2009 Tucson Marathon

I made it to the aid/water station just past mile 20 and asked the lady in charge to call a shuttle to pick me up. I was done. One of the bike patrol offered to make the call about a mile back and I said, "no, I only have a bit more than six miles to go." But, then I thought six miles of walking. What will that be for? It won't help me with my PF Chang's Marathon in January. It won't make me a stronger runner. All it will do is get me a medal and my third marathon completion. At the time it made perfect sense to throw in the towel.



The lady in charge of the water station offered me a chair, while she called. As I sat in it, Vince happened to run by. "No way buddy. You're not done. Come on, run with me." I didn't know Vince at this point. He was just a helpful fellow competitor. I told Vince I was done and he went on. I sat. I became a non runner. I hit the stop button on my garmin. The shuttle was a green jeep cherokee and the driver took 5-10 minutes to get to me. So, I sat and watched as runners stopped, got a drink and hurried on their way. I never volunteered at a water stop, so this was all knew to me. A runner would come by, the volunteer would give them a cup and say how great they looked. I was waiting for her to point to me and say, "you're doing way better than that guy." She didn't.



In the meantime, I massaged by calves.



My day started at 4 am. Actually 3:44. That's when I awoke at the Best Western Innsuites Hotel. I wanted that extra 16 minutes of sleep, so I closed my eyes. Figuring I got the extra rest, I looked at my clock again. It was 3:45. For the next 15 minutes I kept looking at the clock figuring time was up only to see a minute had gone by. Finally, I got up and got ready for the 2009 Tucson Marathon.



It was going to be a good day. The first 8-9 miles are ups and downs with a net elevation drop of about 400 feet. Starting at 4800 feet in Oracle, AZ. The plan was to run the downs and walk the bigger ups, but to conserve energy for state route 77. SR77 is where you go from 4400 elevation to around 27oo over the final 17 miles (little did I realize it would also be in the face of a pretty strong wind). The plan worked for the first 10 miles. All my splits were under the 12 minute per mile I planned. All except for mile 8 that was over 15 minutes and was the biggest up hill on the course.



As I sat at aid station 20, I watched runners go in and out and I knew they'd finish. My time to that point wasn't horrible. I was behind where I wanted to be, but it was the calves and feet that were the reason for me stopping. I'm not good with pain. I tried to pretend I liked pain, but that didn't work.



Miles 12 thru 20 were my undoing. I wanted to do these downhill miles in under 11 minutes. My plan was to get to the finish under 5 hours. The hardest part of the course was behind me and I expected to do negative splits. Around mile 12 I could feel the pain from the Oracle hills in the beginning of the race. The walk breaks became longer. I wasn't sure if I was developing blisters on the pads of my feet. I did realize that I should have trimmed my toe nails the night before. I could feel that one or two of them were slicing into the neighboring toe. Turned out my feet came out ok. No blisters and only one toe got bloodied. My splits in these middle miles were in the 14 to 19 range. Any split over 15 is a mile in which I could only walk. Today, it's hard to imagine I couldn't run. But, from mile 16 until the water stop after 20 I walked. I watched my garmin and I thought how could I ever be able to go another 10 miles? I saw the Catalina Moutains way to my left and I knew the road would curve back to them.



I became a non competitor at the water stop. Vince couldn't get me up. It's weird watching a water stop activity as a non competitor. So, I continued to massage my calves and then I stood up. I walked to the street and said, "I'm not done. Thank the shuttle driver. I'm going to head on down the road." Yeah, I thought about what I was going to write in my blog. I thought about what my fellow bloggers would think. I guess you're my enablers. No, there was no Rocky music with this decision. I just decided my legs felt better after the rest and I could run/walk to the next water station and then see how I felt.



I had a new plan. Survival to the finish line. I was going to count my running steps. 20, 30 or 40 right steps and then I could walk. I did this a few times and passed 3 runners that I watched pass me at the water stop. I did it a few more times and then saw the green jeep. She had her window rolled down and asked how I was doing. I tried not to look at the plush leather seats or feel the heat escaping from the car window. I told her I was fine and that I was going to soldier on. Little did I know that Vince, my 'enabler' was a soldier.



