[I wrote this the week after the Tucson Marathon, but I hadn't gotten around to posting it.]
I ran the Tucson Marathon on December 7, 2003. This was my first marathon.
I arrived at the shuttle bus parking lot a little after 5am. There was a long line of busses waiting
to be boarded, I got on the first one in the line. The bus filled in a few minutes, and we were off
by 5:10am.
The ride to the starting line seemed long. It was unnerving realizing that I would have to run back
all that distance. The overhead emergency exit was open, letting in lots of cold air. I got a little
cold, so I put on a sweatshirt on top of my long sleeve T-shirt and running shirt.
The bus arrived at the starting line at about 5:40am. All the busses were idling, spewing diesel
fumes. They probably do this so they can run the heaters in the busses. I would rather have a cold
bus than smell burning diesel. This was the only negative I found in the organization of the race.
I tried to sleep, chatted, visited the porta potties (lines were 20 minutes), hydrated, visited the
bushes. While in line for the porta potties, there was a lady in front of me that was nervously
jumping up and down, obviously wishing she was at the front of the line. She started eyeing the
bushes, then made a dash for them...
During the long wait for the start of the race, I started feeling hungry, I wished I had brought a
small snack. I decided to save the Clif Bars for the race.
About 20 minutes before the start time, I stashed my bag in the bag bus. I ran out and back from
the starting line to make sure I had the correct tension on my shoelaces. I visited the bushes one
last time.
I lined up about halfway back. The National Anthem was played over the PA system (nice touch). Most
men removed their hats, a few didn't. Most people stood still in respect, others fidgeted, some
seemed to ignore the Anthem. A guy to my left stood at attention as if in the military.
The races started. It took about a minute of walking to get to the starting line, but once at the
starting line, I and everyone around me was running. I didn't have to pass slower runners or walkers
at the start like in most races.
I started a little fast, but not exceedingly fast given my goal of a
9:30 pace. I hadn't run any of my long training runs at that pace, so I knew it would be a
stretch, but I thought I could achieve it because of tapering and the downhill course. I turned
out to be wrong.
I finished the marathon in 4:35:31. My splits were:
10:21 8:18 8:55 8:44 9:02 18:51(2 miles) 9:41 9:28 9:27 9:46
11:31 9:46 9:48 10:27 10:28 10:52 10:53 11:17 11:30 11:59
12:26 12:17 12:38 13:44 13:29 2:56(.2miles)
The first 15 or so miles of a marathon have to be the most wonderfull miles a runner ever
experiences. After the taper, you're back to running in earnest again, you're full of energy, you're
feeling good, you feel like you can run forever, and everyone else around you is on the same high.
The last 11.2 miles for me were a different story...
I hit the Wall big time, but it came on gradually. I started to slow down to less than 10 minute
miles about mile 15, and kept going slower and slower. I was able to complete the last couple of
miles only on willpower, because I had no energy left. The final hill approaching the finish was a
real challenge -- my calves and thighs were burning and I was ready to slow down to a walk, but I
hung in there. I was running, but I probably could have walked faster. One of my goals for the race
was to run the whole course, except for walking through water breaks, which I was able to do.
My wife, sister, brother-in-law, and their two kids were waiting for me at the finish. I grabbed a
bottle of water, and told my wife "I want to go to bed". I got my bag, picked up my race t-shirt,
and headed back to my sister's house for a shower and long nap. I didn't eat anything substantial
until that evening.
Looking back, I suspect I hit the wall because of a combination of not eating/drinking enough during
the run, and simply not having put in enough training miles. My longest training week was only 30
miles. I have never been able to build up my mileage much past 15 miles per week without feeling
like my plantar faciitis is about to kick in again. I made sure I ate and drank during the race as I
did during my training runs -- Gatorade (brought my own powder in small plastic bags and a bottle to
mix it in) and Clif Bars. I had tried Clif Shots during training, but my stomach couldn't take it. I
sure got tired of Gatorade and Clif bars by the end of the run. I'll have to find something else for
my next marathon, and I'll need to build up my weekly miles.
I started tapering three weeks before the race. My longest run of 20 miles was exactly three weeks
before the race, and my long runs the following two weeks were 9 and 6 miles respectively. It felt
like the taper was too early, it felt more like a long layoff. Maybe my longest run should have been
two weeks before the race?
Running my first marathon has to be the most awesome experience for me as a runner. I set a goal,
and I then worked toward and achieved that goal. The two things that were mentally the most
difficult in the weeks leading up to the race were wondering if you will get hurt or catch a
cold/flu such that you can't run the race, and never being completely sure that you will actually be
able to finish the marathon. With the proper precations and a little luck, I was able to avoid
getting hurt or sick. As to wondering if I could finish the race, I was prepared to walk as much as
needed in order to cross the finish line.
Every runner should run a marathon sometime in their lifetime. It's not that difficult. If I can run
one, I think just about any runner can. The biggest obstacle to running a marathon is putting in the
time to train. For me, the training itself was never difficult or exceeding painful, it was just
took a long time.
There is no way a runner can complete a marathon without the help and support of people around him.
I would like to thank my family for putting up with my long absences and my weekend afternoon naps
after my long runs, and for their understanding when I was taking it easy during the week before the
race. I also would like to thank rec.running for all the tips and advice I picked up there.
David Pinedo