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2015 Rock & Roll Arizona Half Marathon

Posted in Arizona, Running on January 19, 2015 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 532,391

Post-race conversation between my friend Rustin, and my mom, Tia:

Rustin: So, you left them in your dust?
Mom: No, the dust had already settled by then.

That pretty much sums it up! Marathon Mom has done it again by showing the rest of us who’s boss.

When my return flight from Detroit landed in Phoenix on Wednesday morning after attending the North American International Auto Show, I hit the ground running. I immediately had to commute to the office and catch up on 270 unread emails from being out of the office for two business days. My mom & stepdad arrived from Utah that same evening, and we spent the last several days together.

The grand finale of mom’s Arizona visit was this year’s PF Chang’s Arizona Rock & Roll Half Marathon, which I’ve run with her a half-dozen or so times in the past. The 13.1-mile race course starts and ends near Arizona State University in Tempe in the historic Mill Avenue district. This year I competed alongside my mom (veteran of more than a hundred competitive running events), my step-dad Todd (relatively new to the scene), and my friend Beau (first-timer!). We made our way to the start line around 6:30 in the morning on Sunday.

The cool thing about the Rock & Roll series races is that, true to its name, the entertainment comes with the experience. At least a half-dozen bands were playing alongside the race course as 22,000 runners pounded the pavement. By about mile 6, I had to shift to a run/walk/run/walk strategy to save myself from burning out. My “training” for this event — if it can even be called that — had consisted of one, 3-mile, jog around my neighborhood last week. That’s it.

When the finish line finally came into sight, it was a glorious occasion. I chugged not one, not two, but three bottles of chocolate milk in the runner recovery area. It hit the spot. I’ll share just a few pictures with you today. First, mom’s spy shot of me getting into the Legend after Saturday’s marathon expo.

Mom’s shot of me driving through my neighborhood.

And mom’s 2003 Lexus GS430. Still looking good at 135,000 miles. And what’s not to love about a torquey V8 and silky smooth transmission?

Early morning eastward view down University Avenue in Tempe, Arizona, just prior to race start.

Runners congregating in their assigned “Corrals” – 20 or so in total.

Running up McDowell Road through Papago Park.

Quick selfie with my mom around mile 9.

Getting close to the finish!

Mom’s spy shot of me approaching the finish. She seems to be handy with the phone-cam!

And, the victors! Beau, Tia, Tyson, with our medals.

Hope everyone’s week is off to a great start.

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ILX Drive to Utah: St. George Marathon

Posted in ILX, Road Trip, Running, Utah on October 6, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 55,836

Odometer (Legend): 527,113

What does it take to travel 26.2 miles?

When I’m in my 2013 Acura ILX, it requires about .79 gallons of premium unleaded gasoline.

When I’m equipped with nothing more than a pair of running shoes, the fuel requirement is a bit more involved.

1/2 bagel with peanut butter
5 bites of a chocolate mint “Builder Bar”
3 “GU” energy gel packets
1/2 a banana
6 orange slices
est. 1/2 gallon of water and/or gatorade
and 1 red vine licorice strip at mile 18

I think my car wins by a landslide in terms of efficiency. Let’s talk about running.

The very world’s first marathon dates back a very long time:

The modern marathon commemorates the run of the soldier Pheidippides from a battlefield at the site of the town of Marathon, Greece, to Athens in 490 B.C., bringing news of a Greek victory over the Persians. Legend has it that Pheidippides delivered the momentous message “Niki!” (“victory”), then collapsed and died, thereby setting a precedent for dramatic conclusions to the marathon.

Say what? We commemorate the event of this soldier’s death by subjecting ourselves to the same tortuous treatment? You bet we do. And sometimes we even have fun doing it. This weekend, I drove my Acura ILX about 850 miles round-trip to my hometown of St. George, Utah to compete in a marathon hosted there.

I’m happy to report that I did survive the event and even performed a little better than anticipated. This was the 5th time I’ve finished this race, and I plan on competing again next year. The ILX, as always, made the trip to Utah flawlessly. I invite you to follow along on the journey via the photos below.

Highway 93 between Wickenburg and Wikeup, Arizona offered a nice backdrop for some photos as I was rolling through last Thursday evening.

