The Eve of the Marathon

In about 10 hours, give or take a few minutes, I'll be sweating my first few steps on the Phoenix streets. I'm expecting a painful first mile or two, though I have to say my leg has felt better today than it has in a while, which is encouraging. As long as things loosen up by mile 4 or 5, I'll be happy.

Today went quicker than I expected. Jill and I drove the Half-Marathon route (having done the marathon route yesterday), attended the Scottsdale Artwalk, enjoyed a relaxing swim in the OUTDOOR pool, and ate at the ever-reliable Olive Garden. Finally we came back to the hotel, pinned our numbers on our shirts, attached our tags and laid out tomorrow's gear. So, not much down time, though it wasn't overly taxing physically.

The nerves are well and truly here. I can feel the old ticker going double time already. Sleep might be hard to come by, though I do actually feel quite tired, so I might get lucky. Either way, we'll need to be on the road by about 5am, so it's not like I'm going to get that many hours anyway. To be honest, I'm grateful for the early start. Anything to reduce the tossing, turning and fretting.

The Journey

I'm posting this a couple of days after the actual events described. Sue me, it's hard to motivate myself to write a blog while I'm on a quasi-vacation. Be grateful you're getting one at all.

We left the house at around 7:15am into a -2 degree Kansas City day and dropped Olive off at Jill's place where she would later be picked up by the dogsitter (Jill's mom), Meadow having been safely delivered to my pals the night before. A drive to the airpot and economy parking followed which allowed us another delightful opportunity to stand outside in sub-zero temperatures while we waited for a shuttle to the airport.

Did I ever tell you I hate to fly? It's an irrational fear of course. I'm more likely to die driving a car or, yes, running a marathon than I am in a plane crash, but naturally that fact is no help whatsoever when a bout of turbulence decides to pepper the plane. Oh, I'll do it. I'm not paralyzed by it. I don't break out in a cold sweat and hyperventilate, but I do waste a proportionally greater number of my allotted total of heart beats inside those tin tubes.

Despite my massive build up, in an equally vast anticlimax, the flights were both pretty smooth (still hated them), and I was pleasantly surprised that although we went through the notoriously choppy skies around the Denver area, where we connected, today's air was calm and virtually turb-free. We arrived in Phoenix about 40 minutes late, still dressed in jackets and scarves, and headed to the rental car shuttle where we tasted open Arizona air for the first time, and led to the first 3-4 hours of our stay being dominated almost entirely by weather-related conversation. It's remarkable to me as a native Brit used to pretty similar conditions throughout the whole country, that one place can be so huge as to be able to wake up in negative temperatures in one area, and then step off a plane to 70 degree temperatures in another.

The drive to the hotel, located in the suburb of Chandler, was a breeze and we arrived, starving hungry, at around 5ish. A quick trip to PF Chang's later, our appetites satiated, and we were back in the hotel watching a news story about - would you believe it? - a plane crash. "Miracle in the Hudson" it was already being dubbed. A heroic Captain, both his engines taken out by, of all things, geese, managed to land his plane in the Hudson river in New York, saving every single one of the crew and passengers, almost all of whome escaped with either minor injuries or no injury at all. It's funny how news stories can act as bookmarks to an event in your own life sometimes. I will always associate this event, and Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, with my first marathon. I'm just pleased it was a happy ending. I have no time for bad omens at this stage.

I know. Me, me, me. Right?

The Night Before

The bags are packed. The errands are done. The documents are printed.

Tomorrow, I will fly to warmer climes with the purpose of running the 6th annual Rock n' Roll Arizona marathon. It was September when I came up with the idea, and I have to admit that at that time, I thought the chances of me actually lining up race day were no better than 50-50 given my history of trying (and failing) this task. Only four days to go now, and as of this moment I'm still fully intending being there. Yes, I'm hobbled, but all in all I should probably count my blessings I've made it this far and stop whining.

