Posted in Running on January 24, 2019 by tysonhugie
Odometer (Legend): 564,980
It was time to put a few miles on the ol’ tennis shoes for a change. Somehow I commit myself every year to running the Rock & Roll Half-Marathon in Phoenix every January – perhaps because mom twists my arm a little bit. Mom was among a handful of other guests who have paid a visit to Arizona in recent weeks. With all the hustle and bustle of the auctions and other events in town this time of year, my spare bedroom has a bit of a revolving door – and I love it.
Kicking off things in style, I went to an open house / reception at 180 Degrees Automotive, owned by an entrepreneur named Bogi who is at the forefront of an initiative to break down gender barriers and welcome more women into the automotive industry. Bogi and her all-female team of skilled mechanics restored a custom Chevy pickup as part of a TV series, and the open house served to reveal the team’s next project: An old Volvo. I enjoyed checking out the scene and shaking a few hands. Oh, and the signature cocktail at the event was called “Premium Unleaded.”
There were plenty of cool cars to see throughout the week, and the preview for the RM Auctions at the Biltmore Resort was especially jaw-dropping. Parked outside the registration tent was a 2017 Ferrari “LaFerrari” valued at between six and eight million bucks. I was afraid to even breathe on it.
I had a visit from Hagerty’s VP Jonathan Klinger and from our favorite fellow Honda collector, Peter Cunningham. Bring a Trailer hosted an “alumni” event at The Stables in Scottsdale with a couple dozen cars that have been featured on the site in the past. Buyers, sellers, and window shoppers all got to enjoy the morning with catered coffee from Old Town Scottsdale’s “FourTillFour.” I got to park my 1990 Accord between a Bentley and a Porsche. The Accord auction, incidentally, ended at $6,500 hammer price yesterday which was a solid performance. I’m glad the car will go to someone who can appreciate it. The car is moving to Dallas, Texas in mid-February.
The half-marathon itself was an experience in stamina, as I attempted to rally enough energy for a 13-mile jaunt without having run a single mile since last October. I crawled past the finish line about 40 minutes after mom did, but at that point I wasn’t worried about finish times. I just wanted my chocolate milk reward.
Here are a few more news bits:
Pic from Bogi’s event
Picking up mom in the SLX
And, a new plate for the SLX!
Jonathan from Hagerty
Jason, mom, Conor, and me, at the BaT event
Vigor + Accord – similar!
Souvenir mug
Hanging with none other than Peter Cunningham of RealTime Racing
House partayyy with catered Cafe Rio.
Mile 4 of the race.
Jason Cammisa taking a closer look at my SLX
Conor signing an exclusive piece of artwork with his 2004 TSX featured.
Taking the ILX to lunch, and following Jack’s RSX
Rehab Burger Therapy did not disappoint
Visiting my cousin on the west end of the valley – and a quick visit from my friend Michael (his ILX in the background)
Saying farewell to mom until next time!
After 3 years, I was finally able to get ahold of a “template” sticker for my 1992 Integra GS-R and have a reproduction made.
Thanks, Jason of Pawela’s Garage for helping me finally complete my sticker collection!
Best IG story ever. We sure love the 3GTL, right Jake?
Off to the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah tomorrow! More on that soon!
I have all sorts of news to catch up on here but I’ll keep the message short & sweet so the photos can tell the story. There have been a lot of articles coming out on the recent NSXPO in San Francisco, but I’m particularly pleased with how this one came together. I wrote a short piece on a father & son from Tucson, Arizona who both own NSXs. It’s here on AcuraConnected.
I took the ILX to southern Utah over the weekend and competed in my 12th St. George marathon. For about the first half of the 26-miler, it rained. Adding to the struggle, my meager 3 miles of training didn’t amount to adequate preparation (shocker!) and my pace-per-mile reflected that. In all it took me nearly 5.5 hours to finish, but my mom was there waiting for me at the finish proudly.
The ILX rolled 208,000 on the way to Utah Thursday evening.
My niece and nephews made a great cheering squad at about mile 25 when I passed by them (slowly).
Mom sat this one out but spent the day volunteering instead.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had some ‘car fun,’ including a visit from my friend Michael who has a Fathom Blue ILX.
A couple of fourth-generation Honda Accords made their way to the house (for short- or long-term, not yet known) but I’m doing a bit of work on each one and enjoying getting to know the platform. This particularly nice one is from a one-owner history right here in the Phoenix area. While showing over 136,000 on the odometer, it easily looks like a car with < 50,000 miles on it.
Plus, what’s not to love about those automatic seatbelts. Just like the ones in my two Integras.
This Mulberry Pearl car was featured on my YouTube a couple of months ago and I was shocked how quickly the video took off. It’s now been viewed over 50,000 times and commented on over 700 times. People have a lot of love for these old Accords!
The second Accord is this 1993 SE with 302,000 miles on it. While it runs and drives well and has a very solid background & maintenance history, it does need some cosmetic and mechanical help so I’ll be putting some effort into it as time permits.
My friend Brad and his roommate Richard from Chicago stopped by. Brad, sorry to post this one with your eyes shut! But glad you were able to make a fly-by visit in Phoenix on the tail end of your 2,000-mile national park tour! By the way, our weather cleared up right after you left.
