Mesa Marathon
February 12, 2022
5:03:19 1559/1830 Overall 8/11 in 70-74
Back in December at the Jingle
Bell 5K, Stephanie Ormond told me about this marathon, and since I couldn’t
find a winter marathon in a state that I had only run once, I decided to run
Mesa for fun. So, it was great to run into Stephanie at the start and chat for
a while and get some pictures. Jodi had dropped me off at my bus pickup at 4:45
since she was running the 10K. They had different parking lots for the busses loading
to take runners to the 3 different start locations. Fantastic organization to
get everyone where they needed to go and then plenty of porta-potties at the
start areas. There were heaters and lights all around the starting area and fireworks
were set off both during the Anthem and at the race start. The race began in the
dark (6:30 for all the races) with about 50 degree temp, but once the sun came
up, it soon warmed into the mid-70s.
The first 3 miles were the steepest
downhill and I was about 30 seconds/mile faster than usual for my first 3 miles
of a run. Unfortunately, it takes me 3 miles to warm-up this 71-year-old body
so those miles are always my slowest of any run and I really couldn’t take full
advantage of them. There is a 1.5-mile hill with a steady climb between miles
4-6 and then a gradual downhill until about 18 when it’s all flat with a bit of
a decline in the last mile which was actually my fastest mile and only one
under 11 minutes. For most of the race I ran a 5 min run/30 sec walk pattern
with the running pace in the 10:30 range.
The aid stations were well-stocked
with enthusiastic volunteers and numerous signs. There weren’t a lot of
spectators, but the miles were well-marked and there were some good views early
in the race. Jodi ran the 10K and got to see and take a picture of Molly Seidel
as she ran by. Molly ran the half-marathon as part of her training for the
Boston Marathon and set a new course record. After Jodi finished, she drove out
to miles 20 and 24 to cheer for me. It was great to see her and to have her
tell me that Stephanie had improved her BQ time by running 3:19! I was very
pleased that I hung tough and didn’t drop off much in the last miles when it
was getting very warm. I was 2:30 at the half and ran just 3 minutes slower in
the second half when it was mostly flat.
Jodi and I also saw some fun things.
The race expo was right by the ballpark that the Chicago Cubs use for Spring
Training. After the race we did some hiking in Papago Park and saw the Hole in
the Rock formation. Sunday we drove to Tucson and Tombstone. I had spent a year
and a half at Ft. Huachuca which is next to the town of Sierra Vista and near
Tucson and Tombstone. We saw the beautiful San Xavier del bac Mission and then
went to Tombstone. We enjoyed seeing a reenactment of the “Gunfight at the OK
Corral” and seeing other old west things like saloons, brothels, and
stagecoaches. Boot Hill Graveyard was interesting with fascinating tales of how
the “residents” ended up there. My favorite grave marker: “Here lies Lester
Moore, four slugs from a 44; no les, no more.”
Phoenix has a lot of parks with
hundreds of miles of trails. On Monday we did about a 2.5-mile hike out in the
desert on the Pima Canyon Trail in their South Park region. It was a fun
Valentine’s Day hike followed by an excellent dinner of steak and salmon at
“Culinary Dropouts” restaurant.
This was Marathon #175; 34 states on 2nd go-round; All 10 Canadian
provinces.
Marathon
and trip photos; hold ctrl and click to go to Shutterfly: VIEW
PHOTOS
