Tucson Marathon

I've been really excited about this marathon for MONTHS because it was my first full marathon pacing experience ever.  I originally signed up for the 4:45 pacing spot, but volunteered to switch to the 4:30 after my sub-4 hr at St George.  Even though 4:45 would have worked out great, I felt more comfortable at a 4:30 pace.  The crazy thing is, this time last year, my full PR was a 4:33 and at that point, I never dreamed I would be able to hold a conversational pace for a 4:30 marathon.

At the Expo

Chris ran the McDowell Mountain Frenzy the morning before Tucson, while I volunteered.  Afterwards, we got ready and drove down to Tucson.  We made a beeline for the packet pick up because I was nervous we were going to miss it.  I was picking up a packet for myself and my One Run friend, Frank (who I had yet to meet in person).  He had competed in a Half Ironman in Palm Springs, CA that morning and was going to get into Tucson wayyyy too late to pick up his packet-I think he is officially crazier than me!

We chatted with some people at the expo, I picked up both packets and my stick and posed for a picture next to Mt Lemmon.  Thankfully, we weren't running up THAT the next day.  We were staying with Chris's aunt and uncle that night, which was nice because we don't get to see them very often.  We took them out to dinner, went to Frank's hotel to drop off his packet and said hi to some of our other friends staying there.  Jim and Mitzi were running the half, but had run the full the year before and were giving me tips on the course and elevation changes.  When we got back to Chris's family's house, I began analyzing the elevation chart and developing a strategy for the next day.  My thoughts were to bank a little time on the downhills to have a cushion on the uphills and allow for walking through the water stops.  The last thing I needed was runners snorting water by my forcing them to drink on the run!  Towards the end of the evening, I started getting really nervous.  I had paced halfs, but so much more can go wrong in double the distance and people were relying on me-Eeeeek!!!

Ironically, I was pacing the 4:30 group and I had a 4:30AM wake up call the next morning.  The last bus left for the start at 5:30 and I wanted to make sure I was on it.  My biggest nightmares for this race consisted of missing the bus and having what happened in Vegas happen again-which would let my runners down.  I made it to the bus with ten minutes to spare.

I chatted with some people on the bus while we were heading to the start.  One thing that cracked me up was people looking at my sign and saying I was either too fast or too slow.  I had figured 4:30 would be a goal for many people, but evidently being in the middle is not always the most desirable pace!  I am so thankful I got to see my Cholla Chick, Amy, before the start.  I told her I better not see her on the course as she was aiming for a PR.  She held true to that and the only time I did see her was at an out and back section where she was ahead of me by a significant distance.  She ended up PR'ing that day!


As we lined up at the start, people began to flock to me, which made me feel a little better.  I finally got to meet Frank in person as he was going to try to stick with me for the duration of the course.  My goal pace was 10:17/mile.  We took off and I had to be careful almost immediately because we were on a downhill and I was already going too fast.  I slowed it down and people began passing me.  I promised everyone that was with me that I would bring them in just under 4:30 so they could all say they went sub-4:30.  That seemed to ease a lot of fears.

I had a pretty large group for the first five or six miles, before people started falling back or speeding up.  By then, it was Frank, an elderly guy who was very friendly and chatty and a couple of girls.  I knew that the crowd would disperse as people settled into pace or decided they wanted to die.  It can go either way with any race  :-)

I was surprised with how many rollers (hills) there were.  I knew there were some out by the Biosphere and two big hills around mile 23, but some of the hills were not depicted in the elevation chart.  Frank stuck with me until he had to go to the restroom, but then caught back up.  On the out-and-back part of the Biosphere, I met up with a teenage fellow Marathon Maniac.  I was shocked that someone had that much dedication at such a young age.  I know when I was his age, all I cared about was going to the mall, clothes, friends, boys and school activities.  I DEFINITELY never thought of running a marathon!

As with any pacing job, I had people run with me off and on throughout the race.  On the out-and-back portion, I saw my friend Mark, who was the 5:00 pacer.  He made me laugh when he said every time he passed someone, they were like, "Oh crap!"  Evidently pacers have that effect on people.

