I ran in the
P.F. Chang's Rock 'n' Roll Arizona Marathon in Phoenix back on January 13th of this year. It's obviously taken forever for me to post about it here, so I think I've therefore passed the statute of limitations for describing it in emotional, verbose detail. So, just the facts (mostly...):
- I finished it in 3:25:46 - a pace of 7:51 per mile - coming in under my goal of 3:30
- It was hard but rewarding; more of a "checked that box" than life-changing
- Training was a pain, but actually not too taxing; more mental torture than physical
- My parents were great: they fed me a nice pasta meal the night before the race, and popped up about four separate times on the course to cheer me on; it really does make a difference to see a friendly face once in awhile on the course
- I tweaked my knee clearing the table from the pasta meal and, while it didn't really hamper my run, it messed with my head the night before, and cause lots of pain, issues and doctor visits in the weeks after the race
- To minimize hassles in the morning, I stayed in a motel room right near the start line the night before the race. It worked out great, but was a seedy hotel in a seedy part of town. When I asked the motel manager if it was safe there, he said "well, I've been here for about two years and we haven't had any major incidents here yet".
- The weather was perfect and the course was flat and fast
- I stopped at every water station after mile ten
- I was pretty delirious the last couple of miles and especially at the end. A volunteer had to come up and ask me if I was okay as I wobbled myself to get my medal
- I'm thoroughly convinced anybody can run a marathon; it's as simple as following a plan
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