Transition from Mid Distance to Half Marathon - Jason Holt

I had surgery on my Achilles tendon June of 2010 and it was one of the hardest things I ever had to deal with in my life. Six months before the surgery I began having problems with it. I began cross training hoping my pain would go away so I could still compete but it never did. As I was preparing for this surgery I remember the doctor telling me that it should work but he had no idea if I would ever be able to compete at the level I was before. To me, that was a shot in the foot because I have been running since I was 12 years old. For the next year after my surgery I had to do rehab everyday for about an hour and I did it very diligently, not even knowing if I would ever be able to compete at the college level ever again.

In November of 2010 I started running again and it was one of the best feelings in the world to be out doing what I loved to do. By February when we had Indoor WAC championships I was able to take second and run a 1:53. As I crossed the line I was disappointed because I thought I had too much left in my kick, so I set the goal to be WAC outdoor Champ in 2011 track season. I completed that goal and went on to run a 1:48 three times in the outdoor season. One setback was that in the outdoor season I had to drop out of many workouts because of pain in my achilles tendon. I was still taping it so I would not feel as much pain as I did before. During the outdoor season because of the continued pain my miles were not more than 30 miles a week. I tried to run a few 1500 meter runs and I was able to compete for 1000 meters at a great pace but then would struggle the last 500 meters. The only bad thing about my past track season was that I was undefeated until the Regional meet. My coaches never took me to a large meet so I was not use to the faster competition and the different strategies that some runners had compared to my own.

As the track season ended I decided to take off time to get completely healthy and be able to run 100 percent healthy and not have to tape my Achilles as I did the entire track season. As I started to train again I decided to start at low miles as most runners do and then build up and eventually run half marathons. As I started running again with zero pain I became super excited and pumped to race again. I set the goal to run the Top of Utah half marathon which would give me about a month and a half of training; not a lot but enough to be able to race and feel good about it. Training was hard to get use to compared to track workouts and never having any runs over 7 miles. Now I was running long runs at 12 miles and doing tempo runs for 6 miles. My mile repeats were quick and hard to stick to as the rest was very short.

The night before the Top of Utah half marathon I got to bed around 11 and woke up about 4:45. When I woke up I was very nervous as I had never run one in my entire life. I knew I could run a decent time so I set the goal to be between 1:07 and 1:12. It was a large gap but I had no idea what to expect my time to be because I did not know how my body would react to the miles and the downhill. I took the energy gel in between miles 7 and 9 and it gave me the stamina to continue on at a good solid pace. I ended up finishing the race at a 1:08 and I was very proud of it but could definitely feel the soreness as I finished. A month later I ran the Layton half and it was flat and very cold but was still able to run a solid 1:12 by myself.

The transition from running the 800 meter in track to the half marathon was difficult but with a lot of motivation and determination it was possible. The miles were a shock at first but once I got use to running the longer distances I did not mind it that much. I ran cross country in college so it was not that much of a shock as I thought it would be. One of the hardest parts about the transition was that my coach wanted me to be running 6 minute miles every single day. To me that meant no day was an easy day, every day I had to push myself. At first I couldn’t even accomplish this but by the end of my marathon training my body got use to the pace and it became habit. The funny part was that even in college my runs were not that fast, usually only one day of the week.

I have finished my training for half marathons as I have completed two of them now and I am training for the 800 meters once again. My miles will stay around the same and I won’t start lowering my miles to peak until around April or so. My miles are around 40 or 45 and I will start doing more speed work instead of longer tempo runs like I have been doing in my marathon training. This last year I ran a 1:48 with no more than 30 miles a week and now that I am a 100 percent healthy I think I can improve my time by a substantial amount. This is the reason I am still racing and cannot give up on competitive racing. I feel that I have not yet reached my full potential in the 800 meters. Over the past few years I have became much smarter in racing tactics and my kick has improved tremendously that I think I can still run a personal best this upcoming track season. One of the most difficult things that I have seen in this transition is the mental challenge of pacing. I have to be in the mindset that I am running for a longer period of time at a slower pace rather than only having two laps on the track.

Top of Utah Marathon

Utah Elite's own Allie Scott will be racing this weekend to defend her title at the 2011 Top of Utah Marathon in Logan.  Coming off an early-summer stress fracture Allie has been successfully regaining her pre-injury form with a strong showing at the Timpanogos Half Marathon where she finished in 2nd place.  Logan's Herald-Journal wrote a great preview article looking at this year's field in the men's and women's race:

http://news.hjnews.com/sports/article_a9d3815e-df59-11e0-b3c8-001cc4c03286.html

Look for her at the front of the women's race on Saturday!  Good luck Allie!

