The first mile I made an effort not to go out too fast. Running through Old Town Scottsdale was nice. The buildings had an old west look. Around mile four, we veered onto a dirt path by a man-made corridor of water. This must be the canal I always hear my Phoenix friends talking about. The dirt wasn't deep, but I could feel it taking a little of the zip out of my legs. A woman blew by me, then started walking shortly after. I heard her yell to a friend, "OK, now we walk for 15 seconds." I wondered if we'd be switching leads throughout the race, but after I passed her I didn't see her again. A man wearing a tuxedo bodysuit and a top hat passed me.

The course crossed over Temp Town Lake and you could see the finish line around mile seven. It was strange to see it knowing that there was almost 6 miles to go. I decided to have a few Sport Beans around here. I do a pretty good job of eating and running, but it probably slowed me down a little. As I ran over another bridge to cross over Tempe Town Lake again, I wasn't sure what side of the cones I should be on. It seemed like two lanes were blocked off, but there weren't very many runners. It was a good climb and I started seeing a few of the lead runners coming back the other way. By the time I did the turn-around and came back over the bridge, there were scores of runners. Now I understood why there were two lanes blocked off! I kept checking my watch to see if I would be able to break 1:40. I knew I had a chance, and pushed.

Heading back toward the starting line, I passed a camper that had bunch of people with signs thanking the runners for supporting breast cancer research. There was also the strong smell of tobacco smoke. Ew.

I kept pushing myself to try to keep pace, but I was really starting to feel the effects of the distance. I ended up passing tux guy. There wasn't anyone running next to me, and the closest person ahead was a few hundred meters off. It was kind of strange to be running by myself in such a large race. As I pulled in sight of the finish line, I gave it everything I had left, but came up just short.

I think for the most part, I ran this race really well. Maybe I shouldn't have bothered with the beans. Maybe I should have started just a *little* bit faster. One thing I did decide was that I really enjoy the Half Marathon distance, and I signed up for the Surf City Half shortly after finishing this race. I am going to continue to train and hope that I will increase my fitness enough to go comfortably under 1:40 next time.

I walked a for a little bit and got some fruit and a Luna Fiber bar. They didn't have the regular Luna bars available. I saw some of my friends cross the finish line and talked with them for a while. It was not a short walk to get back to the car.


I enjoyed this race and will try to fit it into my plans next year. The medal was pretty sweet :)