After a few more running segments I passed a Team Chances runner from Ahwatukee. Practically a neighbor. She was laboring with her two sons to get to the finish. I was in the middle of one of my running segments, so I kept on moving. Up ahead I saw a guy in a white shirt. Could it be Vince? After a while, I caught up to him. He was walking with a hiking stick. Never seen that before in a race. I tapped him on the shoulder, which scared him to no end. He was glad to see me and congratulated me on returning to the race. We talked for a while. He's in the army at Fort Huachuca (wa-chu-ka). This is where I learned his name and that he almost quit on a 100 mile race. At mile 93, someone got him up and running. He was just paying it forward. I thanked him for his service and we walked for a while. Then, I told him I needed to get running. I didn't think I'd see him again. But, around mile 25 he passed me. Said I inspired him to finish strong and he finished ahead of me.



Then, the Ahwatukee lady caught up to me. We walked and talked. Her boys still with her. I told her she was doing great and she said I was too. The comradiere at the back of the pack is nice. Everyone supported each other, except for the two 'Paris Hilton' wannabes that were running and wouldn't even talk to me. More on that in another post.



Miles 22 thru 25 were 14:09, 13:56, 14:30 and 15:56. The last hill up Hawser Road slowed me down at the end. I was making a lot better time than in those middle miles. Not fast, but at least there was some running involved.



My attitude wasn't very good. I was upset that I didn't properly train for a marathon with this much elevation change. I was a bit naive to think that a couple hill workouts would suffice. I was embarrassed that I wasn't doing 11 minute miles. I had friends that told me, I just didn't listen.



By mile 26 I was toast again. I was walking and people that I had past were now passing me. I was glad for them (not the paris hilton girls). They all passed me, but by then I knew I would finish. I did in 6 hours and 9 minutes. It felt like 60 hours. But, I finished and for that I got my third marathon medal.

Tucson - Twin Cities - Rock N Roll Arizona

Below are pictures I took. I didn't take many during the last half of the marathon. I was not in a good frame of mind then.

The expo was at the El Conquistador in north Tucson.

The expo was small, so I sat poolside and looked at all the brochures they give you. The El Paso Marathon had a booth, so I spent a long time looking at info for West Texas and Big Bend National Park.

The race director had two school buses at the start. You find the window with your race number, put your extra clothing in a drop bag and toss it in the bus. Then at the finish line, they had your warm clothing for you to pick up.

Me at the start line. The start is in the middle of the Coronado National Park in Oracle, AZ.

A beautiful start area, surrounded by boulders and unbelievable views.

As luck would have it, a bunch of porta potties too. I chose to use the tree on the right instead. I'm sure the women appreciated less competition for the seats. However, I did see a few women squatin' in the desert.

Before the sunrise. We had to ride buses to get there and then we sat for over an hour until the race start time.

A close up of the rock climbing runners. I took several pictures from atop similar rocks.

The start.

Miles 5-9 are an out an back. They are also a down and up. I liked it, because you got to see all the other runners. The views were great at this point. I even saw superman running by.

Now I have 35 days to train for the flat PF Chang's Rock N Roll Marathon in Arizona. Yeah, yesterday I would have cancelled my registration.

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April 2009 Races

Dave's Run for ALS

A Record Morning on the Mountain
Dave’s Run for ALS, March 22, 2009

by Dave Hill

This year’s Dave’s Run for ALS had a fresh new look: new venue, new sponsors, new participation in the SAR 2009 Running Shop Desert Grand Prix and a new record field.

The new venue at Dove Mountain Retail Center was voted a ‘hit’ by the running
community, who turned out in force, to more than double last year’s field (362 finishers, compared with 171). A new title sponsor, Comcast, came on board and we are very excited about the possibilities of working with them in future years. We were grateful recipients of some great publicity in the form of public service announcements made by 92.9 The Mountain, who also provided some very popular raffle prizes. The Gallery Golf Club stepped in with some magnificent awards and raffle prizes; Dove Mountain Grill, Arbonne Products and Batters Box all provided additional awards. In addition to these new sponsors, we were delighted to retain the Running Shop as principal sponsor for overall awards and age-group winners and, as usual, Sharon Bart delivered a wonderful array of prizes. Culligan-Oasis Water once again supplied our water stations and this year we had a new electrolyte replacement drink, provided by Xood. All of the above are local companies, who gladly gave their support to a local event.