Utah Elite Signs Two New Athletes

AMERICAN FORK, Utah – At the beginning of its second season, Utah Elite has added two new runners to its impressive assemblage of Utah-based runners.  Jason Holt, a native of Fort Collins, Colorado, and Nate Ogden, originally from Chico, California, join the team with impressive track and cross-country credentials and coming off of notable careers in the NCAA Division I ranks.  Utah Elite is an elite, post-collegiate team created to support Utah’s great pool of distance-running talent in a sport which offers little to no assistance after college.  The Utah Elite roster currently includes athletes from all of Utah’s six Division I schools. 

As a former BYU standout, Nate Ogden consistently found himself in the top tier of the NCAA long-distance ranks.  His 2010 outdoor track season included ending the season with the 31^st fastest time in the country in the 10,000m (29:12) and the 34^th fastest in the 5,000m (13:52).  Perhaps one of his greatest accomplishments of the 2011 track season was his victory at the Notre Dame Alex Wilson Invitational (13:51) which placed him 23^rd on the NCAA descending-order list.  After a successful career at BYU, Nate is planning on entering the road-racing scene and taking on the famous St. George Marathon this fall.

Jason Holt was a valuable asset to the Aggies of Utah State over the past few years where he finished his senior season as the WAC champion in the 800m in both indoor and outdoor track.  Despite focusing on the mid-distance events at USU, Jason boasts impressive range with national-caliber PRs from the 800 (1:48) to the 10k, running a 30:12 for 10k at the NCAA Mountain Regional Cross-Country Championships at his hometown in Fort Collins, CO.  Jason’s goals for the upcoming year includes trying his hand at the half-marathon distance over the next few months then transition back to the track in the spring to look for a qualifying mark for the 2012 Olympic Trials in the 800m.

Fritz in the Salt Lake Tribune

A great piece was published in the Salt Lake Tribune over the weekend on Utah Elite member Fritz Van de Kamp on his victories on the road and his victory over cancer.  It's a great story, definitely worth a read.

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/52138919-77/kamp-van-marathon-fritz.html.csp

Brad Osguthorpe - Utah Valley Half Marathon Winner!

Race Day – Utah Valley Half Marathon.


Woke up around 4:00 am, had a little piece of toast with some honey on it with a glass of water. Really didn’t feel too hungry and not much of an appetite. Left the house around 5am and drove down the canyon to the start line. Arrived at the start about 5:20, did a nice warm up and then some stretching along with some strides then off to the start.  Going into the race I wasn’t too sure how it was going to play out.  I wasn’t too sure if I could go under the time bonus of 66 minutes. I had confidence in my training but wasn’t sure if it was enough. Always seconding guessing things. The night before, I ran into Seth Wold at the check-in and he gave me an update on who would be running the half marathon; it was a great field with some talented runners including team members from Utah Elite. I knew it would be a fast race after seeing the field that morning. I was thinking there at the start line, "just hang on and enjoy the ride." The weather was perfect, no wind, temps were in the high 40’s to low 50’s at the start. It felt like it was going to be a great day no matter the outcome.


Bang!!!


We're off and away!  For the first few miles I felt a little sluggish, somewhat tight, and couldn’t find a rhythm. The first couple miles were around 5:14 to 5:10, I thought to myself, "there is no way I am going under 66." There was a pack of about 4 or 5 of us for the first few miles: myself, Fritz, Kyle and Brandon. Kyle and Brandon were out front leading the pack and they looked great. At about mile 4 or 5 it was down to three of us.  Kyle, Brandon and myself. Kyle put in a nice surge going down hill around mile 5 and I fell back a little bit and wasn’t sure if I could close the gap. I fell back about 20 yards or so then closed the gap around 6 miles. The legs and body finally started to feel smooth and I was locked into a rhythm. Kyle started to slip off the pace and Brandon started to put a gap on me. I finally closed the gap and was able to catch Brandon around mile 10, I think. (I am sorry I don’t have any splits my watch was not functioning or it was an operator error). I started to wonder if I was ever going to close the gap.  Brandon looked great and was running smooth. I just had to stay positive and stay close. I just kept rolling along and getting closer and closer to the leader. 

Finally, I was able to reel in Brandon around mile 10 and we ran together for some time. I felt pretty decent for where I was in the race so I decided to keep pushing the pace.  Then around mile 11 I started to put a little gap between Brandon and myself. From that point on I hoped it was the right decision to pick it up. I knew for sure Brandon was not going too far and it would turn into a battle at the end. So I just keep pushing and didn’t look back until the race was over. I was more concerned about the time and wanted to make sure we were under 66 for the bonus. Finally I saw the finish line clock in sight , I was going to break 66!  Wait, I am almost under 65! I was ecstatic when I heard the finally time of 1:05.2. I crossed the finish line and was so excited to be done and for the time and was also excited to see that Brandon went well under 66 also. Huge thanks to Brandon for pushing the pace and pulling me along, what a great runner, very talented. He ran a awesome race. Nice job to the Utah Elite athletes in that race also, they ran great. What a great day, new pr for me.


