Marathon "The Duce"

WOW where to start this has been one tough week! Along with not being able to run much because of my nagging shin my grandfather got sick. For years he’s been suffering with heart problems and now he’s been diagnosed with Congestive heart failure. I spent Thursday and Friday with him at the hospital I was trying to help him throughout the night so I didn’t sleep much. But hey sleeping is highly overrated right? Thursday night I snuck out of the hospital for an hour to knock back a few miles and it felt really good; as a stress reliever and how my shin was feeling.  I was hoping to catch a nap on Sat. but Max was feeling neglected from me being gone all week so we went to a park and chased Rex around. Then we went to the Runners Expo to pick up my race packet and check all of the cool stuff they were slinging. We all went and had a good time. Speaking of time it kind of got away from me and the next thing I knew it was almost 8pm. We rushed home and I wandered around trying to find all of my running crap. After nearly snapping a few times (sorry Becky) I got into bed around 10 and set my alarm for a bright and early 4:00am. I was exhausted. No sooner had I fallen asleep and my alarm was going off, weird how that happens.  So off I go, Dave drove me to the race finish area to catch my school bus ride to the starting line. In the Smart Car no less.  Met some cool people on the ride one a retired Phoenix Police officer another a 65 year old man running his umpteenth marathon. 

Once at the start I headed for my starting coral and actually began stretching a bit. I figured everyone else was doing it so I would to just to look like I knew what I was doing.  Right before the start I ripped of my very cool pants, they were a cross between 80’s pro basket ball player and gay Chippendale’s dancer. I didn’t mess around either they had snaps down both sides so I bent down gave a quick tug and Shazam. I was feeling really cool with myself as I threw my special clothes to the side. The race started and I was off I started with the 4:00 hour group but I only stayed with them for about 5 miles. My legs were feeling great so I cranked up my pace. After a few miles I caught up to the 3:45 runners and hung out with them for most of the race.

About mile 10 I started noticing 2 rather portly gentlemen with some creative signs , the signs weren’t the thing that was catching my attention but it was the fact that they kept showing up. Throughout the race I think I saw them 6 times at different places along the course. It was kind of creepy though they both looked like the old me; fat, Mexican, tight clothes, eating snacks. At first I thought I was imagining them but nope I went and gave them high 5’s the last few time that I saw them they were real. I was still running a good pace mile 15 brought some tingles and tightness but luckily it was just a bad case of the running farts. Sorry to all who were around me! Mile 17 I saw the police tasering some French dude on the course right in front of me that was pretty wild. He was screaming in English and in French Awesome.

After winding through Scottsdale I was getting a little tired but mile 20,21,22,23 came with no major issues but half way to mile 24 just as I was crossing the Salt River a Sniper showed up and took me out! I don’t know WTF happened but my Knee/IT band issue showed up with a vengeance. I got to the top of bridge and started heading down I limped and crawled to the side of the road. I tried stretching out for about 20 min when a 70 year old man walks up and says "Son its time to go you can't quit now.". He stuck out his hand helping me up and getting me on my way. Sorry I didn’t get your name but wow thanks for the push.

Just as I was getting up I saw the 4:30 group go jogging by I for damn sure was not going to let them get away. I slowly got on horse chanting inspirational mantras in my head.  I caught the 4:30 group and began to fly past them I was charging hard now less than 2 miles to go. I kicked my horse in the ass forgot about pain soon I could see the final couple of turns then came the finish line. I was done 4:26 not as fast as I had hoped for but OH WELL.  Becky, the kids and Mish and Dave met me as I walked out of the ice tent. I got some snacks and went into Sun Angle stadium to sit down and relax for a few min. Then we caught the light rail back into Mesa then to the Evans’ house to have a nice frigid soak in their pool.  All in all it was a great time!

This sucks!

Well my record for avoiding injury isn't always the greatest but with 1 week to go before the PF changs Marathon I went and ruptured a muscle in my shin. And Damn it hurts. So I went to urgent care to find out what was, wrong hoping that I hadn't stress fractured my bone, I'm happy its not the bone but pissed still the same. The Doctor said i would be able to run but its going to hurt!. I went and got come compression sleves and a neoprene wrap to help the shin out. .Hope it feels better soon!

