14 on the schedule, 26.2 under foot: the valley of fire marathon race report

I've only really done it once before; run a marathon without actually training for it.

sometime the week before the race I had the crazy idea. why not just do it? my game plan: run it slow and not care about anything. it was a training run with a little bit extra thrown in for good measure. it was another state. no big deal, right?

it's funny how the experience is completely different when you've put in months and months of work specifically for one race. the anticipation. the excitement. the dread. you dream of doing amazing things; of PR's, of BQ's. this was not that. the fact that I was just about to run 26.2 miles without putting in that work didn't even sink in until about one minute before the gun went off. I freaked out slightly then, but quickly composed myself and joined the crowd. I was going to run a marathon without training. I have done it before, I could do it again.

the valley of fire marathon isn't exactly for the faint of heart. it's a small race and a hard course. in fact, they don't even claim you'll PR.

right there situated in mile one is a big, huge, fatty hill. and after that? more hills. the whole course was a series of rollers. some steep, some not as steep. oh, and did I mention that the course was comprised of two out and backs? so every hill you conquered, on the way down all you could think about was running back UP on the return trip. see why it's not a PR course? it was just plain hard. but it was so beautiful it kind of took your mind off the hills. at least a little bit. {if you've never been to the valley of fire state park, you should take a trip out there someday. it turns out november is the perfect time to do it. I couldn't have asked for better weather. especially for running.}

I stuck to my game-plan and just took things as they came. I told myself I was allowed to walk any hills to save the legs. I felt surprisingly good throughout the whole run. I ended up walking the steep hills, but mostly trudging up the others. I never felt the need to walk because I just wanted to give up and quit (like in fargo); I was just out there havin' a good time.

I tried to break the run up into sections in my mind. the distance seemed easier to tackle that way. if I can just get to the first turn-around... once I get to the half marathon split... when I get to mile 20, I'll just have a 10K left... I knew that if I could get to mile 20.5--the second turn-around--I would make it. it was a steady climb up until that point, and I knew that the last 10K would be all downhill. I'm not sure I could have made it otherwise.

I was getting tight, but was still able to keep running at a pretty good pace. I was passing people. I just had to keep my feet moving. and the miles flew slowly by.

I'm not sure I'd recommend this race. as is, I'd say run the half. that's definitely the prettiest part of the course. if you're not looking for a fast time or a lot of crowd support, and maybe if they improved a few things, then I'd say go for the full. for starters if you say you're going to have gatorade {and then say a few days before you're going to have heed instead} you should have at least some sort of sports drink on the course. there was nothing for the first half of the marathon. the second half did have the heed, but I had never even heard of that stuff let alone used it in training. yikes! and definitely put out better mile markers. yeah, there were some out there (and I loved the corresponding american flag set out by each of them. very patriotic.) but I never really seemed to know quite where I was. a little frustrating, but maybe in this case it was a good thing. and if you talk to peter {this is his biggest pet peeves in race organization} have better traffic control. he saw people almost get hit by cars at the finish line area. and it's always scary as you're running on the shoulder of the road and there are big motor homes and cars passing in both directions at the same time. yikes! at least close one lane of traffic and dedicate it to runners!

but with all that being said, it was a beautiful course and I really did have a fun time running it. especially since I can say that I did it without training. after the race I was hanging around the food table {by the way, they did have donuts not only at the end but at aid stations as well. if only I could have better taken advantage of that!} talking to other runners. some guys--now these are guys that had run 60+ and 100+ marathons. experts, if you will--were saying this was one of the hardest courses they've ever run. {I agree; it was akin to the lake tahoe marathon} that you need to take your normal finishing time and add one hour to it, then you will have your valley of fire marathon finish time. I kinda liked that. with their logic if you take my 4:40:55 and run it through the reverse of that idea, I'd have a 3:40:55 boston qualifying time. I'll take it!

top left: look! a tarantula! posing mid-race for a photo shoot with a spider
top right: running through the redrock formations
bottom right: the hardware