Thanks to all the volunteers. Thanks to 26.2 also. I also had a little extra motivation to run well today, my wonderful support group (my family) was there to cheer me on. They were at every mile yelling and encouraging myself and others to keep it up. It was also very inspirational to have my brother Stevie there, those who know him know why. I am very fortune to have such a supportive family and wife, I think Jenny stress a little more then I do on race day. Big thanks to my beautiful wife, she is so supportive and my 
biggest fan. So thankful that my mom, sister, and her husband (and baby Aspen) also my sister-in-law were able to come down and support me, thanks guys you rock, thanks for all the
motivation!

2011 Utah Valley Marathon and Half Marathon

I would like to start off by mentioning that the Utah Valley Marathon has been very great to work with in getting a lot of our athletes into their amazing race this year.  Hyrum Oaks has done a great job at assembling a quality field and has always been very supportive of the racing aspect of the event.

I am very excited to have more than half of the squad racing in this year's event at either the half or full marathon distance.  Initially there were to be 2 Utah Elite teams for the X-Country Scoring portion of the half but because of injuries everyone will be racing individually.  Here is who to look for on each side:

Women
Stefanie Talley
Kristen Ogden
Mary Ann Schauerhamer

Men
Brad Osguthorpe
Karl Siebach
Fritz Van de Kamp
Bryant Jensen (marathon)

Good luck to everybody involved!

-Nate Houle
Director, Utah Elite

Stefanie Talley Race Report - 2011 Zion's Bank Ogden Marathon

First of all, I have to agree with Fritz about the "cool" VIP bus ride up to the start line!  I was planning on riding up in the yellow school buses, shivering in the cold for more than an hour and trying not to choke on toxic smoke fumes when I did try to find some warmth by the fires.  So I was almost "giddy" when I found out I could sit on a nice warm, roomy bus until 6:40 am and have a bathroom only steps away!  It was nice to finally meet Fritz, too.  I've been really impressed with all he's accomplished in the past year.  Glad we were both feeling "on" and able to repeat with wins.
    Ogden is my favorite marathon course (of the 2 courses I've run!).  I love how it is broken up into different sections (1st canyon, around the lake, "hill", 2nd canyon, parkway) that make it more manageable for the mind to cope with.  I kind of knew going into the race that I would probably not be seriously challenged.  The other two top ladies were planning on going out in 3 hour pace for the first half and then seeing if they could negative split.  My training hasn't been quite as 'sharp' this spring as it was last year so I honestly just wanted to be sub 3 and hopefully around 2:55-2:56.  In my two years of experience with it, I think Ogden can be a tricky course.  A lot of people "blow up" on it for some reason.  Going out too fast can definitely be a big mistake but I don't believe it has the kind of negative split potential that St George has either.  So, with that in mind, I usually try to set my goal for as close to even split as possible.  The first 8 downhill miles were wonderfully relaxed and easy, as usual.  The weather was amazingly perfect. I tried to run with guys when I could and enjoyed the entertaining aid stations :)  The next section around the lake was a struggle for me last year.  I remember thinking many times then that I would not be able to keep this up for another whole half marathon!  But this year, my running continued to feel smooth and rhythmic and controlled right through the halfway point.  I won't go into all my mile splits (I kept missing mile markers anyway) but I was about 1:25:30 at the half mark.  Then came the "big hill" at mile 14.  It didn't really bother me much.  It was actually nice to have a short, 7 minute challenge to focus on (instead of the gloomy thought of 12 more long miles to go!).  I did start to worry after the hill that maybe I had been overzealous in my first half split but as soon as I started the next downhill section into Ogden canyon I felt like I could handle it til the end.  Though it began to get more uncomfortable, this canyon section was a lot of fun and I got to see quite a few people I knew, including Allie in her very bright orange vest at mile 21 :)  The pace through here still felt "uncomfortably comfortable".
  Then came the parkway stretch... even more painful and esp challenging for me mentally.  But it is also my favorite part of the race.  I ran at Weber State (many years ago) and this 2 1/2 miles along the parkway always brings back some great memories of doing mile repeats here during the cross country season :)  It's nice to half all the half marathoners along the course at this point cheering and distracting me from my increasing fatigue.  Of course the last mile of this course is the worst.  It seems soooooo long.  I was proud of the fact that I was able to keep my last 3 miles of the race all in the 6:30's.  When I finally broke the tape, I had this weird sensation of "emotion" come over me and I felt like I wanted to cry.  I didn't- but I came close.  I've never felt emotional like that before.  I think it was partly due to realizing that I had run faster than last year and I wasn't expecting to do that :)  I broke my own course record from last year, finishing in 2:51:48.  My second half was 1:26:18- so, close to even.  It was my easiest marathon win (second place was 10 minutes back) but with the struggles I've had in my training leading up to this point, it was a welcome "lucky break".  That's what I love about the marathon.  It can be so unpredictable.  Of course this works both ways (good & bad)!  But I love that there are so many factors and variables- not just pure training and mileage.  It's fun when your heart and mind can triumph over your body (and stomach!)  :)

