charged ahead and beat me to the top of the first hill at mile 3.1. I didn’t want to burn out on hill.

I sped up on the downhill and tried to push hard. I passed Andrew and then the MHHS runner and built a small lead as we headed through the flat portion in Hidden Springs. I tried to keep the speed up even on the flat portion and I was hitting about 6:00/mile, which was about my target pace for that portion.

However, once we started up the little hill after mile 5, Andrew and MHHS runner passed me again. Evidently I just didn’t have the power for the hills like these guys. I hoped they would burn out later on in the race.

Unfortunately they extended their lead to about 1 minute by the time we reached the top of the big hill. On the way up the hill I sneaked a few peaks to ensure that I didn’t have any runners coming up behind. I didn’t see anyone and I was feeling good enough that I figured I was in contention at least for a top three finish.

Part of my plan to PR was to really attack the downhill, so once again I kept the effort up on the downhill to keep on PR pace and to try to close the gap with the two guys ahead of me. Due to the curves and the 1 minute lead, it was a couple minutes before I saw them. Eventually I could see that Andrew was extending his lead and I was gaining on MHHS ever so slightly.

My first mile down the hill was at a 5:32 pace, and my next two were sub-6:00. I was very happy with that. The last downhill portion is 3 miles long. At mile 10 I estimated my finish time to be ~1:25, which was a little disappointing. I didn’t think I was that far off my PR time. But a mile later I realized that I was estimating my finish based on 7:00 miles (close to my marathon pace) instead of ~6:15 miles (my half marathon pace). I realized that a PR was possible.

The course levels out at mile 11, but I was committed to a strong finish and a better place than 3rd if I could manage it. I was hurting but I ran the 12th and 13th mile at a 6:08 pace. I passed the MHHS runner when he paused for a drink at the last aid station. He sped up and caught back up to me but I could tell he was slowing down again. I put everything into trying to get a gap between us as I was worried he’d bury me in the last tiny but steep hill at mile 13. When I got to the hill I charged up and got light-headed. I then charged down into the finish (still light-headed) and ended up beating him by 40 seconds.

I was very happy with my last 5 miles and with a course PR of 1:21:45, beating my next best time by 1:08. That was the strongest finish I’ve had at Zeitgeist, thanks largely to the MHHS competitor to push me. 1st place finished about 2 minutes ahead of me. He had an impressive last few miles.

After chatting with some of the other finishers for 10-15 minutes, I doubled back on the course and did a cool-down to find my family. They all did well. Cyndi ran the whole course (no walking on the hills) which was her goal, and quite a feat given our 3.5 month baby.

Jerry got #1 for his age group, 70+. He was happy about that. I hope that I can still run when I’m 70+! He also beat Cyndi, which might be the last time that ever happens.

At first I was a little disappointed that I had only gotten second. Part of that was that I was in first for part of the race and I thought I could break away, but then I got passed. However, I quickly became really happy with my performance. Last year (2017), I PR’d in every distance I ran, from the 5K to the marathon. This year I haven’t had a single PR, and I didn’t get a course PR at my other perennial run, Robie Creek. This race was a course PR which means that maybe I have improved a little over last year and all my hard work wasn’t for naught. Also, I’ve been feeling like I’ve lost the Eye of the Tiger, and my strong finish was something I could be proud of because it took some guts.

One fun thing about doing a course year after year, is that you can put together a table like this:

Year	Time (pace)	Place	Notes
2011	1:45:44 (8:04)	126	My first Zeitgeist
2013	1:39:56 (7:37)	35	A month after my first marathon in 4 years
2014	1:35:09 (7:15)	18
2015	1:28:44 (6:46)	8	Had some calf issues
2016	1:25:19 (6:30)	1	My best 1st place finish ever
2017	1:22:54 (6:19)	2	Faster time but worse place 🙁
2018	1:21:45 (6:12)	2	Course PR; marathon 2 weeks earlier

It’s awesome to be able to look back and see the progress I’ve made after countless hours of running and many early mornings. I’m worried I’m plateauing, and until this race I thought maybe I had already peaked, but hopefully I can stave it off for another year or two and eek out a little more improvement.

