Julie's First Marathon: The "Lost Dutchman" Feb 18, 2007

Julie ran her first marathon today! What a beautiful day. Slight overcast and early morning temperatures of 40 degrees warming up to about 65 by noon.

When she mentioned it a few weeks ago I was surprised. She has really been ramping up her running this past few months and did very well in the PF Chang 1/2 marathon in January but I knew her legs were hurting. She was so uncomfortable that it did not occur to me that she would want to do the marathon but she did and I was very happy to go with her as her support crew ... and while I was there I ended up running a 10K. It is quite an impressive event that the city of Apache Junction puts on every year. A full and half marathon, a 10K, an 8K and a 2 mile run. Lots of music and food as well. All in a beautiful park nestled against the scenic Superstition mountains.

Julie got up at 3AM and I got up at 3:30AM to be able to make it to the marathon start. I dropped Julie off at the buses and they brought her six miles into the desert where they had 30 camp fires waiting to let the runners warm up while they were stretching prior to the race start. So Julie started at 7AM while I went and raced the 10K starting at 8AM. After my race I picked up my camera and went to mile 23 ... an absolutely brutal mile marker in any marathon but they had an especially nasty hill right at mile 23 that runner after runner who went by me struggled mightly to get up.

I ended taking a handful of pictures that are attached. They don't do the place justice in terms of stark beauty but two of my favority mountains in the area are "Superstition Mountain" that I have climbed a few times and one shows "4 Peaks" in the distance. I've been near to the 4 Peaks but not climbed them yet. They go up to 8,000 feet and overlook the biggest reservoir in central Arizona "Roosevelt Lake" put in by "Teddy" Roosevelt over a century ago.

The Superstition Mountain area has quite a bit of legend associated with it going back 150+ years where prospectors found gold, were killed, but the gold was rediscovered decades later only to have the miner take the secret to his grave. People still go looking for the old mines and / or hiding places for the gold.

26 mile PF Chang Marathon Jan 14, 2007

29 degrees at start time in downtown Phoenix!

What a way to start the day at 7AM in downtown Phoenix! Julie and I were entered in the PF Chang 1/2 marathon and full marathon races. Fortunately it was clear skies and no wind.

I think there were about 10,000 people entered in the marathon and about 26,000 entered in the 1/2 marathon ... quite a few folks. Julie ran well and finished in 1:56 and I did pretty good as well running the full distance in a little under 3:32.

The 3:32 time was actually good enough to qualify for the Boston Marathon in 2008 as a 50 year old ... so I felt pretty good about that. I ended up taking a pretty good fall at the 19 mile mark running through old town scottsdale zig zagging back and forth through 90 degree turns. One particular 90 degree bend went from black top to cobblestone and I don't know whether I slipt or tripped but I went down flat on my face. Fortunately, it was cobbelstone and instead of road rash I ended up skidding on my stomach and race number and the tucking and rolling as other runners went by me. As I was tucking and rolling the crowd (yes it was packed intersection) that was previously cheering went silent as they watched me fall and then gasped as I rolled. As I was rolling I was thinking boy that is a pretty cool sound effect ... but then all I could think about was getting up and running again.

I was so proud of Julie. She has run a few of these 1/2 marathons now and runs a pretty aggressive race. There are a few trails near our house and she has been steadily increasing the distances ... and she seems to really enjoy the running and is looking very graceful as she runs. Go Julie!

30K ARR Desert Classic - Sunday Dec 17th

Drive as far west as you can on Bell Road ... to the edge of Surprise and that is where the 30K out and back course starts.

I've been preparing for the PF Chang Marathon in January by running in distance races the last few months; a 20K, 10 Mile, 1/2 Marathon and now a 30K. I'm glad that phase is over! My calves have been crampy for the last few weeks and it was no different during the 30K. By the time I hit the 15K turn around point both my calves were pretty tight and by the time I hit 20K I was forced to slow down to a jog. Still ... I finished and that's a good thing. Now I just plan to get healed up, get loose and run shorter distances till race day! Only four weeks to go!

Race Results: http://arizonaroadracers.com/Results/desertclassic30k-2006.html

13.1 Mile Fiesta Bowl 1/2 Marathon - Sunday 12/3/2006

I didn't respect the marathon today ... I took it for granted that I would just go run it. My time was OK, 1:36:06 or about a 7:20 pace, but I've been paying for it all day.

http://www.raceplaceevents.com/fbm06res.htm#Male%2045-49

The marathon does funny things to you if you are not prepared ... or if you are not respectful. I had the prepared part pretty well done ... not top shape but good enough for a 7:00 pace. I cruised the 10 mile ARR Thanksgiving day race just a couple weeks ago in a 7:06 pace and felt pretty good during the race and throughout the day. I was overconfident thinking that a few extra miles was not a big deal ... just go run it ... and if there some left over energy I'll stop at LA fitness for a little extra workout. What a dreamer!

The thing about the ARR race on Thanksgiving was I had the previous 12 days off on vacation. I did some running but got lots of rest. It showed on race day as I had no pain and plenty of spring in my step. Today was different altogether ... I had gone to a Christmas party last night and ate and drank nothing that would have been good on a training table. Also, the day before I did a 1 hour swim workout followed by a 1 hour spin class ... and I had done a hard spin class on Friday as well. As a result I had no spring in my step at all and my calves were crampy the last eight miles!

By the time I got home today I was feeling pretty miserable and have felt pretty crappy all day. Next time ... I taper and I watch what I eat!!!

10 Mile Run - ARR Thanksgiving Day Race - Thursday November 23, 2006

I've got two big races coming up ... I define "big" as those where I have already pre-paid and can't get my money back if I don't participate. The RnR Phoenix on January 14th, 2007 and the Phoenix Ironman on April 15th, 2007. It's been a little tough getting ready for those events as I've had one injury or another bothering me for the last six months but thankfully I can usually bike and/or run if my shoulder hurts and can swim if my knees, calves, heels, or hamstrings hurt.

Thursday the 23rd was one of those days where nothing hurt :-) Definitely, a good day for a run. After returning from our trip to SpainI did not feel like I would be able to run fast but I at least wanted to get a race under my belt so I could gauge my fitness level leading up to the January marathon. I ended up finding a nice pace that I was able to maintain the entire race and finished in 1:10:50 or about a 7:06 per mile pace. Not too bad and it gave me confidence for my next two checkpoints; the Runners Den Fiesta Bowl 1/2 Marathon on December 3rd and the ARR 30K Classic on December 17th.

20K South Mountain Classic - Oct 15, 2006

A beautiful day for a run. Lots of fun last Sunday helping the Arizona Road Racers set up the race ... OK I only helped with the registration and then running.

My hamstrings were a little tight from over working them the prior week but they behaved long enough to let me finish. I had a time of 1:45 ... slower than I would have liked but it was a nice steady pace and was actually the longest competitive run I've done since the Springtime.