Teresa,
Interesting and amusing account of your run!
I ran the half-marathon along with my two brothers
and two sisters. Ages 46 to 55. Luckily,none of us had any bodily
function or equipment issues(we'd admit to). I ran in poly-pro long
sleeve shirt,shorts,light pair of gloves and nothing on my head but
hair. Nippy before the start, but I warmed up quickly.
Much better than last year before the race,with all huddling around
heaters in a cold drizzle!
It was a great place to get together for a family reunion.
Coming from PA, a few days of 70 degree weather was luxurious.
We went out to the Desert Museum, which was awesome!
During the Raptor Free Flight, hawks were swooping within inches of my
head! At 6'6", I'm just happy they chose the nearest sagauro cactus to
perch on and not my head.
Overall, I thought the run was well-organized and staff very friendly.
I can only quibble about the buses not leaving from the hotel this year
and the unripe bananas at the finish. Pretty minor complaints.
After missing me in the Clydesdale results, they were nice enough to
re-post. At 1:56.28, it was a PR for me by 5 minutes!
I wrote a corny limerick to commemorate our trip:
If siblings Jackie, Jeanne, Steve, Pete and Phil
Can run 13 miles, (though it's mostly downhill).
In spite of age, bad hips and sore knees
That seems better than most family trees
So, let's have a toast and a glucosamine pill!
Best of luck to all.
Pete LaBerge
Teresa Bippert-Plymate wrote:
> Results will eventually be posted at: www.tucsonmarathon.com
> Probably around 30F at start, warming to high 50's or low 60's.
>
> Short Version:
>
> Unofficially, 3:58:11. Had a lot of equipment/weird problems.
> No PR, though still a BQ, and kept my Grand Prix lead.
>
> Long Version:
>
> I thought I was well-prepared. I'd packed and double-checked
> everything the night before. Had a big pasta dinner early, went
> to bed early and slept well. Made excellent time to the parking
> area, taking my "secret" back way in (and saw a huge line of
> lights backed up for miles the other way, hehe!) Followed a
> couple of stray vehicles to a side parking lot I didn't know
> existed, completely avoiding the parking mess. What a find!
> Boarded my bus, yakked with a lady from San Diego. The bus
> *did not* get lost this year, first time in two years. Bus pulls
> up in long line of buses, I use the porta-pot, then get back on
> and stay warm. Close to start, I get off and join the throngs
> walking forward to the start area. Go potty again. Take off
> sweats and put on my trash bag, head rag, and sock gloves. And
> discover I'd forgotten my sweat band. Darn. I always wear a terry-
> cloth sweat band when I run. In winter it covers my ears to keep
> them warm, in summer I pull the back end up to raise my hair up
> an inch above the neckline for air. Drop bag in drop bag bus.
>
> Anyway, I jog around about 10 mins to warm up some, so I can
> stretch my quad spot a little without worrying about injuring it.
> Everything feels OK. I joke with another guy wearing a "hobo
> outfit" like mine. The gun goes off right on time without tons
> of announcements etc delaying it. I start off slowly and easily
> (can't even jog until after the chip mat anyway, then only slowly
> for a bit due to the crowd). At one mile I have to pee. I find the
> most convenient-looking area to do it quickly. And I'm now warm
> enough to get rid of the trash bag. And then, during mile 3, I have
> to pee *again*! After that I get rid of the piece of fleece rag
> under my sunvisor I'd been using to keep warm. I felt I was at the
> crossover time where it would be better to let the heat out than
> hold it in. It's then that I discovered that the sun visor is
> too big without the forgotten sweat band. With the rag gone, it
> keeps slipping down over my eyes and I have to keep pushing it up.
> I slow a bit and see if I can adjust. It's already at it's smallest.
> I grab a hair tie and bundle up a ponytail, and it helps to have
> that to hold it in place, though it still slides down now and then.