Post race photo of me, Cyndi, and our newest addition

SoJo Marathon 2018

My wife and I had a baby over the summer so I didn’t sign up for any fall marathons due to schedule uncertainty. I kept up my training for the most part and stayed in good shape and injury free. As fall approached, I wanted to run a marathon to get another finish in the bag and test my fitness.

I settled on the SoJo Marathon, located in South Jordan, Utah on October 20th. This would be a 5+ hour drive from my Idahome, but Idaho has slim pickings when it comes to marathons.

The SoJo Marathon course looks pretty decent on a map, although I think it turned out to be more challenging than I expected. It starts at 5500 ft, then drops to ~5130 by mile 3, only to climb back up to 5500 by ~mile 6. Then there’s a bunch of downhill dropping all the way down to 4300 ft by the finish line, with an occasional roller mixed in.

Packet pickup was available the evening before and the morning of the marathon, which was nice for those coming into South Jordan from out of town. There is also a half marathon, 5K, and kids run.

I caught one of the buses on marathon morning to the starting line. The start was pretty laid back — located in a neighborhood next to a park. They had a couple heaters going in the ~40F weather. I was bundled up and feeling pretty well. I hoped for 2:55:00ish.

My cousin happened to be doing this marathon, so I found her and we chatted for a while. This was her first.

SoJo Marathon Miles 1-4: 6:35, 6:33, 6:40, 7:11

The SoJo Marathon started at 6:45. I took it easy on the first little uphill and tried to run loose on the downhill. It was steep enough that I focused on not restraining myself but also tried not to get caught up in the early race adrenaline. My initial miles were in the 6:30’s. I slowed down for mile 4 since I knew a hill was coming up.

I had the unique experience of thinking I had just started mile 2 and then looking at my watch and seeing I was past mile 3. That’s never happened before.

I met a nice guy named Josh Hernandez who was shooting for ~2:50. He was wearing a Boston shirt. We ran together for a mile or so and eventually he pulled ahead. I met another guy named Jon Harrison shortly after. He was shooting for a time similar to mine. He said he was mostly a trail runner and did Ultras.

SoJo Marathon Miles 5-7: 7:07, 7:53, 6:52

The hill was pretty large, although it wasn’t quite as bad as I expected. We had a headwind which I didn’t appreciate. I slowed down to almost an 8:00 pace for mile 6. I didn’t want to burn out early in the race. At mile 7 I believe my average pace was around 7:00/mile, which seemed about right. Josh and Jon both pulled ahead of me.

SoJo Marathon Miles 8-11: 6:15, 6:32, 6:26, 6:48

Then the downhill really started. It was really steep at first and I took advantage of it. I passed Jon back up on the steep part. Then it was a gradual downhill which was pleasant to run in. I saw some deer which is always nice during a race.

Through mile 10 we were in the outskirts of the city. Right at mile 10 the SoJo Marathon took a left turn and started a series of turns on big roads in the city. Mile 10 was the most poorly marked turn, but the course was well marked in general.

SoJo Miles 12-16: 6:45, 6:44, 6:50, 7:03, 6:36

Now the SoJo Marathon course settled down and was pretty flat. The big, long roads were somewhat monotonous, but I was feeling pretty good and staying positive. It was nice to pass half way, and I did so in about 1:29:30. This was a little disappointing as I wasn’t feeling that a negative split would be very feasible. My plan had been to be somewhat conservative for the first half and then see what I could do the second half. I didn’t feel like I had been overly conservative.

Josh was now out of sight and I figured he was on his way to low 2:50’s. Mile 16 had a decent drop which I utilized to run a 6:36.

SoJo Miles 17-22: 7:16, 6:45, 6:56, 7:21, 6:59, 6:56

During mile 17 we passed the Oquirrh Mountain Utah Temple. It’s situated right on a hill, which meant we also got to go up a steep hill. I passed a marathoner right at the bottom of the hill who struggling. At the start he said he was going for 2:50, but I think this was his first marathon and he was a little unprepared. Oops. Been there, done that.

