Utah Valley, Provo, UT
June 5, 2021
5:16:48 1109/1351 Overall 6/9 in
70+
Jodi: 5:16:49 1110/1351 14/28 in 50-54
“My goal for Utah Valley Marathon was simple: finish strong. My entire
training cycle focused on injury prevention and strength. I ran fewer miles at
a slower pace 4 days a week and made time for weekly PT with Phil at Plan PT,
weekly yoga at Blue Moon (wish I could go more) 1-2 times a week of strength
training with SCE and Coach Ray, massage, and trying to conquer insomnia. I was
really concerned when we arrived in Provo to see “near-record high temps” as
I’m not a strong runner in the heat. Also the course is almost entirely sunny.
John and I ran the entire race together. We hydrated well, used cooling cloths,
carried extra water and just ran slower. The firefighters were spraying us with
their hoses, people offered ice, sprinklers were on at various places, etc. I’m
happy to report that I finished feeling strong and my hip and back were
manageable throughout. Marathon #19 was my slowest but I was honestly just
there to finish on the outside of the medical tent. Now to train for Boston 2021!” (This marathon was good
practice for us running a marathon together which is what we plan to do at
Boston which is in October this year. I qualified in July 2019-pre-stint and
heart medicine-and Jodi is running for the Flutie Foundation for Autism. Join Jodi on her journey
by donating here:
https://www.givengain.com/ap/jodi-volkman-raising-funds-for-doug-flutie-jr-foundation-for-autism/
Jodi and I arrived in Salt
Lake City on Thursday afternoon. We went downtown and to see the Mormon Temple and
found that it is undergoing major upgrading that won’t be completed until 2025.
We also saw the capitol building and then made the short drive to Provo. We ate
dinner there and had authentic Japanese donburi. We found “K’s” on Yelp due to
5 star reviews and it lived up to its ratings. Cool story: Owner did mission to
Japan and stayed 35 years; then he and his wife started this restaurant 3 years
ago and she does amazing job with all of the cooking while he waits tables and
greets everyone in Japanese.
Friday morning we drove
the course and saw that it is downhill and beautiful. The start is out on a
country road near an old vacant school building. The biggest landmark was the
row of porta-potties. We also drove around the BYU campus and saw their
football field. The expo was across the street from our hotel so we got our
bibs and looked around. One of the speakers at the expo was going to do his
500th marathon the next day; makes me feel like a slacker at 172.
Saturday afternoon and evening we explored Provo a bit. We found a very fun mall with a woodsy theme where a teenage boy was doing his best crooning of singers from the 50s and 60s such as Sinatra, Elvis and Dean Martin. He was actually very good and we enjoyed the relaxing time listening. In the mall was an amazing indoor game and play area which included an area for surfing, a ropes course and a bowling alley. Great place for dates and kids! We ate burgers for lunch at a place that also had hatchet throwing alleys just like you would have for dart throwing; never seen that before, but the young people seemed to be enjoying it. We topped off our day with cheesecake at a speciality cheesecake place😊Our plane home on Sunday didn’t leave until late afternoon so we had time to drive to and see the Great Salt Lake. Quite a sight to see!
This was Marathon #172; 33 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian
provinces.
Marathon
photos: https://photos.shutterfly.com/album/1702012471115904