Fritz Van de Kamp - 2011 Ogden Marathon Race Report

Typical race day routine. I woke up at 4 AM, three hours before race time, drank lots of water, took a shower, gathered up my race gear and drop bag then was dropped off at the buses at 4:45.  The best part about the morning was that I was allowed to go on the "VIP" bus because I won the race last year.  The two major benefits were that there is a bathroom on the bus (no porta potty!) AND I didn't have to get off the bus until 20 minutes before race time.  That was huge, especially for this race, because I always dread shivering sitting on the ground and fighting for space near the fires.  So basically the morning couldn't have gone any better.

I left the bus at around 6:45 just in time to get a quick warm up.  It was probably around 55 degrees, warmer than usual, and it looked like the weather would cooperate and not rain.  I did a quick warm up down the road and chatted with some friends at the start line.  My legs felt fresh so I knew a good race was possible but I really had no idea how I would place because Seth Wold was in the mix along with a few guys who have beat me in the past. 

The gun went off and Bryant Jensen quickly jumped out ahead as he was running the relay.  Then I was next and Seth was following closely behind. I typically refuse to look behind me during races so I really had no idea how the close the other runners were.  Seth and I were side by side for the first 7 miles until Seth suddenly stopped to tie his shoe lace.  Keeping to my tradition I didn’t turn around and probably built a 5 second lead.  At that point I was feeling good and thought that if I could just keep me pace I could possibly drop him for good.  That was the first time I knew I could win if I could hold on.  The next 6 miles (7 – 13) are some of the slower miles of the race but they felt smooth and I made sure to hold back slightly on the uphills.  I ran into Bryant, who was now pacing his teammate, at around mile 12 and from then on it was only me and the biker guy until I started catching the half marathoners at around mile 18.  I was happy, although a little concerned, to see my 13.1 split at 1:11:30.  Both of my last two Half’s were slower than that but I wasn’t about to slow down because I didn’t want to be caught by Seth and I was feeling good.  I held back slightly again on the big uphill at mile 15, although the quads were still burning, and just made sure to keep it steady until the fun began down the canyon.  By the time I hit the bridge I knew I had a good sized lead but I still had some fast miles left in me and I wanted to see if I could beat my St. George time from 2009.  The canyon miles felt quick and it was nice be around the half runners as I descended.  I came out the canyon in decent shape although the legs were now wobbly enough that I knew the impending last few miles on the path would be struggle.  Of course those miles weren’t exactly fun but I have had worse.  I clocked myself at exactly 2:25 over 26.42 miles.  Chip time came in at 2:25:04.    

Ultimately the race went about as well as I could have expected.  All I wanted to do was beat my 5k time (16:44) from last weekend and see if I could hang on. :)  I think I succeeded (first 5k was16:33) and I set a PR of about 2 minutes on harder course (previous best was a 2:26:48 at St. George).  Going in I thought a 2:27 was possible but it would still be a stretch because the ramp up to this race was very rushed and I really only went into this race with about 3 quality weeks of running training; a 58 mile week, an 80 mile week that included a 23 mile run and the Provo Half, and a 70 mile that ended with 5k.  But what I think I did do right was get in some quality and painful miles by running the Provo City Half two weeks ago and the Law Day Run 5k last weekend and then after the races I did a long cool down.  So although my times in those races weren't great, I think they helped me get mentality prepared and they shocked the system with some threshold miles.  

Now my focus turns to running a fast half at Utah Valley with the team and then building up more speed as I prepare for Chicago in October.

Spilts- 5:17, 5:25, 5:19, 5:20, 5:21, 5:21, 5:27, 5:25, 5:34, 5:29, 5:41, 5:33, 5:39, 5:29, 5:51, 5:31, 5:32, 5:19, 5:19, 5:25, 5:21, 5:19, 5:17, 5:35, 5:44, 5:48, 2:38 (.45 miles)

Gels - 4.5 (more than usual)

2011 Ogden Marathon Results

Despite a rainy week the 2011 Ogden Marathon went as planned and once again Utah Elite was well-represented at one of Utah's largest marathons.  Defending Ogden winners Fritz Van de Kamp and Stefanie Talley repeated as champions today running very impressive races on both sides.  Fritz won with a PR of 2:25 and Stefanie with a 2:51.  It's great to see Utah Elite jerseys at the top of both podiums!  