Somewhere around mile fourteen, I caught up with a girl who ran with me until mile twenty three.  Her previous PR was 4:40 and I was determined to get her under that.  The guys started slipping back around mile twenty, but we kept pressing on.  I had a time to meet.  The mile markers were 0.17 off the entire way, but Frank had said it was that way the year before and mile 23 marker was a little short, so it would balance out.  When I got to mile 23 and I was still 0.17 off, I had to kick it in.  This is when I lost my new friend, but I knew if she had stuck with me that long, she would PR.  Mile 23.5 aid station and a spectator yells at me, "Seems a little slow for a 4:30 pacer!"  Not going to lie, I wanted to stop and punch him, but I was on a mission, so I turned around and yelled, "Supposed to be at a 10:17 pace and I'm running a 10:14 thank you very much!"  I kept up that 10:14 average until mile twenty five and I realized even that wasn't going to beat the 4:30 time, so I had to kick it in even more.  Right about then, a lady in a Fifty States Marathon Club jersey saw me and took off.  She was happy and singing and determined to stay ahead of me.  I passed a guy that had left me around mile five.  He saw my sign and cursed under his breath.  I pushed on.

I ended up coming in with a chip time of 4:29:34-I couldn't do anything but tear up and repeat over and over again, "4:29:34-perfect!"  Over 26.37 miles, one can't really pace a better time than that.  I had done it.  My first full pacing gig was a success  :-)

That girl that stayed with me until mile 23?  I waited for her and she ended up coming in with a chip time of 4:32.  She had an eight minute PR and she told me afterwards she couldn't have done it without me.  That right there is why I pace.  There is nothing more worthwhile than helping others reach their goals!

Rock and Roll Vegas

The night before the race with my girls!

I set out with high hopes for the Full Marathon, shooting for as close to a 3:45 as possible.  We arrived in Vegas a couple of days early and I may have had a little bit too much to drink the first night, but this should have had no bearing on a race a couple of days later.

The damage from the heels the night before my race
I had to run with these cuts :-(

The race started at 4:30PM right as the sun was setting.  I spent the entire pre-race day laying around resting, mentally preparing for the evening race.  I was in corral 10 which supposedly housed the 3:50 full/1:55 half groups.  You can imagine my surprise when 12 minutes after the start, my corral was released and people started walking at the start.  I was in the 8:45 per mile pace group and having to weave in and out of walkers.  It seriously irritated me that I was forced to become "that douchebag" that sprinted by people, cutting people off and elbowing as I ran thanks to the lack of room on the streets.  Eventually, the crowd dispersed and I had some breathing room.

My first four miles felt fabulous:  I clocked an 8:51, 8:19, 8:19 and an 8:47.  Mile five was a 13:10.  Why you may ask....?  Well, about mile 4.75, I almost pooped my pants.  Yes, I just said that.  It was horrible and disgusting and I spent four minutes in the portapotty.  I know this is probably the point where you will stop reading my race report and I don't blame you if you do  ;-)  An important decision was made during these four minutes on the toilet mid-race.  I decided there was no way I could finish a full with my gut acting up as bad as it was.  Thankfully, the race offered the ability to drop down to the half mid-race with no penalty besides a wounded pride.

Pre-race-the strip was shut down!

More pre-race pics

I returned to my sub nine pace for miles six and seven, hitting 8:56 and 8:57.  I wasn't moving as quick as before, but if I could maintain a sub-nine for the remainder of the miles, I had enough buffer for a slight half PR.  That would redeem what was turning into a nightmare of a race.  No such luck.  Mile eight and the rumbles began again.  I slowed down, trying squeeze my gut into submission.  By mile ten, it was time for another portapotty trip.  At this point, Chris saw me and walked with me for about thirty seconds, concerned about my health.  I told him to keep going and I darted off to use the bathroom.  Mile eleven was a 14:22.  Shoot.  Me.  Now.  I was running at what would officially my Personal Worst (PW) over the last two years.  I kept plugging along, thinking to myself things couldn't get any worse.  Mile 11.5 and I accidentally inhaled some Gatorade.  This set off my asthma and I walked through a five minute coughing fit.  As people passed by me, they looked over their shoulder seriously concerned because I truly sounded like I was dying.  Thanks lungs.  Thanks for making the situation worse than it already was.  I hobbled into the finish line, attempting to redeem the run by shooting for a sub 2:15.  I at least did this with my 2:14 and change.  If you subtract the eight minutes spent using the restroom and leave in the hobbling while I was trying to not have an asthma attack or poop my pants, a 2:06 isn't a horrible time.