>
> At mile four it's time to shed my turtleneck. I dug out an old
> white t-neck that was stretched and stained and could use to be
> retired. But it was tough, it was one of my old, comfy ones and I
> hated to just dump it. Though I guess it was an honorable retirement
> to go by way of marathon. And then, I had to pee AGAIN. This was
> getting quite annoying. I held until about mile 6 until I just had
> to find another bush. Around mile 7 the sock gloves went. And a wind
> started to pick up, coming from the right rear quarter. I thought
> "Oh good, a tailwind!" but the wind started causing problems. I had
> my race number mounted on a number belt, and the race number's holes
> didn't line up with the belt's so I'd made new holes. Well, I got the
> right one too big, and the wind's whipping the number around made it
> come out of the snaps. Repeatedly. Another mistake I made, I brought
> the cell phone so I could call Claude afterwards to arrange lunch. I
> put the phone on the number belt in the small of my back. It kept
> trying to travel all around my body, making the number shift all over
> too. So I'm trying to race a marathon, as I'm pushing up a sliding
> sun visor, and constantly turning a number belt, and reattaching the
> number. I was very annoyed at myself for all this silliness. Oh, and
> at mile 9 I had to pee again. But that was the last time. And this
> time I ran out through some brambles. I looked like I'd lost a war
> with a cat, I'd scratched my legs up so much another runner asked I
> I knew my leg was bleeding. ARgh!! Around mile 10 I was getting a
> rub spot under an arm (I was wearing a sleeveless running shirt), so
> I grabbed my little sample tube of Aquaphor to salve it. (I was
> wearing my shorts with back pockets). In the process of getting it
> out, I dropped a gel pack and knocked the phone off, into the highway
> lane! Luckily no one was there and ran it over before I stopped,
> turned around, and retrieved it. Also stopped and got the gel pack.
>
> This is all not very condusive to concentrating on one's running.
> My pace was all over the board, and I was thinking more about all
> the stuff staying in place than about the race! I tried to snap the
> paper (tyvek I think) into the belt without luck. Finally, around
> maybe mile 14 I slowed way down, put a lot of muscle into it, and
> snapped it through the paper. It then never came off again. One
> solved. Oh, and did I mention that when I made the ponytail I missed
> some strands, which then, due to the wind, kept blowing into my
> mouth? Har!
>
> For a little bit I actually though about the running again. I had
> been now and then going through the relax sequence. Probably around
> mile 17 my hams tightened up some, and I was then keeping some notice
> of them so they wouldn't cramp like they did in the 10-mile race.
> So far all the eating and drinking had gone perfectly. My stomach was
> as fine as could be. Of course, my quads were getting pretty tired and
> beat (it's a net downhill course), but so far much better than in the
> past. One more wonderful goof, grabbing for some gels from the Clif
> folks (around mile 20), I dropped them. What's with all the klutz
> today?? I pick them up and go. The Clif folks also had their new
> Clif Bloks out and I took two and ate them. These are GREAT- they are
> electrolyte replacement in an organic gummy cube. They taste good
> and my stomach liked them too. I actually felt better and more
> energetic after the cubes. Anyway, for a bit I am able to pick it
> up some, and actually concentrate on the race. I've realized long
> ago that a PR is completely out of the picture, but I am still within
> the BQ. I just have to come in under 4:00. This was actually the best
> finish I've ever had in a marathon. I usually fade badly the last
> miles, this time I kept about the same. I was *passing* people, which
> is unusual!! And I encouraged a few that I'd talked to earlier that
> were fading. I even had quite the decent sprint finish, passing
> four guys in the last 0.2 miles. One even yelled out "hey, not
> fair!"
>
> So I'm calling this a real learning experience. No cell phones. Snap
> the number in through the paper, forget the holes. Don't forget the
> sweat band. Don't overhydrate, if possible. It wasn't my body that
> was the failing this time, it was the mind. I wasn't concentrating
> on the race, I was futzing with all the little annoyances. I am of
> course stiff and sore today, but MUCH less than usual. One small toe
> blister, one small rub spot, right hip (prob ITB) is a little sore,
> scratched legs. That's it. No real injuries. I expect to be 100% really
> soon. Though does make me wonder how I might have done had I been
> concentrating on the race!
>
> Splits:
> 9:23
> 9:04
> 9:02
> 9:08
> 8:23
> 9:00
> 8:24
> 8:44
> 9:09
> 8:55
> 9:06
> 9:14
> 9:21
> 9:31
> 9:03
> 9:25
> 8:38
> 8:42
> 8:39
> 9:22
> 9:48
> 8:54
> 9:34
> 9:23
> 9:06
>
> avg pace ~9:05 or 6
>
> Thanks for reading!
>
> Teresa in AZ (W 45-49 in case you're wondering)
>
>