I'm retired from racing. Really.

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Location:

Greenville,SC,

Member Since:

Feb 24, 2007

Gender:

Male

Goal Type:

Other

Running Accomplishments:

I also maintain a blogspot running blog. Check it out. 

5k- 16:01, 1/2 marathon- 1:11:37, marathon- 2:34:16, 50k- 3:58, 100 mile- 15:19

Former World Record holder in 100 x 5k relay 

Ultra history:

8-100 mile, 1-100k, 9-50 mile, 2-40 mile, 14-50k-ish

12 wins, 5 CR's, plus four 2nd, five 3rd, 4th, 4th, 5th, 5th, 9th, 16th, 20th, 28th, 38th, and 62nd place, with 1 DNF 

Short-Term Running Goals:

Goals 

Enjoy running, stay fit (and maybe lose a few pounds). Play ultimate frisbee.

4 year coach of Langston Middle School- love it

Long-Term Running Goals:

Unretire at some point

Run a sub-6 hr 50 miler

Win a 100 mile ultramarathon

Personal:

I have five cute kids. And I have some rockin short green racing shorts- I wear them mainly because it embarrasses my wife so much. I like ultimate frisbee, trail running, reading, and cheering for the Denver Broncos!   And I have the absolute best wife in the world.  And I used to run for the now-disbanded national Team Pearl Izumi- Ultra!

Favorite Blogs:

Click to donate
to Ukraine's Armed Forces
Miles:This week: 11.00 Month: 51.00 Year: 150.00
Fastwitch Lifetime Miles: 82.50
Trail N1 Lifetime Miles: 86.50
Road N1 Lifetime Miles: 31.00
Trail M2 Lime/black Lifetime Miles: 297.00
Road M3 Grey And Yellow Lifetime Miles: 324.00
Road N2 Purple 2 Lifetime Miles: 222.50
Road N2 4 Grey Lifetime Miles: 51.00
Race: Top of Utah Marathon (26.2 Miles) 02:39:21, Place overall: 6, Place in age division: 1
Easy MilesMarathon Pace MilesThreshold MilesVO2 Max MilesCrosstraining milesTotal Miles
2.0026.200.000.000.0028.20

Finally, the big day arrived.  Didn't sleep too well so got up before my alarm at 4 am.  1 mile warm up to loosen my innards at 4 am.  Ate breakfast, then went to the finish and rode up to the start.  Great weather- probably 40 deg or so at the start.  1 more mile warm up, then met all the blog guys (Paul, Logan, Adam, Steve Ashbaker, Sasha, Cody, Kory, BC, plus others).  I had 3 goals of increasing difficulty (sub-2:45, sub-2:40, sub-2:37:12). 

Logan and Paul had generously volunteered to be the pacers for me and anyone else trying for sub-2:40, though we were aiming at sub-6:00 pace, with 5:50-6:00 for the first half (then see what happened from there).  Here is how it went:

 Mile

 Time

 Comment

 1

 5:54

 Nice and relaxed- Paul and Logan jumped out in front to lead the pace group and had to slow us down a bit to stay under 5:50

 2

 6:05

 A bit too relaxed- pace group was Paul, Logan, Steve, Adam, Bill, me, with 7 people ahead of us

 3

 5:53

 Paul stopped to take a leak, so we picked up the pace to try and lose him (just kidding)

 4

 5:49

 Paul caught up (easily)

 5

 5:59

 The leaves were chaning more than I thought they would be- very pretty.  Lots of red and yellow, some orange.

 6

 5:57

 Paul stopped for leak #2.  Something is wrong when Paul had taken 2 bathroom breaks and I haven't taken any.  Bill drops off.

 7

 5:54

 

 8

 5:50

 

 9-10

 11:46

 Not quite as relaxed- starting to feel the pace more.  10 miles in 59:12, right where I wanted to be, but working hard.

 11

 5:55

 Awesome scene- sun came up behind us creating a picturesque shadow of 5 runners from behind, 3 in front with 2 heads in between.  Pretty.

 12

 5:44

 Picking up a tail wind out of the canyon.  Now Logan stopped for a leak.  Did the pacers have a drinking party this morning?