Holidays Over!

Well it’s been a very busy 2 weeks. With the in laws in town our lives get pretty much turned upside down, not that it’s a bad thing but routines get changed, rhythms get altered. I wasn’t able to run as much as normal but the runs I did do were great. I got the chance to run a few miles with an amazing young lady named Cambria. She is my niece from Michigan and soon to be a cross country running superstar. Her drive and desire to run is awe inspiring, when most kids her age are sitting in front of the TV or a computer Cammy is out there logging her miles. The fist run we did was a 35 min jog around the neighborhood.  She pushed the pace really hard (well hard for me) and we ended running close to 5 miles.  No stretching, No warm-up, just walk out the front door turn on the afterburners and take off. OHH to be 14 again! But it was really great to out there running with her. I also did a great run with her mother we knocked out a couple of miles at a nice leisurely pace. It’s kind of weird to run with people; I’m always out there on my own or with the dog, so being able to have a conversation while on a run is pretty cool.  Granted I talk to Rex while running but he has yet to answer I’m thinking he’s waiting for me to bring up something more interesting to discuss.

In my somewhat crazed desire to run I decided to take jog to our friends Dave and Mish’s house. I needed to get a long run in and they live 15 or so miles away and the whole famdamnly was headed over there for a dinner / Jacuzzi party so while everyone else drove I ran there. Oh ya it was raining like a Mother F@#$%^.  I’m sure most people are used to running in some kind of weather but I’m an Arizona native and the only weather I normally run in is dry. So off I go into the maelstrom, the route I chose to take had the least amount of sidewalks that way I could rest the legs on some nice dirt. The plan would have been great if not for the dirt not being dirt but clingy sticky mud.  Best laid plans and such.  Like I said Not Used to running in the rain.  I got to Mish’s house to find Becky worried about me and the time it had taken me to get there. 2.5 hours. Well I hit every damn stoplight and  took rather long bathroom break at the Del- Taco so actual running time was closer to 2 hours flat which is half way decent for me.  Any way other than the mud which really slowed me down the run was a great workout.  I also forgot to eat during the run so by the time I got there I was feeling a little strange.  I had some Gu with me but I didn’t take the time to eat it. Dumb ASS. I had a bite to eat then bee lined the hot tube for the next few hours! It was relaxing. What a nice way to end a rainy run.

Snow Tours

In a galaxy far far away snow and ice were falling from the sky a massive peak lurked in the distance obscured by the blizzard in front of us. Should we turn back, should we call it quits before the storm unleashes its fury on our backs. HELL NO, FORWARD!!!!!!!  That was the theme of the trip. Wendell and I decided to make a trip up to Flagstaff with the goal of climbing the peaks and skiing or boarding down. We arrived in Flag about 7:45 in the am and headed for some eggs and bacon at The Place, it was really good. After breakfast we went to the summit to rent some snow shoes for me Wendell was using his skis with skins. Paid a whopping $10 for 2 day rental of shoes.  After talking to the local ski bum he advised us that our planned route was going to be pretty sketchy due to the damage done to the forest by the Shultz fire. So plan B had us driving up to the Snow Bowl parking lot and taking the Humphrey’s trail up the mountain.  Now the adventure starts. Knowing that a storm would be coming in later that day, we hustled up the mountain and after a few wrong turns we took up the trail. All was great and peaceful for a while then the wind started kicking up. No big deal, a few ice chucks falling from the 100 ft. aspens added to the adventure. We were now far along the trail happily minding our own bizz when out of nowhere a gust of wind blows through and all hell starts breaking loose.  Trees are screaming and creaking, groaning from the weight of snow and ice. Next thing you know BAM a tree falls, I scream like a crazed Beiber fan while running for cover. We are kind of in a pickle we are at the half way point do we go back or go down, Shits getting real now so of course we decide to keep going up. The trail is getting clogged with fallen trees, branches and scary sounds so we start humping it as fast as we can after jumping a log jam we come across something very bizarre a set of footprint tracks headed straight up the mountain.  Since we hadn’t seen another soul out in that area it kinda creeped  us out. I’m say it was the yeti out for a stroll but who knows these things. The wind was getting worse so we traversed through the woods back towards the ski park skiing the nasty snow back to the jeep. We spent the rest of the time trying not to get the jeep stuck as we look for possible locations to ski. There wasn’t much snow on the ground so we went back into flag for some much need nourishment. Hitting up Salsa Brava for some Pork tacos and habanero pineapple salsa, it was awesome. Now to the scariest part of the day off to our $30 a night motel. We get there to find out that the rooms aren’t $30 at all but $21 and comes with a continental breakfast! The room was like staying at the fanciest Hilton except for the stains, clogged toilet, quirky shower and 1960 décor.