At least I saw a minion!

Javelina Jundred 100k

I was really nervous heading into this race because this distance offered uncharted territory for me.  I had one fifty miler under my belt, but 100k included twelve miles further than that-almost a half marathon longer than any distance I ever attempted!  The pressure was even greater to finish because this race was on my home trails and friends would be there to cheer me on, expecting me to perform well.  This was also my first race with a coach and I wanted desperately to meet the times/goal he set for me.  Packet pick-up was rather uneventful minus my brain repeatedly telling my heart, "You're going to die, you're going to die, you're going to die."  We went for my standard steak and potatoes dinner and crashed early.  That night I dreamed of storms with freezing rain and toenails ripping off-typical ultra runner nightmares, right?!

Sunrise at Javelina Jeadquarters

We arrived at the start right after the 100 miler runners took off (they had a 6AM start).  I got settled in, my pack ready and wandered around talking to friends, trying to calm my nerves.  The beautiful sunrise did help ease the tension a little  :-)

Goofing around pre-race

Mile 20-ish

Fast forward to 7AM and we were off.  My coach gave me a pacing plan broken out in five mile increments, which made the miles go by faster-as long as I could think of five miles at a time, I was golden.  The first lap was pretty uneventful.  I met some interesting people from California and Texas and chatted them up for a bit trying to pass the time.  I knew I had a lot of mileage ahead of me and just tried to maintain my pace and run conservatively.  Towards the end of the first loop, I began seeing all my buddies running the 100 miler heading back the other direction on their second loop.  This washing machine loop setup was great, because I was able to encourage people and vice versa throughout the entire race.  I finished the first loop right on time according to my pace plan, got through the checkpoint and carried on my merry way.  I wanted to bank some time if at all possible before the sun was in full force.  I maintained pace on the second loop as well and ended up PR'ing my trail 50k time on the same course as my previous Personal Record.

At the 50k mark

I hiked the first part of the third loop with an older lady that was heading out to volunteer at the aid station for 21 hour shift.  She was a fellow Marathon Maniac and successfully distracted me with her tales of traveling for marathons.  I am currently working on my fifty states and she had already done that once and was working through them a second time.  I picked her brain about the best ones to do in the different states and the two miles passed quickly (yet, slowly since I was hiking).

Just a marathon distance left

After I left her at the aid station, I started running again, but the sun was just too much.  I began hating myself, hating life and wanting to succumb to the heat by passing out.  After stumbling a few times, I decided to walk some.  I eventually got to a bench in the middle of the trail and sat with three other runners-all of us not wanting to continue.  There was no shade and that bench was the only relief we had from the brutality of the desert.  After four or five minutes, I got up at the same time as another guy heading in my same direction.  We stayed together for the next seven or eight miles.  Lance from Glendale was actually an Arizona native attempting his first hundred miler that day.  This meant I was catching up to and passing Hundos at this point.  Sadly, that made me feel a little better about my own misery.  Lance was struggling and we were only in the 30s-40s mile range.  We traded stories from our different races and kept up the small talk for awhile until I decided to pick up the pace as the sun fell behind the mountains.  I kept telling myself that if I could just make it to Javelina Jeadquarters, Chris was pacing me the last lap and knew he wouldn't let me DNF.  Poor Lance tired of hearing me repeat that (trying to convince myself it would be okay).  When I left him, I only had a little over one lap left, but he had three more plus a smaller loop to go.  I checked the results the next day to see how my new friend did and he ended up taking a DNF.

