A Tale of Two Races: My Sprouts Mesa-PHX Marathon Race Report

Where do I start? In case you didn’t know or see it on Instagram, I ran the Sprouts Mesa-PHX Marathon last Saturday! You may know that it didn’t go exactly as I’d hoped or planned, though I finished proudly, if somewhat behind where I’d planned.

I titled this post A Tale of Two Races because it honestly felt like it. I know that happens frequently in marathons, whether it’s because you go out too fast, hit the wall at mile 20, or have some other issues that cause you to miss your goal. I had all of the above.

So, my 38th marathon is in the bag! How did it all play out? Here's my @phoenixmarathon race report! #running #marathon #PHXMarathonClick To Tweet

The Sprouts Mesa-PHX Marathon Expo

I drove to Mesa on Friday. The drive, while long (about four hours) was uneventful and boring. I went directly to the expo to pick up my race packet as well as check in with the race ambassador coordinator and pick up my ambassador shirt. 

As I wandered around the expo I kept my eyes open for people I know. I knew that there were many Pro Compression, Skirt Sports, and Nuun ambassadors doing the Mesa-PHX Marathon, as well as several other bloggers, so I hoped to finally meet a few of them. In all honesty, I’m terrible at identifying people I know through social media (so if I ever walk right by you without saying hi, I apologize in advance!).

I was hoping to meet Amanda because I knew she was doing the half marathon and that she was planning to be here about that time. I messaged her on Instagram, and sure enough, she was there! In spite of that I still almost walked right by her. Fortunately, she recognized me, so we had a chance to meet and chat.

I also got to meet Jenn at the Pro Compression booth (and picked up a couple pairs of socks while I was there!). More about Jenn later, because we had the chance to run together for a while the next day.

I eventually left the expo and headed to find some lunch (Mod Pizza for the vegan pizza score!). I ate half a pizza, packed it up and headed to my Airbnb to check in. I have to tell you, I loved my place! It was about two and a half miles from the finish line, on an acre of land, and they had three dogs, five cats, 10 chickens, and a tortoise! Perfect for this animal lover! I also had a clean and comfy space with a kitchen and a good bed. Nice.

I had brought some leftover pasta, so I stayed in for the rest of the evening, continuing to hydrate, foam roll, and heading to bed early. Arizona is an hour ahead of California, so losing an hour is serious business when you have to wake up at three in the morning! I followed this list to make sure all was ready for the next day:  29 Things You Should Do the Night Before Your Big Race

The Sprouts Mesa-PHX Marathon Race Day!

Yes, three o’clock came early on race day, but I basically sprung out of bed and began getting ready to go. The buses to the start line started at 4:00, with the last one leaving at 5:15. Even though the Mesa-PHX Marathon didn’t start until 6:30, I wanted to get going early to avoid traffic and parking hassles. So I drank my coffee, got dressed, packed up my remaining gear, and out the door I went around 4:00 am.

After a couple detours due to marathon road closures, I made it to the marathon parking area within 10 minutes. I parked, gathered my gear and walked to the buses, which were lining up to take the runners to their marathon, half marathon, and 10k starts.

Of course, getting there early also means standing around for a while at the start line. It was cold, around 39 degrees, but the Mesa-PHX Marathon provides heaters for the runners to huddle around while they wait. They also had campfires, not my favorite thing before running a marathon. Fortunately, I was wearing a gaiter, with the idea of keeping my neck warm but I think it helped keep some of the ashes out of my lungs too.

Since I know you love porta-potty line stories, I do have one to share which turned out to be one of those right place, right time stories. When I was waiting in the fairly long line, a woman behind me pulled out a package of hand warmers. She gave a couple to her friends and had one left, which she offered to me. They were the best thing of the day! My hands were warm through the whole race, and those darned hand warmers continued to give off heat for hours after the race!

As I was heading toward the start line, I bumped into Jenn again, and a few minutes later we saw Carlee and Brian. Then boom, we were off! I hadn’t looked at my watch for a while, so it kind of surprised me. Carlee and Brian took off, and I stuck with Jenn. 

The Sprouts Mesa-PHX Marathon First Half

It’s still very dark at 6:30 am in Mesa, Arizona. There were lights for the first half mile or so, then we were running in the dark.  As I’ve mentioned throughout my training, the Mesa-PHX Marathon is a downhill course. It was easy going, even in the dark. Jenn and I chatted and ran, probably a little too fast. We knew that we’d started a little too far forward and we didn’t want to hold anyone up. Yes, we hit mile one at 9:13. Definitely too fast for me!

But, it was downhill, right? So we continued for the first few miles until miles five and six, which were uphill. At that point, I let Jenn go ahead. I had a feeling these early fast miles would come back to haunt me, even if they were downhill. Turns out I was right.

