Phoenix Half Marathon Recap

I had a goal before ever finishing my second half marathon:  I wanted to complete a third one by my birthday.  I take great pride in being able to say that I made this a reality.  Thanks to some wonderful donations, a holiday bonus from work, and a lot of deal searching on my part, I was able to head down to the very warm and sunny Phoenix, AZ and do my third half marathon just one week before my birthday.

The time was 4:40am.  Runners from all over the world were all heading to the Riverview Mesa Shopping Area.  This was our finish area, but also where we would board the buses that would take us to our respective starting lines.  This was a point to point race with a Full, Half, and 10K associated with it.  Me, not very smart at 4:40am parked my rental car at what looked like a very good landmark.  There were lots of flags lining the area, all of different nations.  "I couldn't miss that," was all I was thinking.  Little did I realize how much more walking I would have to do to get around all the chaos that had yet been built for the day as this was our official finish line.

These 10 buses were charged with the task of driving us to our starting points.  The full marathon started on a hill in Phoenix that is labeled with the name of the city.  My starting point was on the edge of town.  Let me tell you, this bus ride was very eye opening.  We can all agree that 13.1 miles is a long distance.  But riding in a vehicle from the finish line to the starting area really drives it home.  Makes you wonder how crazy you must be to have woken up at 3:45am (2:45am back home) to willingly travel this distance by foot! 


Here is the funny moment for me before the race.  Back home, it was 25F the day I boarded the airplane to Phoenix.  When I landed, it was 85F.  So at 5am when it is 55F or so, locals are FREEZING!  Fifty or more outdoor heaters were set up for the mass of locals.  As for me, I was in capris, a tank top, and a light jacket as I knew it would be raining that morning.  I giggled as I saw people in parkas.  People looked at me in shock as I explained how I was not cold at all!




 The time is now 6:30am.  The gun has gone off, and so have the fireworks.  This was a nice way to send us off on our journey.  All 4,000 of us were excited to go!  I have to say, my major disappointment was not being able to see the sunrise as it was behind me.  At the same time, I am glad the sun was not in my eyes the whole time.

One thing I greatly enjoyed about this race were the smells.  Rosemary, sage, and citrus trees lined the race course.  The aromas circling around me and filling me with joy.  I had smelled the citrus trees, which were in bloom, the day before, but it was not able to connect the fragrance until the race.  This was also one of the moments where I realized that I am glad that I walk.  I don't think that I would find the same appreciation for my surroundings if I were running.

Mile 2 was a good place for me for a variety of reason.  First of all, I learned in Seattle that I should always take a cup of electrolyte drink at every station.  This was the first of many.  Secondly, I had met a lady in the first mile who I began walking with, but by Mile 2, we parted ways.  Her pace was much too slow for me, and her negativity was not what I wanted.  I found it to be infectious.  Thirdly, in Mile 2 I met my walking partner.  She was a wonderful woman who had also traveled for the race.  I had no clue we would walk the rest of the race together.  I had no clue what she would mean to me later in the race.  But let me tell you, I am grateful to Mile 2 for bringing me my walking partner that I would later run across the finish line with, and celebrate our finish with a hug.


Mile 5 brought the pancake group.  Light little pancakes, no bigger than the palm of your hand.  Not the heavy kind you get at the greasy spoons.  No, these were perfect for that boost of energy.  I gladly accepted one.  I don't know if the pancake group knows how awesome they are, but they at least made my day!

This was one of the most energetic cheering sections along the entire race.  In fact, this was one of my biggest complaints about this race.  The energy was so lacking!  My first half marathon lacked spectators.  My second, they were everywhere!  I love having people cheering me on as it helps keep me going.  This one?  Not so much.  More than my first race, but still so few and far between.  The cars passing us by were not even honking or cheering.  Actually, the cars were just driving down the race course and ignoring the police directions.  I later learned that this is only the third time that Phoenix Marathon has occurred in this city, so I think that might add to the lack of community support.  Again, another reason I loved my walking partner.  She kept me going when she knew I was falling back.

And now we meet Mile 8, or as I will admit, The Wall.  It was a short lived wall.  I could see over the wall the entire time, but that bastard was still present.  I was getting tired.  My training had been minimal due to below freezing temperatures for over a month back home.  I was also getting hungry.  I had eaten some banana, the pancake, and even succumbed to the frosting flavored bathroom caulk.  I was keeping up with my electrolytes.  I was chatting with my walking partner.  But really, what helped was my walking partner looking back at me at one point as I had fallen 2-3 steps behind her, and pulling me forward with the invisible lasso.  Mile 9 involved me kicking the rubble of this wall out of my way, and by Mile 10, you would never have known I had hit it.  






Miles 11 and 12 were great!  We knew we had this.  We knew our time was fairly decent (more on that later).  We knew we had to finish together because really, who would have thought that we would find someone on the course who could match our pace, and be helpful to us way back in Mile 2.  We also were finding more and more of our competitive streak.  We found a group of three people who had been 1-2 blocks ahead of us the entire race.  We would close in, and they would run ahead.  This kept happening the whole time...until now!  They were slowing down.  They lost their stamina.  We knew that this was our chance.  This finish line was less than a mile away, and if we were going to pass them, we had to do it now.  We quickly passed them, and watched as they fell further and further behind us.  High fives between the both of us for finally passing "those three", and a quick focus on finishing. 

We made a deal that we would cross together.  We also decided that we were running across the finish line, but not too far as we were both tired.   So at about 50 feet from the finish line, we looked at each other and started our run.  This was truly my victory run.  I had done it!  Three half marathons, all before my birthday were officially mine!

And now the answer to what is on everyone's mind:  My time was 4:08:31.

I am okay with the fact that I added 4 minutes to my time compared to Seattle.  I am actually surprised it was only 4 minutes that I added, and fully think that my walking partner is to thank for this.  I was ill prepared compared to Seattle, but in a much better place than I was for Labor Day.  I know now that I really should reconsider the idea of an early Spring race, but at the same time, I feel like it was a great kick off to the season.  This was an emotional race for me though.  Two separate moments, emotions only shown later in private. 

My first moment was waiting in line for my massage in the finishers' area.  I know that I have come a long ways from having knee reconstruction, to relearning how to walk, to completing a 5k, to now this.  But it took everything I had not to cry when I was standing in line with a group of marathoners and one specific man from St. Louis told me that my completion of a half marathon was so much more than his marathon finish.  He was talking about his own health issues, and noticed my scar.  When I explained what it was from, all while stretching my quads, he looked at me in awe.  He then told me how amazing I was that I could stretch in a way he couldn't.  And even more, he felt that my race was so much more than his because of my personal travels to get there.  I couldn't believe what he was telling me.  I had completed half the distance he had, and in double the time, if not more than he had, but still, he was looking at me in a positive light.  I was speechless!   

After receiving a 45 minute massage thanks to the finishers' area, and having a huge bowl of pho with a friend of mine who lives in Arizona that drove into town just to see me, I had my other emotional moment, but this time let it out.  I DID IT!  I wanted my three.  It was so surreal!  When I picked up my race packet on Friday afternoon and talked with another friend who also lives in Arizona, I was in a little shock that I was really there.  But it wasn't until after the race, when all was said and done, my medal hanging on the mirror of the rental car, and me waiting for a light to turn green, this is when it hit that I am a half marathoner, and one who had really and truly completed her goal!