It’s been a week since I ran the Tucson Marathon. I’ve had some time to put things in perspective and to sort the race out in my head. I went into the race with my fingers crossed and a whole lot of “please, please, please don’t let me fail miserably.” I wanted to run strong and not collapse at the end. We all have that same goal, right? My super duper A+ goal was to run a 3:45 marathon. My lesser B+ goal was to run a sub-4 hour marathon while my C goal was to shave time off my last marathon/a PR. And my “if all else fails” goal was to NOT be carried off the route on a stretcher.
Truth be told I had not been feeling the A+ goal for awhile. I didn’t want to say it out loud because I didn’t want to feel like a complete failure. Life and training over the last few months were so-so. Everything could have been A LOT better.
My coworker shared some good advice on Friday. He said just to chill out and do not worry about setting a PR because it will just ruin the experience if I miss it.
So that’s what I did. I just went in to the race hoping to finish strong and on my two feet.
I was exhausted when I landed in Phoenix on Friday and I didn’t feel any better by Sunday. I just tried to keep my mind distracted. I didn’t want to psych myself out before I glanced the starting line.
RACE DAY
Audrey and I were anxious to get moving at 4 a.m. We caught a shuttle bus with hundreds of other racers to the start line. It took about 30 minutes. Plenty of time to get into “race mode.” However, I was so not looking forward to hanging out on a bus for an hour. But I was happy we had shelter from the cold because it was freezing and windy.
I spent the last 20 minutes waiting in line at the portable toilets. The howling wind prevented us from hearing what the announcer was saying. Before we knew it (and before I was at the front of the line), he said there was five minutes to go before the race began. I quickly dashed into the woods for a quick pee. No more time to waste shivering in line.
26 MILES
Audrey and I quickly seeded ourselves in the crowded field during the singing of the national anthem. (Sorry about that!) I didn’t want to be at back so I moved as close as I could get to the 4-hour pacer. I don’t think it mattered that much because the bunny was standing beside the 3:50 pacer.
And we were off … The route was different than the previous 19 races because of construction on the main road. The official route was revealed a couple weeks (or was it days?) before the marathon. As expected the race began with a huge amount of elevation loss. I was ready to let the down hill take me. I may have started slightly fast. Our pacer was definitely not running for a 4-hour finish.
I just went with it. I felt pretty good overall for the first 32 kms or 16 miles. I chatted with Veronica from Alaska, Dominque from Val’dor and so many others. My pace felt smooth and I didn’t feel the need to stop for a pee break. (A potty break was a highlight of my first three marathons) Time just flew by.
It wasn’t until I hit the 36k mark or so that things start to unravel. My legs were sore but that’s inevitable when you pound the pavement for hours. I officially “hit the wall.” I threw out all my A, B and C goals out with every paper cup I tossed.
I started calculating time and looking at my Garmin every 10 seconds. I made deals with myself. Run 400 metres. Take a 15-second walk break. Run to the next cactus. Take a 30-second walk break.
Things got ugly. I still felt strong but mentally I was no longer committed. I walked/ran the final 4 kms. It didn’t bother me though that I finished in 4:02. I am stronger than the time on the watch.
Bright spot? I feel with a little more mental and fine-tuned training, I can hit my A+ goal.
There was cake! This was the 20th anniversary of the Tucson Marathon. Who knew? I didn’t have cake because I as preoccupied waiting for Audrey to finish. But I did have an awesome cup of coffee. I chatted with a young woman from New York who was at the race supporting her father. She bought my coffee. How nice is that? I felt the people in Tucson were so friendly!
The post-race food was awesome – rolled up peanut butter sandwiches, chips and licorice. Yum! We didn’t stick around too long after the race. It was chilly so we took the shuttle back to the hotel.
Great experience overall! I loved the vibe of the race and the runners I met along the 26.2 miles. While I wasn’t the fastest runner out there and I didn’t meet my goal, I can find some positives from the race.
SUCCESSES
1. I did not use one gel. Instead I used the gatorade that was at the aid stations. I’ve been weaning myself off the gunk because it doesn’t seem to do anything for me.
2. I did not have to go potty. (Maybe this is related to #1)
3. I had speed in the final miles of the race.
4. I kept a constant pace for most of the race.
5. I did not use my iPod. Sometimes I get in the habit of using music to tune out when things are not going well in a race.
6. I ran in the desert!
7. I met some awesome runners along the way.
See? When you look hard enough there’s always something positive to come out of race experience even if you did not meet your goal.
Hey, Tucson, you’ll see me again soon!
Congratulations on your race! It's great you can still look at the bright side and have an amazing experience, while not quite reaching your initial goal.
Thanks Janelle! I loved Arizona too.
Glad you had a good time! I live in Arizona 🙂 And congratulations on all of your successes!
Thanks Hailey. I may come visit you one day 🙂
That is an incredible time, congrats! You will meet your "A" goal in your next race, no doubt!!
Thanks so much Sara!
Congratulations on a great race! I make make A, B, C and sometimes D goals too. 😀 I love that you are able to find all of the positive in your race and not focus on the negatives. You will definitely meet your A goal in your next marathon!
Thank you Anita 🙂
Congratulations on your great race. I like that you made a whole list of successes. Sometimes it is too easy to just look at things that went wrong and not look at all the little wins of the race. Great recap.
Thank you so much! It was wonderful. I can't wait to run my next marathon!
Congratulations on your marathon…that is amazing you ran without music or gue! I am not quite brave to do that yet….when I get anxiety i like things in my mouth…and these long races are exciting but a big challenge! Do you have a next marathon planned out?