That being said, my leg was still very sore this morning, though it improved considerably as the day went on. I read that new injuries are not uncommon during the taper, because of how the body begins to heal from the weeks of building mileage. Maybe I'm grasping at straws believing that, but I'll take what I can get at this point. I'm not thrilled about the timing of this most recent roadblock, obviously, but am hopeful that if I rest up and am sensible about the remaining time that I will be able to muscle my way around come Sunday. It might not be pretty, but I'm not pretty to begin with, so who cares, right?

The flight leaves KC at 10:17am tomorrow and, after a brief stop in Denver, I'll arrive in Phoenix at around 2pm local time. The plan is to just head for the hotel, take it easy and try to get some sleep. It might not be glamorous, but I'm not glamorous to begin with, so.... well, you know.

SEE YOU IN ARIZONA!!

The Official Stamp

I received final confirmation yesterday from the marathon organizers. Most of what they sent was on their website, but the one thing new was that I received my race number. I am #5546. Nothing particularly dazzling about that, but I suppose it adds a certain official stamp to proceedings.

One thing I'd forgotten was that I'd put down 4:15:00 as my predicted finish time. If the race goes as well as some of my long training runs have, that should actually be quite conservative, but that's alright. I'll be lined up in a corral with a similar speed of runner, and that will hopefully curb any temptation to go out too strong. The 20 miler has given me a lot of confidence, but I still have no clue what it is to run further than that, and I've read many articles that claim that a marathon doesn't really start until mile 20. Yikes.

Going to try to get back out on the roads today. My legs are still plenty tired, but I think a slow 4-miler should be doable. The weather's way too nice to pass up.

Please visit my 'Make Cures Happen' fundraising page and make a donation for research into leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Also, check out my blog entry for more.

The Headliner

The Rock n' Roll Marathon Series lives up to its name by stationing bands at every mile of the course for both the marathon and half (if both are being run). Mostly these are local cover bands and comprise a wide range of musical styles, not just the eponymous one. In addition, each Rock n' Roll Marathon - currently there are eight with several more in the works - puts on an evening concert after the race, usually featuring a relatively popular band. Participants are given free entry and of course tickets are sold to non-participants.

In Arizona, previous bands have been, quite frankly, rather drab in my opinion. I'm sure there are fans of the Goo Goo Dolls, Jason Mraz and... yes... even Kool and the Gang out there, but had it been one of those this year, I'd have been quite happy to apply balm to my bunions in the hotel room and skip the evening festivities.

However, they recently announced this year's headliner, and I was pleasantly surprised to see it was the popular rockers Smash Mouth. No, they're not someone I'd sell a kidney to go and see. It's not Metallica circa the Black Album, nor is it Guns n' Roses before Slash left and Axl went nuts. But it is a band with more than one hit whose music I like enough to limp down to the stadium to watch. However, as I said to Jill, I doubt I'll be doing too much 'Walking on the Sun'. I think at that point, I'll almost certainly rather 'Sit on my bum'.

Please visit my 'Make Cures Happen' fundraising page and make a donation for research into leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. Also, check out my blog entry for more.

The Ultimate Goal

As of yesterday, I am officially signed up as a participant in the 6th annual PF Chang's Rock n' Roll Arizona Marathon. Jill also signed up for the half.

I read that they are expecting 34,000 total runners. I knew it was a big marathon, but am actually quite surprised it's that huge. I think only Chicago and New York are bigger in the US. This almost certainly means I won't come dead last, which is a nice bonus.

It cost $112.50 including the booking fee, and another $97 for Jill. The bigger marathons do cost a little more, though this is rather high, even for them. The fee does include a concert in the evening, headliner to be announced later. (Past acts include Kool and the Gang and the Goo Goo Dolls), and of course, the usual t-shirt, medal and gift certificates.

Whatever's in the goodie bag though, it might be a bit odd to running skeptics to understand the thought process behind paying a significant sum of money for the right to beat up your body in such a way. I suppose it's like heavy metal music, quantum physics, or 30 Rock. Either you get it or you don't. Myself? I'm one of the weirdos who's more than a little excited at the prospect. Training's going pretty well, I'm losing (a little) weight, and the days are ticking by.

The Story So Far

So let me bring you up to speed on the situation as it stands.

