Race #45
This was my second race of 2013. I always look forward to this one because I get to go see my family before and after the race. My mom and sister and her family live down in Gold Canyon, AZ which this marathon goes right by their house.
My wife and I left a cold and dreary Seattle on Wednesday February 13th. We were scheduled to arrive in Phoenix at 9 pm at night but first we had to fly on a really small plane by today's standards down to Portland. We had about an hour and a half layover in Portland. Interesting story, Kara's sister Julia and her daughter were in Phoenix the week before we got there and they were flying home on the same day and about the same time so we decided to surprise them in the airport. It turns out the plane they flew in on from Phoenix was the same plane that we were taking to go back to Phoenix so where she arrived was where we were waiting for our plane. We knew we were getting in around the same time but were very surprised when it happened to be the same gate. So we surprised them and sat with them for a little bit before they left for home and we left for Phoenix. That was a fun experience because they had no idea we were going to be there!
We arrived in Phoenix with no problems and my sister, mom and niece picked us up at the airport. My first request was a stop at In and Out Burger to get a bite to eat because I was hungry. We went to one near my sisters house but I only ate the fries because I didn't want to get her car dirty. My wife decided she wanted a bite of my burger so I obliged. When she asked me a couple more times I got a little annoyed because half my burger was gone by the time we got to my sisters house! I guess she was hungry too but didn't order her own.
It was kinda weird being with my family over Valentine's Day but I hadn't realized it before I booked the tickets. So for lunch the next day we took my mom out for a special Valentine's date with us at the Olive Garden. It was a great pre-race fueling! For dinner my wife and I cooked my family an authentic Chinese meal. Kara learned how to cook Chinese food when she was a teacher in China for three years. We prepared approximately 8 dishes to feed 9 people. It took us about three hours to prepare the meal but it was definitely worth it.
On Friday, I went for a little trail run on a trail system that is basically right behind my sisters house. It's about 3/4 of a mile to the trailhead. The weather was exceptional, and the trail was quite rocky and technical. I did about a 4 or 5 mile run, there were tons of old people or as my sister calls them the gray hairs on the trail. They were all astonished that I was running on the hiking trail, I guess I just blew their mind they had no idea you could run on these things. The trail I chose was the Hieroglyphics trail. At the end of this trail up in the mountains there are some hieroglyphics that are painted on the rocks, its kinda cool.
Saturday I didn't do much but just rest and get ready for the race the next day. I was just enjoying my time with the family and the awesome weather! Daytime highs were in the mid 70s and lows in the 50s. In Seattle the temps were mid 40s for highs and low 40s for low so it was a pretty big difference. I was a little worried about this for the race because mid 70's to me is a little to warm for a race.
Sunday came and the race was on. This race is unique, in that the race starts up in the mountains. The first 6 miles of the race are closed off to any traffic. The only way to get up there is by school bus which they provide for the 400 plus runners. My bus was to leave at 5:25 AM. I was really not happy about this early time because the race didn't start until 7AM. The waiting area for the race is kinda cool though. It's out in the middle of the desert at the base of this mountain and they have several warming fires for you to sit around while you are waiting for the race to start. They also had several port a potties. It is one of the only marathons I have not had to wait at a port a pottie. Because the only people using them are the race participants. When I arrived at the waiting area it was still dark but it was super cool to see the sun rising over the horizon just before the race started. I met 4 or 5 different people who I shared a fire with. They were all interesting and an eclectic mix. One man was from Georgia, another from Phoenix, another lady from Southern California, and a couple of guys from Utah. I had a chance to talk to them and naturally the conversation went toward how many races have you done etc. When it was my turn to talk I told them about it being my 45th race and that I had done a 100 last summer that sort of thing. I was surprised to find that even a few of them had done ultras so it was fun to talk about that. Just before 7 it was time to walk over to the start.
I settled myself in at the 8 minute pace group for the marathon. It was funny because it turned out I was near the front but at least 20 yards from the starting line. The reason was they had a 6 and 7 minutes pace area but no one wanted to step into that space. The first 6 miles of this race is a downhill dirt road. I always start my marathons to fast so I was hoping my new Garmin watch would help me to slow down. It didn't slow me down I looked down after I had reached the first mile and I was going at about a 7:15 pace. Faster than where I was expecting to go, I knew this would come back and get me in the end. At mile 6 I saw my family for the first time, the cheering crew was my mom, my sister, my niece and my amazing wife, I handed off my handheld water bottle and my trail runner nation running sleeves because it was already starting to get warm.
The race course now went along the highway for about a mile before making a turn and going up the hill toward my sisters house. I was keeping my pace ok but by now I believe I had slipped to about a 7:40 per mile pace. I knew the next 3 to 4 miles would be a slight uphill and it would be a tough section. I was correct. By the time I hit the top of the hill I had slipped again to about 7:55 per mile pace. When I reached the half marathon mark I was at about 1 hour and 45 minutes. This was great because I was on pace to do I 3:30 or so marathon. I saw my crew at mile 14ish and was feeling ok because I was on the 2 to 3 mile downhill back down to the freeway. When I reached the freeway I was at about 8 minutes per mile pace after about 15 miles.
Mile 16 I was starting to get tired and when we turned to a slight uphill, I stopped and walked for the first time. It was a short walk and then I was going again. The hardest hill came at about mile 19. I had determined in my mind that I was going to run this whole thing and run down the other side. I was running pretty well considering I was very tired and sweating a ton with the weather. When I reached my crew at about mile 21 I was at a 8:15 pace. I was running good and told myself only 4 miles to go if I could run the whole way I could finish with a 3:35 to 3:40 which would be a pretty good time for me. Just after I saw them the road turned and it was rolling hills and I could feel my body just not having what it would take to run the rest of the way. My mind won the battle and I ran for a distance walked for a distance for the rest of the race. As I was coming to the last 1/2 mile I saw a girl that had completely collapsed in the dirt and was getting medical aid and I felt so bad for her because she was so close to the end. I round the last corner and had .2 miles to go. I had a lady in front of me but she was way ahead of me and I tried to catch her but I didn't have the usual burst of energy that I usually have at the end of a marathon. I ended with a 3:49:26, which was respectable but definitely not my best. I was happy with it though considering it was early in the season and it was very warm which I think is why I ran out of gas toward the end. I finished in 86th place out of 382 runners. After the race we again went to In and Out Burger for a well deserved Double Double Animal style.
The day after the race I went for a short 5 and 1/2 mile run just to get me ready for the Lord Hill 50K that I would be doing 1 week after this race. I went on the other trail by my sisters house. This was the goldmine trail and it was a fun run across the desert through the rolling ravines and such. I did notice though that my legs were really tired and were not very fast. My nephews birthday was that day so we celebrated with them before we headed home. We went and bowled three games of bowling. I was bowling great I got a 162 the first game, 178 the second game, and then I got like a 108 the third game guess I just lost my legs in that last game. Anyway thanks for reading it was a great race!!