 13

 5:44

 Logan caught up (easily).  The group has passed 3 runners, with the other 4 far ahead.  We relax for the the next few miles.  Half marathon time of 1:17:14 (or so)- right on pace.

 14

 5:51

 First crowds.

 15

 5:56

 I dropped behind a few seconds, definitely feeling the pace.  Steve and Adam slowly pull away, Logan and Paul drop back to my pace.  My innards wanted a pit stop, but I decided to run through it.

 16

 6:01

 First 6:00 mile

 17

 6:00

 Leaving Hollow road.

 18

 6:07

 My least favorite mile of the marathon- running on a busy highway, flat and straight.  Quite the contrast to the beauty and tranquility of the canyon.  Slowing a bit- legs tired.

 19

 6:18

 Uphill in Millville.  Just hung on behind Logan and Paul.  Not feeling too good, but surprised to see a 6:18 mile.  It felt like a 6:30 mile.  Ran a great tangent across some dirt to close 10 feet on the pacers.

 20

 6:20

 Felt more like 7:00, so that was good.  20 miles in 1:59:12, but pace was hard now.

 21

 6:11

 Tried to pick it up to sub-6:00 on the downhill, but didn't have it left in me.  Laboring very hard.  Realized 6:00-pace was gone when Logan and Paul kept looking at the pace on their garmin's every 10 seconds and whispering amongst themselves. 

 22

 6:26

 Ran by my house to cheering crowds (my wife and kid, plus some of Cody's family).  For some reason my stride changed at this point- my turnover rate dropped off and I just could not get it going fasterer.  Never happened before.  No particular leg pains, just fatigue everywhere.  Compensated by taking longer strides.

 23

 6:31

 Long strides continued.  We closed the 10 second gap on Adam and passed him- hoped he would stick with us, but he didn't.  Doing everything I can to stick with Paul and Logan.  I was now running about 5 meters behind them, rather than right on their heels.  I think it was their way of trying to get me to go faster.

 24

 6:31

 Really feeling the miles.  Nice bit of a downhill from River Heights.  Tempted to "take a wrong turn" towards the finish line (cut off 2 miles) but couldn't shortchange my effort or my pacers.  Stride length increases even more.  Paul tells me I look good, a bad sign. 

 25

 6:41

 Crawled up the main street hill.  Know I can finish the race.  Little bit of brainpower available tells me 2:40 is doable.

 26

 6:32

 Stride length is now about 10 meters per step (or so it felt).  Crowd stares in wonderment, trying to figure out why in the world the very relaxed Paul and Logan aren't able to pull away from the guy who is very obviously struggling behind them.  Nice downhill.

 .2

 1:15

 Finish line is in sight.  Motorcycle cop pulls up to escort us in- Logan tells him that he and Paul are going to let me go ahead of them.  After a quick glance at me, cop asks Logan, "Do I need to push him in?"  Cop takes nap while waiting for me to cover the last 0.2 miles. Crowd stares in wonderment, trying to figure out why in the world the very relaxed Paul and Logan aren't able to pull away from the guy who is very obviously struggling behind them.  I finally, happily finish.  Paul sneakes in right behind me, beating Logan by 0.04 seconds.  Group hugs all around.  Second 1/2 marathon of 1:22:07- 5 minute positive split.

 Overall, I was very, very happy with the race.  I set a PR by almost 6 minutes (on a slower course) and broke my 2:40 goal.  I could not have run faster, plus I leave my 6:00 pace goal for another day.  The stride issue was strange, but nothing feels particularly bad on my legs now, just fatigue.  A post-race massage and dip in a cold canal help my legs feel a lot better.

Most of all, though, I cannot say enough good things about Logan and Paul.  They pushed, pulled, shouted at, and encouraged me the whole way.  It would have been ugly if they weren't there.  By the end they were even getting water for me at the aid stations so I wouldn't have to slow down.  They performed the ultimate unselfish running act today, pacing a slower runner the whole way, even slowing down at the end to let me finish first (though I may have resorted to holding on to singlets and out sprinting them if they tried pulling away the last 100 meters).  I wish them the best of luck at St.George- go get em, guys.  And thanks so much for the help today. 

