Grand Masters Running

December 8th marked the 20th anniversary of the Tucson Marathon.  It was my 2nd marathon on the roads and my first since the Chicago Marathon of 1995, eighteen years ago.  Although it’s difficult to compare experiences when there’s such a large time difference between races, I can say that the difficulty of the marathon distance that was indelibly etched in my brain years ago proved to still be accurate.  Challenging as it was, my marathon time in Tucson just after my 52nd birthday was 30 seconds faster than that of the marathon in Chicago just before my 34th birthday.  That’s encouraging for us grand masters runners!

I had the pleasure of spending much of the Tucson Marathon weekend with Meghan, my long time running partner from my days of living in Colorado and her running partner in Tucson, Elke.  The race weekend began on Friday evening when Meghan, Elke and I drove to the expo to pickup our race numbers.  We arrived relatively late at the small expo which had just a few running gear booths and proceeded to the lightly populated registration area where we were processed in just a few minutes.  Knowing that the race forecast was for cool weather, we each purchased a pair of cheap cotton gloves that we could discard at an aid station if they became too warm during the race.  We dropped Elke off at her home, picked up a pizza and made our way to the home of Meghan, her husband Neil and daughter Gretchen.  After catching up on the happenings of our lives since we last saw each other nearly a year ago, we called it night.

On Saturday morning, Meghan and I completed our last pre-marathon run of two miles.  For me, Tucson is a jump up in altitudede to 2700 feet from my San Luis Obispo, California home of about 200 feet and I could feel the difference.  This caused me some minor concern, especially since the race would be starting at nearly 5000 feet of elevation.   But, there was nothing I could do about it so I didn’t let the worry overwhelm me.   After some sight seeing in the rugged foothills, visiting Tucson’s Rangoon Brewery and making a stop at REI to purchase energy gels for the race, Elke graciously hosted us for a pre-race lasagna dinner.   Following the delicious dinner and the finalization of plans for race morning we each made our way to get a few hours of sleep before the beginning the long process of getting to the starting line.

After four hours of restless sleep, the alarm begins a quiet jingle.  It’s 2:15 am and even though I’m awake, I hit the snooze on my phone alarm.  For fifteen minutes, I stare at the numbers on the phone thinking that anyone getting up at this time, especially those getting up to punish themselves on the roads for hours, is insane.  Nevertheless, I crawl out of bed and start the process of getting myself ready for the race.  All of my gear was prepared and placed perfectly on the desk at the foot of the bed the night before so I don’t need to think too much in the early hours of the morning.  It’s cold outside, in the thirties, so I put a warm layer of clothing over my race attire and make my way to the kitchen.  I notice on the coffee maker clock that it’s 2:51 am.  A much needed cup of coffee and an energy bar finally get me to an active state of consciousness and we’re ready to get into the car to begin the race day experience.   Neil has selflessly offered to drive us to the race, but at this hour it’s better for both him and 11 month old Gretchen to get a few more hours of sleep before becoming race spectators.

At 3:30,  we begin the first leg of the adventure with a 45 minute drive to pick up Elke before continuing on for another 20 minutes to bus staging area.  From here we will begin the more than 26 mile climb to Oracle, Arizona where the race will start.    As we move toward the bus pickup area, we notice the clouds increasing and the temperature rising from just below 40 degrees to 47 degrees.  We discuss how that will make the early stages of the race more comfortable.  We are early in the busing process when we enter the parking lot and get on the second of many busses waiting for arriving runners.  None of the three of us are “last minute” people so we are pleased to be on an early bus.  The bus is abuzz with people talking about other races they have run and various other running accomplishments.  The nervous energy is obvious at first but as the 45 minute drive drones on, the discussions tail off and the bus becomes quiet.  As we approach the Tucson Marathon starting area, we begin to notice that the wind is blowing and gusting.  The forecast was for 5-9 mile per hour winds but this was much more.  It’s still pitch dark outside when the bus arrives at the starting area more than an hour before race time.  The race organizers have graciously planned to allow the runners to stay on the warm bus until the race starts which makes life much more comfortable than it would have been if we had to exit into the elements now.  Before we knew it, it was time to remove the heavy warm gear, load it into the drop bag and make our way to the cold, windy, drizzly and dimly lit starting line.  Because this is a chip timed race, there is no reason to crowd toward the front of the pack, so we stayed toward the back of the pack where there was more elbow room for the start.  Finally the horn blows.  The Tucson Marathon has begun.

At an elevation of 5000 feet, Meghan, Elke and I began our downhill trek into a slight headwind first toward the town of Oracle and then on toward Tucson.  While the overall elevation trend of the course was significantly downhill, there was a good deal of terrain that was either flat or slightly uphill especially in the first few miles.  We ran slightly ahead of our planned pace for the first 6 miles since we were feeling good and the slope made for a good pace.  Although the weather was cool, to avoid dehydration, our plan was to get water or Gatorade at each of the 16 aid stations.  This goal was accomplished!  After a long straight stretch of flat roadway along highway 77, we  made a left turn onto the road to Biosphere 2 where we encountered a hilly 4 mile out and back section of the course beginning at mile 10.  Although we were all still feeling good, at least for me, this section of the course took a mental and physical toll.  Mentally, because the road turned away from the finish and they came back and physically because the section had significant rolling hills.  Back on straight gradual downhill of the course and on to mile 18, Elke was feeling good and keeping a steady pace while Meghan began to struggle and I began to tire.  Elke deservedly moved ahead while Meghan and I slowed our pace in an attempt to recover.  By mile 21, Meghan began to recover and I began to struggle.  My feet ached, my quads were quivering and I had to force my brain to stay in the game.  Pace had slowed significantly now.  At mile 23, a short steep hill rose in the path to the finish.  Walking a hundred or so yards up the hill seemed like the best option and running down the steep back side, painful as it was, completed the obstacle.  With only two miles to go, Meghan was feeling good and I told her to “go for it”.  I was feeling a little better but not good enough to keep up with her at this point.  As I reached the last mile mark, I lengthened my stride, increased my cadence and felt much better.  Increasing my pace to a near sprint, I made the turn to finish and crossed the finish line with a smile on my face.  We had all finished within 12 minutes of each other.

Mission accomplished!   What will the next adventure be?