As I've mentioned already, and probably will mention again, a marathon is something I've always wanted to do. For some, that might seem like a strange and misguided goal. Why would you want to put yourself through this after all? It's not like you get paid for it (unless you're one of the genetic freaks of nature that actually makes a habit of winning these things).

There's obviously a lot of reasons people do train for and run them. Some run for a cause, others to lose weight, some to win a bet, and many just to say they did it. For me, I guess I always assumed I would run one. I was always fast, and my string bean frame was perfect for distance running. Like most idiot school/college kids though, it soon became more of a priority to drink beer, skip classes and sleep late and before I knew it, what I'd once considered an inevitability had seemed more and more distant, and, ultimately, was forgotten altogether.

I first resurrected the idea of running the big two-six a few years ago. I'd started running a little again and, though much heavier and slower, remembered my youthful idealism and signed up for the Oklahoma City Memorial Half Marathon in March of oh-something, and the world famous Chicago Marathon in October. Unfortunately, shin splints put paid to both. As I would soon find out, I'd ramped up too quickly. My "long run" peaked at 9 miles before I was grounded. The long, cold winter didn't help me return to the roads either. Before I knew it, March came and went, and so did October. I deleted the promotional emails I'd been getting from the race committees that I'd once been so addicted to poring over. I stopped running, and didn't pick it up again with any regularity until earlier this year.

A quick aside.... I've lived in the US for 13+ years, but have only been in Kansas City for the last two or so. Due to a confluence of events, I'd found myself in the wide open nowhere of Western KS for over a decade. Races in the town I lived in were about as common as Egyptian pyramids, and the almost constantly swirling wind made running difficult and sometimes flat out unpleasant.

So, back to the story, now I'm in the city, and a few months ago, due largely to Jillzibit, I started running again. She was training for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, and a week before the 5k, I agreed to run it with her, and signed up for what was, believe it or not, my first official "race" since high school, and I guess you could say I was hooked. A 4 miler at the KC Zoo, the Run For the Frogs followed, and upcoming on October 18th, I am running a 7 mile segment of the Kansas City Marathon relay, with three friends. I'll write about each at some point, but you can see where this is going.

Last week I started looking around for potential marathons, and quickly found the Arizona Rock n' Roll Marathon. From the timing, to the temperature, to the atmosphere, this seemed to fit all the things I was looking at for "my first time". 3 months isn't long, and there's a cold Kansas City winter ahead, but it's time I just did this thing, and even if the shin splints come back, the knees give out or the achilles tears, I won't regret trying.

Of course, ask me that again at mile 23 on race day and maybe I'll disagree... or swear at you perhaps.

The Basic Plot

So here, as promised, is the basic premise..

The players:
Halkzibit: Your protagonist. Your hero. The man with the plan. And no, to the doubters, it isn't a mid-life crisis propelling me towards wanting to endure four plus hours of pain for a t-shirt and a banana, it's simply the final realization of a lifelong ambition. From my youth running cross-country for my high school and watching people dressed as waiters, gorillas and Margaret Thatchers running by the Thames and Westminster Abbey in the early years of the London Marathon, it's just something that "looked like fun". Charmingly enthusiastic, or woefully naive?

Jillzibit: Your protagonist's girlfriend. The love interest. The running partner. All being well, when I do my first marathon, she'll do her first half, and there'll be a ride into the sunset (because neither of us will be able to walk)

Meadow: My dog. A pointer mix, and easily the fastest of the major players, her average mile pace is matched only by her IQ... 6.

Olive: Jillzibit's shih-tzu. Smarter and feistier than her bigger pal, but without the endless desire to chase her own tail and run into glass doors. More likely to go scuba diving than run two miles without collapsing in exhaustion.

The path:
You will join me while I train, complain and go insane over the next 3 or so months.

The suspense:
This isn't the first time I've trained for a marathon, but injuries stopped me the first time. Will I make it this time?

The payoff:

The Rock n' Roll marathon in Phoenix, AZ January 18, 2009.

Let's get ready to run-ble. (Yeah, they're not all gems).