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.