On December 14, I ran the Tucson Marathon. Deb and I combined our trip to Tucson with a visit to her brother, who lives in New Mexico.
Saturday, December 13
We flew to Tucson on
Saturday, arriving in the early afternoon.
From the airport, we drove directly to packet pickup, which was held at
Pima Community College. Then we checked into
our hotel.
For the first two nights
of our trip, we stayed at El Conquistador Tucson, which is a Hilton
resort. This was the host hotel for the
race. It’s a huge property, located near
the Santa Catalina mountains. We had
this view from our patio:
We liked this resort
enough that we spent the rest of the day there.
We had dinner in one of their restaurants. The only negative about this resort was that
the air conditioning seemed to be seasonal.
We could get heat or fan, but not AC.
That made it hard to get the room cool enough to sleep well.
Sunday, December 14
Sunday was race day. The race was point-to-point, so I needed to
take a bus to the start, which was at Biosphere 2. A big advantage of staying at the host hotel
was being able to board a bus right in front of the hotel. Runners who weren’t at this hotel needed to
park at Oro Valley Marketplace and take a bus from there.
I was on one of the early
buses, so I got dropped off at Biosphere 2 more than an hour before the
race. I was expecting it to be cold at
the start, but the temperature was in the low 50s, and there wasn’t much wind. I brought warm-up clothes and a space
blanket, but I really didn’t need them.
We waited in a staging
area that was right next to Biosphere 2.
While we waited, we could go into the building and look around. There was a gear check, so none of my warm-up
clothes needed to be discarded. After
making a couple bathroom stops, I checked my gear bag and started the half mile
walk to the starting line.
This course descends
1,493 feet, making it a fast course.
With that in mind, I was aiming for a fast time. My fastest time so far this year was 3:44:40
at the Mesa Marathon, which was also downhill.
On this course, I was hoping to go faster. They had a 3:40 pace group, so I started with
them. I didn’t know if that pace was
realistic, but I wanted to give it a try.
Although the course is
mostly downhill, the first mile is actually uphill. When I joined the 3:40 group in the start
area, the pacer was explaining how she planned to pace us. She wasn’t going to run the same pace in
every mile. She had prepared a pacing
plan that took the elevation profile into account. On average, she would be running 8:22 per
mile, but in the first mile, she was planning to go a full minute slower.
At first, I found it easy
to keep up with the group. As the road
began to turn uphill, I started to get ahead of them. Then the road got steeper, and the pace group
caught up to me again. I picked up my
effort to stay with them, but the road kept getting steeper. I was running hard enough to be short of
breath, but I was falling behind the group.
Eventually, we crested
the first hill, and I was able to catch up on the downhill. By the end of the first mile, we were running
uphill again. This time, I was able to
keep up, but just barely.
We ran that first mile in
9:34. That’s more than a minute slower
than the pace I was hoping to average for the race, yet it took a lot out of
me.
The next two miles were
rolling, but with a noticeable downhill trend.
The uphill sections were short.
The downhill sections were longer and steeper. On one of the downhill sections, I got ahead
of the group. I assumed they would catch
up to me the next time the road turned uphill.
I was wrong. I ran the second
mile in 7:50 and never looked back.
I spotted my friend
Rainer, and I ran with him for about a mile.
His goal was to break 3:30, so I knew I couldn’t keep up with him for
long. I eventually had to let him go.
By now, we were past the
rolling section of the course. Now it
was steadily downhill, but with a gentle grade.
For the next few miles, I kept my pace between 8:05 and 8:15.
By mile seven, I found
myself starting to fall behind some of the other runners around me. I slowed down a little, but not much. For the next several miles, my pace was
between 8:10 and 8:20.
By the seven mile mark, I
had already made up the time from the slow first mile. I was now on pace to break 3:40, and my
recent miles were faster.
After the first few
miles, we were running on the shoulder of a highway. The pavement was rough in a few places. More than once, I caught my shoe on some
rough pavement and it threw me off balance for a split second. I never fell, but it scared me. As recently as three weeks ago, I had a hard
fall on pavement, and I ‘m still recovering from that.
My pace felt somewhat
tiring, but I was in a nice consistent rhythm now. I run best when I can keep the same
rhythm. Some miles were more noticeably
downhill, and others leveled out a bit.
I kept running with the same stride and cadence, so my pace stayed the
same, even in the miles that were more level.
Those miles were more tiring, but I didn’t slow down.
By the halfway point, I
was more than a minute ahead of schedule.
Now, I was on pace to break 3:38, in spite of that slow first mile. If I could keep up this pace for the rest of
the race, I might break 3:35. I had
doubts, however. I questioned whether my
current pace would be sustainable for 13 more miles.
As I started the second
half of the race, I was counting down the remaining miles. Each mile left me feeling slightly more
tired, but I had fewer miles to go. I
kept wondering if I would run out of gas before I ran out of miles. Experience told me I would, but I was
determined to try for a fast time, and I was willing to risk blowing up.
I was drinking at every
aid station, but the cups were small, so I probably wasn’t drinking
enough. Increasingly, I found my mouth
getting dry long before I reached the next aid station.
