Tucson Marathon Race Report

I could have done it.


On Saturday morning I drove down to Tucson with two other women to race the full marathon.  We headed straight to the expo which was small and perfect.  I scored a $5 hat so I wouldn't ruin my new hair color.  Ha!  I did feel a little like a poser since it was a "50 States" marathon cap.  We chatted with the others we knew and made plans for dinner at Guiseppe's.  I had the pasta primavera and it was delicious.  There was a lot of marathon talk and I felt excited and relaxed.

Back at the hotel room we got our things ready and went to bed by 9pm.  I decided to wear my uniform, of course.  Purple, Brooks 'run' shirt, my ancient, navy Nike shorts, purple Darn Tough socks and oh, my new hat!!  It took me a while to fall asleep, but once I did I slept well.  The shuttle for the bus to the start left at 5am so alarms were set for 4am.  Ouch.

We went to the middle school to catch our bus and boarded a school bus.  I had heard they would be luxury buses, but there were only 3 of those.  The school bus was just fine and plenty warm.  We got to the starting line point at 6am and the race didn't start until 7:30am.  We used the porta potties and then got back on the bus to keep warm.  I'm not sure how cold it was outside, maybe 45 degrees.  It wasn't unbearable, but standing outside for 1.5 hours waiting was not an option.  My stomach felt nervous and knotted up and my porta pottie mission was not completely satisfying.  I just chalked it up to nerves and tried to ignore it.

At 7:10am we got off the bus, hit the potties again and made our way to the start.  I lined up with the 3:40 pacer and so did a few of my friends.  We wished each other good luck and the gun(?) went off.  I knew it would be pretty serious down hill for the first mile so I really tried to keep to my race plan.  The 3:40 pacer group shot way out immediately.  I knew right away that I would not be relying on them to get me to the finish.  The first three miles were mostly down hill, yes, but there were some hills.  It was a good thing because it was the only thing slowing anyone down.  People were going crazy!  I did okay though, and my first 3 miles went like this:
           
             plan    actual
Mile 1   8:00    7:58
Mile 2   8:15    8:07
Mile 3   8:15    8:07

I was on target and my breathing was good.  That silly arch and heel pain started up and I wondered what would become of it.  Down, down, down we went.  This first part was in the old town of Oracle and we ran through some neighborhoods.  Miles 4-10 were going to be 8:00 miles for me.  The road straightened out and was a nice, easy grade down hill.  I managed the following splits:


               plan    actual
Mile 4     8:00    8:08
Mile 5     8:00    8:01 (Gel)
Mile 6     8:00    7:54
Mile 7     8:00    7:56
Mile 8     8:00    8:07
Mile 9     8:00    8:02
Mile 10   8:00    8:12 (Gel)

I think it was mile 10 that my arch and heel pain finally resolved.  I was feeling great and getting stronger.  I thought about my quads once in a while, but tried to control that thought as much as possible.  I was in shape and I had trained on hills so I had to believe in that.  I was nervous for the Biosphere section.  Just after mile 10 the course takes a left onto a different road, goes out two miles and then you come back to the main road, Oracle Hwy.  The Biosphere section has rolling hills and were not half as bad as I had imagined.  It's just that you are running down hill for so long that when you run on the flats it begins to feel like up hill, not flat.  Add a few hills and some of the flatlanders got their panties in a bunch.


                 plan    actual
Mile 11     8:30    8:17
Mile 12     8:30    8:56
Mile 13     8:30    8:05
Mile 14     8:30    8:28 (Gel)

I caught up to a friend during that stretch and it was nice to see a friendly face.  I crossed the half mark in 1:46:42 which was a 7 minute PR for me, and right on track.  It was an instant relief to make it back to Oracle Hwy to continue consistent down hill, but after less than a minute the monotony kicked in.  I was just staring down the highway at mile 14.5 thinking there was a long way to go.  There was.  I tried to remain positive and kept reminding myself how great I felt.  I did body checks and I was in really good shape.  The only minor thing I could think to complain about was that my feet felt like they were barefoot, like road rash.  But, come on, that was nothing in the big picture.  I pressed on.

               
                 plan    actual
Mile 15     8:15    8:21
Mile 16     8:15    8:28
Mile 17     8:15    8:27
Mile 18     8:15    8:36
Mile 19     8:15    8:46 (Gel)

I began to see my times consistently higher than what it was supposed to be.  I kept telling myself that all I had to do was get to mile 21 and then I would have 9:00 miles until the end.  That was my treat.  Again, I really did feel good.  I still had plenty of time to get a 3:39:30 finish time.  This is where my lack of experience played a huge role.  My mental game was challenged and I relented.

                 plan    actual
Mile 20     8:15    10:30

Once that happened (from walking at times) I just gave myself permission to be happy with a PR.  I could have pushed here and still done it, but my mind would not, could not.  I did a lot of walking/running.  People passed me looking fresh.  It was hot now (maybe 62 degrees).  Despite all of this I was happy.  I knew I would finish well under 4 hours.  My hope was that I would get 3:4X:XX, but I continued to walk.  So, this is the embarrassing part.

                 plan    actual
Mile 21     9:00    9:19
Mile 22     9:00    10:31
Mile 23     9:00    10:14
Mile 24     9:00    11:16

I was ahead of all my friends since the half.  Then my friend, Ken, passed me as I was walking.  He didn't say hello because he probably didn't want to be brought down.  When I saw him it was a spark and I ran behind him, not walking much again.  I passed him again at mile 25 and then ran it in.
                 plan    actual
Mile 25     9:00    9:56
Mile 26     9:00    9:54
Last .2      1:30    1:47 (7:54 pace)

When I got to the last .2 I really pushed it and finished strong.  It was too late, I crossed in 3:50:09.  But, it was 3:50:09!!!!!!!!!!!!!  That is a 30 minute PR and I was proud of it.  I was exhausted and my legs were so ouchie.  For 20 minutes following the finish they just throbbed with ache like they never have before.  It was weird and painful.

Even though this may sound like a negative race report from me, it's not.  I really am happy about the time AND I'm disappointed in my mental adolescence.  I could have done it with a little more experience under my belt.  My body was ready.  I can get myself out of anything with my own savvy rationale.  I need to learn to keep myself in things.  I may have missed a BQ early on, like maybe mile 20, but I could have finished in 3:42 had I kept my mental game together.

The good thing is that I know it's possible.  I know it's within reach.