2016 Big Cottonwood Marathon

I have qualified for the 2017 Boston Marathon, so for this year I decided to run Big Cottonwood Marathon in Salt Lake City, then the Mesa-Phoenix Marathon in February and then Boston in April.  I aimed to use Big Cottonwood as a training run, shoot for a PR at Phoenix, and then run at least a qualifying time at Boston.

I have never used a coach before, but decided to explore options.  Some good running friends have used DD and so I met with him.  He is an accomplished runner, has experience coaching, and he spoke to me in terms that I was familiar with.  He isn’t overly technical in his approach and he is very flexible to be able to give me workouts that fit around my work and travel schedule and tolerate my triathlon pursuits.  I decided to give it a try and started working with him in mid-July.  That gave just under eight weeks to prepare for Big Cottonwood.  Normally, that is not enough time to do a proper buildup, but I was working off a strong base of running already.  DD soon had me up to 40+ miles/week and I was feeling strong.

Course map and profile

The Big Cottonwood course starts at 9700 ft elevation and ends at 4500 ft.  Most of the descent is in the first 18 miles and then there is a flat out and back section before a final slight descent for the last two miles.  This is more total descent than St George and it is earlier in the race.  The downhill course is advertised as being good for qualifying and good for setting PRs. 

At the race expo, we heard that temperatures were expected to be low 40s in the morning, so I decided to go to a thrift store to pick up some throw away clothing.  I found a nice 2002 SLC Olympics sweatshirt and some track pants for a total of $6.  The race bag had gloves, a beanie, and a thermal blanket to help. 

Originally, two friends were also going to run this race, but unfortunately, both had injuries and could not do it.  The only other person I knew on the course was HD who was pacing with Run Your Race (RYR) Pacers, the same group I paced with at the Haunted Half last year.  Kandyce came with me and we had a nice time having an early dinner with friends the night before. 

Gear: Newton Gravity IV, Wright Socks, Brooks Cadence singlet, Nike shorts.  SPI Belt with 3 AMPED Fuel gels and 4 salt tablets.  Sweatshirt, track pants, beanie, and gloves.  Also, I had a blow-up pool toy to sit on at the start so I didn’t have to sit on cold rocks.  I did not take my phone or sunglasses.  I decided to run to nature’s music and since we were heading West all morning I figured I would not need the glasses. 

Nutrition: IsaLean shake and banana early morning, AMPED Power and e+Shot before the race, AMPED Fuel and water during the race.

Coach DD gave me a race plan of slower than 7:30 for first five miles, then 7:15-7:30 for next five miles, then aim for 1:37 at halfway.  For the second half, I would aim for a negative split to finish the race.  Once I got to mile 19 I could go as fast as I could.  My goal was to PR (<3:16) and my stretch goal was 3:10.  I thought it would be hard but possible.  The one aspect that made me nervous was the amount of descent. 

Unlike St George, I got a good night’s sleep the night prior to the race.  I drove over solo as Kandyce was going to take an Uber to meet me at the finish later.  The buses took us up the canyon and it was a long windy road.  They dropped us off at the top near Brighton Ski Resort and I could just start to see light on the horizon to the East.  I made my way to the port-a-johns and then found a spot on the ground to wait for the start.  We were on a lookout spot just at the crest of the hill where the road starts to go down to Deer Valley and Park City.  The upcoming sunrise was spectacular as we waited for the appointed start time.

View from the top

When we were summoned to the start, I ditched my gear bag in the truck and then took off my track pants moments before the gun.  It was cool but I was not uncomfortably cold.  I started about 10 rows back so that I wouldn’t be in amongst too much traffic during the first miles.  The gun sounded and off we went. 

The first mile has 460 feet of descent.  I tried to keep my pace around 7:30 but it was hard to go this pace because of the slope and because of the people passing me.  I stuck to the plan.  Subsequent miles were not quite as steep, but many had more than 300 feet of descent.  At about mile four there was a loop with a bit of a climb and I eased up a bit.  It seemed that others eased up a lot because I was passing people in this stage.  I ditched my sweatshirt at an aid station, but kept my beanie and gloves.  At mile five my average was 7:32, right on target.  I let my pace increase slightly and ran several miles in the 7:15 to 7:25 range.  At mile ten my average was 7:25. I ditched the beanie, but kept my gloves still.  There was just enough cool in the air to keep my hands from warming up.  My half marathon split was 1:37, so I was right on plan.  I felt good about executing to the plan, but I could tell my legs and particularly my calves were more sore than normal.