The sun was brutal

My friend Don, the pregnant cheerleader

Mile 39.6 and yes, I had a Sam Adams

I had another reason for picking up the pace-My headlamp was at Jeadquarters and I started chasing the sun, trying to make it back before dark set in.  With only 30% battery left on my cell phone, I knew relying on my flashlight app was risky at best.  At this point I was clocking 10:20s on trail, 40+ miles into the race.  The hiding sun eased the torture just enough for me to go all out in my effort to make it back before dark.  If only the sun could stay hidden, but not disappear....  My luck ran out about three miles from Jeadquarters and I ran a mile by phone app until I got to the next aid station.  Thankfully, one of the people working the station had packed their headlamp in case a runner needed it and loaned it to me until I could get to Jeadquarters.  I eased up on my pace a tad on that last mile and a half, trying to conserve my energy, and finished my third loop with a new sense of determination.  Now that the sun was down, I could do that lap one more time.

Started running at sunrise, still running at sunset

Chris was ready and waiting to pace me for my last lap.  For the first mile, he caught me up on all the College Football scores of the day, providing a desperately needed distraction.  I couldn't believe that Florida had massacred Georgia and A&M and TCU had barely escaped losses.  No wonder my ESPN app had been going crazy with alerts all day!  About a mile into the loop, Chris's headlamp died.  I replaced the batteries the night before, so it must've been the bulb.  We got to the aid station where the girl loaned me her headlamp on loop three and I asked if we could borrow it for the remainder of the loop.  Much to our relief, she said yes and we carried on.  At this point, Chris was practically skipping and I cursed him under my breath.  What I would have given at that point to feel like I had fresh legs!  I hit the fifty mile mark and realized I PR'd my 50 mile as well-by thirty minutes.  This gave me the boost of confidence I needed to add a little pep in my step.  I realized Chris was aware that I was behind schedule and how much that bothered me and he was really goading me because he knew I could gain back some of that time-he had more confidence in me than I did at that point.  We ran/hiked until we got to the next aid station.  After that, I ran most of the way in, passing people left and right.  It seemed I was one of the only people actually running that last loop.  I counted 21 "kills" (Ragnar terminology) in my last five miles.  I know some of them were pacers, but it still made me feel good to know that there was some juice left in my battery.  Chris kept up the pep talks, pointing out any changes in the terrain to keep my clumsy self from tripping.  About two miles out, I started choking up.  It hit me.  I was going to do it.  I was going to get my first buckle.  I started rambling on about how thankful I was until a hiccup stopped me in my tracks.  I couldn't allow myself to get too emotional, because that would just lead to an asthma attack and then I would have to be carried in.  I pulled myself together.  Chris asked if I had another 250 yards in me and I said, "yeah....  it just won't be pretty."  I was right.  I crossed the finish line in 15:32 and that's when the waterworks let loose.  I started crying and I kept repeating "I buckled, I can't believe I buckled!", hugging everyone around me until the announcer said, "I think Amanda is excited that she buckled."  Ooops!  I was called out in front of the entire Jeadquarters for my abundance of enthusiasm.  With the remaining 8% of my phone battery, I took the picture below with me and what I've started referring to as "my precious":

I buckled!!!!!!

Handheld Giveaway!

In honor of my blog reaching 1500+ views, it's time for another giveaway!  This time, I'm giving away an Orange Mud Handheld...  Just comment with the following:

1.  Name
2.  Email (so I can contact you if you win)
3.  Favorite Inspirational Quote
4.  Color you would like  :-)

Contest ends Sunday night, 10/19/14

http://www.orangemud.com/collections/running-packs/products/handheld-21-oz

St George Marathon Review

I arrived in St George yesterday afternoon, making a beeline for the expo.  I figured since St George and Phoenix are at roughly the same elevation, little to no acclimation would be necessary for once!  I met up with two other INKnBURN ambassadors for dinner-it was so neat putting faces/people with names I see on the interwebs all the time  :-)

The Pizza and Pasta Factory actually did a marathoners special where you got all you can eat pasta, salad and breadsticks for $11-it was a recipe for the perfect carb-loading dinner!  After a discussion with Nahoko, who had run the race the previous year, I decided it would be prudent to run to Target and get some extra warmth for the morning.  Evidently the start is typically wayyyyy colder than down in St George-I found this out the next day.

