Sunset Run in Sabino Canyon

Saturday March 8

This was the first day of a busy Tricats weekend. We hosted our semesterly Aquathlon race, which I baked some muffins for and assisted in set-up, lap counting, and clean-up. We had a fair turn out, 45 individuals or relay teams. After the Aquathlon I went home, ate lunch and got ready for my next event.

Around 3:40pm I left for Sabino Canyon to race in the Sabino Canyon Sunset Run Open hosted by the Southern Arizona Roadrunners. I wanted to get there early to get parking and for packet pick-up. I managed to park in the Sabion Canyon lot, got my packet and found some Tricats arriving to volunteer. One of the Tricats, Petter, had a friend he met on a recent excursion to the Colorado River, Greg from Essex, England. Greg was racing so he and I hung out and chatted a bit while the Tricats went to set-up the aid stations they would be manning. Some more Tricats showed up, some racing and some volunteering. Around 4:45ish Adrienne, Renee and I went for a quick warm-up run to their car, returned and stretched. The race began at 5:30pm, with 361 people in it (and one Tricat who ran it just for kicks). It was a gorgeous course, although I wasn't able to fully enjoy the beauty. It was great to be cheered on by fellow Tricats at the two aid stations (one we passed by on the way out and the way back). The run itself was 6.4 miles, mostly uphill on the way out, with an aid station at the turn-around point. There were three bridges that had water running over them, which made for a sloshy bit of running after those (and heavier feet). When we hit the first one I was wishing for the Zoot triathlon shoe so the water would drain easier and I wouldn't need socks. There was one hill that we had to go up shortly before the finish, so it wasn't entirely downhill on the way back. I finished in 57:28.8, so under my goal of one hour and at a 8:59 min/mile pace which was right on my goal of 9 min miles. I find it amusing that I finished in 201st place and 42nd in my age group (you can see the results here). We waited around for the rest of the racers to finish and for the awards. Sarah Sanchez got 1st in her age group and 2nd overall in the Women, and Pahlyn got 3rd in her age group.

After the race we headed to Renee's parent's house, nearby, for a post-race social with food. It was fun and the food was good - although after a race any food will be good. ;-)

Sunday, March 9

While the sunset run was the mainstay of the weekend, to truly understand the madness that has taken over my brain I must confess the activities of the following day. I woke up at 6:45 pm and barely made it on time to our morning brick workout, starting near Wetmore on 1st. There was quite a showing actually, and Don Buotte (our Bike sponsor) was there. I then went on a 1 hour 53 minute ride, followed by a 31 minute run. After that I went home, showered, ate breakfast, and biked to the Tricats carwash fundraiser. When we closed that up about an hour later, I headed over to the recreation center to get in a swim workout, for about 50 minutes, since I couldn't make the scheduled swim at 5pm.

Yes, I really have gone off the deep end. ;-)