Please give them your support in return.

Race day was blessed with beautiful weather, perhaps a little warmer than usual for this event, but the promised wind storm did not materialize and running conditions were close to optimum for a 5K. The race itself was an exciting affair up front. After James Miles took out the early pace, Pima Community College assistant coach Robert Seaman, and former PCC All-American Shaun Haley hit the front, then Seaman made the crucial break on the last downhill to prevail by one second from the fast finishing Haley (15:47 to 15:48). Shaun, who is a first-year master, had the consolation of setting a new M40 state record, subject to ratification. A late run through the field by former UA star, Obed Mutanya (16:19) clinched third place, and showed that he is making good progress on his return to training. He was followed closely by Catlow Shipek, James Miles, then Gavin Sosa rounding out the first six places. Behind Haley, the top three masters were completed by William Schaffer and Mike Bradley.

The ladies race was dominated by Ashley Tousley, a law student in Des Moines, Iowa, who recorded an impressive 17:37 to win by over two minutes from local favorite, Paula Morrison. There was a close contest for 3rd and 4th between Amber Young (20:12) and Christina Hogue (20:16) and they were followed by master’s winner, Barbara Leinweber and Tia Accetta in one of her first races since the birth of her second child, a few months ago. The second and third master’s also put on a competitive race, as Cotah Rose (21:22) finished just five seconds ahead of Merry Dearmon-Moore.

The most outstanding age-group performances came in the F65-69 category, where Sandra Heater and Judie Shyman both annihilated the F66 state record, with Sandra claiming first place by 15 seconds (26:22) and thereby becoming the new record holder. I have many people to thank, but I would like to start by saying a big thank you to everyone who turned out to support this race. No matter how much pre-planning and preparation goes into an event like this, at the end of the day it is the great running public who make a race successful or not. Thank you for making this one a success! In particular, I would like to express my gratitude to the IBM team for coming out in support of their colleague Jim Riehl, an ALS sufferer. It was an inspiration to meet Jim and see how much he enjoyed the morning.

Putting on something like this can be lot of fun but also a lot of work and it wouldn’t be possible without a great number of people who freely volunteer their time, to ensure that things run smoothly. I can’t possibly mention them all by name, but I would like to thank all of the SAR board members who turned out help, especially Sheryl and Steve Felde who did their usual immaculate job of organizing packet pick up and registration on Saturday and Sunday. If there was a hall of fame for volunteers, Sheryl and Steve would be the inaugural inductees. I am also very fortunate to have the support of a wonderful group of runners, known as the Tucson Grinders who not only raced en masse, but also volunteered en masse for setting up and clearing up, both of which were accomplished in record time. In particular, I have to mention my wife Michele and Norris ‘Butch’ Taylor, who in addition to their race day labors, also spent half of Friday stuffing 400 race packets. And, I can’t forget my course set up team of Scott Cole, Glenn Davis and Shawn Jackson who laid and then picked up more road cones than they would care to remember! Thanks too, to the Tri-Girls team who staffed the water stations, to ace photographers Jolene Jones and Ron Lumm, and to Greg Wenneborg and his Pima athletes, Joe Cuffari and Craig Curley, who did a great job with the finish line and timing. Thanks are also due to the Town of Marana for their help in permitting the event, especially for waiving their normal fees; to the Town of Marana Police Department; to site owners Cottonwood Properties for allowing use to use the venue and to Bashas’ Supermarket for granting the use of their café area for pre-race registration.

Finally, I have to give special thanks to two people who really made this event possible. Jim Irish, who volunteered his time as race commentator this year, was responsible for starting this event in 2001 and for keeping it going for several years thereafter. I was fortunate enough to inherit an event that was already well-established on the SAR calendar and I am truly standing on Jim’s shoulders. The second person will be less familiar to you, but my friend Lance Eldridge, from The Gallery Golf Club, has made a huge contribution to the changes that we made for this year’s race. It was Lance who brought in most of the new sponsors: Comcast, 92.9 The Mountain, The Gallery Golf Club and the Dove Mountain Grill. He was also instrumental in securing the venue, through his contacts with Cottonwood Properties and Bashas’. A monumental thank you to both of them.