At the Start

After the typical pre-race rituals complete with tossing and turning, I eventually fell asleep.  I was going to attempt to get to the busses at 4AM to put my name in for some Early Bird drawings, but when the alarm went off, body said no.  After a few rounds with the snooze, I rolled out of bed with butterflies in my stomach.  I set two goals.  Primary was to get my first sub-4 hour marathon.  If I couldn't achieve that, I at least wanted to PR.  My current PR was a 4:16:22.  I knew with the three sets of uphills and the severe downhills, either goal would be a daunting task as my quads and hamstrings were still a little tender from Imogene the month before.  After waiting in line for roughly twenty minutes, I boarded the bus.  The guy that I shared a seat with was from Oregon and was a race organizer for the Crater Lake Marathon and Half.  We chatted most of the way about the differences between Oregon and Arizona, the course and what we were getting ourselves into.  He had only been running about a year and this was his first marathon.  Knowing the damage that downhills can do to your quads and knees, I pitied him silently.  

We unloaded the busses and I headed straight over to the bathroom.  I hadn't gone yet and I knew that would be a recipe for disaster if I didn't before the gun went off.  It seemed like FOREVER waiting in the bathroom line.  I think it was partly because the people in front of me weren't paying attention, but I was able to strike up a conversation with the people behind me (like I do).  They were from the Valley as well and we discussed the different races we had done and were going to do.  It's always neat when you are out of town to run into some people from back home  :-)

After the bathroom, I stripped all my cold weather clothing, handed in my bag and went to line up.  I chose to line up with the 3:45-ers thinking that as long as I could hang with them for awhile, I would be golden.  As I was chatting with the people around me, Deni wandered over-I was so sad that I had checked my phone because we were all matchy-matchy in our INKnBURN outfits!  Star Spangled Banner was played and then we were off.  I didn't really look back.  I knew Deni was there somewhere behind me, but I didn't see her again after that first half mile.  I FLEW through my 5k and 10k, posting my 4th best 5k time and 2nd best 10k time ever.  After that, we hit the dreaded hills.  It was somewhere between 7 and 9 where I decided I was never doing another marathon.  I was over it.  This was ridiculous, hills hurt and I hated roads.  Where were my trails and selfies and fun and Cholla Chicks when I needed them?!?!?!?  I was ready to throw in the towel.  I lost a chunk of my shoe at mile eleven and that almost did me in. I mean, seriously?!??!  These shoes had 17 miles on them at that point.  I don't care if I don't pick up my feet and shuffle a little when I run.  The sole should last more than 17 miles.  

Then, I found a flat road again.  Things started to look up.  I realized when I hit the half point, I posted my second fastest half time ever and the first glimmer of hope hung on the horizon.  Could I? Would I?  I refused to entertain the hope that I would break four hours.  Instead, I settled for the thought that I was almost guaranteed a PR at that point if I could just hang on...  

I do want to take this moment and send an apology out into cyberspace to the guy that passed me on the left around mile fifteen.  I always blow my snotrockets to the left and I'm afraid I may have hit him with one.  So, Mr. Guy in the blue tank and black shorts, I'm sorry.

Downhill.  More downhill.  A gradual two mile uphill.  Then more downhill.  My quads were on FIRE and my knees were throbbing.  Whoever said downhill was easy was totally kidding themselves.  That, or they were made of titanium.  One last uphill and then we were on the freeway and it was all downhill from there-metaphorically speaking.  From about mile 21 to the finish, the streets were lined with people.  I kept calculating and re-calculating my time.  It didn't really hit me that I was going to actually go sub-4 until I hit my last mile and figured out I would have to finish that mile in 11 minutes to hit four hours.  I was not going 11 minutes/mile at that point.  The smile started creeping up on my previously fatigued and disheveled face.  My sticky hands (from gatorade and gu residue) stuck to the kiddos hands as I high-fived the ones lining the street, but they didn't care and neither did I.  As I was coming up on the finish line, I passed a guy who was limping with a police motor escort next to him.  He refused to give up and so did I.  I crossed at 3:58:32 chip time and promptly broke into sobs.  I had done it.  My goal for the season-a goal I never would have even dreamed possible two years ago with my asthma, achieved.