Dusk is my preferred time of day to take car pictures. The ILX has great lines:

The face of determination. In the 16 months I’ve had the ILX, it’s probably made this trip to Utah a dozen times.

First order of business upon arrival in Las Vegas, Nevada was picking up my friend Jeff who’d flown down from Calgary, Alberta. Jeff is a marathon runner, too, and a quick one at that.

No trip to St. George would have been complete without seeing these little munchkins, my nieces & nephews.

Jeff and I did a little climbing in the red sandstone rocks just north of town. The word “Dixie” painted on the rock has been there for over a hundred years. The area was settled originally by Mormon pioneers who were from the south. The area’s climate made it a great place to grow cotton, so St. George became known as “Utah’s Dixie.”

Race day! Early on Saturday morning after a 40-minute bus ride to the start line, we freezed our buns off in 40-degree temperatures with lots of chilly wind until things got underway.

And we were off! Jeff and I (and my mom, who was also running) got separated from one another right away in the crowd. For the first couple of miles, runner traffic was heavy. I took the below picture at around mile 14 when Snow Canyon State Park came into view.

I wonder what was on my playlist at the time. Typically, the songs I like best when I’m running are ones that have a good beat. Here’s one example on YouTube which is a remix of the Cranberries song “Zombie.”

My fan club (of which Grandma is president!) was alongside the road at about mile 24. She’d put together a sign for me.

If I’d been running this race prior to 1924, I would have crossed the finish line then. The “original” marathon distance was 24 miles, but an additional 2.2 miles were added at the Olympic games in London so the race could finish in front of royal family’s viewing box!

There were lots of clever signs along the road, including this one near a mortuary.

Others that I laughed at:

“WTF” (Where’s the Finish!?)
(with a picture of Sweet Brown) “Tired? Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That!”
“Run Faster. I Just Farted.”
“Worst Parade Ever.”
“That’s Not Sweat. It’s Your Fat Cells Crying!”

Whatever the message, it was great to have a diversion from the pavement and I love the crowd support that is always in abundance at the St. George Marathon. My final stats are shown on the graphic below. My finish time was 4 hours, 18 minutes. That put me smack-dab in the middle of my “age grade.”

When we dig a little deeper into the data, it’s easy to see how much I was slowing down toward the end. I started out with a sub-9-minute mile, but by the end I was taking nearly 10 minutes per mile.

Jeff blazed through the race in 3 hours 28 minutes. My mom’s finish time was 4 hours, 3 seconds! I was the slow poke of the group. We treated ourselves to popsicles, fruit, bread, water and all kinds of other refreshments at the finish.

The first place winner in my division, Bryant Jensen, finished in 2 hours 15 minutes! That works out to a 5:15 minute mile pace. Unbelievable speed to maintain for that kind of distance. Below, Jeff and mom were taking time for a stretch. Hey guys, easy on the paint job please!

Cheesy photo-op required.

Time for Play-Doh with the kids.

Just a few hours of relaxation later, Jeff and I departed through the Virgin River Gorge on Interstate 15 southbound to make the 100-mile trip to Las Vegas, Nevada for the night.

A true oasis in the desert, this city gets a little more colorful every time I visit. Las Vegas is a true 24/7 entertainment destination.

I parked next to a Sundance Gold Pearl 2001 Acura CL Type-S at our hotel, the Mandalay Bay.

Later that evening, we did some walking (or better yet, hobbling) around to see some of the sights. The New York-New York Casino is famed for its architecture in the likeness of the NYC city skyline, except with somewhat miniaturized buildings. There’s a roller coaster that circles the property. I won’t be riding it any time soon!

We ran into our friend Deena on the Las Vegas Strip.

Pictured here are Paris and Planet Hollywood casinos.

It was a great night out on the town, though I was exhausted from the run earlier in the day.

This morning on my drive home to Phoenix in Boulder City, Nevada, I hit a fun milestone in the ILX. If only the outside temperature had been 6 degrees cooler, this would have been 55,555 miles at 55 miles per hour in 55 degrees.

Adios!