I followed my previous strategy of taking a couple sips of water at every aid station and I used gels about every 45 minutes.  My stomach stayed settled.  I did experience some mild cramping feelings for a while, but it was not debilitating.  I’m not sure what the reason was, but it eventually abated.

The next five miles were fantastic.  The canyon views continued with fall colors, waterfalls, rocks, and the sun was now on my shoulders.  I ditched my gloves at mile 16 and my lap pace was now in the 7:10 range.  I watched as my average pace crept downwards to 7:23 at about mile 18.  This was well into PR range if I could hold it.  I was passing many runners and I noticed that while my breathing was steady, many others had labored breathing.  I felt really good about my fitness level.

At mile 19, the course exits the canyon and turns North for an out and back segment.  Along this portion, the net elevation change is zero, but there are some gentle hills for about four miles.  At this point, the downhill was catching up to me.  My calves were very sore and I could no longer hold low 7s.  I pressed on and hoped that I could recover somewhat and pick up the pace again.  With each passing mile, my calves felt tighter and sorer and I could not go faster.  At this stage of the race I felt different than on previous marathons.  In past runs my fatigue seems to hit my cardio capability and legs equally.  At St. George, my quads and calves both fatigued heavily over the last eight miles.  This time, it was predominantly pain in my calves.  It got so bad that I was worried about a tear or other injury.  My pace slowed to mid 8s, and then to low 9s.  I realized that I was not going to be able to PR without risking injury.  I made a decision to ease up on my effort level a bit and concentrate on finishing safe. 

I saw HD on the out portion of the out and back; she looked well and gave me a big shout.  Later she would tell me I was looking pained.  At the end of the out and back, the course turns downhill once again for the last 2+ miles.  I thought maybe I could speed up a touch here, but the pain was too great.  I took short walk/stretch breaks and carried on.

By now, the temperature was rising in the sun, but I don’t think this was much of a factor for me.  The wind was negligible.  I didn’t ever feel any effects of the high elevation.  The only significant struggle of the course for me was the amount of descent.

This says it all

The finish line was in sight and I moved along the chute hearing cheers and looking for Kandyce, but there were too many people and I didn’t spot her.  I crossed the finish at 3:28, so I was just outside of BQ time for me.  I stayed on my feet, received a medal, and took some water.  I spotted Kandyce, smiled at her, and made my way to a nearby fence which I used for support.  There was too much of a line for a massage so I took some food and found my gear bag and we headed to the parking lot… slowly!

Back at the house I had a shower and booked a massage.  I ate some food and had a rest.  I was worried that the massage would be painful on my calves, but it was not.  The therapist worked my muscles but it did not hurt; it only hurt to walk. 

For five days, I was hobbling around the house.  Thankfully we now have a single-story home so there are no stairs to plague me.   I took a week completely off running.  The Friday after the race I went for a swim and then Saturday I went for an easy ride.  The next week I started some recovery running again.  For about three weeks I felt lingering effects of the run, but I did not have an injury to deal with. 

That last 5k really hurt!

I examined my race in Strava and looked at the splits of some of the other runners.  Most had a split similar to mine with the last 5-7 miles being much slower than the first 20.  There were a couple runners that I found that had an even split and in their comments, they said that they had a PR.  I was most impressed by this.  HD said that her brother had a negative split, set a PR, and qualified for Boston.  I asked her what he did for training.  She said that he ran portions of the course several times since he lives in Utah.  I think the only way to properly prepare for the BCM is to run the course.

When I tell people about the BCM, immediately they comment on how painful it must have been on my knees.  Fortunately, I have not had any pain in my knees or joints while running.  My limiting factor at this race seems to have been muscle fatigue and I plan to address that with more leg strength work.

Next up is the Gilbert Half Marathon, HITS Palm Springs 140.6 triathlon, Phoenix Marathon, and then Boston Marathon.  Lots of running to do!

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