Flagstaff Marathon Review

Knowing that there was going to be some problems with elevation adjustment since I train at 2000 feet and the race was between 8000 and 9000, I got up to Flagstaff mid afternoon on Friday.  That didn't allow me a ton of time for acclimation, but I figured all the time I spent in Colorado a few weeks ago would soften the impact.  Boy was I wrong! 

The race didn't start until 8 AM on Saturday morning, which allowed me the ability to sleep in and then check out of the hotel before heading to the start line.  I still got there about forty five minutes early, but spent most of that time in the car because it was only 47 degrees outside.  Promptly at 8AM, the airhorn went off and caused me to jump.  I had gotten in my pre-race "zone" and it scared the bejeezers out of me!  The first couple of miles weren't too bad, but at mile four I felt a familiar burning feeling in my right sock.  A blister was forming and there was nothing I could do about it.  I was momentarily distracted as three deer darted across my path and I couldn't help but wishing I was one of them (or at least could harness their mad running skills).

When I got to the aid station at mile six, I had a pleasant surprise!  My friend Nicole ran was waiting for her mom, but decided to run with me for a couple of miles.  It was great to have company on those lonely trails!  I left her at the 8.5 mile aid station to wait for her mom again and continued on my trek.  The next three miles were uphill with little tree coverage, so I began to feel the heat of the sun beating down on me.  My legs were exhausted from lack of oxygen.  By the time I got to mile ten, I was ready to be done.  This was a new occurrence to me as I typically don't hit a wall in a marathon until mile 22 or 23 and it was totally disheartening.  The trails were tough with all the pine needles hiding the holes in the ground and tree stumps. Tripped five times and rolled my ankle three.  One of the water stations had already run out of water and all they had left was Heed, which made me sick to my stomach.  The only positive thing I had to say at the halfway point was that I knew what to expect since it was the same as the first half.  My ankles were sore from rolling them and my hamstring throbbing from tripping and straining it, but I continued.  All by myself on those trails, I found my mind wandering.  Mile fifteen was spent praying for some friends that I knew needed it and really trying to correct my attitude.  I'm normally such a happy person and all this negativity was wearing me down even worse than the physical circumstances.  It didn't help.  Somewhere around mile sixteen is when I pretty much decided to give up.  A lot of walking occurred after this point and the marathon turned into more of a hike.  At least three of the aid stations were completely out of water by this point and one was packed up.  On more than one occasion, I found myself saying, "*&%^* this!" and totally meaning it.

On my final stretch of downhill, I passed two runners and the three of us agreed that this course was ridiculous.  Looking back, I'm glad I kicked it in those last couple of miles because I ended up coming in third to last.  If I wouldn't have passed those two runners, I would've ended up being last.  This race was an anomaly in the fact that I was in a bad mood most of the race.  It was like a cloud of negativity was hanging over my head and thunderstorming at me.  

I try to keep all of my blog posts positive to some degree, so it's taken me a couple of days to think about this one.  I prefer my marathons to be flat, fast and on the road, so this race was totally out of my comfort zone.  I save the trails for days that I want to play or my ultras.  I was definitely not in a playful mood last Saturday.  It was the hardest marathon I've ever done, with 5000+ total feet of climb at an already uncomfortable elevation.  My allergies were going crazy with the trees and grass and I was blowing snot rockets left and right.  I would recommend this race to anyone who normally trains at 8000 feet and on those types of trails with trees and pine needles.  As for me, I will stick to my road marathons and rocky trails where I can actually see where to place my feet.  I guess I can finally and officially call myself a desert rat.

Athlinks Website Review

I was surprised to recently find out that there are some in the running community that haven't heard of www.athlinks.com, so I have decided to write a review on this handy website.  Athlinks houses over 155 million results in their database and adds 3 million new results each month to the site (from tris to trail and road races).  Usually within two weeks of race date, the full results are uploaded-even the one local 5k my mom walked in 2008 is in there!

