60 days ago I challenged myself to get marathon ready again.
Despite our abnormal sub-zero temps in Boulder, stayed focused & on-track all week.
December 2
5am Monday morning swim class is kinda hard to stomach after the holidays — up to 1.7 miles (longest swim to date). Positive news — even after Thanksgiving dinner, told to up my daily calorie count to 2400. 4 more training days (2 swim, 2 run days), then off to Tucson.
December 3
12 mile training run today. Probably my last day outdoors before Tucson. Arctic blast settles in later this afternoon. Single digit highs, lows below zero thru Saturday. YIKES! That said – sunny & 45 this morning; it was a mighty good run.
December 4
7 degrees & snowing — surprised to have the pool all to my myself until 630 this morning. Slackers!
December 5
Woke this morning to -8 degrees, wind chill of -31F. BRRRRRR! Shipped Ro off to Camp Bow Wow for an all-day indoor play date. 6 miles on the treadmill at a quick 8.0 pace — last run before Marathon weekend.
Good news? Our Colorado sunshine is back! Bright & sunny – life is FAAANNNNTASTIC 🙂
December 8 – RACE DAY
Woke early, checked out of my hotel & drove to the local high school for bus pickup (hauling runners to the Start from 440am-520am – yep, mighty early). Super cold morning to be wearing shorts. Luckily our line of buses were blocked in by a large tour bus near the drop-off stage. Lucky? Yea, we got to stay on the bus & keep warm.
20 minutes before race time — lined up in the dark with 3,000 other runners & shivered in Tucson’s first snow in years. Just flurries but jeez, snow? & only an hour from Mexico?
Ran strong for 19 miles – great pace, felt really good.
Mile 21 – HIT THE WALL. A mile further than Alaska but same feeling of concrete blocks tied to my quads & calves. Frustrating but no shooting pain. Gutted out those last 5.2 miles. Walk, jogged, ran – whatever it took.
Half mile left & stopped again. An older runner comes up from behind & says ‘Come on, you’re almost there.’ Runner angel? Maybe. Started jogging, then running ‘til I crossed the finish at just over 4 hours.
Shaking from hypothermia, off to the medic tent after the orange lady repeatedly insisted I go. Embarrassing, sure but 15-20 minutes under blankets felt mighty good. Who knew it’d be windy, overcast & 30 in Tucson?
Each marathon is a learning experience – 2 down, 48 states to go. Next month – Louisiana.
Place Bib Athlete Name City State Finish Time
422 321 K R Haga Louisville CO 4:05:39
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- FINISHER!
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- Goodbye Tucson!
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- 5-hour layover in Phoenix
Friday night flight into Phoenix, rental car pickup – then southeast 2 hours to Tucson. Marathon weekend!
Breakfast, race packet pick-up, runner’s expo purchase (picked up KT Tape Strips & 6 packets of GU), scheduled an after-race massage at the Hilton – chores over. Headed 20 minutes west – today’s adventure destination: Saguaro National Park.
In Alaska, my pre-race destination: ice climbing; while in Arizona, gotta do a cactus hike.
My dad was a huge fan of Westerns. So whether I was actively paying attention or not, gotta say John Wayne, cowboys, Indians, cattle & cactus were forever imprinted on my young mind. Plus if I run out of water, these spiny plants are full of liquid (assuming I remembered my machete to hack thru their tree-like trunks 🙂 )
Instead of leaves, from which water escapes easily, this magnificent plant has spines, which greatly narrow down water evaporation.
The saguaro cactus can grow unto an astonishing 45ft. Probably the most amazing fact about this plant is that even in its harsh climate some cacti can survive over 200 years! These adaptations allow certain cacti to survive 3 years without water; a human can barely survive 4 days.
Stopped at the Visitors Center for a photo opp with Santa, then a quick mile further to Hugh Norris Trailhead.
Tucson temps were far warmer than the sub-zero front fixed over Boulder for the past week. That said, surprisingly needed a jacket – windy & 45 degrees this day.
Ridge hiked for an amazing view of the valley, peppered with columnar cacti. In addition to saguaro cactus (my new fave), spotted barrel, cholla & prickly pear varieties too! FAAANNNTASTIC day!
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- Saguaro National Park
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- Merry Christmas — it’s Santa Cactus!
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- time for a short hike? heck yeah!
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- prickly situation
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- cacti forest — like an old John Wayne Western
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- cactus camouflage
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- Teddybear Cholla
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- Fishhook Barrel Cactus
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- primed & ready for tomorrow’s run
Better than running my first half marathon since June? Family support at the finish line. The best!
Announced my 60 day Marathon challenge & soon after was down with a cold. ARGH – crummy luck! 3 weeks of steady training later, have hit the halfway point. Time for a half marathon – 13.1 miles.
Longest training run to date: 12 miles – but who can’t gut out an extra mile on race day? 🙂
Took an xtra day & journeyed to Arkansas for a long weekend with family – before winter weather & holidays fill folks’ schedules. Flew into Fort Smith Regional airport via Dallas. Small plane, small airport. 1 seat by 2 seat row capacity – landed in a 2 gate facility (yep, it’s either Gate 1 or Gate 2 🙂 ). BAM – 10 minutes later enjoyed lunch at Williamsburg Kitchen. LOVE LOVE how close & convenient everything is in a small town! And the weather? Sunny & 60’s. FAAAANNNNTASTIC!
Saturday, race day. FCA River Valley Run.
Wait, wait – missing part of the story. Received a TomTom GPS Watch as a belated birthday gift (which should cover birthdays for a decade – thanks James, Collette & Maddie). First run with the watch, a half marathon. Talk about setting the bar high. LOL>
Easy race start – fairly flat ‘til mile 6. Big hill but nothing crazy. Happy to see James & Collette at mile 9 – super nice!
Trick finish. At 10 ½ miles you drop off-road & run thru a wooded area. BIG smile. A mile-half later you’re still gradually climbing. NOT nice. One mile to go – super winded, thinkin’ maybe 2:16 for a finish time. Goal is always 2 hours but hadn’t raced this distance since June, I’m drowning in humidity – yep, full of excuses.
Yards away from the finish I squint hard to see the ticker.
1:54 baby. Assume once I learn how to download my race splits from the new watch, I’ll see a HUGE pace drop-off after mile 10 – but dang, I did it. Finished & finished strong. Confidence high – full marathon in 30 days.
Water, bananas & a purple Bible. First race in the Bible-belt. Check, done 🙂
Finished the weekend with a lotta food, lotta card games & a lotta laughs.
Running in Arkansas – I’ll be back.
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- 34th overall, 3rd in my age group!
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- 2 gate airport – Hello Arkansas!
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- Williamsburg Kitchen’s infamous clown room – highly recommended!
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- pre-race pic w/ James & Collette
UPDATE:
Williamsburg Kitchen celebrates 35 years! CONGRATS!
