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

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!  

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)