In mile 18, the road
turned more sharply downhill. I needed
to shorten my stride and increase my cadence.
I sped up to 7:57 in that mile, but I could see that the road would
level off in the next mile.
The road leveled off, but
then we left the road to run on a wide bike bath. At first, the bike path was downhill. Then, we went under a bridge, and we had to
climb a small hill on the other side.
That hill really slowed me down.
More disturbing was what I saw next.
The trail leveled off.
My time for mile 19 was
8:33. Looking ahead, the trail still looked
level. Before the race, I heard someone
say the course levels off in the late miles.
I though she meant in the last mile or two. I had no idea the course would level off with
more than seven miles to go.
Mile 19 was only 10
seconds slower than the target pace for a 3:40 finish. I had a big cushion by now. Even if I ran this same pace for the last
seven miles, I would still break 3:40.
Although I was running
slower now, I was starting to pass runners who had pulled away from me earlier
in the race. Everyone seemed to be
struggling now.
One runner said, “We need
shade. It’s getting hot.” Indeed, there wasn’t any shade on this
course, and the sun was getting higher in the sky. The temperature was climbing near 70. I wasn’t too worried about the warmer
temperatures, but I hadn’t considered how much hotter it would feel in the sun.
In mile 20, I picked up
my pace to 8:31, but each mile was taking more effort. I had pushed a fast pace for too long, and it
was taking a toll on me. As long as the
course was steadily downhill, I was able to stay in a consistent rhythm. Now, I had to work harder, and the occasional
turns or bridges made it hard to find a consistent rhythm.
We were running alongside
a dry creek bed. Every now and then, we
crossed a bridge over the creek. Each of
these bridges was a small hill.
In mile 21, I slowed to
8:38. I kept working harder, but I kept
getting slower. I started to question
whether I would still break 3:40. It
would be embarrassing if the 3:40 group passed me after I chose to leave them
behind in mile two.
All of the aid stations
had water and Neversecond sports drink.
Some had bananas and/or Neversecond gels. One aid station had Oreo cookies. When I got there, I couldn’t even think about
it. I was still fighting hard to stay on
pace, and eating cookies would’ve slowed me down.
I may have been somewhat
complacent as I started the mile 23, but toward the end of that mile, I was
really working to keep from slowing down.
I ran that mile in 8:48.
I had about three and a
half miles to go when I heard someone ask me how I was doing. It was the 3:40 pacer, who was now alongside
me. I told her I felt foolish about
going ahead in mile two. I also told her
it got much tougher when the course leveled off. She told me to just stick with her the rest
of the way. I knew I wouldn’t be able to
keep up.
If we were in the last
mile, I would’ve fought hard to keep up with the group. I couldn’t keep up that effort for more than
three miles. I started to fall
behind. Then I caught up at an aid
station. The 3:40 pacer finished
drinking before I did. As she
accelerated, I had no hope of catching up.
Late in the race, I
caught my left shoe on some uneven pavement.
I didn’t fall, but I lurched forward and had an awkwardly flat-footed
landing on my right foot. Both feet were
sore from running downhill on rough pavement, but my right foot hurt much more
now.
In mile 23, I slowed to
8:57. Each mile was slower than the
previous one, but my real fear was that this trend was going to
accelerate. I was blowing up. Sure enough, in mile 24, I slowed to 9:20.
There was a half marathon
that followed the second half of the marathon course. When I saw the “11” banner for the half
marathon, I had 2.1 miles to go. I
checked my watch. Even if I averaged 10
minutes per mile the rest of the way, I would still break 3:45. That gave me something to fight for.
In mile 25, I was keeping
up with everyone around me, but only because they were slowing down too. I slowed to 9:40 in that mile.
Mile 26 brought a new
challenge. I started feeling pressure
building up in my intestines. I could’ve
just been gas, but I didn’t know for sure, and I didn’t want to find out the
hard way. I had to hold it in, and that
limited how hard I could run.
I was pleasantly
surprised when I ran mile 26 in 9:51. I
didn’t slow down as much in that mile.
My watch was reading a little high.
I wasn’t actually to the “26” banner yet. To get there, I needed to run up a hill.
Just past 26, I saw where
we were supposed to turn left to run to the finish. A runner ahead of me continued to go
straight. As I got closer to the turn, I
saw why. There was also a 50K race. Those runners had been following the same
route as the marathon up until now.
Where we turned and headed to the finish area, they had to do a
five-mile out-and-back.
After making the turn, I
crossed a highway. Then I entered Pima
Community College and made the final turn before the finish line. I finished in 4:43:53. That’s my fastest time this year, but it was
disappointing after thinking I would break 3:40. It’s hard to be happy about a race where I
ran positive splits by more than six minutes.
There’s a reason why I
ran so aggressively. I was hoping to get
a qualifying time for the New York City Marathon. The qualifying standard for my age group is
3:45. I qualified in this race, but to
actually get into the New York City Marathon, I needed to be much faster. Running a qualifying time only gives you
guaranteed entry if you do it in a New York Road Runners race. For runners who qualify in non- NYRR races,
there are limited slots, and they go to the runners who qualify by the widest
margins. Qualifying by more than five
minutes might have given me a chance.
