2013 Phoenix Marathon (Debut Marathon) So going into this race, I felt I had done the best I could to train and be ready for the unexpected. I kept a positive attitude and affirmed myself that I was completely prepared for the pace and distance I was about to do. I went in with the mentality that sub 3 hours was realistic and that I was trained and prepped for it. Getting sick and hit by the truck were not excuses I could have for Saturday morning so I did everything I could to get better and ready in time. I felt very fresh and thought that I would be just fine. Toni, Skip, Steve A., Steve O., Bill C., Bill H. and myself all stayed together. We got to the buses and I met up with Riley. We were getting on the buses when Dave Holt was right behind us. We had a great ride up to Usery Pass Rd. It was good to get to know Holt better. The conversation was funny and the time went quick on the way up. I thought the race was really well done for the first time. The fireworks were awesome. I was able to go to the bathroom 3 times before the start. I did not really warm up that much. Did a light jog up to where I went to the bathroom and then like one stride out from the starting line. After wishing a lot of familiar faces good luck and go get some...The timer said go and we were off. My plan was to run with Melody Jenson. She had similar goals and although we did not know each other to well it was very enjoyable running with her. I had know clue what I was in store for. I was talking the whole first mile like a chatter box. Melody probably thought "this guy is going to drive me nuts". We settled in and went through the first mile in 6:34 and I told Melody that this was perfect. We felt very good and Melody looked like she was in the zone right from the beginning. I told her that I wanted to work together to help each other. Her husband John was everywhere on the course. I could not believe how good of support team by himself he was for Melody. I know that was a huge help for us and eventually for her great race and time. The first four miles were easy and felt nothing to it. We came through the 4 mile mark in 26:12 which I thought was perfect conservative effort. The next two miles up the hills were in the 6:40's pace which was also perfect. I thought the hill part of the course was a lot tougher than what it looked like. I am glad Dave had driven the course and compared the hills to some other course we had done. I would have probably been freaked out if I didn't know anything going into that part of the course. When we got to the top the hills section, I knew I was in good shape and felt really comfortable. Melody thought she was holding me back. I told her this was great and that everything was clicking fine. We saw Rachelle (runningforTrevor) just after mile 8 and she ran a long with us for a bit and gave us some gatorade. She was awesome and told us we looked great and that we were going to catch everyone because they went out too fast. Every time we came up on a mile mark though we seemed early and it progressively got worse as the race moved into Mesa. I still sharp through mile 9. 10 mile mark was 1:06 and change. I loved it. This was exactly my plan. Then the sun came out!... You know its weird when you are thinking 35 degrees is hot. I don't remember the last time I ran in the 70's let alone raced in these temps. So Melody starts to create a 10 second gap on me. I let her go thinking she was feeling good and wanted to pick up the pace. I did not realize that I was dropping a little. I didn't feel bad. I just was not keeping pace. All kinds of things were going through my head at this point. I asked myself if I was really being conservative. I maintained a 30 second gap behind Melody until the half marathon marker. I think I went through in 1:27:42. My watch stop working right after this for some reason. In fact it stopped on me twice during the race. This was frustrating because I had no idea what I was really doing split wise for the second half of the race. I ran from mile 10-22 by myself with the exception of a few people that passed. I had a group of like 6 guys and one gal that passed me right at the half mark and then about 3-4 different men that passed me around miles 18 and 22. When I fell off pace around the half mark, I knew I was in trouble. Melody started gaining more ground on me and I felt like I was being left behind. I decided to revamp the plan. I knew I was still on pace to go sub 3 hours but I needed to focus on my hydration and energy levels now. My sister and brother in law were awesome. They met me at 7.5, 14, 18, and around 22 and then the finish. It was awesome to have them there. It was a huge boost at 22 for me when my sister said "Dad, says to keep even strides and focus on moving forward". Something to that extent. I was shocked that she said this. I smiled and this literally gave me the focus to not walk. I wanted to stop so bad. I just remembered that my dad told me "the slowest run is still faster than the fastest walk". I kept telling myself to suck it up and go, but never got my legs going. At mile 16 I knew I was in trouble. I wanted to deny that I was hurting, but the mile markers started to feel longer and slower. I knew that I was in trouble if I didn't get more fluid and gel. I could not get enough. I felt heavy. My left IT band and achilles were now tightening worse. I kept thinking that it would go away. I tried to slow down my pace a little to 7:30 thinking this would help me relax and get some strength back. I now know that I should have done some other things to relax. Slowing down only caused the inevitable. By mile 21, I knew I needed to refocus my goal of sub 3 hrs to qualify for Boston. I just had no speed left and I felt like my body was done. I knew at this point I needed more miles at tempo and MP for the next marathon. I kept telling myself that if you don't go now and pick up the pace you are going to regret this when you are done. I did everything I could to try and work through the pain. Mile 24 came and the 3:05 pace setter came by me. I am glad he did because I just said stay by him and don't let him get away. We did a weird right turn onto Alma School road and I could see Bass Pro Shop Rd in sight. I knew I had the strength to finish, but man I was exhausted. I could not believe how far the marathon distance really is and how humbling a race it makes even the great runners feel. When I got to the mile 26 marker I took it in. I pumped my arms up and through out some smiles and shouts and really enjoyed the finish. The announcer saying my name felt like I had accomplished what I set out to do. I never thought I would ever do a marathon. I had no desire. I still think the 10k is too long of a race. I crossed the finish line and saw Toni who had waited along with Bill Clark and his wife, Collin and Bill M., and some others that I cannot remember right off hand. I went over to my sister and hugged her and she got my dad on the phone. Talked to him for like 3 minutes and then told him I was too tired to talk and that I would talk soon. I drank like 5 bottled waters, 2 powerades, a chocolate milk, an energy drink, 3 otter pops, a piece of bread, a cookie, a piece of El Pollo Loco chicken within 30 minutes of finish. I also walked a ton. It still didn't help my legs. I am buying compression socks now. I am disappointed that I did not break 3 hours. I felt that I was trained go under 3 hours. I am experienced enough to know that sometimes the day just does not go your way. I am pleased that I qualified for Boston. For a debut marathon, I will take this result. I never walked and never gave up. I am excited to have a standard and benchmark to build off of. I think in my mind because I train with some great runners that I could be a lot faster today. I know now what I need to do and the "sky is the limit" like Poulsen told me. Excited for the rest of the year. Utah absolutely represented today. So much talent on the men's and women's sides in this state. It is really cool to see this. I am excited for the recovery period. Hope to do a 5k in two weeks that I really love. We shall see. I am going to get my legs healthy and work on making HP and MP miles a common denominator for my training regiment. I also need to lose more weight but this will just come with time. Thanks to everyone that I met on the blog and look forward to getting to know more of yall. oh the course read 26.39 on my watch. just sayin... :))))
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