I visited Acura of Tempe yesterday to drop off my NSX for a new timing belt & water pump, and took the time to admire my friend Leon’s 2001 Integra Type-R which is on display in the showroom. You’ll recognize Leon’s car from JCCS 2018 in Long Beach recently.
My loaner while the NSX was in for service was this new TLX V6 SH-AWD with only 2,000 miles on it. Do you like it?
I thought this article was a worthwhile read on a guy who hit 600,000 miles on his Accord, if you get time to check it out.
Finally, here are some cool ads someone sent me for the Vigor. Acura’s marketing agency back in the day really had some skill.
Do you know what a hoodoo is? The name to me sounds a lot like “voodoo,” and according to the Internet, can be used interchangeably with it. But there’s an alternate definition you may not have heard of. A hoodoo can also mean a column of weathered rock. Check out this view of a vast number of hoodoos that I saw on Friday at Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah. Now you know!
This past weekend’s 4-day, 1,000-mile road trip took me through Bryce as well as some of Utah’s other scenic wonders. It was the perfect escape from the day-to-day grind. I’ve visited Bryce a few times in the past, including when my friend Peter’s TSX rolled 200,000 miles three years ago and a trip to “Hell’s Backbone” in the ILX five years ago. Still, I can never get tired of seeing that amazing landscape. I took for granted that I grew up with so many beautiful national parks virtually in my own backyard in southern Utah.
My tried and trusty Legend coupe was the chariot of choice for this backroads adventure, and it delivered perfect reliability as I knew it would. The idea for this trip came about because two friends were competing in the Bryce Canyon Ultra Marathon – a “50K” (32-mile) trail run that would subject them to some of the region’s most challenging terrain but also some of the most rewarding views. I think they’re nuts, but then again my own sanity is a little questionable too.
Bryce is one of five national parks in Utah and perhaps one of the least traveled – just the way I like them. The way we got there was pretty straightforward, with a night in my hometown of St. George on Thursday, and then northbound to Cedar City. From Cedar, that’s where things got interesting. We climbed nearly 5,000 feet in elevation on Highway 14 eastbound over the course of 18 miles – windows down, sunroof open, and soaking in the glorious temperatures.
From there, we hooked north on Highway 148 past Cedar Breaks National Monument. By that time, we were at 10,000 feet in elevation – high enough that even on June 1, we saw snow on the roadside. Cedar Breaks was awe-inspiring. We were also delighted that there was next to no traffic. The road is closed from November through May so it had just recently opened back up for the season – literally, the visitor center opened the very day we were rolling through.
Our destination for the next two nights was Panguitch, Utah – a tiny (2,000-resident) town on Highway 89 and home to the Blue Pine Motel, which has been there since 1901. While the accommodations weren’t first class, they were definitely warm and inviting. It’s a family owned atmosphere and a step back in time. We loved our stay. My friend and I visited Bryce Canyon later that first afternoon, some 20 minutes away, and soaked in some of the views from Rainbow Point and Sunset Point. Cars are $35 but we picked up an $80 annual parks pass for admission into any of the National Park units for an entire year. Seems like a decent value!
Bryce Canyon National Park was established 90 years ago and covers about 55 square miles. Navigating it is easy since there’s just one main 18-mile-long, north-south road with a loop at the end. We hiked 1.3 miles round trip on the Navajo Trail loop at Sunset Point before hitting up the restaurant inside the lodge for a delicious bite to eat.
The runners rocked their event, which started and ended in the foothills east of the small town of Hatch on Saturday. The level of difficulty was pretty extreme, with a 7,000-foot elevation change over the course of the 32 miles, along with high temperatures, rocky or sandy footing, and windblown dust. Our friends came in at 9 and 10 hours – exhausted but feeling accomplished. We treated them to Diet Cokes on ice, just as they’d requested.
The small town vibe continued when we made friends with the owner of Cowboy Smokehouse back in Panguitch, who gave us a free order of bacon-wrapped sweet potatoes for our appetizer. It tasted better than it sounds.
By Sunday morning, it was time to make the trek back home, so my friend and I headed out southbound on Highway 89 under a bright blue sky. We stopped just once in Utah – for fuel in Kanab – but decided to lollygag a little at the Arizona/Utah state line in Page. We happened to arrive at the Glen Canyon Dam at Lake Powell just in time for a 10:30 a.m. tour (and it would only cost us $5 each). Score! I’ve always wanted to take a dam tour. It was a dam good time.
For 45 minutes, we were part of a group of 15 people listening to a tour guide teach us about the dam and its history. We got to ride in two elevators, down a total of over 700 feet to the base of the canyon where the Colorado River runs below. The dam was completed in 1966 but the lake behind it, Lake Powell, took 16 years to fill up! Today there are 8 turbines capable of generating 1.32 gigawatts of power. When I read that on one of the signs, it made me think of Doc Brown’s quote in Back to the Future about needing “1.21 gigawatts.” Great Scott!
