Alan and I did a quick turn around trip to Arizona this weekend (well almost-eight hours driving in a 26 hour time period, with about five hours of sleep in the middle), where he was the announcer for the Arizona Half Marathon. We left La Quinta at about 2:00 on Friday afternoon. Whatever you want to say about the drive to Phoenix, long, boring, at least it is simple. Get on Interstate 10 and drive east, going to Arizona.
Actually, the race was in Estrella, a planned community in Goodyear Arizona, which is home to spring training complexes for the Cleveland Indians and the Cincinnati Reds. It is located west of Phoenix, which for us meant a shorter drive and no dealing with the traffic of the city. It was really quite a pretty area, incorporating a lot of desert space into the master plan. The start and finish was at the Starpointe Residents Club, a nice little clubhouse with a fitness center, restaurant and a huge pool complex which sits alongside a park complete with a man-made lake.
When we arrived in Goodyear, we went straight to the race location, where they were setting up and hosting a packet pick-up. After finding the race directors and getting details of what their expectations were (sponsors, race logistics, local dignitaries that might need introduction-that kind of thing), Alan and I headed to the hotel, stopping first at the grocery store to make sure our morning coffee needs could be met at an early hour.
I have written about the glamorous life of a race announcer before, and accommodations can sometimes be, well, interesting, but this time wasn’t a problem. We were staying at the Comfort Suites in Goodyear, a fairly new, clean hotel, with a large room, coffee maker (important) and refrigerator (even a microwave!).
After checking in and hauling our stuff to the room (we may have been there for one night, but we always come prepared for about a week!), we were ready to find someplace to eat, our last meal having been at Subway before leaving home. I had Happycow-ed Goodyear before we got there (Happy Cow deserves its own verb!), but without much luck beyond Sprouts and Trader Joes. Instead, using Yelp, I found a PF Changs about a mile from the hotel, and armed with my VeganXpress app (one of the best vegan apps, available in the App Store), off we went.
Friday night at PF Changs can be challenging, and when faced with a 20 minute wait, we decided to eat at the bar, which turned out to be a great decision. Not only was the service excellent, as two bartenders tended to our needs, it was fast as well. This was important to us, because as we discovered after we were seated and Alan picked up his phone for a moment, Arizona is an hour ahead of California time, and instead of 8:00, it was actually 9:00. Not a huge deal, usually, on a weekend, but it is if you are expected to be at the race start, 10 miles from the hotel, by 5:30 in the morning.
We shared the Spring Rolls
I had the Veggie Lettuce Wraps for my entree. They were very good (if a little too salty).
Alan had the Coconut Curry Vegetables, also very good.
(sorry about the dark phone photos, I was trying to be discreet)
We arrived on time the next morning (thank you cell phone for automatically adjusting for time zones). It was still dark and pretty cold, 48 degrees (though expected to warm up to 80 later in the day). As Alan went to work, I sat huddled in the car, turning the engine on for heat every now and then, until the sun came up and the temperature started to warm up.
A couple of weeks ago, I wrote that I might run this half marathon, but after coming down with the cold from hell and not doing any kind of training for over a week, decided that it was just not in the cards. Instead, in only my second short run of the week, I decided that three miles was just about the perfect distance. Although I am feeling much better, I still have a lot of junk in my lungs, and my endurance has diminished. So, while Alan was getting ready to start the kid’s race, which kicked of the Arizona Half events, I headed out around the lake (hoping I could stay ahead of those children!).
I always enjoy the sights running in a new town, whether it is a marathon in Paris or Hawaii, or a three mile jog through Estrella, Arizona. And three miles was the perfect distance for this almost healthy woman.
Love the rainbow in this shot.
I finished my run just as the half marathon was ready to start, so I was there to cheer them on. There were about 500 participants, down from the previous year due to the new location in Estrella (but I’ll bet word will spread about how lovely it is and it will be much bigger in October, when they will hold it again).
Working Race Announcer (he was in charge of the music too!).
I hung around for the start of the 5k, then headed back to the hotel to shower, pack up, and check out. When I got back to the race site, most half marathoners had finished. We waited until the last man crossed the line (the poor guy had to be driven in the last couple miles, but he was able to limp across the finish line and receive his finisher’s medal). Then Alan packed up his stuff and we were off on our four hour drive home. We did stop twice for gas, taking the opportunity to save about 50 cents a gallon compared to California gas prices (as were many other drivers, that last gas station before the state line was hopping!).
When we finally arrived home, only 26 hours after we had left the previous day, we greeted our dogs (not sure who was happier to see whom), then collapsed for a well deserved nap. Going home to California.