Experiencing the fastest Boston Marathon ever - Karl Siebach

Karl had the honor to race in the Boston Marathon this past weekend.  It was an amazing race where two men ran faster than the current world record, Ryan Hall ran under the American Record, and American underdog, Desiree Davila, nearly won it all.  Read about his great experience running the most historic marathon in the world:

I started my race in the 3rd row in heat one corral, one right behind the elites and professionals, the perfect spot. I was going into the race feeling great but had no idea what the turn out would be because of some adjustments I had made in my training, the adjustments being higher milage weeks and slower, more conservative recovery runs plus I actually did some tempo runs and speed workouts. I'm still trying to learn how to taper down for the marathon, and what I did worked, but it felt like I was tapering to early. I felt like going into the race that I had no strength and no speed in my legs because I had only ran 50 miles and 35 miles the weeks before the race. So, I went into the race without much confidence in my training but I kept remembering the high milage weeks and the hard speed and tempos workouts, re-boosting my confidence. 

Well, back to the race. I started out in a 5:23 mile and was like, "ok that was a pretty good mile for a down hill start but slow it down, no reason to get too excited." I dropped it to a 5:30 and thought, "good, right on pace." Eventually, I was just trying to find a good group of guys to hang with.  I would catch a group and stay with them for about a minute then I would see another group just another 50 meters ahead and would say to myself, "go catch them."  It was a good plan until I was going faster then my race plan but was just feeling amazing. I figured I had better find out what my body could do while I was having a good day, plus since it was only my second marathon I had to test my limits. I kept remembering I was running the Boston marathon and couldn't believe I was there. The course was awesome with all the crowds just pumping you up. They kept commenting on my hair since it's so long and my race number because it so high. 

Mile 14, I was in a little bit of trouble. I started to feel my left calf cramp up and was like "you can't do this to me!" I had never had that happen to me so I eased up a little and tried to do that slow running stride stretch on my left side and luckily it worked. I continued to press on. I was probably in or around 40th place until about mile 18, then I started to feel my fast start. My half marathon split was my second fastest half marathon ever. 

I kept pushing it until mile 20, hoping that I wouldn't crash too hard, knowing that even if I were to run a 75 min second half I would be at 2:25 pace.  But, the hills came and they kicked my butt. I was losing hope after mile 22 and 23. Aaron Metler, the St. George Marathon winner, caught me and gave me some extra motivation and confidence to try and find a second wind. I dug down and just tried to salvage the last 3 miles of the race.  I kept telling myself that if I averaged the last 3 miles in 6 min/mile, I would be under 2:30. The legs were shot, no energy left, dieing to just cross the finish line.  

Finally I could see it and could see people behind me coming up, but no one passed. I crossed the line, hit the watch, and started to get light-headed and eventually fell to my knees. I was like "dang, I don't want to be one of those kind, get up you idiot!"  But, before I got up on my own, two people grabbed me and stood me up, which I was grateful for. They followed me just to make sure I was fine but I was walking on my own. I have never felt like this after race.  Ever. I was cramping in every part of my legs, just trying not stop walking and have it get worse. After about 20 minutes, I think, it was 20 mins maybe longer, I was really out of it, I felt that I could finally bend over and change my shoes. Then I saw Paul Petersen and I was curious to know how he finished.  He had qualified for the Olympic Trials!  It was awesome to know the 3rd overall American and to have him know who I was. Great guy, it was well deserved. He inspires me that I can maybe make it to that level of running one day. 

In the end it was a fun race to test my limits and to wonder what would happen if I would have gone a out a little more conservative. Chicago here I come. 2:22:00!!!!

Splits:Mile 1 - 5.23  Mile 2 - 5.30  Mile 3 - 5.22  Mile 4 - 5.17  Mile 5 - 5.30  Mile 6 - 5.18  Mile 7 - 5.10  Mile 8 - 5,18  Mile 9 - 5.17  Mile 10 - 5.20  Mile 11 - 5.19  Mile 12 - 5.09  Mile 13,14 - 10.41  Mile 15 - 5.37  Mile 16- 5.16  Mile 17 - 5.39  Mile 18 - 5.50  Mile 19 - 5.36  Mile 20 - 6.08  Mile 21 - 7.30  Mile 22 - 7.05  Mile 23 - 6.08  Mile 24 - 5.38  Mile 25 - 6.09  Mile 26 - 7.22 (1.2mile) 

Salt Lake Half Marathon winner: Allie Scott!