My favorite part of the tour was learning that for 1 year only, traffic did flow over the dam itself. I asked our tour guide about it because I could see the the faded remnants of a double-yellow line on top of the concrete. She told us that for just 1 year (1978) traffic was directed across the dam, because construction was taking place on the adjacent bypass bridge.
For lunch, we hit up Fiesta Mexicana in Page, then worked our way to Flagstaff on Highway 89 and connected with Interstate 17 for the final 2 hours of downhill slide into the Phoenix Valley. If only we could have brought some of the cooler temperatures back home with us! The oven has been preheated and we are ready to bake here until October or so. Gotta love it!
Thanks for coming along!
Glen Canyon Dam Tour
Here’s something new for the blog. I have 3 readers who are selling cars and who contacted me about listing them here. Does anyone have interest in these? Let me know and I’ll put you in touch with the sellers.
Brandon’s 1990 Legend L coupe for sale
Automatic
155,000 Miles
San Diego, CA
$ Make Offer
Matt’s 2003 CL-S for sale
6-Speed Manual
255,000 Miles
Phoenix, AZ
$4,300
Srikanth’s 1991 Legend L sedan for sale
Automatic
151,000 Miles
Providence, RI
$ Make Offer
More trip pics – snow along Highway 148, in June
Cedar Breaks National Monument
Pond near the starting (and finish) line of the 50K race
Hanging with mom at the finish line
Sandy’s Audi Q5 got dirty while my Legend stayed clean back at the motel
Small town talk: I had to ask someone what “chicken lights” are.
Blue Pine Motel parking
Hanging at Glen Canyon Dam. Watch your step!
View looking toward the bridge over the Colorado River
The NSX has been a great car for the 30,000 miles that I’ve put on it. It received a new right axle and a 10W30 Castrol GTX oil change in preparation for this week’s upcoming trip to WestFest in Las Vegas, Nevada. The original axle had flung a bunch of grease on the undercarriage and I started getting a ‘clicking’ sound consistent with speed, so it was time. Science of Speed in Chandler, Arizona worked to squeeze in the car in the nick of time.
Thanks to Chris & his team for their help!
WestFest is slated to be one of the biggest NSX Club of America regional club events this year, anticipating 45 vehicles and upwards of 70 attendees. Here’s a post from where I scouted out the proposed WestFest group drive earlier this year, and a write-up from last year’s program. We will be in Vegas from Thursday through Sunday.
The Integra has been getting some more attention. I had Desert Shield Window Tinting give it a new set of shades. It’s a necessary update when you live in an area that has 300 days of sunshine per year.
You can see here how the clear rear window showed those faded rear headrests.
Little better here, especially to preserve the interior from further deterioration.
I have had Desert Shield work on 5 or 6 of my cars in the past, but I honestly cannot say I recommend them any longer. I specifically asked for the side windows to be all the same shade, but the technician installed limo tint on the rear side windows. I had it stripped and redone. Then 3 days later, there was peeling tint from the left rear door. It will be fixed under warranty next week. But I’m tired of taking trips back there.
I spent an evening earlier in the week getting the engine bay cleaned up. It wasn’t really bad to begin with, but just in case I end up showing this car at any events, I want things to be ready. There’s a video below.
In other noteworthy news, my friend Vlad stopped by this week. He drives an RLX that I featured in a Reader’s Ride last year. It was great to catch up with him.
And yesterday, a friend and I joined 28,000 other runners in the 14th annual “Pat’s Run,” in Tempe, Arizona. It’s a 4.2-mile race in recognition of our armed forces, past and present, named in honor of Pat Tillman who was a professional football player killed in the line of duty in 2002. It was a well-organized event and served a good cause.
My guest room is fully booked this month — if it seems I’m light on travels, it’s because I’m hosting all sorts of company. And I wouldn’t have it any other way! Now if only I offered free breakfast & a fitness center.
Mom flew down from southern Utah for an annual tradition: The Rock & Roll Half Marathon which starts & ends in Tempe, near Arizona State University. We have the whole routine down to a science: Where to have brunch the day prior, what to wear, where to park the car, and even where to meet at the conclusion of the race. Because – let’s face it – we already knew that mom was going to beat me to the finish line by a solid half-hour or more. And she did.
I missed out on the North American International Auto Show this past week. In case you missed it too, there were some big announcements from Acura with the debut of the all-new 2019 RDX sport utility vehicle. AND – drumroll please – the Type-S name is coming back!
That same day, I had “Ultimate Finish” – a mobile bumper repair/repaint operation – come over to the house and re-shoot both bumpers on my 1994 Vigor GS. I must say, for having been a driveway job and completed from start to finish in a matter of 6 hours, it turned out phenomenally. They charged me $300 per bumper.
I attended the third annual Future Classics Car Show on the upper parking deck of the Scottsdale Quarter shopping center. It was quite the grab-bag of vehicles, but that’s what makes the show interesting. James took his 1999 Isuzu VehiCROSS, Kyle his 2005 Pontiac GTO, and Scott his 2012 Mini Cooper. I was in the 1992 Integra GS-R. None of us went home with any awards but we enjoyed hanging out with fellow gearheads for the evening.
The following evening, I had a couple of special guests arrive.
