Tucson Half Marathon

ORN: 13.1 miles, 2:56:07, 3/2

What a day. We loaded up in the car and headed up the road to the start. It was COLD. Nope. It was VERY cold. We had our event manager here drive us to the start so we could sit in the car until pretty near the race start time. THAT was a blessing. Most folks got bussed up and dropped off. YIKES.

The plan was pretty simple. Run 3, walk 2, and finish in around 3 hours. And the plan worked, but not without a fairly major glitch.

Pop quiz: what's the NUMBER 1 rule in long distance running??? Never try ANYTHING new on race day. I'm a believer. I've brought shoes I trust, socks I trust, shorts, shirt, even HAT that I trust. So far, so good.

At the first fluid stop, the volunteers are yelling "WATER" and "GATORADE". They were in the same cups, which should have been a sign [Gatorade, which we serve at the JBR races, requires you to serve it in Gatorade cups]. So, I took a big swig of what I thought was Gatorade. Next stop. Same deal. WATER, GATORADE, same cups.

Well, it wasn't Gatorade. It was some local sports drink which I had NEVER tried. BAD BAD BAD idea. Some ingredient in the sports drink just didn't agree with my bladder and I spent the next 10 miles having to stop NEARLY every mile. So, what should have been a pleasant enough run down the side of the road turn into an off-road, into the desert dash through bushes and cacti. NOT pleasant.

I should have known better. I should have read the race information better [or, at all]. I should have ASKED! But I didn't, and I have no one to blame but myself.

Other than that it was a really fun day. I ran with a couple of good friends on a beautiful day along the Santa Catalina mountains. This was the longest I've run since MCM and I'm pleased that it went as well as it did.

Now... do I think I could get up tomorrow and run a marathon like I'll have to at Disney??? We'll see.

Waddle on, friends.

John