Pictures With My Real Camera

When I run, I have a compact little camera that I take with me. But when I'm not running I prefer to use my "real camera". (It's a Nikon D5100.)

Recently I went up to Kolob Reservoir to catch some of the autumn leaves with my real camera. (I hope you'll forgive me that this post has nothing to do with running or Hostess products.) Here are a few of the pictures I got:

I think this one is my favorite:

St. George Marathon Review 2012

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the St. George Marathon has some of the most spectacular views of any marathon in the state of Utah. Nay, the country. Nay, the continent. Nay, the Milky Way. (Mmmm....Milky Way.) Check this out:

I knew the St. George Marathon was going to go well when I found this awesome $5 shirt at Walmart to wear for the race. Unfortunately the only size they had was HUGE so the shirt was kind of like wearing a mu mu. I was convinced it would make me faster.

In addition to the awesomely bad shirt, another great thing about the race was that this would be my sister Hollie's first marathon! She was very nervous and I offered to build her confidence by letting her wear the shirt but she declined. (Turns out she didn't need any extra help for the race.)

We had the incredible fortune of seeing Pony Tail Man at the starting line! Pony Tail Man has been stalking me for many races (except he doesn't know he is stalking me). I've never had the courage to talk to him and tell him that his hair is hideous and incredibly awesome at the same time. (See more Pony Tail Man pictures HERE or HERE.)

I ran with Hollie for the first few miles but then told her to go on ahead. I love when the sun starts coming up and you can see the conga line of marathon runners spread out before you:

I have been doing almost all my training on trails so I was apprehensive about running 26.2 miles on the road. Fortunately there was dirt on the side of the road that I was able to run on for much of the first 22 miles. I was surprised to only see two other runners taking advantage of the dirt.

The miles continued to float by and before I knew it we were around mile 7 and the dreaded Veyo Hill. I heard so many people singing "Eye Of The Tiger" that I was able to get up the hill with plenty of distractions.

I had one goal for the marathon: RUN A NEGATIVE SPLIT. (Run the second half faster than the first half.) In my previous 12 marathons I have never done this before. I decided I wouldn't wear my watch and would just run by feel.

For the first few hours I suffered from a moderate case of TMGS (Too Much Gatorade Syndrome) which resulted in a few quick stops. I also experimented with taking a Gu at each aid station two miles apart which seemed to work fine.

There were some good signs that people had put up along the course, including this one:

At mile 15 runners arrive at Snow Canyon State Park. I always feel like I am running into a watercolor canvas.

I knew it was slowing me down quite a bit but I just couldn't put my camera away. (I ended up taking 113 pictures at the race.) The scenery was nothing short of spectacular.

This one is among my favorites that I have ever taken at the St. George Marathon:

At the halfway point everything clicked. I had been wise for the first half and not burned out my legs. I knew this was the point when my race really began. I got into a steady, consistent pace and felt good. Around mile 17 I saw my grandpa - definitely one of the funniest people I know. He said "Cory, you're not quite winning. But if you hurry I think you have a chance to win!" (There were probably only 4,000 people in front of me.) That gave me a good laugh.

My legs had gotten a little twangy and I was on the brink of full blown leg cramps. But I have started to learn how to disconnect with my body sometimes. I would just turn my music up a little and tell my brain to listen to my music instead of my legs. Realizing that I was able to keep pushing forward gave me motivation to keep pushing even harder. At mile 23 I saw my friend Kelly who knew of my love for Hostess and brought a surprise for me. Did they make me sick? Yep! Was it worth it? Definitely! Thank you Kelly!

I kept cruising and could feel my pace getting faster. I gave a high five to every single man, woman, child, and policeman I saw. Research from the Institute for Completely Imaginary Facts shows that each high five you give makes your legs run faster.

100 yards before the finish line I saw my family and stopped to get a picture with them. Words can't describe how much I appreciate their support. I love them so, so much.

I did a big jump across the finish line with a time of 4 hours 49 minutes. It's not my fastest time, but easily the best experience I've ever had at a marathon.

Here is what I'm most proud of: the marathon tracking showed that over the last 7.5 miles I passed 436 runners and was passed by 2 runners. I may have (or did) become slightly choked up because it felt so good to be running strong toward the end of the race. I achieved my goal of running my first negative split! (The second half was around 11 minutes faster.)

My sister finished earlier feeling just as good. She is amazing. If I had scripted the perfect day, this would have been it.

The St. George Marathon organization is flawless. They have created a marathon experience that can't be beat. The volunteers and spectators are amazing. And there is an unlimited supply of ice cream at the finish line! Who could ask for more?

I'm thankful that running is hard. I'm thankful the sense of accomplishment that you can feel when you push harder than you thought you could. I'm thankful that I've had a few crappy races in the past because it makes the good races even sweeter. Experiences like this are the reason I run.