Athletes create profiles and add their friends to their circle where they can compete against each other virtually in the same races.  This website is a great tool for tracking your own progress and, if you are as competitive as myself, looking up others Personal Records to set your own goals ;-)

When you first log in, the main screen lists all of your races and you can scroll through all of your PRs.  The PRs compare you against the rest of the Athlinks Community so one can see how they measure up against other runners.  In the middle of the page, there's an option to view all unclaimed results that match your name.  You can also add races and results (pending verification from Athlinks).  If the user adds upcoming races to their profile, the results are added even quicker!

Overall, I would give this website an A+ as it's easy to use and new features are constantly being added.  If you haven't checked it out yet, you definitely should!

INKnBURN and Orange Mud Giveaway

To celebrate my first blog post that reached over 200 hits (my Imogene Pass Report), I've decided to give away a $25 gift card to each of the two amazing companies where I serve as an ambassador:  INKnBURN and Orange Mud  :-)

All you have to do is comment below with the following:

1.  Name
2.  Which gift card do you prefer (INKnBURN or Orange Mud)
3.  Tell me one person or thing that inspires you and why

Entries will be taken through Sunday, 9/14, and winners announced Monday evening!

http://www.orangemud.com/#_l_20

www.inknburn.com

Imogene Pass Run Race Report

I've taken the last two days to contemplate how to write this report, but the AWESOMENESS that is #IPR has kept me from being able to express in words all the feelings that came about during this race. So here it goes-I'm going to try...

When my Cholla Chicks first told me about this race months ago and how it was their big annual event, I dismissed it thinking to myself, "I'm not even that crazy!"  Fast forward two months to registration day and I'm setting the alarm to remind myself to register since it typically sells out within the hour.  This year did not disappoint-it took just over an hour before it sold out and I was one of the lucky people to get in.  Miles and miles of hill training later including summiting the tallest peak in Arizona, I felt I was ready to go.

We rolled into town on Thursday afternoon to start getting acclimated.  Seeing as how Phoenix is around 2,000 ft above sea level and the race took place between 7,800 ft and 13,112 ft, this was a necessity.  I ran an easy four on Friday to get my asthmatic lungs used to breathing in that elevation, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best.

Saturday morning, the alarm went off around 4AM and half of the house was already awake.  We finished our pre-race rituals and headed out the door.  The bus ride from Telluride to Ouray was rather uneventful as I tried to catch an extra half hour of sleep-I had tossed and turned all night with pre-race anxieties.  We got to Ouray and made a beeline for Mouse's Chocolates where we had some coffee and breakfast before start time.

7:30 AM and we were off.  The first couple of miles were run-able thanks to the prep-work of acclimating and I found the path surrounded by undescribable natural beauty.  There were snow dusted mountains, streams, little waterfalls and canyons to navigate through and I kept finding myself catching my breath-not because of my asthma, but because of how in awe I was of my surroundings.  I caught up to my friend Jenn around mile three and thanked her for inviting me to this race-I was so grateful for the experience, but by mile nine, I was cursing my beloved Chollas.

I made it to the first cut off with thirteen minutes to spare and couldn't help but giggle as I left Upper Bird Camp and crossed a plank wearing my pirate pants.  The only thing that could have made it more amusing if I had had the entire pirate costume on!

The last mile of ascent

Between miles 8 and 10 I wanted to die.  This was when I found myself regretting the day I met my Cholla Chicks.  As the air got thinner, I started stumbling.  Sharp pains stung my lungs like needles on sunburned skin.  I felt as though at any moment, my lungs would decide they had enough and I would collapse.  Finally, I reached for my inhaler and after letting a few good puffs settle into my lungs, I took off again.  We marched single file for the most part up the last 1000 feet to the pass, eventually making it to the summit.  Upon reaching the top, I felt this huge sense of relief wash over me as I headed straight for the chicken broth soup that I had heard so much about.  It was the most amazing tasting Campbells I had ever consumed.  The rest, as they say, was all downhill from there.  Taking care as I navigated the steeper parts of the descent, the downhill went much faster than the uphill.  I had three goals when I set out on this crazy adventure:

The Downhill

1.  Don't die
2.  Don't get cut
3.  Finish in 5:30

I met all three on the first attempt...  and for the record-when I crossed the finish line, I was ready to sign up for next year and no longer cursing my Chollas :-)

I reached the top!