Another win for a Utah Elite athlete this past weekend at the SLC Half Marathon by Allie Scott shows the quality of our athletes and sets a great tone for the prime road racing season this summer for the whole team.  Allie was asked to share her experience over the weekend:  

This was my first experience running the Salt Lake City Half Marathon, and my first attempt at the distance since August of 2009. My goal going into this race was to go out more aggressively than I normally do for this distance. I tend to fall into a marathon mindset when it comes to running the half, and consequently I have always been too conservative with my pacing. I was also after a PR, but I was unsure if I had the fitness for that at this point in the season. 
The course is set up to be very fast, starting at the University of Utah and following a gentle downhill grade into downtown. The first few miles of the race felt great -- my legs were fresh and the pace felt sustainable. I continued to feel strong throughout the race, and just hoped I could maintain the pace to the finish without breaking down. Near the end of the race I realized that I was going to be very close to breaking 1:20. I slowed a bit during the nice gasp-and-wheeze mile up the hill on State Street, which meant I had to make up ground in the last mile if I had any chance of running under 1:20. Unfortunately, my legs were rather tired at that point in the race, and I could not get them to turn over fast enough. I crossed the line in 1:20:00. This was a new PR for me, and I was happy with the outcome and grateful that my body responded well to the pace and held up in the last few miles. Overall the race was a lot of fun -- the weather was perfect and the volunteers and spectators were very supportive. My next attempt at the half will be the Utah Valley Half Marathon on June 11.

Kristen Ogden - 2011 Plans and Goals

Hey Everyone!
 I’m excited to be a part of Utah Elite and I’m already motivated by your entries and race stories.  A little bit about me, I ran Cross Country and Track for BYU awhile back and since finishing have had a hard time getting over my running addiction.  I teach Junior high science and also Coach the track team there. On my free time I try to get as much running in as possible.  I don’t have the time to train like I use to, but I love jumping into road races and especially love running half marathons.  I raced the Boston marathon last year and swore off marathons after that, but have found myself surprisingly start thinking about the St. George marathon this year. (That’s when you know it’s an addiction;) My goals are to really just have fun running, win what I can and try to PR in my road race times. I found when I set specific times to race or races to focus on I get injured so easily!  So since then I just train as hard as I can and jump into the races when it’s close and see what happens.  I am planning on the Utah Valley Half, which I’m sure I’ll see many of you there. I look forward to seeing all of you in road races here and there throughout Utah.  Happy Training and Good luck!

Fernando Ramirez - 2011 Racing Plans and Goals

Hey Guys!!!!

Crazy winter huh?! Spring yet??? It is good to be running. Last winter I was plagued by a series of small injuries that kept me from training well. I slowly started building my mileage over the summer, jumping
into some small races, trying to use them as workouts. Now, finally, I feel pretty fit. I still have a ways to go, but I’m pretty stoked
on the steady progression. 

Training has been consistent. And…different. My wife and I own and operate a dog sled touring co. in Park City; and so most days, I trail ahead of the dogs, running along side them as my employee drives our costumers. The snow makes a challenging 8-10 miler, but I like getting off the asphalt as much as I can. I believe it also strengthens my ankles by running on uneven tracks. 

A couple of weeks ago I was itching to get into a trail race. So, I entered the Simi Valley Trail 15k. Total elevation gain of 1900ft, rocky terrain, and pure love of running. Nothing felt better than running out in God’s creation appreciating nothing but the pure joy of pain’s threshold. All the hard snow running definitely paid off. 

Some goals to aim for this summer would have to be to stay healthy, happy, try to lower some more P.R’s, and meet some awesome people along the way! Some races to come soon in April! If we happen to run in some races this summer stop by and say hi!

Run well! Spirit of the Tarahumara!!

Fernando

Brad Osguthorpe - 2011 Plans and Goals

Brad leading the 2010 Mesquite Half Marathon

First off I would like to send a huge “Thanks” to Nate Houle and 26.2 Running Company for all their effort and hard work they have put in to making Utah Elite happen. It’s been a great ride so far and I look forward to the future with Utah Elite. They have collaborated an excellent group of athletes from the state and much can be learned from them. There is a deep amount of knowledge on Utah Elite and hope those that follow can learn and help progress the sport even more. I know I can learn much from the people on this team and those around the sport. I believe that one of the keys to running and life in general is to never stop learning. You can never know enough.

It’s amazing how time flies. It’s already March and runners are starting to come out of hibernation. Fortunately I’ve been able to stay focused and put in some decent mileage over the winter months. At times I would wonder what I am doing out in this snow storm when it's 0 degrees out and then I remember I love to run and I love every minute of it. I feel very blessed to be able to run and we can never take it for granted. I feel that I was able to put in a quality amount of mileage over the last few months. I am looking forward to some warm weather though. The last few weeks I’ve turned up the volume a little bit by having two quality interval/tempo days during the week along with a long run. I still have a long ways to go to reach where I want to be. I would like to get in some shorter races this spring and then build up to the longer races. When I say shorter I  mean 5k/ 10k and longer would be the half marathon. Maybe some half marathons later in the season.  I would like to get in as many local races and a few out of state, possible the Las Vegas Rock & Roll Half Marathon again. I don’t think I am ready for the marathon anytime soon. As always I hope to stay healthy. I been pretty fortunate to not have any serious injuries other then the few aches and pains that all runners have. I look forward to learning more and improving as a runner and in life. I have been very fortunate to have a great supporting cast around me, being my beautiful wife, family and employer. I look forward to this season and hope to see you all out there running.  I remember a wise man telling me “plan your race, race your plan.”  Best of training to all you and stay healthy.  Just run………   

