Mesquite TriStates Marathon

Today was a celebration of 5 years of keeping off the 100lb (45 kilos) that I lost. In November, 2006, I attained lifetime status in Weight Watchers. Today I weigh pretty much exactly the same as I did 5 years ago. I racewalked the Mesquite TriStates Marathon in celebration.

BEFORE (Feb 4, 2005)

AFTER (Nov 11, 2006)
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And today, I set a huge PR in the marathon - almost 10 minutes off of my time from September 17, 2011, and I was under strict orders to take it easy. I did obey them! My heart rate was pretty much in the upper 130s to upper 140s the whole time, though I did work the last 1km because I knew I was on track for a sub-4:20 marathon. Yup, sub-4:20. Wow. I can't believe I'm even typing that. I never, ever dreamed I'd be this fast.

This race has an amazing downhill for the first 13 miles, from 1222m to 560m above sea level. It wasn't leg-pounding though! I was just able to go FAST. I actually broke my PR for the half marathon (today's was 2:04:05!!!) taking it easy. The downhill really helped. However, the last 13 miles has a lot of hills - it's up and down and up and down, etc. I continued to take it easy and did the second half in 2:15:22 for a total of 4:19:27 for the race. I walked up those hills at a good clip, but didn't push too hard, and hopefully I'll be OK for the planned tough week of workouts ahead of me.

Oh, another fun thing about this race was the food. They had gummy bears, bananas, MnMs, gels, and pretzels at the aid stations. I enjoyed sampling all of them :)!

The scenery was absolutely gorgeous. The views coming down the hill were incredible, and the mountains, Joshua trees, canyons, etc. were amazing. I felt so privileged to be out there, and there was nothing I'd rather have been doing than racing today. The weather was picture-perfect too - if I'd have ordered it, it could not have been nicer. It was about 50F (10C) at the start and just under 60F (15C) at the finish, partly sunny, and calm until about 30K, when the wind picked up. That was the only negative - pretty strong headwind for the last few miles combined with the hills could have been better.

What else is there to say? I had some fun conversations with runners; I was with a group of runners for a couple miles near the 10K mark, and we chatted about racewalking, the rules, how fun it is, etc. I got another comment about Zumba, "I was watching your hips and I think you'd be really good at that Zumba thing". Hahaha. Clever, but I've heard that one before. And lots of the usual, "Wow, you walk faster than I can run". One woman about mile 20 as I passed her said, "Darn it! I KNEW you'd pass me!". It does have to be disheartening as a runner to get passed by a racewalker, but it sure is fun for me. I passed quite a few runners in the last 10K, and only one passed me that I noticed. That was nice! I even passed a group of very fit-looking women right at mile 26.0 and outsprinted them to the finish. FUN!

I felt SO good and SO strong for this race. I am feeling very optimistic about my chances in the 50K in January. Nothing really hurt today; my foot was slightly achy, and I got a blister on my 2nd right toe (in the usual spot), and a little chafing, but all minor stuff. I am very happy to be fit, training well, and uninjured. Let's hope it stays that way. Only 7 weeks until the 50K!!!!!

More pictures here.

Garmin connect data here.