Go, you chicken fat, go away!

Today was the Phoenix Marathon/Half Marathon.  Mike was running the half marathon, so Glen and I were on our own.  Last week at our team meeting Glen asked if I wanted to run Usery Pass.  Knowing that the backside of Usery Pass is the start of the marathon, I told him we better avoid it.  Glen texted me yesterday to say that he would be over at 6am.  But then later he texted me to say 6:30am would be better.  I got ready and went outside to stretch while I waited for him.  Right at 6:30am I heard the cannons going off to indicate the start of the race.  Mind you, we're about 3 miles from the start of the half marathon and 10 miles from the start of the full marathon.  But I heard them both. 

It was still a little dark out so we both wore our headlamps.  Glen gave me a headstart and quickly caught up to me.  He sped ahead, but then he slowed down so I could catch up.  I asked him if we could use his van for Ragnar.  He said we could even though the other van will be using it and we'll be using Maggie's.  I asked if he was good being runner #1.  He said it was no problem, he only wished his second and third legs were a little longer.  I was runner #1 last year.  It's kind of nice to finish that first leg and actually be over half way done with all your miles.

After that he sped up again.  He was running pretty good.  I got to McDowell and looked to the right and could see the start line for the half marathon.  Of course by this time all of the runners were long gone.  But then I started thinking that it would be fun to watch the marathoners.  So I continued running to the top of the Canal.  Well, I saw Glen coming back before I got there.  I told him I was going to hang out for a while, so he shouldn't wait for me.  Then I got to the top of the Canal, turned around, and ran back to McDowell.  It was about 7:20am by this point, and I figure the top runners should be coming through in less than 20 minutes. 

I sat down and waited, leaving my Strava running, but it was on autopause.  A guy came by and asked me if I was freezing.  I made my 'go to' joke about having an extra layer of insulation, so I was good.  But after that I did notice my hands getting cold.  Stupid man.  If he didn't say anything, I would have been fine.  He asked when I thought the runners would be coming by.  I said probably within the next 5 to 6 minutes.  Sure enough, a pack of three runners came by with their police escort right around 7:38.  That's pretty fast.  I cheered the runners on as they came by.  The first woman had pink hair, and she looked like a superhero.  I didn't recognize a whole lot of people.  The first person I recognized was this girl I follow on Strava.  But she's a twin, so I'm not sure which one she was.  Then I saw Andre.  I asked him if I could run with him for a while.  He was happy to let me.  But I only ran with him for about a quarter mile.  I wished him luck and turned back around.  On the way back I saw Chrissie.  Or rather, she saw me.  She is a Ragnar Ambassador.  I stayed and watched for another 5 minutes before I decided to head home.  I was probably there for just over an hour.  It was fun.