Whiskey Row Marathon

This weekend was my final big race in preparation for the Gobi. In January I completed my first marathon at the PF Chang's Rock n Roll Marathon in Tempe. Then in January I made it round a 50k trail run in the White Tank Mountains, and this last one was self-described as "One of the toughest marathons in America". They definitely weren't lying. Elizabeth and I did the 1/2 marathon last year and that was plenty tough enough. It starts and finishes in downtown Prescott, a beautiful old little town in North Central Arizona. The town is at 5400ft above sea level and both the 1/2 marathon and marathon are out and back courses that head south and west up the hill out of down. In the 1/2 marathon the "out" heads up just over 1000ft and then back down again. The full marathon gets all the way up to just over 7000ft, then back down the other side to 6100, then back up to 7000ft before heading down to Prescott to finish.
My experience of the race was really pretty good actually. After discussion with John, the coach, it seemed that the hills and attitude would probably add around 20 minutes to the time so I was hoping to go out in something like 1:45 and then see if I could get back in 1:35. It really is hard to figure out what kind of pace you can go up a 9 mile long hill though. I was lucky to find another guy around my pace at mile 2 and we stayed together all the way to about mile 14. At the time he joined me I was about 6th or 7th and the 2 of us managed to gain a couple of places while keeping it fairly steady and chatting through 12 miles. I don't think I've ever really chatted during a race, but when you're in for the long haul and heading up a hill at just under 10 minutes a mile it kind of seemed like it would be rude not to. I think it helped me burn through a few miles without noticing quite so much. He was an ex-professional triathlete and told me his first attempt at this marathon had left him chewed up and spat out by the course and since then he's come back just to enjoy it. He also had some interesting things to say about drugs in triathlons.
By the second big hill I just couldn't quite keep up and let him head off into the distance. Still, at least I had someone in my sights while I struggled with the hill. Now, I like hills. Maybe that's just a bit strange, but in general I do well both running and cycling up hills. However, after a 9 mile initial hill followed by a few miles to stretch the legs out a bit, that second hill hurts a lot. I think I can be safe in the knowledge that everyone else found it just as hard. Coming back down the other side, it was difficult to keep in mind that I wasn't even at mile 20. To be honest, nothing about this race felt similar to the previous, more normal, marathon in January. The whole way down from miles 16 to 26, there was no worrying about hitting the wall and dropping off the pace, there was instead a constant worry about whether I could get back enough of the minutes I'd lost going up the hills to try to get close to 3:20. Miles 25 and 26 actually felt like the last 2 miles in a half marathon - I was straining to try to get my pace down below 7 minute miles. I couldn't quite manage that, but I did make it round in 3:21 and a bit. Just a minute or so behind my new friend, 5th overall.
Admittedly, I did then see the winning time: 2:37. How on earth did someone get round that course in that kind of time? Ridiculous.
I'd recommend Whiskey Row to anyone who likes an adventure, doesn't mind doing a race where time is pretty meaningless, and is blown away by a view of the whole West side of Arizona that appears out of the trees at mile 10. Worth the entrance fee alone.
It is nice to know I can get round 26 miles and still be able to walk at the end of it all. It makes me a little more confident I might get round 6 days in the desert after all.

Less ambitious goals

So, the purpose of starting to write a running diary was just to get down in writing some of the experiences, feelings and opinions about the highs and lows of trying to train for and complete the Gobi Challenge in late July this year. After a lengthy initial post I took weeks to get round to a second post. It seems like I was just overawed by the idea of trying to get up to speed on "how I got to this point" - a big task. I've decided that's not all that important at this point. I can fill in some backstory later. This blog is really just for me to keep an online diary of my running training, particularly as it's such an individual thing.

So, this Saturday I'm doing the Whiskey Row marathon in Prescott. It's going to be tough. Even though I've done 2 marathon-or-more races this year, a marathon starting at nearly 6000ft and rising for all of the first 10 miles is still a bit intimidating. I did the 1/2 marathon last year and actually really enjoyed it, but 26 miles seems just that much more hardcore. I know I'll get round though. I've done this distance before.

In between the last post and now I've had 2 races - the Warrior Dash (an obstacle course in the glorious Florence, AZ - move over Florence, Italy, you've got a cultural rival) and the Race for Hope for all Cancers 5K, organized by the AZ myeloma association. I had the joys of crossing the line first both times, which is pretty cool. The 5k would have been a big PB but it was a bit of a long course. The race was so much fun though. As someone with limited real "race" experience, I loved it. I wasn't paying attention at the start and let a couple of guys get 50 yards ahead. Then I spent the next 2 miles reeling the leader in and managed to get up alongside and then out in front on the last mile. We were together for a while and I managed to put in a burst of speed and lose him, but even at the end there was only maybe 10 seconds between us. Pretty cool. I tried that plan at a 5k a year or so ago (the burst of speed thing) and the guy I was running next to just looked at me like I'd taken a dump in his new trainers and then shot off into the distance. The burst of speed thing really only works if the other guy is already hurting. If he's letting you "jointly lead" just for the banter it really does nothing good. Lesson learned last year.

Today I had a track session - 16 x 400m at a fairly leisurely pace for 400m so it wasn't too bad. I do have the marathon in 4 days though so probably for the best. Thoughts now turn to how to tackle a marathon with so many hills. The garmin might not be helping me that much during this race. It'll be done on feel.