Top of Utah Race Report

The Top of Utah Marathon in Logan is beautiful. You start about 17 miles up the canyon at Hardware Ranch and run down. The race organization, support and volunteers could not be better.

Running Sherpa and I drove to Logan Friday night after grandpa's party. We got there right at 9:00pm just in time to pick up our packets. I didn't know it when I made hotel reservations but packet pick up was at our hotel. Speaking of hotels, if you need a hotel in Logan the Marriott Springhill Suites is very nice.

I laid out my running clothes so everything would be ready in the morning. We got up at 4:15 (3:15 CA time), got ready, ate breakfast at the hotel and went down to Merlin Olsen park to board our busses. When we got to the top there was just enough time to stand in the port a pot line and line up at the start. It was cold but not too bad, I had the black jersey in the picture over my regular shirt. Craig had told me this was a much harder marathon than St. George, he did it when he was doing the Grand Slam and didn't really have a good day. My goal was to do a 5 hour marathon and I fell short, way short. I figured if I kept my pace about 5.2-5.3 mph till about mile 20, I could slow down for the last part which is harder. I'm not sure what happened, my Garmin said I was at 5.2 average at mile 13, but the clock time was about 2:45, I was very discouraged, even subtracting for my chip time start I was off. I ran pretty well till we hit the bottom, the last 10 miles or so are flat/slightly uphill, you can see the Logan temple where the race ends but you still have 10 more miles. According to Milliseconds I was still on track for my 5 hour plus a few finish, but somehow in the last six miles I lost it. Literally and figuratively. The streets kept winding around zig zagging, my pace slowed to hardly a jog, the race walkers passed me and I thought I was still running. It took forever to finish, the last mile I wasn't sure I could go on, I had blisters, my legs felt like stumps and I was an emotional wreck. Then at mile 25.5 or so "I'm a Loser" by the Beatles came on my iPod, it was all I could do not to cry, I couldn't breathe, I just wanted to sit down on the curb and quit. I pulled out my earphones and just kept going and going, where was the finish line....You had to keep running down this street and still make two more turns, too many turns. Yeah I finished but I couldn't smile, I couldn't talk, I was pretty miserable. When we finished there was a nice shady spot for the runners to sit on the lawn, I wanted so bad to sit down, but even with Craig helping me I couldn't sit on the ground.

I definitely felt the altitude at the start I could feel it, and at the end when I was getting a little too emotional I started having a hard time breathing which hasn't happened before. Craig had Motrin in his pocket for me but it had fallen out in the car and my IT band flared up and really hurt the last 10 or so miles. Maybe he left it in the car on purpose, at St. George last year when I told Kerri how much I had taken she said, "Mom! You're not a twenty year old guy!"

This is a scenic marathon, don't let the elevation profile fool you, the bottom part is very hard. I don't think I would do it again but that's only because I didn't have a great experience. I really was undertrained. As far as scenic and race management, I would have to give this race a thumbs up. I'll put some pictures up when I get them.

Grandpa's 80th Birthday Party

I was able to be in Utah this weekend to celebrate Grandpa Wright's 80th birthday. He says we can have another party in 80 more years. We had a really nice dinner at their clubhouse, thanks to everyone who made it so nice. I drove up Friday, when I got there Craig had a filet mignon in the oven. It was fabulous, I guess he cooks the meat from now on!! We had a dinner and a little quiz about Grandpa's life. Here are a few pictures.

Grandma and Grandpa

Norma Wright Hafen, Joe Wright, Jack (grandpa) Wright

TOU

Hey good job mom and dad! Love you!

Just Checked in with Brent

Sent Brenny boy back to Hawaii today, he's still hanging out at the Honolulu airport waiting for his shuttle but he's there and already ran into some friends.  He's a happy boy and I'm sure he will be even happier tomorrow when Ariel arrives.  Now I've got all the boys back in school, middle school, high school and three different colleges.

New Message

You have a Picture Mail from cwright957@pm.sprint.com Look what Kevin found on his phone, these are from St. George last year, we're about mile 23 or 24. I think he's trying to encourage me for Top of Utah this Saturday!