Bloggers ran great today- Sasha took 4th, Steve and Bill won their age groups, Adam, Kory, and Cody set PR's, and we swept the 25-29 age group (me, Paul, Logan, Adam, Cody).  The biggest story was Hobie Call- 2:16 marathon winning time!  Wow.  Congrats to all

Tangent- 91

Weight: 0.00
Comments
From ashman on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 19:46:12

Great run Jon, thanks again to you and your wife for putting me up for the night.

From superfly on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 19:50:06

Good job Jon. Way to dig down finish off the 2:40 guy. It took long enough to post... I've been checking every half hour since like 9:30 this morning.

Happy healing. Hope the recovery is short.

From Katie on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 20:05:28

Nice work!

Loved reading your mile-by-mile!

Do Paul and Logan hire out?

From James on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 20:09:03

Great run buddy, I am proud of you! You have done something that I have wanted to do for some time, get under 2:40!

What did you end up taking home for your award?

From Chad on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 20:15:16

Jon--Great race and an awesome entry to do your race justice. Well done all around.

From Cody on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 20:31:00

Great job Jon! I loved your report. I can picure the whole thing unfolding in-front of me. Way to PR!

From laura on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 22:23:01

Great race, Jon! Your mile by mile is awesome. Congratulations on your PR!!!!

BTW, your 10 month old is a real cutie - I have to agree with you. I have 2 under the age of 14 months, and I'm also very biased about their own absolute cuteness. :o)

From Jon on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 22:41:11

Katie

Boy, Paul and Logan were worth every penny. Actually more, since they were free. They helped so much. I still have absolutely no idea how I earned such loyalty from them. You should see if they will pace you for SGM. Or at least see if anyone else is running your time so you can pace with them.

From Paul Petersen on Sat, Sep 15, 2007 at 23:14:14

Great day today Jon. You earned it. Your 4AM runs certainly weren't much fun, but stuff like that is what puts people under 2:40 rather than over it. It's easy to be loyal when you see someone giving so much heart.

From David on Sun, Sep 16, 2007 at 05:42:29

Good work my friend. Wish I could have been there (cheering, not running with you guys, though I'm jealous of the whole scene now.) All those nasty blog entries were worth it.

From Adam RW on Sun, Sep 16, 2007 at 23:14:01

Something funky happened and this was actually posted in my blog.

Jon,

Thank you for letting me be a part of you PR experience. I was more than happy to tag along for the ride. Your recap is great and you had me laughing at a few points. You truly caught the feel of the race. You are a great person to run with and I look forward to going for a 2:35 someday with you.

From Lybi on Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 00:32:38

You did it! Congratulations! You have to know that everyone on the blog was pulling for you. A little bit of pressure there, but YOU DID IT! Congratulations.

From jtshad on Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 10:47:21

Jon, congratulations on the PR and hitting your target time! Great race, it sure is nice having others there to run with and keep you motivated. You did awesome, all that hard work this summer really paid off.

From Logan on Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 11:19:10

Already talked to the parents and they are expecting you. It will be fun. Bring your swimsuit!

From Mik'L on Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 11:37:48

A little late, I know, but good job! That is awesome and your report was great. Seriously though, you have got to post sooner since Clyde couldn't take a proper nap on Saturday since he kept checking the blog every 30 minutes. Congrats!

From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 11:41:36

Jon - amazing things can happen when you train consistently, and they did today. Regarding the long stride. The stride is not long, it is just too long for the turnover. The brain shuts down, cannot turn over quickly, but your legs are still the same length and your leg movements are still maintaining the 6:00 mile form to an extent, so it would be unnatural to take a shorter stride. Now you can understand why I have you guys sing me BINGO on the mid-night relay legs.

From Dave Holt on Mon, Sep 17, 2007 at 12:28:19

Congrats Jon. It great to have the support of others and you used it to perfection! Way to keep gutting it out even when it was getting tough.

From dutch on Wed, Sep 19, 2007 at 10:13:27

Awesome! Good job Jon. From the sounds you really deserved that PR. I'm pround of you. Wish I could have been there.

From mom on Wed, Sep 19, 2007 at 10:43:43

Congrats on your race, Jon! It was fun to read your write up on it and all the comments. I learned a lot, especially about the mindset of a marathoner! Running is part of who you are. Awesome!

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