Peter Cunningham, President of the NSX Club of America (NSXCA), and Donald Osborne, auto appraiser extraordinaire, came over for a VIP visit to my humble car collection. We went to dinner nearby at a Casa Añejo. Meanwhile, my roommate picked up my friend Chris from the Phoenix airport. A few years ago, we started the tradition of Chris visiting Arizona each January for a several-day visit which centers around attending the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction. I’ll have more on that in a dedicated next post!
Chris put a few miles on my cars while I was at work the next couple of days, including taking an 800+ mile drive to southern Utah and back in a single day. He’s a little nuts, but I guess that’s why we get along so well. Destination #1 was Monument Valley, one of my favorite places. He also hit up Four Corners and spent a little bit of time in Colorado and New Mexico. As in, probably a footstep’s worth of time in each! My car was dirty so I spent a good chunk of the afternoon today getting it cleaned up. I decided to film a walkaround video since a few had asked for a current one. Ask and ye shall receive.
Below are a few more photos of the last few weeks’ activities. Have a great evening!
Picking up mom at the airport
Pasta prep
Dinner crowd at my place
Saturday morning in downtown at the marathon expo
View from the patio at our brunch spot: FEZ
Tyson, Kevin, Adam, Jon, Tia, Rob, Julio at brunch
Doing a little yard sale-ing with mom (she’s in the sideview mirror proudly holding up a new red dress she purchased for $5)
Mile 10 of the marathon on Sunday morning, with the clock already showing just under 2 hours elapsed.
Finished! And headed home.
Departure back to Utah, dropping off mom at the airport
Peter Cunningham signing my guest book at the house
Donald Osborne, Chris, me
Airport run in the Legend sedan to pick up Kevin from Georgia
Tyson, Kevin, Chris
Chris’ post to the 5,000-member “ALOE” group on Facebook. It stands for Acura Legend Owners & Enthusiasts.
It’s been a full house at Hotel Hugie this week. I’ve had company cycling in and out for the past week or so and I’m happy to play host! Visiting from Palm Springs, California was my friend Scott who came to town on business AND to market his bright yellow 1977 Honda Civic which went up for sale at a collector car auction later in the week. It brought $14,000!
Last Sunday, I ran the 14th annual Rock & Roll Half-Marathon in Phoenix with my mother who had driven down from Utah. Race day weather couldn’t have been better: even though the forecast had called for a 30%+ chance of rain, things stayed dry and the overcast skies kept it from getting too warm. In the end, I somehow pulled off a 2 hour, 22 minute finish time with mom sneaking past the finish line at 1:58.
Darn it mom, I’ll beat you someday.
On Monday evening I attended the second-annual “Future Classics Car Show,” sponsored in part by ClassicCars.com, Hagerty, as well as other names in the collector car industry. It was open to all years, makes, and models, but I opted to take my 1994 Legend GS sedan since it hadn’t seen the light of day in a few weeks. The car didn’t exactly fit in — most vehicles in the show were more of a ‘tuner’ variety, with big wings, decals, and racing wheels. But I was happy to represent the all-stock Japanese luxo-sedan. Parked next to me was my friend Kyle in his 2005 Pontiac GTO, which incidentally ended up winning a trophy in its class. Congrats, Kyle!
On Wednesday, I made a trip to the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport to pick up my good friend Chris who’d just flown in 5 hours from Baltimore to spend a few days with me. Chris and I have been ‘car friends’ since the late 1990s when we were both dabbling in Honda Prelude circles. This week, he became the first of my friends who has driven all 6 of my cars. There you go Chris, the proof is in writing! You win the grand prize!
It was an action-packed few days complete with highs and lows. Mother Nature dished out lots of rain which put a damper on Chris’ travel plans, but it didn’t keep him from taking a trip to Sedona in the Legend sedan and hiking 7 miles in the mud to Devil’s Bridge. Getting there was an adventure in itself. He’d intended to take the NSX but only made it 15 miles north of town when the car left him stranded thanks to a faulty ignition switch. A $195 tow and $101 (parts & labor) repair later, the car was back on the road the next day thanks to Science of Speed in Chandler. First time that one has seen a tow truck in the five years I’ve owned it!
On Friday, I telecommuted and supervised Chris while he did some ILX maintenance for me, including replacement of rear brake pads, the engine air filter, and the serpentine belt.
I introduced him to my favorite Mexican place, “Lose Dos Molinos,” on Camelback Road later that evening to compensate him in part for his labor efforts. A couple of other special guests made their debut at my home including Mark McCourt and Jeff Koch from Hemmings, then Jonathan Klinger from Hagerty. Talk about friends in high places. I was honored to have such automotive elites checking out my home and garage. I thank them for helping keep the car collecting community alive.
Speaking of car collecting, you’ll soon read more about my trip to the 46th annual Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction which was our source of entertainment all day Saturday. Watch for an upcoming post on that.
Which brings us to the final chapter of Chris’ visit, in which we took a 250-ish mile round trip to Tucson & back in the Legend coupe to tour the Pima Air & Space Museum, a collection of hundreds of retired aircraft. My favorite was getting to see the Douglas VC-118A that served as Air Force One for Presidents Kennedy & Johnson during the early 1960s (pictured below). On the way back, I introduced Chris to In-N-Out Burger, a favorite fast food chain in this region. He said the shake wasn’t half bad.