Bryant Jensen - 2011 Plans & Goals

First off, it really was a great experience to socialize and run with some of the nation’s top distance runners in Houston at the US Half Marathon Championships. The treatment as an elite athlete was amazing! The course was challenging and a bit deceiving. For whatever reason I did not run as well as I would have liked. As it is with running, some days you just don’t have it in you. But also, I am pleased to be in the kind of shape that I am right now this early in the year. 

My training going into the half in Houston was pretty much consistent with what I had done before running the Provo Halloween Half in October (since that race went well I didn’t feel that I should change things up much with the little time that I had to prepare); running usually 60-70 miles a week with two to three quality workouts (tempos and intervals mainly). This is significantly lower mileage than I have been doing for the past several years. The main reasons for the lower mileage were coming off of the ankle injury, the winter, and simply responding to what my body was telling me. It has been a rough adjustment being a post collegiate athlete working full-time and trying to train at a competitive level.

Goals for 2011: I’m going forward with high expectations. I want my mileage back to 90+ miles per week (which means doubling again) and to fine tune my workouts. I am going to change up my weekly workout routine. I plan on doing two 15-25 mile runs per week. One of those long runs will consist of a tempo/power run near the end of it; allowing me to work on my threshold level and also to simulate races (ranging from 4 to 18 miles). My other quality day will be focusing on technique and increasing speed. One workout I plan on doing often for this will be a combo tempo/interval workout. I’ll start with a tempo run (faster pace than in my long run so mileage will probably be in the 3-8 range) and then follow with a speed related interval workout. I’m excited to implement this new focus on quality workouts. I feel that this will improve my marathon experience significantly. An obvious and reasonable goal for me is to reach the Olympic trials standard for the marathon. Below is a tentative list of races I plan on doing this year.

February 19 – Striders Winter Circuit 10k
March 19 – Canyonlands Half
April 2 – Striders Winter Circuit Half
April 23 – Striders Winter Circuit 30k
May 7 – Santa Barbara Wine Country Half Marathon (Santa Ynez, CA)
May 21 – Ogden Marathon Relay
June 11 – Utah Valley Marathon
July 25 – Deseret News 10k
August 27 – Nordic Track Top of Utah Half Marathon
October 9 – Chicago Marathon

Stefanie Talley - 2011 Racing Plans & Goals

Stefanie racing the 2010 Ibigawa Half in Japan

2010 was good to me, as far as running goes.  I've struggled a little bit with deciding what more I want to do for this next year.  I'm planning on starting off with the Striders Winter Series, including their half marathon in April. My Spring marathon will be Ogden again this year. I'm hoping to run a little faster than last year, like 2:50 or better.  After Ogden the racing frenzy begins. I'm planning on running Utah Valley Half, Hobbler half, and Top Of Utah Half with a bunch of 5k's & 10k's mixed in there as well. My goal for the half marathon is to get my time under 1:17. I'll be competing in the Utah Road Racing Circuit again this year and my goal is to be top 3 in that.  Then, in the Fall, if my training & racing are going well, I might go run Chicago Marathon and try for an Olympic qualifying time.  If things aren't going the way they need to then I'll probably stay around here and run either TOU or St George marathon.  We'll see!  Should be interesting, hard & fun.  That's why I love this sport.


I also wanted to share a few "training tricks" or habits I have that seem to help me.

1. Bananas and Tums.  I'm a firm believer in electrolyte balance and replenishment. Potassium & Calcium specifically seem to keep my muscles happy and functioning as well as helping them recover from hard workouts & races. I eat bananas (yes, multiple) and Tums antacids everyday and it really makes a difference in my performance & recovery.
2. Foam Rolling.  I got a foam roller for my birthday last summer and I've been addicted to it ever since. I use to have a lot of "nagging" pains & issues. But using the foam roller everyday seems to keep muscles and tendons and ligaments from complaining too loudly. It reduces soreness, relaxes tight spots and improves blood flow in general. I focus especially on my IT bands & lower back, which are my trouble spots.
3. Music. Another thing I'm addicted to is my Ipod. Mostly that is because I am always running solo. But I do know that certain music can really enhance my performance. I strategically place my favorite songs (ones with a good beat and/or inspirational message) at the end of hard workouts or the end of races where I know I will be struggling mentally & physically. Music gives me an extra burst of energy and lifts me mentally. When one of my favorite songs came on in the last 3 or 4 miles of the St George marathon last fall, it seriously gave me this "second wind" and kept me from letting my pace slow down.

