Tucson Half Marathon

The Tucson Half Marathon was a great race and all that I could ask for.  While the marathoners faced gale force winds, the majority of half marathoners missed out on their “fun”. 

Starting at 4:45am three buses loaded in front of our hotel (and for the two adjacent hotels).  I chose to get on the bus driving straight to the half rather than on John’s bus which went to the full and then back to the half.  John said it was a good thing that I did that because the buses didn’t have a way to turn around at the full drop off point.  I’m sure the half marathoners on his bus got to the start eventually but I'm so glad I didn't have that extra stress first thing in the morning.

John after finishing his marathon

It was a chilly morning and I had forgotten my pants at home so I hung around shivering and chatting with other runners until I could start a warm up.  During my half mile warm up (boy was it cold),  I did worry because my knee was pretty tight but it quickly loosened up and I didn’t think about it again.   I left my sweatshirt on as long as possible before tossing it into the bus window with my drop bag.  Since I had originally signed up for the marathon and changed to the half, my number was lower than the starting number for the other halfers which meant there wasn't a place for me to put my drop bag. That was probably the only snafu in the day was trying to get my bag back at the end because the volunteers kept telling me they hadn’t unloaded those numbers yet and wouldn’t physically go look for my bag.

The first mile included running around people including walkers (I know I’ve mentioned this before but walkers really shouldn’t start at the front).  I wanted to go out slow and actually at 8:15 it was a little slower than I preferred. I spent the next couple miles working down to the 8:05 pace I wanted to be at.

Me, waiting for friends and John to finish the full

The next number of miles ticked away and really were uneventful (yeah!).  I saw a man running with Vibram Five Fingers shoes and while trying to navigate around 3 runners running side by side and chatting away, I almost had a run-in with the water stop volunteer and got her wet and myself wet.  At mile 12 they had changed the course and instead of running behind the grocery store with the dumpsters, we ran up a small hill and through a neighborhood which was a welcome change on the course.  My splits were good and consistent besides a small slow down for the minor hill.

Mile 1 8:15

Mile 2 7:58

Mile 3 8:03

Mile 4 7:58

Mile 5 7:58

Mile 6 7:54

Mile 7 7:59

Mile 8 7:53

Mile 9 7:53

Mile 10 7:50

Mile 11 7:56

Mile 12 8:10 (hill)

Mile 13 7:36

Running over to the right side to get out of the sand that was at the finish line, I finished strong  breaking my PR from 2007 with a 1:44:19, a 7:58 pace. I’m pleased with my new PR and have some confidence for a February marathon.

My friend Jan ran the half and finished 9^th female and 2^nd in her age group (she’s so fast).  Marianne ran the full and qualified for Boston.  John finished with a 3:28 marathon also getting a BQ.  Now it’s up to me to get a BQ in February for 2011 Boston.

Jan winning 2nd in her age group