At the time of writing this report, there are only 364 more days until the 10th annual Dave’s Run for ALS. Mark the date in your diaries now and enjoy another Morning on the Mountain, March 21, 2010.

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April 2009 Races

London's Run Half Marathon

For two hundred yards we ran. Faster than we ran all day. We could see the finish line and as I ran faster, so did she. With a smile, I said to this stranger, "Are we racing?"

"Yes", was the only thing she said. We were moving fast, but it seemed as if time had stopped. I was now looking at her feet. Our legs in sync. With about 100 yards to go, I decided to go a little faster and with that I was gone. Crowds yelling for us. A run that had been going on for 2 hours and 26 odd minutes, boiled down to a 'duel in the desert'. This was how I finished a wonderful day of running in Queen Creek, Arizona.

This is a charity run to raise money for kids battling cancer. London was such a kid. There was a table (pictured) with pictures of all the kids. The race was held at Schnepf's Farm, an agritainment farm southeast of Phoenix proper. About 50 minutes from my home. I felt like I was going to the county fair as my car was in line to park in the field with less than 30 minutes until race time.

I had to make a decision. Run the 10k or run the half. I decided 13 miles would be good distance today and I had reason to run it anyway.

As you might know, I visit the Runner's World forum and leave posts and comments. There's a few of us Arizonans that do. One guy is AZ Nick in Queen Creek. We've discussed meeting at a race, but our race schedule never lined up. Lately, I and a few others convinced Nick he was ready to run a HM. He picked this race to run with a relative. Then, that relative bailed on him and he was preparing to run it alone.

Now Nick seemed like a nice guy, but I only knew him from RW and facebook. Do I want to run for over 2 hours with a stranger? What happens if we can't stand each other? One of us would have to suck it up and run away.

Nick called right as I was entering the porta potty. I told him I'd call him back. We finally met. I got to meet his wife and BIL. They ran the 10k. I told Nick I'd run with him and we decided to do his 4 minutes of running and 40 seconds of walking pattern for an 11 mpm pace. Nick's 4 minutes were long. And his 40 seconds were short. Seriously, we did skip some of the walk breaks and we settled into doing sub 11 mpm miles for the first 4 and then 11 to 11:35 miles the rest of the way.

The course was beautiful. Queen Creek is pretty flat. We had mountains to look at, but for the most part we were running in between farm fields. Lots of dirt roads and a few closed country roads. All straight aways, but lots of turns and in one section you go back and forth three times. The race started with us running past about 5 horses that were running in the pasture.

Nick and I talked the whole way. Kinda like when Karen and Lisa run. But, not about pedicures or tissue paper. We talked running. Jobs. Men stuff. After about 2 miles, I knew we would be running the whole race together and that it would be a pleasure.

I started running with my Phoenix Coyotes sweatshirt. Nick's a big time Coyotes fan, so he was alarmed that I was going to leave it road side. I did at the four mile point. Never to see it again. But, after the race as I was watching them award medals to the 10k winners, I looked down and saw a Coyotes sweatshirt. It was old and beat up and I'm thinking, "oh, someone has a sweatshirt just like mine. Wait, it is mine." The volunteers picked it up and my sweatshirt beat me to the finish line.

The last three miles Nick and I were trying to figure out if we could a) finish under 2:30, b) finish under 2:27:09 (my PR). I kept doing the math, looking at my garmin and telling Nick what we needed to do. Our start was 15-20 seconds late and we did a short stop so I could refill my water bottle. With half a mile left we knew that 2:30 was in the bag, but could I get a PR? As a side note, I wear my garmin really tight. The picture below is what my wrist looked like after the race. I mean 30 minutes after. I guess I plumped up during the race.


Back to the race, Nick and I had a final turn to make and then it was about 200 yards to the finish. I said let's go and started running hard. That's when I caught up to the 'lady in black' that was a willing racer.

In I came at 2:27:15 or 6 seconds over my best time. No PR today. But, a great run anyway.

Race Results

It was great weather (60's), a great location, a great time and a great volunteer group. But, what made it best was running with Nick in his first half. It's the first half marathon I've run with someone. From start to finish. We are close to the same speed and we enjoyed each other's company. I know that if I ran this today, by myself I would have been 2:34 or more. Easy. Nick and I paced each other well.