Sharla Manuele - 2011 Plans and Goals

2010 was an interesting year for me. I tried a few races that were longer than I had ever raced, specifically two half marathons. My first one was the PINK half marathon which I placed first in. It was a nice course, and then I went to Mesquite where the weather wasn’t so nice. I placed third in this one. After my second one, I had to take a little while off because I got injured, but now I am back running again. I have built my mileage up slowly to 12 miles a day. I am now focusing on track season. My training has been going good. I do two days of speed work a week. I am training with SUU’s team and will be traveling with them to different meets. I will be running indoor track through February and then start outdoor track in March. The main events I will be focusing on this year are the 5000 Meter and 10000 Meter runs, but I will do a few mile races, too. I have never done a 10000 Meter on the track, so it should be interesting. These are some of the big meets I will be competing in:

• Husky Classic                        Seattle, WA
• UNM Classic                         Albuquerque, NM
• Stanford Invitational              Palo Alto, CA
• Pomona Pitzer Invitational    Pomona, CA
• Mt. SAC                                 Walnut, CA

I am hoping to get my 5000 Meter time down to 15:45 and my 10000 Meter to around 33:00. After track season, I will be doing some road races in the summer time, but I am not sure yet which ones I will be doing. I am looking forward to this upcoming year and hope others are chasing goals and dreams like me.

Fritz Van de Kamp - 2011 Plans and Goals

It would be difficult to call 2010 a complete success considering that I didn’t race at all between June 6^th and November 18^th due to an injury.  All was not lost however, because in the races I did run, i.e. SLC, Ogden, and Mesquite Marathons, and the Squaw Peak 50 I placed very well.  Building on those performances and the massive hours of cross training on my bike I put in during the summer, I think I am set up to run well in 2011 and hopefully set multiple PRs at all road distances.  Last year I contemplated giving the Wasatch 100 a go but have since come to my senses and will put that goal on hold for at least another year.  I just figure that now is my best chance to peak on the road so those ultra aspirations will have to wait.

Thus far in 2011, I have ramped up my training by putting in some relatively high mile weeks (possibly too many on the treadmill) and now I look forward to kicking off the race season next weekend when I run the St. George Painter’s Half Marathon.  It will be great to see if and by how much my training has paid off against lots of fast competition.  After Painter’s I plan to build for the SLC and Ogden Marathons by mixing in some shorter races and a half marathon.  Then I plan to spend the summer season doing some damage to the local track (I might have to jump the fence) with the hope of simply getting faster and setting 5k, 10k, and half marathon PRs.  I have never specifically trained for the shorter distances because I never raced in high school or college, but I suspect that by doing so I will see big improvements in my marathon.  The end goal of it all will be to set a big PR (sub 2:22) at Chicago in early October.  I admit, of course, that the OTC is my ultimate objective but that goal will have to be kept in my head for now.

Here’s to a healthy and fast 2011!  I look forward to seeing many of you at the races.

Current 2011 race schedule:

• Painter's Half (St. George)
• SLC Track Club Winter Series
• Strider's Half
• SLC Marathon
• Ogden Marathon
• Utah Valley Half
• Timpanogos Half (new 26.2 Running Co. event)
• Top of Utah Half
• Chicago Marathon 
• (additions TBD)  

Allie Scott - Goals and Racing Plans for 2011

2010 was a great year for me running-wise -- I was fortunate enough to have been healthy all year, which gave me the opportunity to participate in a number of races and learn more about what works for me and what doesn't when it comes to my training. I am looking forward to the new year ahead and the opportunity to set some new goals for 2011. 

One of my biggest goals for this year is to go after some PRs in distances other than the marathon. Specifically, I will be focusing on the half marathon for the first part of the year. I am planning on running the Salt Lake City Half Marathon in April and the UtahValley Half Marathon in June. I will start out the year by building a mileage base in January and February, and then begin more race-specific training in the early spring when the weather is a bit more manageable. I plan on running several 5K and 10K races during this time in order to build the speed that I will need to compete in the half. 

Following the Utah Valley Half Marathon in June, my focus will shift to the marathon for the remainder of the racing season. I am planning on running the Deseret News Marathon in July, where I hope to set a PR by running a 2:50 or better. Following that marathon, I will assess where I am at, and either go for an Olympic Trials qualifier at an out-of-state marathon, or run in one of the local fall marathons (Top of Utah or St. George). As far as mileage goes, I plan to stay at 50-60 miles per week, and increase that to 70-80 during my peak marathon training. I logged just over 2,650 miles in 2010, and I would like to get that number closer to 3,000 for 2011. More importantly, however, I want to stay injury free and be more consistent and smart about my training. 

I am very much looking forward to another year of running and racing. Best of luck to everyone chasing new goals for 2011. Happy New Year and Happy Running.