The ~75 foot hill was a challenge, but at least we got to run down it as well. However, on the way down my legs weren’t quite moving like I wanted them to. Thus began a slow slide into the wall. There was a very gradual hill during mile 20 which again slowed me down, and around this time another runner passed me. I ran with him for a bit and it was nice to talk to someone at least. But I was dragging more and more and I told him to not let me slow him down.

SoJo Miles 23-26.2: 7:08, 7:15, 7:40, 8:04, (7:44)

Luckily there was more downhill during miles 23 and 24 because I was starting to hurt. I was definitely hitting the wall and watching my shot at even a sub 3:00 slip away. It was disappointing, but there wasn’t a lot I could do.

At mile 25 we entered a running path. I was passed by a few more runners, including the top female with about a mile to go. I held on pretty well but I was really looking forward to the finish line when it finally came.

Is there anything more relieving than crossing the finish line of a marathon? It felt so good to stop running. Official time was 3:02:59, which earned me 11th place.

Post Race Thoughts

I was pretty disappointed with my time. I really thought I was capable of 2:55, and that I had a shot at 2:50. I’m not sure what went wrong. Sleep was good, nutrition was ok, training was good. I think I may have underestimated the course difficulty. Josh and Jon both ended up finishing just a minute or two ahead of me.

I think my time will be good enough for Boston 2020, but it might be right on the edge, so I can’t depend on it (I’m not sure I’ll want to run it anyways). I still did get another marathon under my belt and it’s always a good experience to run it and finish, even if it’s not what I hoped.

The SoJo Marathon organization was good. The first half of the course had some great views, including sunrise over the city. The second half was nothing to get excited about. I think the only reason I’d run it in the future is if the timing is just right. That said, I’m still glad I ran it. It was my 21st lifetime marathon/50k and my second this year.

Next stop: Boston 2019.

50 Mile Backpacking Trip in the Sawtooth Wilderness

I’m an adviser for a group of 16-18 year-old young men in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. This means I help the group organize activities and generally mentor and guide them where possible. Every year we do a “high adventure” trip where we take a few days to do something outdoors that is memorable and character-building. Last year we went on a fantastic 50 mile canoe trip. This year we did a 50 55 mile backpacking trip through the Sawtooth Wilderness in 5 days. It was about what you’d expect: grueling, spectacular, and memorable.

Part of the reason I wanted to do this trip this year, was that we had a group of boys that I thought could handle it. It would challenge them, but we didn’t have anyone that couldn’t get it done, as far as I could tell. Another reason is that I have fond memories of hiking in these same mountains from when I was a youth. There are things you learn about yourself, others, and God on a trip like this in the mountains.

One limitation of the Sawtooths, and many similar areas, is a group size limit. The group size limit in the Sawtooth Wilderness Area is 12. I know people who have attempted to break this limit. Not only will this lead to fines, but I’ve come to appreciate the size limits as a way to protect these incredible areas. One group I know of was a couple miles into their hike when a ranger found them. Because their size was more than 12, the ranger turned them around and followed them out. Fines are common and are meted out regularly. Our group ended up including 6 youth and 3 adults. If you have a large group, please find somewhere else to go.

We debated the best course to take a group through the Sawtooth Wilderness. We considered some routes that would allow us to make a stop and transfer people in and out. We decided against this as it could easily lead to boys giving up and these routes weren’t optimal for what we wanted to see: lakes, peaks, empty spaces.

We decided to leave a car at Iron Creek Trailhead, then start the backpacking trip from Petit Lake. This enabled a point-to-point course.

Food

Fires aren’t allowed in some of the drainages, so we packed in small stoves and food that could be cooked on a stove. This was our meal plan:

Day	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner
Monday		Sack lunch	Home-assembled minute rice and Freeze-dried chicken
Tuesday	Oatmeal	Crackers, cheese, & ham	Soup & mashed potatoes
Wednesday	Oatmeal	Bagel peanut butter honey sandwich	Mountain House
Thursday	Bring your own
Friday	Oatmeal	Leftover snacks	Ramen
Desserts	Chips Ahoy, Oreos, Pudding (made in a ziplock from a box and powdered milk)
Snacks	Hot cocoa, cider, granola bars, raisins, craisins, Crystal Light, beef jerky, dried fruit

Day 1: Petit Lake to Toxaway Lake, 13mi & 4000 feet (including Snowyside Peak summit)

On Monday we loaded into the cars and set out at 6:30am from the Boise area. We started hiking from Petit at about 11am.