That puts a wrap on what you’ve missed during the last couple of weeks. Now, make the most of the few minutes of the weekend that remain! I know I will! Until next time.
Interior of Scott’s 1977 Civic.
Some literature my friend Richard sent me. Love this old stuff!
Scott gave me a huge “A” for my garage. It used to adorn an auto show display booth.
Also had a visit from my friend Ryan and 3 of his 4 kiddos. The guest book is filling up nicely!
Not to mention this crowd of troublemakers I hosted for pasta dinner the night before the half-marathon.
Another shot from the Future Classics Car Show
Grabbing a bite with Sam and Kyle
Headed to pick up Chris from the airport and my friend Lance happened to be right behind me! He snapped this shot!
Chris’ arrival. He’s come out at least 3 times now from Baltimore to visit.
Shots Chris took with the Legend sedan on the Red Rock Scenic Byway in Sedona, Arizona.
Maintenance underway!
Mark from Hemmings gave me these awesome VHS promotional tapes from the 1990s! I can’t wait to put them to use!
This postcard was inside one of them. “The question isn’t whether to lease an Acura, but rather which Acura to lease. We understand what a difficult decision it is, and we recommend you seek professional help. From your professionally helpful Acura dealer.” Love that! I’ll take one of each!
Visit from Hagerty’s main man in Traverse City, Jonathan Klinger.
Hitting up a mecca for airplane geeks
The SR-71 Blackbird, this example from 1964, maxes out at over 2,100 miles per hour and flies at 85,000 feet. This is a serious aircraft.
Double-double, animal style! If you know what that is, you’ve been to In-N-Out Burger.
Hey, that odometer below can’t be real can it? Sorry Gabe, I think you’ve tampered with it! Though the number sequence makes me think of a catchy tune I once heard.
Seems one of my cars has been doing some road tripping without me in recent weeks! Whilst I was enjoying myself on my travels to and from Atlanta recently, my friend Kyle took the ILX south of the border on a little weekend trip to Mexico. His destination was called Puerto Peñasco, or, in English: Rocky Point. It’s a small beach town on the shores of the Gulf of California in Mexico that can be reached in about 4 hours drive time from Phoenix. It is, in fact, our closest beach (getting to San Diego’s Pacific shoreline takes about two hours longer).
Thanks to Kyle’s contribution to the ILX’s adventures, the car has now traversed every country in north America this year. You’ll recall that back in May, my friend Jason and I drove our cars to the Arctic Circle north of Fairbanks, Alaska. If you plot a route on Google Maps from the Arctic Circle to Rocky Point, it comes in at just fewer than 4,000 miles one-way. Heck of a road trip!
Kyle took a few photos to share with me, including shot of a fuel-up at “Why” just before crossing over the international border southbound. You can read more about my visit to Why from 2013 at the hyperlink.
Arrival at the beach
Crossing back into the U.S. of A:
And getting a foam bath. Thanks Kyle!
I have a couple weeks’ worth of miscellaneous news to catch up on here, I guess. I had to hit the ground running at work after having been gone for 5 business days on the Atlanta trip. Luckily, my coworkers were patient with me while I got caught up. Last weekend was a nice relaxing time at home. I hit the yard with my new Honda lawnmower on Saturday morning and washed cars that afternoon.
Thanks, Mark, for sending me the November 2016 issue of Automobile Magazine with a feature on the 1992-93 Integra GS-R!
My buddy Mirel bought a new car that I helped him transport.
6-speeders:
I’ve had lots of company at my house, including Jenn & Tiffany:
And Brian:
The cars got a bath in the backyard.
And Jeremy and I took the Legend sedan to brunch.
This past Friday morning, I buzzed up to St. George, Utah in the ILX for a family visit and a marathon event. Yesterday, I took a swing at my tenth full 26.2-mile marathon run. Having run only a few 3-milers this entire year, my training was lacking to say the least. But I committed to this back in April and as I boarded a school bus in the morning at 4:00 a.m. to drive me up State Route 18 to the start line, I thought to myself, “Am I insane?” I think many of the people on the bus had the same thought process.
It became painfully clear at about the midpoint in the race that I was not adequately prepared, but I pressed on, using a jog / walk alternating method to get me through the course. I never came to a complete stop or took any breaks, but just rather kept moving forward at a semi-consistent pace. Luckily, the St. George Marathon is primarily downhill in nature so I was able to let gravity help me along. My finish time was 4 hours, 54 minutes which is on the slow side for my competitive age bracket, but I was just grateful to finish in one piece!
A few more pics from my weekend follow here. First, checking out grandma’s old Quasar video camera. We dug it out of storage. The date of manufacture is June 1985. Anyone remember lugging around one of these?
Visiting with my nephew Beckam:
And my niece Viv. That’s her kitty “Marie” but we call her “Pizza.” You’ll have to ask Viv why.
Race morning! With mom at the start line.
Start line with our friend Jed. My shorts (no, not a skirt!) look highly reflective.
