Magerealm

This past Sunday, I ran my first race, which happened to be the P.F. Cheng’s Rock n’ Roll 1/2 marathon.  Many of you know I was planning on doing this race, but not many knew I was actually initially planning on dropping out because of my lack of training for the past two months.

The Sunday before, I told Chris that I was planning on dropping out of the race – I hadn’t been working out on a regular basis since Thanksgiving, and I thought it would be a bad idea to attempt 13.1 miles after not running for quite some time.  I felt disappointed, but didn’t want to get myself hurt.  That Monday, a former co-worker, Tony, emailed me asking if I was still planning on doing the race.  He had been sick in recent months, and had gotten well enough to attempt the race.  He wasn’t sure if he could complete it, but he was going to go for it anyway, and was wondering if we could meet up before the race to give each other some encouragement.  How could I say no to that? I was very happy to hear that Tony was well enough to attempt it, and something about his email gave me the motivation to go for it. 

The 1/2 marathon has to be completed in 4 hours or else you are disqualified.  That works out to a little over 3.25 miles an hour, which is a steady walking pace.  For safety’s sake, I made a promise to myself – if I could run 4 miles without a problem that night, I would do the race.  I was a little wheezy due to allergies, but my four mile test went well.  I emailed Tony to tell him I would be there.

I ran two more times that week, to get my lungs back into it.  One thing I have learned is it seems that the longer you work out, the easier it is to get back into it after you have taken a break.  In all my life I had never been able to run a mile until a couple of years ago – even when I was in high school and very active, I couldn’t run without getting very wheezy and I’d get a stitch in my side.  Prior to losing 70 pounds, I attempted a 7 mile hike and paid for it for days.  Fast-forward a few years, and I was signed up to run slightly over 13 miles at the age of 31.  Because I had dropped my training program, I had memories of those past aches and pains, hoping I wouldn’t be that out of shape again.  Fortunately, I had trained long enough to learn how to set my pace, how to stretch, and how to stay hydrated.

On Saturday, I went to pick up my race packet.  They give you your race number, a T-shirt, a chip you tie to your shoe that tracks your time, and a bunch of goodies from sponsors.  They set it up as a “Health and Fitness Expo”, but it’s really a mass marketing area geared toward runners.  It’s fun looking at all the techie gadgets and clothing that they have for serious runners, so Chris and I walked through the Expo.  My favorite items were a special watch from Garmin that tracks your distance as well as your pace and time, and the Tyvek clothing.  I’ve only seen Tyvek used for envelopes, so seeing a jacket made of it was kind of interesting.  I didn’t bother checking the price on it – a box of standard envelopes is about 60 bucks, so I can only imagine what a jacket must be.  My goodie bag consisted of tons of Arizona tourism pamphlets, coupons, Listerine products, and oddly enough, lip balm made by Orowheat (that’s Arnold’s for you east-coasters).  Why a bread-maker would make lip balm is beyond me, but it was free, so I’m not complaining.

After going to the Expo and seeing my race number, I started to get excited for the race.  I realized that I would have been very disappointed in myself had I dropped out.  My goals had changed – at the height of my training, I hoped to run the 13 miles in about 2.25 hours; the day before race day, I just wanted to make it to the finish.  I went out and bought a bright red pair of sweatpants and a white UofA sweatshirt to wear over my tanktop.  I wanted to make sure I had something that would keep me warm in the morning, but could be taken off easily. 

Sunday morning, Chris was kind enough to get up early, brave traffic and drop me off so I didn’t have to worry about finding a parking spot or getting a shuttle ride.  When we left the house, it was 25 degrees outside.  I winced.  I brought my inhaler just in case.  Traffic was hell getting there, but I made it, and met up with Tony.  We wished each other good luck and went to our assigned corrals.  In a race like this, you provide your estimated finish time at the time you sign up, and they assign you a “corral” that corresponds with that. Once the gun goes off, they move the corrals one by one up to the start line.  They do that so the slow-pokes don’t get in the way of the elite runners, and probably also for your own safety.  People tend to try and keep up with their pack, so you are being placed with a bunch of people that believe they will hold the same pace as you.  When you read about races, you’ll hear about gun times and chip times.  The gun time is that initial start of the race, but the chip time is the more accurate of the two, as your race chip is initiated when you cross the start line.  On my application I filled out many months ago, I estimated my chip time would be 2:50:08.

The morning was ice cold.  We all had our running gear on, and were shivering all of our breakfast calories off.  The race was supposed to begin at 8:30, but I don’t think they actually started the first corral until 8:45.  My corral crossed the start line at 9:15.  The race time temperature was recorded as 29 degrees, and I had been standing out in that weather for an hour.  Brr! I was initially going to walk the first mile or two to fully warm up, but once they let the group go, you just have to jog – you’re pumped up and ready to go.  Also, I needed to warm up, and that was the only way to do it. 

Normally, my first mile and a half is the hardest – as I warm up, my heart gets going, I breathe heavier, and there is a general feeling of discomfort because of all that.  This time, I was focusing so much on being cold, unable to feel my toes or fingers, I didn’t notice all the regular running discomforts.  In order to pace myself, I figured I’d slow down to a brisk walk whenever I went by a band they placed.  This event is called the “Rock and Roll Marathon”, because they set up local bands to play every half-mile to a mile or so along the two race courses.  I’m glad I brought my iPod, because all but two of the bands stunk.  Maybe it’s motivation to keep you running, I don’t know!