Petit Lake is very long, which is part of the reason we decided to go this direction. We didn’t want to end with the long straight-away next to the huge lake.

From the Petit Lake trail head, it’s about 6 miles to Alice Lake. Petit is at 7000 feet and Alice is at 8600, so there are plenty of switchbacks and a few creek crossings between the two lakes. During the hike there are some great views of the basin looking back towards Petit. We passed some other hikers during this part of the trip, including Buck, an acquaintance of mine. Many people do this segment as a day hike.

Alice is a beautiful lake, although we didn’t spend much time at it. It has some nice peaks and ridges to the south and west.

We kept moving past Alice towards Twin Lakes. This required a little climb of 200 feet or so. Twin Lakes are much less popular, although they looked nice enough. We initially planned on camping at Twin Lakes, but everyone was feeling good. After a pow wow, we decided to push on to Toxaway Lake, our Plan B.

To get to Toxaway we needed to hike over a ridge at 9500 feet. This was a natural resting point to let everyone gather together again. It also presented a nice option to summit a mountain. Snowyside Peak towers over the ridge. It was as close to a peak as we’d get without going out of our way. After some discussion and debate, several of us decided to climb it. My rationale was that we were in good spirits and right next to the peak, so we should climb it now as we didn’t know what would happen during the rest of our trip that might prevent us from climbing other peaks.

Two of the boys had no desire to climb, so they forged ahead to secure a camping spot at Toxaway Lake. The rest of us made our way up, some faster than others. It took 1.5-2 hours to get up and back. A couple of the boys were much more deliberate about their steps and less experienced, so they took quite a while to get down. The views from the peak were spectacular (of course).

When we were finally all back down, we walked the final ~3 miles into Toxaway. We were exhausted by then. I took a dip in the cold lake to wash off and went to bed pretty early.

Excluding the peak, it was a 2500 foot elevation gain to the ridge and 1100 foot decline from the ridge to Toxaway Lake. We traversed 55 switchbacks (I counted). Snowyside Peak was about 1100 feet up and down from the ridge.

Day 2: Toxaway Lake to Hidden Lake

I woke up early to fish at Toxaway and the sun came up right in the dip between the mountains

During the night I woke up at one point and heard some huge boulders falling down the ridge on the opposite side of the lake. In the morning we woke up, ate breakfast, and then started heading up the ridge to the north. This was an arduous 2 mile, 900 foot climb to start the day with plenty of switchbacks.

We took a break at the top, which offered some nice views, as well as a little patch of snow. We then made our way 800 feet down to Edna Lake. Another one of the adults and I actually dropped our packs and hit Rendezvous Lake on the way. We tried fishing it, but there were lots of frogs and no fish. I’m pretty sure it was too shallow.

We ate lunch and took a dip in Edna Lake, which is quite large and deep. Then we hiked past Vernon Lake without stopping much to take it in. After Vernon there is another little lake up a 300 foot climb. It has one nice camping spot which someone had taken. In fact, we passed a surprising number of people on this day when I thought we’d be pretty much alone.

We dropped another 600 feet to get to Ardeth Lake. Ardeth has a nice granite backdrop and is quite large. We were considering staying there for the night and taking it easy, but after a pow wow and some discussion, we determined to push on to Hidden Lake. This was no easy task, as it required yet another a 600 foot drop followed by a 1000 foot climb. We were all in pretty good spirits though, and we managed to stick together for much of those final 5 miles.

Hidden lake was a little gem at 8600 feet, nestled between two ridges. We made camp after a second day of 12+ miles, and once again some of us took a dip to clean up. We used a fire blanket to make a little fire and had a great spiritual discussion there in the mountains.

Day 3: Hidden Lake to Baron Lake

On the third day we awoke and started our climb to the west of The Temple and Mt. Cramer. Some of us were considering summiting Mt. Cramer, but due to our added mileage we decided it wasn’t worth the risk of wearing out or worse. It would have likely taken a couple hours and would have separated the group early on.