Qualifying by 1:07 won’t. I’ll
still try to register, but I’m not likely to get in.
I qualified for the
Boston Marathon by more than 20 minutes.
This was my eighth BQ out of my last nine races.
After finishing the race,
I received a water bottle and my medal.
The medal design features the Biosphere 2 dome.
I was about to leave the
finisher chute, when I saw a sign saying no reentry. I looked around to see if there was anything
else I needed before I left this area. I
had totally missed the food tables.
I picked up a banana, a
granola bar, and a package of Oreo cookies.
It was nice to get a second chance for Oreos after skipping them during
the race.
I had to ask where the
gear retrieval was. After getting my
gear bag, I boarded the next bus back to the resort.
When I downloaded the
data from my watch, I looked at the elevation profile. It was annoying to see that those last seven
miles were actually downhill. We just
weren’t descending as rapidly, so it seemed flat in comparison to the rest of
the course.
I also found out later
that it got hotter than I realized. I
thought it would be 70 degrees by the time I finished. After talking to other runners, I found out
it actually got up to 80. That may have contributed
to my struggles in the late miles.
While I was running, Deb
stayed at the resort. They had an event
that morning called Elf Hunt. Deb was
given a map of the resort showing 10 areas where there were display cases with an
elf. She needed to find each elf and
write down its name. She was only able
to find nine of them. An employee went
with her to find the last elf, but he couldn’t find it either. It turns out that elf had been temporary
removed, so kids wouldn’t take it.
I usually recover well
from races, but this one was an exception.
After sitting for a while, I found it difficult to walk. Partly, it was sore muscles from all the
downhill running. Partly, it was a sore
foot, from that one awkward landing.
I spent a good part of
the afternoon at the outdoor hot tub, where I met several other runners and we
traded stories for the longest time.
After that, my legs and feet both felt better. Neither of us left the resort for the rest of
the day. After dinner, I was just about
to head back to the room, when I bumped into another runner I know. I’m not sure how long we talked before I
finally went back to the room. Deb was
already sleeping.
Monday, December 15
Monday morning, my legs
felt OK, but my feet were still sore. My
right foot was especially sore.
After breakfast, we drove
to New Mexico. From our resort, north of
Tucson, it was a four-and-a-half-hour drive, not counting stops. We spent the next two nights at a hotel in
Las Cruces.
After checking in and
unpacking, I did a strength training workout, while Deb went grocery shopping.
After my workout, I did a
short recovery run on a paved trail that goes right by our hotel in Las
Cruces. My hamstrings were tight, but it
probably helped to get some circulation in my legs. I expected my feet to hurt, but they felt
much better than they did during the marathon.
It helps that I was going slow and I wasn’t running downhill.
The last time we were in
Las Cruces, we discovered a nice brunch spot.
We didn’t think they were open in the evening. When we found out they were open until 8:00
PM, we decided to go there for dinner.
Tuesday, December 16
On Tuesday, we spent most
of the day with Deb’s brother Jim and his wife Kath. We visited them at their new house, and then we
went with them to a Christmas party.
When we got back to Las
Cruces, I had just enough time to go for a run before dinner. My hamstrings were still tight, so I only ran
a few miles.
My favorite restaurant in
Las Cruces is Pecan Grill & Brewery.
I’ve been there every time I’ve visited Las Cruces. This trip was no exception.
Wednesday, December 17
On Wednesday, we drove
back to Tucson. Along the way, we had
some drama with our rental car. We got a
check tire pressure indicator for one of the tires, so we stopped at a gas
station to add air. The air machine
didn’t seem to be putting any air into the tire. If anything, we lost air each time we tried
to read the pressure.
Shortly after we got back
on the road, we got a warning that we should check the tire pressure
immediately, when it was safe. We
couldn’t do much while we were on a remote stretch of I-10, so we had to
continue for 11 more miles to get to the next town.
We found an auto repair
and tire shop that was able to check all the tires and bring them up to spec.
As we continued on our
way to Tucson, we got the same warning again.
At this point, we were only about 45 miles from our hotel in Tucson,
so we pressed on.
When we got to the hotel,
they didn’t have any rooms ready. We
only had to wait about 20 minutes, but it was after the advertised check-in
time, so they comped our room.
After bringing our bags
up to the room, I went back to the car to get something I forgot. The tires didn’t look bad when we arrived,
but one of them was now visibly low. We
weren’t scheduled to return the car until Thursday, but I returned it
immediately, before the tire went completely flat.
Our hotel was so close to
the airport that I could walk back to the hotel after returning the car. We no longer had a car, but the hotel had a
restaurant, and they also had an airport shuttle, so we didn’t need a car to
get to the airport on Thursday.
After getting back to the
hotel, I went for a run. My legs and
feet were feeling better, but I was pressed for time after taking the time to
return the rental car. For the third
straight day, I only ran a few miles.
Thursday, December 18
After breakfast, I went
for another run. We didn’t need to leave
for the airport until noon, so I had time to run a little farther.
I’ve enjoyed the warmer
weather in Arizona and New Mexico. We’re
coming home to snow and subzero wind chills in Minnesota.
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