Albuquerque Race Report

Short form: 3:59:21, BQ, 4th place, 19th overall

Long form:
I got up at 2:25 AM Phoenix time to get ready to catch the bus to the start at 4:05 Albuquerque time. Luckily, yesterday I had a nice nap and I slept pretty well last night. I remembered everything that I needed and stuffed some dry clothes in the diminutive drop bag. Walking to the bus pick up, another runner asked me if I thought it was going to rain. “No,” I said “it never rains in New Mexico in the morning during the summer.” Only a few steps later, drop, drop, drop. The rain never got very intense, but it did cool things off a bit. At the start, there was the expected gaggle of Marathon Maniacs. One guy said to me “We ran Newport together.” Who has a memory like that? I still don’t know his name. A woman I saw the day before across the street who looked very familiar came up to me and said “Aren’t you Mary’s sister?” Turns out, she was at the Cascade Crest with my sister last weekend. What a small world.

The path to the starting line was lit with luminarias. It was lovely and very dark. My stomach has been bugging me for a few days, but today it was really bad. But for the first few miles as I was doing a “systems check”, I thought I might be okay today. I was feeling pretty good, but watching my steps vigilantly as it was still quite dark and I didn’t want to fall. I chatted with various folks along the way and thought I might run with Lisa the whole way, but after about six miles, I realized I needed to pull ahead. Then Jeff asked me if I would run this pace the whole way. “I hope so,” I said. We ran together until mile 18 when he said he’s had enough.

After mile 18, I was alone on the bike path passing other run/walkers, cyclists passing me. I didn’t like the people on roller skates who appeared to be training for the ski season. They took up 90% of the path and I was always worried I would be hit even though I was as far to the right as I could get.

Turning off the bike path at mile 22, I wondered if I would be able to hold on and get sub four. My stomach was a mess and I kept thinking that at any moment I would be throwing up at the side of the road. As much as I hate to toss my cookies, I had a strange feeling of peace about it. Accepting the inevitable, I guess. I had been sipping Gatorade at every stop because with my stomach acting up, I was worried about dehydration. I don’t think the Gatorade made me feel any better. One step in front of the other. I was slowing down, but I was getting it done.

Last year, the winning time in my age group was 4:03. Why did I even look that up? It haunted me the entire race. I felt sure if I went sub four that I would win a prize. In the last mile I was passed by a 46 year old gazelle. i had nothing to respond. She beat me by about 20 seconds. She was the third place woman.

The best part about being 4th is that I didn’t have to hang out for the awards ceremony. i got to go back to the hotel and take a wonderful nap before leaving for the airport. These marathoners are funny. The van to the airport was filled with runners trying to get 50 marathons in 50 states. How do they get that strange obsession? And why is it that I find myself among them? I understand why Forrest Gump quit running. I hope I don’t quit. But today, I wanted to.

Sarah Palin

I am sitting in the airport waiting room watching CNN.  I just saw a clip of Sarah Palin firing an assault rifle.  Her prim glasses perched securely on her nose.  Her upswept hair bobbing gracefully at each recoil…

I am so deeply offended my skin is literally crawling.  I remember pictures of guerrilla leaders in the same pose.  This is something I would expect from Muammar al-Gaddafi or Osama bin Laden.  Not a potential leader of the free world.  What’s next?  The President of the United States will ditch the business suit for a set of well-starched fatigues?  I remember how vilified Michael Dukakis was for being photographed in a tank.  This footage or Sarah Palen with an assault rifle was an obvious media event.  I understand that some people like to hunt and she is identified as “a sportswoman” (ie. “hunter”), but an assault rifle??  These are very scary times.

By the time I reach Albuquerque…

I’m sitting in Sky Harbor International Airport waiting for my flight to Albuquerque for the marathon tomorrow.  I must say, this is better than the first plan – which was to drive over.  But I miss my family.  I don’t really like doing this alone.  I hope I haven’t forgotten anything.

I woke up this morning at 5:30 to pack and thought about what I will be doing tomorrow at this time.  The marathon starts at 5:30 AM Mountain Time, which is 4:30 AM Phoenix time.  It is a point to point marathon, so they are busing us to the start.  I don’t know what time the bus leaves.  I don’t know what time I will have to wake up.  Quite early.

When I got to the East Economy parking lot at the airport, there were attendants everywhere.  I have never seen this.  I am accustomed to finding my own way.  I parked in the “overflow” lot in a spot that will be easy for me to find when I get back – right next to the fence.  When I got on the bus, it was already crowded.  A young woman with long bleached blonde hair and a cute little boy clutching a Hi-C were taking up three seats instead of two.  She reluctantly moved her bag so the lady in front of me could sit down, but that woman turned and offered the seat to me, so I sat.  Shortly after I took my seat, I learned that the woman sitting next to me had a nervous tick.  She liked to flip here hair (think “Toss toss” from Legally Blonde).  It drove me crazy each time it whipped against my skin.  Luckily, Terminal 4 is rather close to the East Economy parking lot.

Life Updates

My garden is mostly fallow.  I have a few herbs that are surviving the heat, one sunflower and some nut grass.  Nut grass is a weed and my neighbor says the only way to get rid of nut grass is to move.  I won’t move and I continue to try to pull it out.  Yesterday, Charlie was looking at the sunflower and noticed some ants marching up and down the thick stock.  He asked me “Do the ants trouble it at all?”  I answered “Not really.  But we have to be careful picking the flowers so we don’t get ants in the house.”

This has been a long week.  I really enjoy my new job, but I have a stack of reading 36 inches high, and lots of other stuff happening that makes this time particularly busy and a bit stressful.  Also, this week was the Used Uniform sale at the kids’ school and since I am the chairperson, I was particularly busy.  I called up my mother last night just to chat a bit and was complaining about how busy I have been.  She said “They should get someone younger who has more energy.”  That will teach me to complain.

Here’s a little game.  The picture here is from our vacation.  We are standing on the deck of the USS Bowfin.  Pick the Bowfin Scholarship Award winner shown in this picture.  Good luck!  Oh, and if you notice some sour expressions, some people in this picture were not happy about the process.  The kind tourist who took our picture spoke no English and we spoke no Japanese, so getting this picture took some complex negotiations.

Bowfin Scholarship Award Winner