This marathon participant is a “legend” in her own way. Deb Zockoll is the only St. George Marathon runner who has now competed in all 40 runs in the event’s history. She is an inspiration to many!
Closing in on Mile 15 with Snow Canyon State Park in the background.
Looking surprisingly fresh when I ran past Grandma and Aunt Jodi around Mile 24.
Grandma’s sign:
Taking a minute during my run to greet a few of my younger fans, Vivienne and Beckam.
Best motivation ever! This is what I most looked forward to at the finish line.
Final standings:
Quick pose with Tanya.
Thought this was pretty cool – an old Caddy parked at the “Field of Screams” haunted corn maze in St. George.
Sending congrats out to my dad who rolled 200,000 miles on his 2010 Hyundai Sonata this weekend!
He sent the picture to me and my two brothers. He said he’s shooting for 500k.
My friend Jack described my garage as “spearmint gum” I wonder why!
And today, I got to drive home in my 1992 NSX from Utah. It had been since May that I last drove it. The odometer turned 106,000 miles somewhere between Kingman and Wikieup. I was reminded of how much I enjoy that car! Best of all, it has a fresh leather interior thanks to my brother’s workmanship. I’ll post interior pictures of it soon.
I-40 in Kingman, Arizona.
Turnoff at Burro Creek Campground along Highway 93.
That’s it for now! You’re all caught up. Have a great week.
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.
Sometimes, when you take ibuprofen, it’s for a specific pain point in your body: a headache, a sore hip, whatever. When I popped a pill at mile #18 of the 2015 St. George, Utah marathon, I told that little thing: “Pick a muscle, any muscle.” I was dying, everywhere. But 8 miles later, I finished my 9th full marathon and even achieved my target finish time.
I’m definitely a little out of my mind. With all these travels in recent weeks, do you think I’ve had time to train for a marathon? Not even close. A few miles here and there in the evenings, and that’s it. As a matter of fact, the longest distance I’d run since the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay in June was a measly 3 miles in one stretch. You can imagine my sense of apprehension when the shuttle bus dropped me off at the starting line for this race.
Ready or not, I had a long way to go. But, as I’ve shared before, I compare a long-distance run to a long-distance drive: You just have to slice it up into manageable “chunks” and convince your brain that it’s achievable in small bites. So, in my case, I looked at the race as just running three miles. Over and over again. This year’s race was a family affair: Mom, stepmom, uncle, aunt, and cousin were all running it. The chances of (literally) running into ANY of them among 7,000 total runners was slim-to-none. But right before the biggest hill in the 26-mile stretch, the dreaded “Veyo Hill,” I saw my uncle Jeff and we chatted it up. We had car talk for a few minutes, until I panted and said, “You have a better pace than I do; go on ahead!” and he left me in a cloud of dust.
Meanwhile, mom was already miles ahead of me and I had a lot of time to meditate while pounding the pavement and listening to some thumpin’ music to keep me motivated. I downed a Five Hour Energy and a couple of “GU” energy gels along the way. And, of course, a few ibuprofen as already stated. Thank goodness for those. Around mile 24, Grandma was seated alongside the road in a camp chair at the same place where she always does. That was just the push that I needed to go those next couple of miles to the finish line. I also saw my dad, brother, sis-in-law, and niece/nephew spectating. And FINALLY – as the course rounded the corner to 200 South and headed east, I could see the Finish Line sign & balloons in the distance and gave a little extra push to have a strong completion to the race.
Two chocolate milks chugged later, I was feeling better about the decision to give this whole thing yet another try.
Start line with mom and with our friend Jed
Cousin April & Uncle Jeff
Gatorade & water cups all over the place!
Sign on the roadside alerting runners: If you don’t get to “X” point by “X” time, you’re done! They have to open the road back up to traffic!
My favorite part in the race – at about mile 15, when we skirted along Snow Canyon State Park on State Route 18.
Grandma with her traditional sign! Thanks for your support, Doce!
3-year-old nephew, Beckam, totally airborne and running with me at an impressive sprint.
Anddddd, the weary runners. Tia, Tyson, Tanya
My final standings – a 4:55 finish time in my age bracket is nothing to be proud of, but I was just glad to get in under the 5-hour mark. I thought it was interesting how my minutes-per-mile pace was a consistent 9:40 to start and then slipped to 10:31, 10:53, and finally 11:16. I was crawling!
Clearly, my mom has better calves than I do.
Speaking of legs: The first leg of my trip was that ho-hum 400-ish mile drive in the ILX that I’ve done so many times before. I got to my mom’s place around midnight. On Friday morning, we went to the marathon “Expo” where I had to retrieve my bib number, goodie bag, and a few supplies.
Afterward, I stopped by my brother Bentley’s workplace to check out his latest project: a 1990 Ford F-350 4×4 dual cab, long-bed pickup truck that he restored as a “project truck” for my dad. If needed, I’m sure it could have monster-trucked (is that a verb?) right over the top of the two Acuras sitting alongside it.
Let’s take a look at that interior. Twenty five years old! And still looking pretty fresh. That red color is eye-popping, but I love it.
