Phoenix Marathon, Marathon Number 4

We spend much, ALL of Winter training in cold, snow and rain for a very early Spring marathon.  I entered Jeramie and myself into an online contest for a free entry.  Ironically enough it was Jeramie's whose name was pulled.  So that pretty much sealed the deal for us and we because training immediately.  It wasn't until after the first of the year that I actually got my act together to officially register us.

I trained my butt off so hard for this race.  Not a single run was missed.  And I also did a ton of strength training.  My dad hooked us up with a nice room at the Hilton and so off we went for a weekend just the two of us (and 26.2 miles).  We arrived just in time to catch a beautiful sunset in the desert.  Ran through to pick our packets up and straight to our hotel to bed we went.

     Starting line. 

Our beloved Utes were playing Arizona that weekend so I represented with my Ute red.  I won't bore you with the race details.  Needless to say it wasn't my fastest.  I battled with my hip and knee the last 6 miles of the race.  But honestly I was happy with my effort.  Even though the race wasn't my fastest, I felt strong and enjoyed the course.  There was a little bit of downhill but not a ton.  Jerm and I ran together for over half the race before we split up.

     Finish line. 

After the race we made our way back to our hotel where I ate potato chips while Jeramie slept for several hours.  After awhile, we managed to pull our sore selves together to make our way upstairs for "happy hour".  One of the perks of traveling under my dad's frequent stayer points.  You get invited upstairs for snacks and free beer.  And I'm a Howard, I do not pass up on free beer.

After that we headed for dinner at a local English pub, which didn't disappoint.  I had bangers and mash.  Then we crawled our tired butts back to our hotel and went to bed.  Not the most exciting weekend away with no kids but that's what happens when you run a marathon!  haha.