I had to miss a couple of races this year, but was glad I was able to make it to Revel Mt. Lemmon in Tucson, Arizona! This would be my third Revel race this year. While I probably should have done the half (I am not really in race shape), I wanted to see what the full course was like, so the marathon I ran!
I flew to Phoenix on Thursday and drove the 2 hours to Tucson. I usually stay at an Airbnb to save some money, but I ended up getting a room at the Comfort Inn, for around $50 a night. It was only about 5 minutes from the expo where I would be working the 9:00AM shift the next day.
I worked at the expo info booth from 9:00AM-1:30PM then decided to got see Bohemian Rhapsody (as it had opened that weekend and was DYING to see it.) Yes, I cried.
Hanging at the Info Booth!
I took it easy the rest of the night and got my stuff ready early as I had a 2:30AM wake-up call to get to the buses on time. The problem was I still had that movie in my head and I started to feel very lonely and sad about some stuff going on with my best friend and I started to spiral into a panic attack which left me up for most of the night. When the alarm went off, I was exhausted.
Flat Angie repping Atlanta United Football Club and Footie Mob as we head into the playoffs for the MLS Cup as I remind people to VOTE on November 6th!
I generally don't ever take the first bus (unless I am pacing), but I found out that there was limited in the heated visitor's center at the start and the thought of standing in the cold for 2 hours did not appeal to me. So I made sure I was on the first bus.
The visitor's center had chairs and a real bathroom which had long lines, but I had time to wait and really didn't want to go outside. After I hit the bathroom, I sat in a chair and closed my eyes for a bit until more friends started arriving.
Abraham Lincoln made history at the marathon! 😂
GO ATLUD!!
Othman and I star struck by Abe Lincoln!
It felt like we waited no time at all before the call was made to get out drop bags to the truck. A couple of buses got up to the start a little late, so the race was delayed about 15 minutes. That was fine with me as it gave the sun a chance to come up.
When we finally went to the start line. I got cold fast as they were collecting everyone's foil blankets before we got to the timing mats. I saw this guy taking off his sweatpants to toss them and I asked him if I could have them to wrap around my shoulders. I was wearing a tank top and was freezing! He gave them to me and laughed as I wore them like a shawl for the first couple miles of the race. 😂
Great seeing Dan at the race!
Heading to the start!
The start of this race is no joke. I saw the elevation chart and knew that most of the hills were in the first 4 miles of the race. I liked this. The only thing I hate worse than running hills cold at the beginning of the race is running hills after 20 miles if downhill. I felt at least I would have legs for them. I still feel that way, but the first 4 miles were a very long tough climb. I ended up walking a lot more in those first miles than I wanted and I never was able to really make up the time.
The first for miles were brutal!
I had no goal time for the race but thought I would play it by ear. Once we hit some downhill sections, I was able to open it up a little, but I knew my training just wasn't there. In order to run fast, you have to run fast and training for the Yeti 100, I was not doing much speedwork. I also had way too many bathroom stops which made me glad I didn't have a goal to hit as they would have been flushed away! LOL! At that point, I decided to just enjoy the run. The course was so beautiful!
Such beautiful scenery!
I kept plugging along ticking off the miles and around mile 20, I ran upon a girl named Lisa. She recognized me from running the Phoenix/Mesa Marathon earlier this year. We were both a little lonely and bored at this point and decided to stick together. We didn't care how slow we were going, it was nice just to have someone to talk to those last few miles.
This guy was just randomly in the road, but since my bib said "VOTE", I needed a pic with him!
We were making pretty good time, but our legs were trashed and we ran/walked the last 3 miles. The last mile was a gentle climb, but my legs revolted. Thank goodness for Lisa as she pushed me so I didn't walk the entire last mile!
Lisa and I running in the last mile.
Lisa and I rounding the corner to the finish!
Happy to be done!
Fellow Revel Ambassador Nikki finished right behind us! We got a great picture of the 3 of us!
Unfortunately, I had no time to hang out after the race. I had to get back to my hotel so I could get a shower and make the 2-hour drive back to Phoneix to catch my flight home. I was happy to see my friend Stacy at the results tent briefly though. On the way out I realized that I had dropped my debit card somewhere, so on the drive back to the hotel, I had to call my bank and cancel my card.
I made it to the airport just in time to eat my weight in orange chicken and beef and broccoli from Panda Express just before boarding. That put me in the perfect food coma for my half-empty flight where I had a row to myself for the one hour flight home. It was perfect!
The Mt. Lemmon Medal
I made it home by 9:00PM and my friend Laura had already brought Zoe back home so she was there to greet me. It was a quick trip, but as usual, Revel does a fantastic job. This is a great race. Arizona in November is the perfect time to go!
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