So, there it is. London's Run Half Marathon is HM #10 and the second one this month. It's the second fastest HM I've run.

At lunch I saw this license plate:

Back in the day, when Steve Prefontaine was running for Oregon and was one of the best runners in America, a rival school had t-shirts made. They simply said, "Stop PRE".

Curtis Design Studios was a sponsor of this race. Please support the sponsors that support your sport.

Air Force 5k

When I started running in June of 2006 I felt like this NASA Plane. Big and slow and awkward looking next to all the other runners.



Someday, I'd like to be like this plane. Now you see me now you don't. Today was the Air Force Annivesary 5k down at the Pima Air Museum. Wow, what a place to hold a run.

The Pima Air Museum is on the south side of Tucson, AZ near the Davis-Monthan Air Base. If you are in the area, it's a must see. Next year when my son is at the U of A, I hope to take him over there to see all these planes and learn all this history.

The entrance has this beautiful work of art. My race details are below. You can click on it to see the numbers. I'm not sure why the satellite view did not come up, but if you'd like to see the boneyard that we ran in, see my inital report about this race.

What I like best is the first mile. Under 10 minutes and it was a nice consistent run. What I don't like is all the walking I had to do in miles 2 and 3. And the fact that this was a long 5k. My garmin said 3.36 miles. I doubt it's off 1/4 of a mile. So, my garmin 3.1 miles was done in about 35 minutes. The RD has me in at 38:54.

I got up at 3:53 am. Seven minutes before the alarm would wake me. Got my stuff together and was out the door heading for Tucson at 4:10 am. It was a nice quiet ride down to the Ole Pueblo and I got to think about how I like the energy that comes from these races. it's not about beating anyone, especially in my turtle like state these days, but I just enjoy watching people milling about, stretching, talking and getting ready to accomplish the same thing. Run a race.

We all headed toward the start line. I parked right near the course, so I grabbed my camera to snap some pics.

First the color guard and the national anthem. Lots of military running and supporting this race which is a fund raiser for the Tucson Chapter of the Air Force Association.

Then the start. I snapped a couple of photos and then jogged to the start turned around and then jogged to my car. Threw my camera in, locked the doors and joined in the fun.

My first mile was great. 9:41. I just run with the crowd and usually have better race times if I feed off the energy. I know you're suppossed to go out slow, to conserve energy. I usually don't. Lots of strollers in this race, which is fine because the first half mile was on a wide closed support road for the museum. One kid had a scooter and it was loud. Inside the Museum, the surface turns to desert sands. No more scooter time. Another kid was yelling, "Go, Mommy, Go" . She was in a stroller and mom was the locomotion.

After awhile these guys caught up to me. Individually, they can all kick my ass. The ran in formation chanting as they ran. I kept in front for a while, but then they passed me. I'd walk awhile then run pass them. But, the machine that they are would pass me again. I thought I'd never see them until one of them had to puke. One stops, they all stop. NO man left behind. The last mile I ran behind them and fed off their energy. Left, Left, Left, right, Left.

I felt bad about passing them. But, I had the need for speed and I got in two good bursts at the end. At around the 34 minute mark in the race I got down to a mpm of 5:49 for about 40 seconds and at the end I did about 50 seconds of under 5 mpm pace. I was as low as 4:19 according to garmin. I finished 216th out of 286 runners, just 20 seconds ahead of the great men and women of Davis-Monthan Air Base. I thank them for letting me feed off their energy.



I didn't know we were getting medals for finishing a 5k. It was a nice surprise. After the race and awards ceremony, I went into the museum and got to see the original AirForce One. You even get to go inside it. Pretty cool.

Now, if you look out your window on your next flight and the engines look like this, you're in trouble.

Here's the bling. cool race bib, nice tee and a medal.

The neatest thing I saw in the museum. The first flag on Utah Beach in WWII.

Last night I ate some more carbs. Today, I didn't worry about the carbs and ate more. Not sure if I raced better because of it, but I didn't want to bonk. I'm still far from were I was back in January, but that's OK. I'll get there. Now, back on Atkins so that I can shed some more pounds before I start running double digit miles.

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April 2009 Races