Rock and Roll Arizona Race Report

I had a great weekend in Phoenix with Lyn and Sheree and Sheree's sister Bekah and her family! We did some good shopping, ate really yummy food, saw a bunch of friends, and got to soak up some of the sun that has refused to shine up here in Utah. In fact, it was so nice that the only thing that would have made it perfect would be to go and not to run a marathon. But run a marathon we did, and here's the race report:

We woke up at the relatively late hour of 5:45 and got to the start line about an hour early. Instead of freezing up in a canyon, we merely shivered a little bit as we walked around the runners' village. About fifteen minutes before the gun went off, we bade each other farewell, and got in our corrals with our pace groups. I'd decided to run with the 3:15 group, since that would give me a PR. I hung with the group for about 18 miles, and I don't know if it was the flora or smog, but my asthma started acting up shortly after the race started. I tried to take my inhaler while I was running, but I couldn't breathe deeply enough to get it in my lungs and get it working. Finally, around mile 18, I ran into the bathroom and made myself relax for a few seconds while I peed to get the albuterol in. By the time I left the bathroom, the 3:15 pace group was too far ahead to catch easily, and while my lungs were feeling better, I'd committed the cardinal sin of marathoning; I'd stopped. Getting started again was really hard. My left foot and calf started cramping up, and wouldn't stop seizing. I did what I always do when I need to keep going, I looked for someone to talk to (social runner that I am) but everyone around me had looks of determination on their faces and earbuds in their ears. Finally, between mile 19-20, I ran into Dave, who had started in the 3:10 pace group with his sights set on Boston, but was plagued with a cramping quad and blisters. I asked him if he wanted someone to run with him, and he didn't object. At this point, I wasn't sure if I was going to stay with him for the rest of the race, or just until I got myself feeling better, but I started thinking about it: I could get back in a groove and finish in 3:20 or 3:25, and go back to Utah feeling sore for a week, or I could stay with Dave, and go home feeling good and be back to running in a few days. I decided to stay with Dave. We walked when we needed to walk, ran when we felt good, and finished in 3:38.

A year ago, I probably wouldn't have called this a successful race. I would have been disappointed that I didn't PR (and I still know that there are a bunch of things I need to do better before Ogden in May, including not sluffing off on the speedwork and tempo runs I'm supposed to do on the days when I don't run with my friends, and running with the fastest people and not taking big rest breaks during my long runs), but in a way, I'm proud of myself that I was able to pull back and not feel bad about it. I know that marathoning has become a way of life for me (why, I'm not quite sure) and there will still be good races and PRs in the future, even if they weren't in Phoenix.

As for my companions, Lyn and Matt (Sheree's brother-in-law) both did a great job in their marathon (which is always the hardest one), and Sheree had a good race too. None of us came home with great racing times, but I think we all had a great time regardless of our chip times..