Hello! I ran the Phoenix Marathon yesterday. It was hot and fun and sweaty and a bit ol’ blast. I miss running with SkinnyRunner! Here is my recap of the race and results and a little bit of the fun. I was going to post all the fun, but this post became 26 pages long.
Let’s start with race morning. We woke up at 3:30am and got ready in 15 minutes. I took my oatmeal and iced coffee to go.
SR and I made great time to the race but hit a ton of traffic near the freeway exit and tried to find our way to the parking. Long long long story short a police officer helped direct us to the correct area but we were still caught in a lot of traffic and knew we were going to miss the last bus to the full marathon.
The Phoenix Marathon is a point to point course so you have to park near the finish line and take a bus to the start. The last bus to the start is 5:15am and we weren’t even near parking at that point. So, we resigned ourselves to running the half and just tried to get there in time.
We parked and were advised by a parking attendant the last bus to the marathon was gone. Okay.
Then, a crackle came over their walkie talkie and someone said “There is one bus left, tell them to hurry!!!”
We took off running to another parking lot to catch it. I was the second to the last person on the last bus. We barely made it.
By the time the bus got to the start the gun went off and the race had started! We hit the porta potties and crossed the empty start line almost ten minutes after the gun time.
This was the start line when we got there:
The race:
The first miles of the course are in a gorgeous area surrounded by cacti and open land. I love it. I love places like this! The course is net downhill, but just felt flat to me not an obvious elevation drop like the course elevation shows. (I think that’s because I just ran Revel City so it’s by comparison.)
It was hot though. And I’m not in full marathon shape so it was a pretty rough race for me. I felt great until mile 17ish (just like at the LA marathon) and then just hung on for dear life.
It went well considering the weather and my need to train more. But I am happy with another long run in the books. And I had a lot of fun running with SR.
Trent! It’s been so long since I’d seen Marathon Man!!
That’s SR’s sexy legs:
On the course we spotted Brian, Emily, Carlee around mile something (I have no idea because I was too tired to be of sound mind and body).
The finish:
Q: You know what the best part of running a marathon is?
A: When it’s over.
Phoenix Marathon Results: 4:04:26 Pace: 9:20
Actual pic of me after the race…
I didn’t feel like eating a ton after the race, which is a bummer because the post-race food was epic. They were handing out BBQ and fresh French Toast from a local restaurant. Like, epic thick French Toast!!
I made SR get some because it’s good for you.
Then, we went to relax and eat all the things and drink all the things.
It was so good to meet new runners and old friends who I hadn’t met in person. Runners are good people.
shut the front door. French toast at the finish line of a marathon? That’s GENIUS!!! I’m always impressed you can run a full marathon so easily. congrats!
If someone else is doing he cooking, French toast. If I have to cook, just pancakes, please.
oh man that french toast looks delicious! too bad your stomach cant handle that kind of food so soon after…and BBQ….mmmm the texan in me loves some BBQ!!! That is crazy you were the last person to start, but your so fast you must have passed a ton of people. so lucky you made it…or maybe not because then you did the full marathon lol
Congrats on running Phoenix! I was there with you, and thought that overall it was a great race. The heat really started to hit around mile 19 and slowed me down a bit. I thought the porta potty situation at the start was a bit of a mess, but otherwise the course was organized and fun! Thanks for this recap and enjoy some post-race rest!!
It was awesome seeing you out there – and I love/hate you becuase you’re not in marathon shape but you can still run a 4:04. One day, I’ll get there. 🙂 Happy recovery!
Oh, and pancakes all the way. I got my pancakes on Sunday at Cracker Barrel on the way back to Rancho Cucamonga. <3
I wish a four-hour marathon time was “not in shape” for me. That would be an absolute dream time in my slow, slow running world. Way to go!
Waffles first! Epic French Toast (pictured), second Pancakes third……
Running with your BFF trumps all! 🙂
French toast when it’s fancy with lots of fruit and whipped cream on it. Waffles and pancakes I can eat straight up and un-fancy =)
Sigh! Sweet and carby breakfasts are my fave.
I can’t believe how close you were to almost missing the race. I’ve had a few races that I got to after the gun but never started with such an empty start line. Last year I did the Dash to the Finish Line 5k (It’s the day before the NYC Marathon and finishes at the same spot). I took public transportation into the city and there was so much traffic and then subway delays that I got off the subway and ran over a mile to the start praying i’d get there in time. I just made it.
Pancakes? YES?
French Toast? YES!
Waffles? YES!
With peanut butter & syrup on all of them!!!
French toast….with homemade thick bread, YUM! Did you make SR steal an entire box of goodies? I’m starting to think I need to do destination runs, at the end of our races we get have bagels, banana’s and a container of chocolate milk. Well except this coming weekend, we get chilli!! Happy Running 🙂
You are AMAZING!! I’m signed up to my first marathon in July and am training hard. You make it look so easy (I’m sure it’s not!!) but your always smiling. I love that it makes me less terrified. I LOVE French toast!!
With Monica being an inspiration of mine, I started my own running/ food/life blog as well!
Please check it out!
https://inthelifeofgaby.wordpress.com
I am amazed that you use actual marathons as your “long runs”…. AMAZING!!! and that french toast looked so delicious! Keep running, eating, and repeating!
Congrats on another marathon finish!
I’m curious…
How was the actual race experience given that you started so late? Did you catch up to the pack? Pass a ton of people? What was the condition of the aid stations? Would you want to run from that late start position again?
Sounds like a great marathon, even with the late start! French toast looks AMAZE!
elainea
toast the girl almighty
Phoenix traffic is pretty horrible in general. I live here and for all races you have to plan to be there at least an hour ahead for parking. It’s ridiculous how bad traffic is. Glad you were able to make it just in time!
That French toast looks amazing! I knew I should have run that race! Instead … I drank a lotta cocktails and laid on the beach in Miami all weekend 🙂
Congrats on the race!! Rest up!
I did the 10k and I love the course. So glad I was done before the heat set in. When we were headding to the race, we saw all the traffic and thought many were going to be late to their races. Glad you made it!
The French toast was really good and I love all the goodies they had afterwards. Great race!
Pancakes all the way! Would be kinda cool to start last in a weird kinda way. Logistics of race parking always used to stress me out. Now I usually just run small races where you can mostly just drive up to the start jump out and run.
Yes, the logistics of race day stress me out too. I totally love small races for that reason.
great job!
I prefer eggs, I make pancakes/French toast from time to time, I also like wafflesL
As soon as I published I realized I forgot to put waffles as an option!
Looks like you had a good day, even though you were late. I’m jealous of you being able to run a marathon. That’s epicly cool. French toast!!! I have pancakes all the time, so French Toast wins, hands down every time.
Thanks Tracey! It was some pretty epic looking french toast 🙂