Message: Look what i found on my phone! After i finished i went and found my mom and dad.. St george marathon 2008 Options View Slideshow Print at Retail Reply to Sender Reply to All Forward Send and receive Pictures and Videos through Picture MailSM. For more information go to http://www.sprint.com/picturemail

Spring Valley Lake Tri Race Report

Sorry, no pictures, Craig got a few of Lisa and me but they are very blurry. Spring Valley Lake is a great place located in a country club in Victorville. The drive is less than an hour and it's a Saturday tri which are few and far between in California. The course is actually ok, maybe they could use a few modifications on the bike course (more on that topic to come), the run is a nice run around the lake. I haven't uploaded Craig's Garmin yet but the website says it's a 3.5 mile run. That said, and also the fact that I respect anyone who is a race director and I wouldn't want to do their job, this is my impression: this race organization needs a lot of work, it was the most poorly organized triathlon event I have attended. The venue is great it just needs infrastructure work. The swim was ok but at the pre-race meeting they announced that due to the request of a local fast female triathlete they were going to start the women first. Think about this, it is a non-sanctioned, low key, family friendly event, that means a lot of first timers and you are going to let the men swim over the majority of the women. No thanks, I don't care for black eyes and bruised ribs. My suggestion to accomodate the super fast of either gender is to create an "elite wave", then men, then women. They actually didn't start the women first because the timing company said they already had it set up to do men, then women, however they promised a women first start next year.

The bike was a total disaster, it was not well marked, there was no one to flag the corners (except a child at a busy corner who waved a car in front of me!). I heard some people saying they went 10 miles, some said they went 18, it was supposed to be 14. Everyone coming into T2 the same time as I did was very angry. One woman who looked very fast and experienced was in tears and said she wasn't finishing the race. Everyone and let me emphasize everyone was angry. When I got to the first turn after being directed out of T1 there was a bike crash, I didn't see it happen but there was nothing to mark that turn, the crashed guys on the ground actually told me to come back, I had missed my turn. And so it continued, at one point I came upon a cone directing me back to T2, I turned, looked at my watch and said to myself "there is no way I just rode 14 miles in 20 minutes (I wish). I turned around and headed back down the road hoping I was going the right way. Please, please, put adult volunteers with a big orange flag at every turn. I understand it is the responsibility of the athlete to know the course, but just tell me a tri (especially sprint) where you had to read a map. The intersection on the college campus where a child (with no flag) was attempting to direct traffic should have been controlled by law enforcement.

The run also was not marked, or flagged. A police officer actually came and rounded up about 10 of us and told us to go back we had missed our turn. The very last turn was not marked, I looked at the street sign and thought, hmmm since I drove in on Country Club this morning, there might be a good chance I need to turn here and finish on Country Club.

I think this race has a great amount of potential, I loved how close it is to home, the actual course is ok they just need a lot more support. Oh and one more thing while I'm griping, why did I pay more to register online before the race than did my friend registering on site???

Scary, the Dynamic Duo

Can't you see these two off on crazy adventures as soon as Kyle gets his license (and grows a bit more).  Luckily mom and dad will still control the car keys.  Otherwise, it'd be, "bye, see ya later, we're racing in Oregon this week, we'll be back after we climb in Idaho and swing through Utah to visit the nephews."  Kyle is backing the car out of the garage to clean it and load it for our tri tomorrow.

Some of Kevin's Bear Lake Race Pics..

This is the start of the swim.  It started at sunrise which was at 6:48.  The water was amazing!

Finishing the swim..goggles and cap in hand, headed to t1.

Coming into the finish line..

This pic was posted on the website.  I think it is funny looking but oh well, I just did 70.3 so who cares :)  

Awesome race...recommended to everyone!

Awesome Nothing Special Day

So it's a holiday weekend and guess where the Wright's are?  Utah, you might ask....nope we are home.  Dad, Mom, Kev, Kyle and Brad.  You might be feeling a little sorry for us and our lack of adventure, but please don't.  We are "hangin' out".  We're sorta pretending that we are normal and we have the simple pleasures of normal family life everyday.

Today went something like this, I did an early ride with Craig who had to bail 'cause of bike problems, so he met me on his run.                  

The Triplets did their usual Saturday morning Raincross ride.  Guess who didn't get dropped?!  Way to go Brad he made the whole ride for the first time.

I had a DI assignment to do. The girls had a good time trying on clothes afterwards, and Katrina A. decided that she should buy a wedding dress and marry Scott Z.

While we were having DI fun, Craig was home putting in a new faucet for the counter sink.

Oh the simple pleasures in life, like a new faucet.  

After I got home Craig decided that he could fix his bike problem on his own.  So we went to the bike shop and got two new tools.  Guess what, he did it, he was quite handy today.  While at the bike shop I got a new pair of gloves, somehow my favorite, very old and very stinky gloves have disappeared.  Could it have something to do with the fact that they were very stinky?  I don't know.  I also got Brad a new pair of cycling socks (do not get me started on the topic of socks) as a prize for his great ride today.  Craig is using his new found skills on everyones bikes tonight, we are so lucky, we all have the cleanest cassettes in town.  Oh and the boys are reading this over my shoulder and said "the ribbon wallpaper is not happening".  Now they're happy.   Kyle says he is not happy that he never got a prize for hanging in on his first Raincross, hmm, he says he could use a new mountain bike.....right!