I also need to point out that I find it funny that they provide the runners with all of this Arizona tourism stuff, only to have us run through part of a really bad area in Phoenix.  Welcome to Arizona!  At least it’s not going through Guadalupe…
At the first water station, I grabbed a cup and the water was so cold, I think I froze my upper lip.  I thought of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer accidentally handed his cup of coffee to the marathon runner, and thought that sounded pretty good, actually!  A little after mile four, as I expected, I started to hit my stride.  Whenever I run, I typically start feeling pretty good at that point, so I was pleased that everything was on course with how I trained.  At mile five, I grabbed my energy bar out of my fanny pack and ate half of it.  The caramel was frozen, so I had to gnaw it a bit. 

Throughout the race, in addition to the water, they were handing out this nasty stuff called Accelerade.  It was in the same cups as the water, so you couldn’t really tell the difference until you grabbed it and saw that the contents were pink.  It was horrible – it had this weird acidic flavor to it, and to me, it tasted like cold vomit.  Needless to say, I did my best to stick with the water. 

At mile 7, I began to feel a little lethargic, so I grabbed my PowerBar gel – this stuff is supposed to give you instant energy.  It has a little bit of caffeine, and a good amount of sodium and potassium in it.  I expected it to taste gross, but it was kind of like a really syrupy yogurt.  It actually worked really well.  Somewhere between mile 5 and 9, my walking intervals became more sporadic. I figured if I was feeling okay, I’d just keep on going.  I didn’t want to have my heart rate slow down or cramp up, so I kept on jogging.  A little after mile 10, I started to feel a little fatigued.  I was dragging my feet a bit, and decided to go back to a walk, and have the other half of my energy bar.  Between miles 10 and 13, my walking increased more, but I kept on working back up to a jog wherever I could.  When I saw Sun Devil Stadium off in the distance, I realized I was getting closer to the finish, since the finish line was on the ASU campus.  As a UofA grad, I never thought I’d be happy to see Sun Devil Stadium, but I definitely was. 

All along the route, there were people cheering the runners on – little kids would give you high fives and people would hold signs not only rooting for their friends and family in the race, but for all runners.  It was really neat.

By the last mile I was really tired.  I felt a little pain, but the fatigue was setting in more than anything.  I have never run so much that I felt out of fuel at the end of it.  Some people around me were limping and hobbling to get to the finish line.  When we turned the final corner, we could see the finish line.  There were two girls in front of me who were running on behalf of a charity.  They both looked exhausted, but one of the girls looked ready to collapse.  When they saw the finish line, her friend grabbed her hand and they ran across the finish line together.  That made me smile – while 13 miles isn’t the 26 that the marathon runners do, it is truly exhausting, and when you see that finish line, it’s the best feeling in the world.  I wanted to cross the finish line jogging, so I picked up my pace, and jogged across the finish line, with the gun time reading about 3:12.  I did it!

Across the finish line, they have a “secure zone” where the runners are greeted with people putting foil wraps over you to keep you warm, handing out your finishing medals, and PF Cheng’s gift cards (which is pretty awesome – I love that place).  They also have a huge area with oranges, bananas, bagels and water waiting for you.  At the end of that, one sponsor was handing out free slipper-type shoes.  I met up with Chris and he made sure I stretched and brought a potassium Vitamin Water for me.  He reminded me to put my sweatshirt back on.  He also mentioned in a kind way that I stank. 

When I got home I took a long hot shower, which felt great.  Chris said that the temperature at that moment outside was about 36 degrees, so I did the entire race on freezing temperatures.  I never thought I would be willing to do that.  Surprisingly, I was barely sore.  My shins and quads hurt a little, but really, I didn’t experience any major discomfort.  A while back I splurged and bought really expensive running shoes – I tried them on for fun at Sports Authority, and once I walked in them, I had to have them.  As expensive as they were, I’ve got to say, they were worth every penny.  I did not get one single blister, my shins aren’t too bad, and my ankles feel great. 

That night I checked my results online, and I had a chip time of 2:44 – that’s 6 minutes faster than I initially estimated.  I was happy with that, although I definitely want to do better next time.  There will definitely be a next time – this race was a fantastic experience for me.  Using nothing but your legs and your will to get across that finish line is a very gratifying experience.  What makes running so great is you are competing with yourself – yes, there are tons of other people around you, but almost all of these people know they aren’t elite runners.  Everyone seems to be pushing themselves as best they can, and in the end it doesn’t matter so much if you are in the bottom of the pack or in the upper half.  It’s all about you doing what you set out to do.  It’s a pretty good microcosm of life, really.

Tony emailed me yesterday and he finished as well, which is awesome.  He is really into running, and is hoping to one day qualify for the Boston Marathon.  That’s not my cup of tea, but I am excited for him.  That’s a great goal, and I bet he can do it.  Until then, I hope to see him at a few more races.  I am now planning on doing the Valley of the Sun Half Marathon in March, which is near my house, and also Pat’s Run in April, which is a 4.2 mile run for the Pat Tillman Foundation.  I’m also interested in the Bobbi Olson Half-Marathon in Tucson, which takes place in the fall – I read about it in Lute Olson’s autobiography, and it sounds like a wonderful charity benefiting the Arizona Cancer Center. 

Fortunately, this new hobby of mine isn’t short on events.  Chris expressed a little bit of interest in trying out one of these half marathons, so I need to make sure I keep training so he doesn’t kick my ass.