Don’t get carried away with the need for speed here. Note that A) The speedometer maxes out at 85 miles per hour, and B) the odometer only has 5 digits. This truck has 126,000 miles on it but shows only 26,000.
Bentley went all-out on this rebuild, including a complete “undercoat” of the bottom of the truck in fresh black paint and some new shocks.
Dad was thrilled about the pickup when he arrived! It rides pretty much as you’d expect it to – like an absolute tank. Speaking of tanks, let’s talk fuel economy. The truck has TWO fuel tanks, at what I believe are 16 gallons’ capacity each. Why so much fuel? It’s thirsty. Power for this rig comes from a 460-cubic-inch V8 motor. We’re talking fewer than 10 miles per gallon here.
But as an around-town workhorse, it’ll sure beat my dad having to haul lumber out the back of his 2010 Hyundai Sonata (and yes, that really has happened).
Another car in Bentley’s garage was begging to be taken for a walk around the block: This 1968 Chevy Nova SuperSport. It’s fully engine-swapped and mechanically updated from 1968 spec, but it’s a really REALLY fun car to drive. There’s nothing quite like the roar of a V8.
Bentley demonstrated that when pulling it out of the garage for us. Watch until the end.
With stepmom Tanya.
And with dad taking the wheel for a little bit. Chris M says I make this face too much. He’s right.
ILX calling it a night out in front of mom’s house, as did I at an early hour. Pooped.
I put a few miles on a family friend’s Porsche tonight. It’s a 911 Carrera “4S” model, and was a hoot to drive – minus its lack of a clutch pedal.
You’ve got to be kidding me – 200 miles? Who would be crazy enough to run that? Not me. Well, unless I had the help of 11 other people to slice up the distance into smaller pieces.
That’s the concept behind the Ragnar Relay Series. First launched in 2003, the Ragnar races have expanded to include 15 different events in various locations across the country. This past weekend, I joined forces with some friends and family members to compete at the 13th annual “Wasatch Back” Ragnar Relay which started on Friday morning in Logan, Utah, and ended Saturday afternoon in Midway, Utah near Park City. The race’s name comes from the fact that the course runs along the back (east) side of the Wasatch Mountain Range, a section of the Rockies that borders the Salt Lake City area.
I took yet another jaunt to the Beehive State aboard the ILX for this occasion. In the 10 years I’ve lived in Arizona, I’d guess I’ve taken the drive to Utah at least 7 times per year. So, this is a well-known route for me. I left the car at my friend Jeremy’s place in Sandy, Utah and carpooled with my mom & stepdad the rest of the way to the race’s starting location in Logan, a couple of hours north.
My mom and aunt Jodi acted as team captains for us. Our team was code-named “Athens 2 Sparta” in a tribute to the first marathon – undertaken by a guy named Phidippides in 490 B.C. during the Persian/Greek War. He was sent as a messenger due to his running speed and endurance, often completing distances of 140 miles or more. He eventually died from exhaustion after one particularly taxing route! We hoped for a dissimilar fate.
There were 946 teams registered. At 12 people each, that’s 11,352 people. Plus two drivers per group, so that’s another 1,892 people. We are talking about over 12,000 people engaged in this craziness. Although, I guess I should mention – not all teams chose to go out with 12 participants. Any team considered “ultra” had 6 or fewer people on it. In other words, the people in those groups were running twice as frequently (and therefore, twice as far) as “normal” participants. I can’t imagine what would compel anyone to do such a thing!
Race Time
Due to the volume of people involved in this event, start times were staggered in waves. We reported at 9:30 a.m. as instructed on Friday, June 19th, checked in, showed the race administrators that we had appropriate safety gear, and watched a short instructional video. My mom was our first runner for our 10:30 a.m. start. We had to send our all-star out first to get us off on the right foot! It was perfect weather for a run and she took off in a flash.
My three assigned legs were as follows:
Leg #4: 4.3 Miles, Net Elevation Gain 127 Feet, est 2:00 p.m. Friday
Leg #16: 5.9 Miles, Net Elevation Loss 922 Feet, est 3:00 a.m. Saturday
Leg #28: 2.7 Miles, Net Elevation Gain 320 Feet, est 1:00 p.m. Saturday
When the rest of us we weren’t running, six of us (5 runners + our driver, Mark) rode along in a rented black 2015 Chevy Suburban (“Van 1”) and provided “support” to our team member who was on deck. I spent most of my time in the back seat trying to avoid motion sickness as we frequently did U-turns and re-routed to find our way around. A second Suburban (“Van 2”) carried the other six members of our team and started after Van 1 members had each completed their first leg. Logistics confusing enough yet? As a first-timer to this event, I was amazed at how seamlessly it worked.
Despite only being 4 miles long, the fact that Leg #4 was a slight uphill and took place in the hottest point of the day made it a doozy for me. I was relieved when I finally saw my team members at the next exchange and I happily chugged a chocolate milk after passing the baton (which was in fact just a 1980’s-esque bright orange slap bracelet) to Damon who picked up the next segment after mine. Poor Damon ended up running 8.8 miles on an uphill, dirt road, while eating the dust of vans passing by! Torture.