But I was feeling great! I did slow it down a notch or two on those downhills, kept a decent pace on the rare uphill, and I enjoyed the scenery of the beautiful Arizona scenery as I ran. A few miles later, Argenta, a fellow Skirt Ambassador, pulled up next to me and commented on my skirt. When I looked at her I saw that she was wearing the same pattern! Skirt Sisters!

I ran and chatted with Argenta for a couple miles but I knew it couldn’t last. At one point I looked at my Garmin and saw and “8” at the beginning of my pace time and I knew I’d really be in trouble if I didn’t slow down. Before Argenta took off though, we flagged down a spectator and had her take a couple running photos! And then I was on my own again. Well, relatively, surrounded by a few thousand fellow marathoners.

Running alone, miles nine through the halfway point, I still felt good. I slowed down a bit, which was a good thing. My stomach started to feel a little, um, bubbly? Not bad, but not quite normal. It’s always been a frequent problem for me in the marathon (in my first Los Angeles Marathon, way back in 1997, I started dodging behind aid stations trying to make myself throw up, thinking that might make me feel better. #TMI).

It wasn’t a problem yet, but I decided to stop and use the porta-potty at the halfway point. Because of that, I hit mile 13.1 in 2:12, a minute ahead of my last half marathon time! Ahead of my target at that point, and even making me think happy thoughts about the possibility of a BQ (4:20). Ha! Man plans, God laughs. Hilariously.

The Sprouts Mesa-PHX Marathon Second Half

Onto the reason for the title of this post. The second half of the Mesa-PHX Marathon. Here’s what happened: The course flattented out. Yes, there was more to it than that, but, after running downhill for most of the last 13 miles, suddenly I was running on the flats. My legs felt heavy, and my stomach really started to get upset.

I actually held onto a decent pace for the next few miles. Yes, slower than the first half, but definitely on a pace to hit my 4:30 goal. But, at mile 18 the wheels started to come off the bus. I had a little dizzy spell, which if you follow my race reports you know means that I need to walk, breathe deeply, and occasionally, take a puff on my inhaler. The first one wasn’t bad. I was able to breathe through it.

After I started running again, I played a little game with myself. Because my Garmin hit the mile markers a bit before the course marker, I would run until my watch beeped, then walk until the race marker. That worked for a couple miles, then I hit mile 20 and a bigger dizzy spell. I used my inhaler. I walked longer. Then I notice that every time I started to run, I felt like I needed to vomit. My walk breaks got longer as my stomach became more upset. 

The last few miles of the race were mostly walking. At that point, I only cared about finishing (though I did manage to run for the cameras!). Alan called when I was in mile 26 to congratulate me because the race app showed me as crossing the finish line. Oops, not quite, though it helped me keep going by talking to him for a few minutes.

Then finally, I was almost there. I started to run (yes, for the cameras). My stomach and exercise-induced asthma cooperated and allowed me to cross the finish line running. My 38th marathon…done!

The Sprouts Mesa-PHX Marathon Post Race

The first person I saw after I picked up my medal and exited the finishers’ chute was Briana, who had done the half marathon. I was happy to see a familiar face. We chatted for a little bit until I decided that I really needed to sit down. Now that I was finished, the nausea departed, leaving hiccups in its place (another common thing for me).

I found a curb to sit on, drank some water, chatted with Briana for a bit, then, when I started to get cold decided I just need to get to my car. My gear bag didn’t have any warm tops (I’d started with three throwaways and managed to get rid of them all). I had about a half mile walk to the car. When I got there I turned on the heater and spent some time trying to warm up.

Even after I got back to my room I was still cold. Before I could even undress to shower, I got under the covers, shivering, until I’d warmed up a bit. After I finally showered, I spent some quality time with my foam roller, ate the rest of that vegan pizza (and a beer!) and chilled out in the room for the rest of the day.

This was my first time running the Sprouts Mesa-PHX Marathon but I have to say it was really well-run.  The aid stations were plentiful and I understand they had a contest for the best one, so some of the volunteers wore costumes, sang, and had extra food treats! The course is amazing and they have about a 25% BQ rate! Several of my social media friends set new PRs, qualified for Boston, and even placed in their age groups.

The race started right on time, which I think is so important, especially for a marathon and when the weather is so cold. And, maybe best of all, free race photos! And they turned out good!

The post-race party looked to be a lot of fun, though I decided to head back to my room. There were a lot of vendors, plenty of food, a huge tent offering free massages, and more. I will definitely put this race on my schedule next year, though I’m not sure if I’ll run the full again. I probably will. Even now, redemption sounds sweet.

If you’re still reading, thanks for sticking with me for this very long Mesa-PHX Marathon Race Report! It’s definitely a race worth your consideration, especially since most of the country is buried in snow and ice at this time of the year. Yes, it was pretty cold at the start (but heaters!) but with weather in the high 50s, it’s perfect racing weather.

 

 

 

And Now It’s Time for the Running Coaches’ Corner!

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