Mesa 26.2 report

Mesa marathon is one of famous downhill courses marathon. Since I still need to get 7-8 mins faster to quantify Boston, I signed up for this year. Also, it’s in different state and it can fit my plan which is running marathons in different states. Running different places have some pros and cons such as you won’t be familiar with any of course, but I take pros to explore different places and I will always have PR.

Pre race

The expo was in the hotel I stayed which was really convenient. Since it’s a cold start, you will get a pair of gloves. I flew there early morning to get my bib.

Course

During the bib pickup, I joined the course explained meeting. The coach pointed out few points that were very useful. 1. We already knew it will be cold and rain on the race day so the coach highly recommended put the body glide on your body, legs and foot to prevent water. Also a hat to cover your face from rain.2. Nutrition. I always have my rice cooker with me, but sometimes it’s not enough for nutrition so I brought salt caps, and GU. The coach suggested taking nutrition every 5 miles. 3. Run the distance as short as possible which means don’t run extra miles. This is why every finisher has different distances on their watch. Those are really helpful and I will keep in mind.

Race day

Shuttles

All marathon runners need to get in the shuttles by 4:30 am and it took around 30mins to the start line. The good thing about it is you can stay on the bus to keep you warm before the race starts.

It was raining when I woke up at 3 am. The forecast showed it will stop soon, but never happened until first 1 or 2 miles. And then rain started on and off and finally just rained until I finished. Course itself was pretty good. Great course and support. it’s a well organized event and happens every year. You won’t go wrong with that.

Performance

Not all the race you will have perfect condition to race. However , you just need to run with whatever you got that day. I have to admit I almost gave up at the last 2 miles cuz my calf started cramping. I checked my watch, it’s at borderline qualify. I told myself I came here for this and I already ran 24 miles, I had to keep pushing whatever it takes. The last few weeks of my training didn’t go well. It might break my confidence. It’s also because I expect more on this race so I got stressful a bit. The weird feeling on my right thigh also bothers me too. No matter how I stretch, it won’t go away. There is always something when preparing a race, but you just need to go to the start line and finish. Anyway, the race is done, I need to move on and focus on next race.