Mid Mountain Marathon 2007

Several days ago I finished the Mid Mountain Marathon for the 2nd time. I loved it, as I did last year ... but even better, I actually started the race on time :-) Last year while driving to the start we missed a turn and ended up starting 15 minutes late ... and because our pace wasn't that fast, we consequently had some issues with aid-station people and direction-giving people closing up before we got there.

There were about 183 runners this year, about 30 more than last year. This race is actually part of the "Triple Trail Challenge", which also includes the Jupiter Peak Steeplechase and the Park City Half Marathon, all spaced about 2 weeks apart. They're all in the Park City, Utah area.

For some reason the first 3 - 5 miles were very difficult for me. I was sweating like crazy, had tight calves, and was falling behind everyone. Not a good sign, I thought, but by mile 10 I had warmed up, got my second wind ... something clicked. The rest of the race went pretty smoothly. I tried to keep up my energy by consuming GU and pretzels but after awhile nothing is appetizing. Makes me wonder how hard it'll be to eat beyond 26.2. For the first time tried electrolyte capsules (Hammer caps) and it did seem to help keep cramps at bay, which was a big problem during the Ogden Marathon earlier this year. The other notable difference for me this race, as I mentioned in a previous post, was having some 3rd party shoe insoles (Powerstep). So far (cross fingers) they seem to have helped prevent knee pain I've had in the past by providing extra arch support.

I didn't train very much for this one (typical) so my time isn't worth mentioning but I was fairly pleased for the amount of training. I guess I did do the Ogden Marathon in May but I ended up taking 2 months off before frantically cramming in several trail runs before the Triple Trail Challenge.

I do recommend the TTC, by the way, if any of you are close enough to sign up for it. It's a lot of fun. You also get a very nice running jacket embroidered with the TTC logo.