We awoke the next morning to find it dumped snow all night long. We are talking feet of fresh powder had been laid. We hit up the awesome continental breakfast and headed to the snow bowl for round 2 but the road was closed so we hit up the areas we had scoped out the night before. The roads were blocked but we were fortunate enough to have the combo. We drove up to Hart Prairie and found some great snow. We hiked a few of the cinder cones and had a great time making turns in the powder. All in all it was an awesome trip and even better adventure.

AZTA Alamo section.

  

Had a great time today checking out one of the best trails I have ever had the pleasure of riding in AZ. If you ever have the chance to go riding in Az this is one trail that should not be missed. We got an early start and headed south from the trailhead following beautiful desert single track. The views of Picket Post Mountain were stunning, at times it was difficult to keep my eyes on the trail.( I crashed a few times but it wasn't the views fault). The trail meanders up hill for 12 miles gradually climbing to 3600 ft.. The trail builders did a great job making the route its not horribly steep yet you gain elevation quickly. The climb was fun but the return decent was the best part of the whole day.  The fast and flowey trail allow for some really fast riding, the only problem was the cat claw and cactus tightly hugging the single track. If you got a little wide you were sure to get shredded and we did. After a 3 hour ride we returned to the trail head bloodied and bruised with the thoughts of mexican food on our minds.We headed to Superior picking up my Tata on the way to Los Hermanos, where we enjoyed a well deserved lunch.  Another Great Day!



Trippy

Wow running in cool damp weather is awesome! I hear people complaining about having to do their runs during the winter about the snow, rain and freezing temps. This is one of the few times that I can honestly say without a doubt that winter in AZ is totally the shit. I ran the monthly 5k (20:49) at Road Runner sports in Tempe last night, the weather was a cool 52 deg. and slightly damp from rain storms that just blew through.  The course is out and back along Tempe Town Lake for 1.55 miles and for just a moment I felt like I was running somewhere far far away, cheesy I know but that’s the beauty of running. Even though I was in the middle of the city running  the exertion  opens or closes your mind allowing you to have some sort of existential experience, I was kinda sad at the end of the run. Anyways after every run the store does a raffle. They raffle hats, water bottles, and various other swag but the best thing is they giveaway a pair of shoes. I didn’t win the shoes but I got a water bottle and a cool Coolmax running hat. Funny thing is last time I was there they gave away really nice beanie hats so now I have a hat for every occasion. My legs felt great, shoes were good and I even stopped by Mish and Dave’s house and  hung out in their hot tube very relaxing evening  THANK YOU BECKY.

The day after.

Well after a good night rest and a Christmas party I'm feeling pretty good. The only real pain I have is my knee where the IT band rubs it. Jumping into a cold pool does wonders; it may be my new recovery trick. So overall I can’t wait to do it again. My new shoes worked out great they are comfortable and really held up to the rocks on the course. I was kinda worried that I would feel every rock and pebble but that was not the case they preformed much better than my old stand-bys. One thing I’m learning at these events is never judge a book by its cover I see older men and women 60+ years old flying down the trails. It’s amazing what people are able to accomplish. I just hope that when I’m their age I can be out there running on the trails. Then there are the super fit looking folks in spandex and race gear getting totally worked over after a few miles. You just never know.