St. George Marathon Advice

(Side Note: Me and friends are meeting at the third fire from the back on the left side at the starting line if you want to come and hang out and say hello.)

I've had some people ask to re-post some advice on the St. George Marathon coming up on Saturday. Here are some of the lessons I've learned from running the race and training on the course:

1) Bring some warm clothes to wear while you wait at the starting line. It can be COLD up there. (If it's not cold, you know you're in trouble. Prepare for skin-melting heat a few hours later.) Lots of fires help keep you warm.


2) Take it EASY on the Veyo Hill. At mile 7 you reach the hardest part of the course: the Veyo Hill which is about a mile. I've made the mistake to trying to keep an even pace going up the hill and by the time I reach the top I'm fried. Slow down and relax so you can keep your energy for later in the race.


3) Don't think it gets easy after the Veyo Hill. After you reach the top of the hill, there are still a few miles of gradual incline. Mentally this section is challenging because you worry about your pace slowing down. Again - don't panic. Downhill will be coming soon.


4) In the Beginners Clinic at the expo (highly recommended!), Terry Tucker says that if you don't get a negative split (running the second half of the race faster than the first), you have done something dramatically wrong. Been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. I talked to him a few days ago at church and he recommended trying to do the first half around 4-5 minutes slower.


5) 14 is the magic number. Get to Mile 14 and then you're in business. This is when the downhill really starts and you can get down to business. Soon you reach Snow Canyon which is probably the most beautiful section of a marathon I have ever run.


6) Save a little energy for the last two miles. The steep downhills are done and the last few miles are fairly level through neighborhoods. Your quads are screaming by this time so you want to keep a little gas in the tank so you don't have to do the marathon death shuffle as the crowd cheers "You're almost there!" (I perfected the marathon death shuffle my first year.)


7) Take whatever steps are necessary to avoid nausea so that when you reach the finish line you can replace every calorie you just burned by eating face-fulls of Blue Bunny Ice Cream. It is so good that it makes your eyes go buggy. Here's the proof:


Here is an excellent course video that I was able to be a part of. You can hear my voice saying things like "Running is the stupidest hobby ever."


Have you run the St. George Marathon before? Any tips you'd like to add?

Sunset, Full Moon, and Rocking to Taylor Swift

I have exactly no running pictures to post for the past week because most of my running was before work when it was still dark.

This little blog here is how I keep my training log, so feel free to skip this little blip and then I'll show you some pictures from Friday night when my daughter and I went moon hunting.

Monday, September 24th 2012: 8 miles @ 9:59 minutes per mile.
Tuesday, September 25th 2012: 5 miles @ 9:54 minutes per mile.
Wednesday, September 26th 2012: 4 miles @ 11:37 minutes per mile. Hills in Confluence Park.
Later that day I had to go pick up my car at the mechanic so I decided to run over there. I did 2 miles @ 8:23 minutes per mile. Slightly embarrassing to walk into the mechanic looking like I just got out of a lake.
Thursday, September 27th 2012: Nothing.
Friday, September 28th 2012: 5 miles @ 9:27 minutes per mile.
Saturday, September 29th 2012: 8 miles @ 10:17 minutes per mile. Then Mel and I went on a bike ride for an hour and a half. These are some of our favorite dates together.

On Friday night my daughter Danica and I went to the Gould's Rim Trail hoping to get some pictures of the moon. We got there right in time for an awesome sunset.

The mountain Molly's Nipple was off on the horizon:

Dani and I were having a great time together. We ate granola bars and rocked out to Taylor Swift.

While I was taking pictures I saw her writing in the dirt. When she was little she used to call me "Derby" and this nickname has stuck ever since:

Danica was also a helpful photo model to help take advantage of the incredible sunset.

And then the moment we were waiting for - the moon came up!

Dani went home bragging about how much fun we had and telling the rest of the family that they should have joined us. I told her that every time I run on this trail I will think of our night out together.

In 5 short days I'm running the St. George Marathon! I'm just a little apprehensive about running 26 miles on the road. Ouch! My legs appreciate roads much less than trails. My sister Hollie is also running - this will be her first marathon! Spoiler Alert: I found the most awesome shirt EVER which will make it's debut at the race. Can't wait.

Watch My Friends on Jay Leno Friday Night!

In my other life I'm a piano player and have been fortunate enough to become friends with some incredible musicians over the years.

A few of those friends are The Piano Guys whose videos have a collective 145 MILLION (nope, not a typo) views on Youtube. (Take that Justin Bieber!) Jon Schmidt plays piano, Steven Sharp Nelson on cello, and Paul Anderson is behind the scenes coordinating everything. Want to know something positively awesome?

They are going to be on Jay Leno this Friday night, September 28th!

When was the last time you saw a piano/cello duo on Jay Leno? I think the last time that happened was, um, never. Insane, crazy success couldn't happen to nicer guys. As a teaser for Leno, here is one of their recent songs (a la Bourne Identity):