Every Race is an Adventure!

Leg 7 - Eden - 2.5 miles @ 7:31/mi (easy - gradual downhill)

Leg 19 - Morgan - 4.4 miles @ 8:46/mi (moderate - gradual uphill)

Leg 31 - Park City - 3.9 miles @ 9:38/mi (easy - downhill followed by uphill)

I enjoyed being back with team 2 Slow 2 Win 2 Dumb 2 Quit. Verdon and Kerry have rn in all 14 Wasatch Back relays. This was #10 for me with them. I enjoyed being in Van 2 with both of them and two of Verdon's children, Darren and Heather.

With my plans to run the Utah Valley Marathon the following week, they gave me the easy set of legs. Since other teams generally give this set of legs to a weaker runner, I managed to pass 45+ other runners, and was not passed. I think I greeted/encouraged each runner I passed. I always try to. Often they return the cheerful greeting. One large male runner was wearing a Harley shirt. I asked if he rode one. He said he did, and that he should be on it instead of running. I gave him the Harley wave as proceeded on, which he appreciated.

I had a good time.

I was perfectly trained to get the results I got. I felt pretty good through 16-17, my long run was 16. (I guess it's now 26.2 for St. George prep.) My last long run as at 10:10 pace, my pace today was 10:21.

Kevin and I started together and he finished 9 seconds ahead of me. He could have run faster but stayed with me. I was grateful for his company those last 9 miles. We weren't together most of the rest of the run. He had two early stops (long wait on the 2nd one), but caught me after both of them. (I had about a 3 min stop at 13.1.) He runs the uphills so well, where I'm slow. I run the downhills a little faster. I think it's related to body mass. :)

At least I feel like I'm still mentally pretty strong. Those last 6-9 miles were pretty tough for me. I walked briefly a few times about mile 24 (uphill) when I was struggling with catching my breath, but managed to keep my feet turning over pretty well the rest of the time. My goal cadence is 180/spm, I averaged 176/spm. Now I just need to get in better shape physically.

Running isn't as high a priority for me as it was in the past. I'm really enjoying noon basketball and Ultimate frisbee at work. I run mostly because I enjoy running, and spending time with my running buddies. Kevin and Wayne are both making an effort to get Boston qualified. I did Boston in '07, but would like to go with them if they qualify. I'd like to see if I have one more BQ in me. I only need to cut off an hour (wow), or wait a couple of years and get an additional 15 minutes. :)

This was the 10th Utah Valley Marathon and I'm one of 11 remaining runners who have run them all. In this year's Race Guide magazine they had an article "10 Years on the Road." I was flattered that they ended that article with a quote from me:

One of our Ten-Timers, Paul Thomas, puts it well, "I've finished 16th. And I've finished 1529th." Thomas adds, "I'm not sure how many more Utah Valley Marathons I have left in me, but I plan to have an adventure finding out."

Marathon Results

Paul Thomas
Bib No. 4882
Orem, UTAH
Division:Male 55 to 59