About to hike down into the Cramer Lakes area

Instead, we started the 6 miles downward in the direction of Redfish Lake. We passed Upper Cramer Lake, Middle Cramer Lake, and Lower Cramer Lake, as well as one other lake that wasn’t as visible from the trail. At one point, one of the boys got very worn out and slowed down considerably. We started getting worried and wondered if we should escort him out through Redfish. We forced him to eat, and after some time and some prayers he perked back up and we caught up with the whole group at the large creek crossing.

Some A-10’s happened to do a flyby through the basin near Redfish Lake – they were low and fast

From this point on I started having some memories of a 50 mile hike in the Sawtooths from my youth 20+ years ago. Part of our hike was from Baron to Redfish, so some points on the trail were etched in my fading memory.

When we left the creek, one of the boys took off about 100 yards ahead of me (I was still putting my pack on after a break). I immediately arrived at a fork and knew I was supposed to turn left. I couldn’t see the boy in either direction, so I sped up to ensure he was ahead of me. I kept speeding up but I didn’t see him. Luckily there were some switchbacks, so from a high switchback I called down to the others to go back for him. We sent one of the cross country runners, and about 10-15 minutes later they rejoined us. We were really glad we caught the lost boy that quickly! It cost him at least a half mile of hiking.

From the low point to the high point was a solid 1800 feet in 4 miles — a little less elevation than we had already hiked down. We passed Alpine Lake and some puddles. It was quite a climb, but we were rewarded with some great views, including “Heaven’s Gate” as we looked toward Redfish.

Heaven’s Gate leading down to Redfish Lake

From the summit it was 800 feet and 2 miles down switchbacks to get to Upper Baron Lake and then Lower Baron Lake. There was already a scout troop in the ideal spot at Lower Baron Lake, but we found a good spot downstream with nice water access. We played some games that evening and had a good time, although we were all beat after a 14 mile day. It was pretty fun for me to be at Baron Lake after a 21 year hiatus.

Day 4: Baron Lake to Sawtooth Lake

Getting from Baron Lake to Sawtooth Lake was pretty grueling and not particularly interesting.

We followed Baron Creek down 7 miles and 2600 feet to where the south fork and the north fork meet up.

Heading down the mountain from Baron Lakes. Can you see the hikers?

Where the creeks join up they form a roaring stream with some logs to cross on. I’ve heard that people have died here due to the high logs and rapid stream. We used the stream for water, but we didn’t need to cross since the trail forks back up toward our Sawtooth Lake destination.

This was another relatively uninteresting hike comprising 7 miles and a 2900 foot gain. There was a bit of brush and downed logs we had to work through, which slows things down. The trail leaves the bottom of the ravine and works its way up the side of a mountain, with occasional run-off streams crossing down. Eventually the trail takes a northward turn and closes the final distance to the large Sawtooth Lake.

There’s a really nice meadow on the south side of the lake that had enough room for us and another group. I slept under the stars that night and admired stars that can only be seen in the mountains on a clear night.

Day 5: Sawtooth Lake to Iron Creek Trailhead

We had now effectively cut a day out of our planned 6-day trip. Our last day was the shortest, a simple 6 mile and 2800 foot hike from the lake down to Iron Creek Trailhead. We passed Alpine lake on the way, but we didn’t bother stopping there as we had seen lots of lakes and we were all eager to get our packs off our backs.

Switchbacks

Just for fun, I counted switchbacks each day as best I could. I used a pen, my hand, and a bunch of tally marks. This is what I counted (includes uphill and downhill switchbacks):

Monday	55
Tuesday	87
Wednesday	109
Thursday	61
Friday	37

50 Mile Backpacking Trip

I realized that 50 mile backpacking trips aren’t particularly “fun”, especially if they’re fast. I’m in really good shape (albeit running shape and not necessarily backpacking shape), but even so I went to bed exhausted every night. Some of the miles were quite difficult and I just had to trudge on.

However, 50 mile backpacking trips like this are spectacular and memorable. We saw countless mountain peaks and lakes. We pushed ourselves and suffered together. We had great conversations and bonded together. It was unforgettable. Someday I hope to do a trip like this with my family (all 6 of our kids). I know it won’t be easy, but it will be something they’ll never forget.