We got up over Avon Pass and back to pavement in the tiny town of Liberty, and then we made our first “big” exchange when Van 2 took over. Meanwhile, Van 1 had about 6 hours to spare. We traveled to our next starting point in Morgan, Utah and sprawled out on a grassy field near the high school while having our lunches. I rolled out my sleeping bag and did my best to rest my eyes but it didn’t do much good. Mom tried the same.
It was a little after midnight when mom took Leg #13 and started our van off again. I was already exhausted when Jeffrey passed me the torch a little before 3:00 in the morning. I had been standing at the summit of State Highway 65 near East Canyon Reservoir and trying to jog in place to keep the blood flowing and to keep from getting cold. Once I finally got rolling, I’d forgotten all about the temperature. I had a momentary emergency when my “taillight” clipped to my reflective vest fell off and lost its battery, but my van quickly came to my rescue when they drove past. This was my attempt at a picture.
The next 6 miles were bliss: Steady downhill grade, perfectly clear night with the brightest stars I’ve ever seen, good music, and refreshing temperatures. A remix of the Cranberries’ hit “Zombie” was just what I needed for motivation at 3:05 in the morning when I took this screen shot. Good song!
That was a refreshing way to spend the morning and it definitely helped wake me up. Once again we filed through our segments and tried in vain to catch shuteye when we weren’t the ones pounding the pavement. Soon, the sun started peeking over the horizon and Day 2 had begun. We arrived in Coalville, Utah at North Summit High School for our next group break. They were selling hot showers for $2 and pancake breakfasts for $4. I gladly paid up! After that, we rolled our sleeping bags out onto the floor of the gymnasium and shut our eyes for a little while.
My last leg was along Highway 248 where I awaited my turn to take the bracelet and run with it. I was standing in parking lot at beautiful Jordanelle Reservoir and should have been enjoying the view, but instead my eyes were transfixed on a massive hill ahead of me — one that very soon I’d be attempting to run up. It seemed like an eternity before Jeffrey came down to pass me the reins, but he finally did and I took off as briskly as my legs allowed me to.
Water bottle sloshing in hand, I did my best to keep a consistent pace up the grade, but I had to slow it down to a power-walk a couple of times to keep from overheating. My van waited for me at the top of the hill and my mom threw a water-soaked cloth around my neck. That gave me enough motivation to press onward. It was an amazing feeling to finally crest the summit and be able to see the next exchange location within view. I gladly passed Damon the bracelet and felt a huge sense of relief, having completed my last part of the relay race.
It was several more hours before our “Van 2” team members finished their parts, and I wasn’t able to stick around to see them at the finish line at dusk, but they shared the good news that our team, Athens 2 Sparta, had completed the 194 miles in 34 hours, 10 minutes. That put us in 278th place out of 719 co-ed teams. Top third placement – not too shabby!
This was one of the most challenging physical things I’ve ever done, probably second only to the 26-mile Grand Canyon hike I did a few weeks ago. But the neat thing about the Ragnar concept is that you’re a member of a team, and each person contributes something to the overall outcome. It’s a lesson in working together to achieve a common goal, and feeling great about it when you’re done. Huge thanks to Mark, Nicki, Jodi, Tia, Ben, Jarrett, Isabelle, Roxie, LaReen, Damon, Jeffrey, Muriel, and Jandi from my team for playing a part in this!
I enjoyed my 10 hours of reflection on that topic while driving home to Phoenix. Now, if only I could’ve taken a team approach to the 256 unread email messages that were waiting for me at the office on Monday morning. Sigh.
Here’s a short video with just a few scenes from the race. Thanks for coming along for the run!
Rolling northbound with mom on I-15 in central Utah on Thursday morning
Drive-by at the Utah State Capitol while in the truck with mom & Todd
Decorating our rental Suburban with writing on the windows and our “Athens 2 Sparta” team name
Checking in on Friday morning at the Utah State University stadium in Logan
Watching a safety briefing video
Saddled up in the Suburban while one of our runners takes a turn
A friend sent me this screen shot shortly after we got underway. This race is serious business.
My first leg, a 4-miler on pavement from Paradise to Avon, Utah
The exchange where I handed off the reins to Damon who was runner #5
Waiting for Damon to finish his leg on Avon Pass
LaReen taking her turn on the dirt road now
Back on solid ground, arriving Liberty, Utah
Photo-op with mom
Passing Pineview Reservoir while driving to our next exchange point
“Mormon Muffins”? What would that be?
Here they are. With honey butter!
My view upward while lying on the grass in Morgan, Utah and resting
“M” on the hill stands for Morgan
Daybreak the next morning in Coalville, Utah at North Summit High School
Pancakes never tasted so good
Next exchange, sitting next to Aunt Jodi
Isabelle, Jandi, Jodi, Jarrett – from our “Van 2”
Dying!
I loved the clever names that some people came up with for their vans.
“Ready, Set, Sweat, Regret.” “Kiss our swass.”
“Shitter’s Full.” (name that movie)
“Run? I thought you said rum!” (and notice the tally marks below where they were marking their “kills” – all the people their runners passed along the way)
“Cropdusters.”
Near Park City, Utah, at the final exchange to Van 2
drivetofive 