Training at this time of the year becomes challenging for me. The cold, the snow and the ice all play into my decision as to whether or not getting out of bed at 6am to run on Saturday is a sane idea. I tell myself that the solitude and the beauty of heavy snow masking the trees is worth it. There is more wildlife out on the trails and the occasional runner you pass is in high spirits and usually waves because you have made the same asinine decision to leave the warmth of your bed and brave these conditions for a sport that, in the eyes of many, is on par with Civil War re-enactments as being a useless vocation. To them we say, enjoy the warmth of your bed, you damn Yankees!
I averaged 40 miles per week for these ten weeks of training. I tend to run my highest mile weeks about three to five weeks before a race and for this race I peaked at about 60 miles in a week. That’s huge for me. In fact, I can’t recall the last time I had run 60 miles in a week. Mo’ miles, mo’ problems I say. Sure enough, I twisted my ankle on Christmas Eve running in a heavy snow.
The race was on Sunday, January 16th and we flew to Phoenix on Thursday morning. On our drive to Prescott, we stopped for lunch at Sun Up Brewing Company (http://www.sunupbrewing.com ) for some decent beers. Prescott is a motorcyclists’ paradise. In addition to its mile-high location providing 70 degree (F) days and ample sunshine throughout the year, the scenery on the drive in (via Route 60 to Route 89) through the desert hills and mountains is breathtaking. Unfortunately, we were in a car. I would have to settle with hanging my head out of the window for the drive.
Having traveled Arizona once before, I had no lasting good impressions. Prescott changed that. This town has a wild-west feel that has been revived over the years with the help of local artists. The Motor Lodge (http://www.themotorlodge.com) was a unique place to stay with incredibly fun proprietors, one of which looked exactly like Tommy Lee. Prescott also had one of the better cafés we have been to in the states. The Raven Café (http://www.ravencafe.com) is a European-style green café complete with art, music, locally sourced ingredients throughout the menu, organic espresso bar, wine, and craft beer. After a successful dinner on Thursday, we returned Friday morning for breakfast. This place is fantastic, right down to the atmosphere and decor.
From the Raven, we drove north to Jerome. Jerome is an old copper mining town turned ghost town turned artist community that is well worth the visit. Our stop here was multipurpose – we had been told how unique the town was (and that there were wineries!) and while at the Raven Café that morning, we read about a featured local artist that had some really interesting pottery at her gallery in town. We stopped, we tasted some wine and we bought some pottery. From here, we continued on through Sedona and back to Prescott while driving into one of the most amazing sunsets I’ve seen.
After breakfast Saturday morning at a great Prescott coffeeshop (http://www.cupperscoffee.com), we drove back to Phoenix to attend the race expo (where I subsequently fell in love with Kara Goucher). That evening, we set out for a pre-race dinner. “Tommy Lee” from the Motor Lodge had previously worked at House of Tricks (http://www.houseoftricks.com) and it came highly recommended. He didn’t let us down - another really creative space with exquisite food.
The race starts in downtown Phoenix and takes you through Tempe and Scottsdale. It may not be the most scenic landscape, but it is fast with some slightly rolling hills throughout. Temperatures can climb into the 80’s by the afternoon, but being this is the desert, most of the race is in cooler temps. The race finishes in the ASU stadium and, in all, is a pretty well organized race, although there wasn't anything particularly noteworthy about the race or the course. The race is part of the Rock N’ Roll Marathon Series which aims to provide musical entertainment along the route every mile or two. Frankly, I thought Chicago provided better entertainment and it is not part of this series. Maybe it was too early for the rock. I finished the course in 2:56 and checked another state off the list.
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