drivetofive

Odometer (Legend):  540,655

Odometer (ILX):  153,336

Over here, we enjoyed our 3-day holiday weekend with friends from New York and Texas, as well as family members from Utah.  January in Arizona is prime time for perfect weather, so for the next several weeks I’ll be hosting folks from around the country who want to bask in our desert sunshine.  Next on the docket will be a road trip to Sedona this coming weekend so stay tuned for that.  This past Sunday morning, I participated in the Arizona Rock & Roll Half-Marathon, sponsored by PF Chang’s restaurant.

Along with about 11,000 other finishers, I ran from University Avenue near downtown Tempe, Arizona, on a counter-clockwise 13.1-mile circle through Scottsdale and Papago Park, and then finished at Tempe Beach Park in front of thousands of spectators.  It’s always a rush to come around the final bend and see the banners and finish line in the distance, then dig deeply for every available ounce of energy and make a strong finish.  My so-so running pace put me in the middle of the pack as far as my age range was concerned.

My friend Lance summed up part of his weekend here in Arizona as “Acura Merry-Go-Round” because we rotated through some different cars during his stay.  The Arcadia Green Vigor was the vehicle of choice for primary transport to and from the marathon exposition at the Phoenix Convention Center downtown, to brunch, and to the race start line itself.

Fez on Central was a great place for some open-air dining.

The Vig at its parking space on race day in Tempe, Arizona.

I was able to host more than a dozen friends at my home on Saturday night with a carb-heavy dinner menu consisting of spaghetti with two types of sauces, grilled chicken, and all sorts of side dishes.  My mom and stepdad were nice enough to staff the kitchen and carry out most of the duties there while I was entertaining.  It’s the most use my appliances have had in the 7 years I’ve lived in the home.

On the race day itself, we met up at the start line (in “corral 3,” anyway) with seasoned runner Beau.

Post-race reception and runner recovery area at Tempe Beach Park.

Here were my standings.

Conor and I took the NSX out for a Saturday cruise to Papago Park.  It was his first time driving an NSX and he was sold!  His current S2000 satisfies his need for speed in the meantime.

Kyle’s GMC Sierra could have easily driven right over my hood.

Lance and I took the NSX to meet up with fellow road tripper James Lee for brunch at MacAlpine’s in central Phoenix.  Look at how a 2016 Mazda Miata MX-5 dwarfs a 1992 NSX in size comparison!

The Vigor went in on Monday morning to Midas for a new muffler to replace the rusted-out original.  Peace and quiet again!

It also received an oil change this afternoon.

Thanks to Dana & the crew for the fine service as always.

That’s about it from this end!  Tune in next week.

This entry was posted on January 20, 2016 at 6:36 pm and is filed under Arizona, NSX, Running, Vigor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.