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Rock & Roll Arizona Half Marathon

Posted in Arizona, Running on January 20, 2013 by tysonhugie

Odometer (Legend): 518,646

Odometer (ILX): 25,519

I put some miles on my tennis shoes this weekend instead of on my Acuras. Thirteen point one miles, to be exact (see blue route in the below map):

This was the 5th time I’ve competed in the race, which is held in January each year. Weather was just what the doctor ordered. Look at those highs!

Since my mom was in town from Utah for the occasion, we celebrated at dinner with a few friends at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in town: Nando’s Mexican Cafe in Chandler, Arizona. Here I am pictured with Linh and Kevin:

Matt, Josh, Todd, Tia, Tyson, Linh, Kevin

Matt, through his work at Nissan / Infiniti, had access to a right-hand-drive Infiniti M35 Hybrid that he brought over to show us. It’s a real trip going for a ride in the front “passenger” seat yet being on the left side of the car!

Our first stop on Saturday morning was for the exposition at the Phoenix Convention Center. We picked up our “goodie” bags, race bibs, and other swag.

Jim, Tyson, Tia, Joey, Aaron. Joey and Aaron were registered for the full marathon, so their bib colors were different.

Brunch at Fez on Central Avenue in downtown Phoenix. I highly recommend the Breakfast Pasta. It’s got scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon bits!

Fez brunch bunch

Here it is: The awaited day. After an early arrival at historic Mill Avenue in downtown Tempe in the Acura ILX, we walked over to the starting line “corrals.” In this race, since there are literally thousands of runners, runners are grouped according to estimated finish time and released in waves. I think the interval between waves is 90 seconds or so.

Tyson, Tia, Jim

The temperature just prior to race start at 7:50 a.m. was 45 degrees Fahrenheit so we held onto our hoodies and jackets as long as we could before putting them into “gear check” trucks which would hold them until we completed the race. The crowds were crazy. We waited about 20 minutes just to use a port-a-potty (and there were probably 20 port-a-potties in a row with lines just as long as ours!). Official race results are not yet posted, but I believe last year there were 18,000 participants in the half marathon.

One of my favorite things to do while running a race is reading the inspirational words that people have on their shirts.

Motivational posters also keep runners from becoming preoccupied with the task at hand. I thought this one could very easily be applied to a drive to 500,000 miles. It only takes a mile at a time to get there.

And this one: The Journey Is The Reward. Perhaps this could be a new Acura slogan?

Some of the other signs that I found entertaining:

Chuck Norris never ran a half marathon.
Worst. Parade. Ever.
That’s not sweat. It’s your fat cells crying.
Your feet hurt because they’re kicking so much butt.
You’re not a wimp.
You inspire me.
Hurry, run! There’s someone chasing you!
Running is 90% mental. The other 10% is mental.

Here you can see my race results and split times. I started out pretty strong with an 8 minute, 40 second pace per mile, but by the 10 mile mark I had slowed down to nearly 10 minutes per mile. In the end, I finished in 2 hours, 2 minutes. I would’ve loved to break the two-hour mark, but it wasn’t meant to be!

Here’s a look at mile 10 where I hit that “wall” of sorts. At each of the major distance markers, there are clocks showing elapsed time since the race start. In this case, it said 1:34:17.

Just 3.1 miles, later, the long-awaited finish! Best part of the race was crossing the Mill Avenue Bridge which I’ve blogged about before.

Tyson, Tia, Jim. Still looking fairly alive after all that.

Back to the ILX after a few minutes of recovery. It felt amazing to sit back down!

It was a perfect day for moonroof-open cruising as we headed back to my place in the ILX.

Here are two badges that I’m proud of!

Over the couple of hours that I was running, I had some time to ponder on the tie-in between long-distance running and long-distance driving. It’s amazing how closely they relate.

A cross-country drive takes planning and preparation, just like a marathon takes training. I need my body to be in shape for a run, so I work out and I pay attention to what I’m eating. My cars get treated with equal care to make sure they’re in mechanical top shape before a long drive.
When I embark on a 2,000 mile drive across the country, I set a manageable pace for myself. I don’t push myself so hard each day that I wear myself out. I take time to enjoy the scenery. As a runner, I do the exact same thing. I break up a 13-mile run into 2-3 mile sections and just take it a piece at a time. I keep a consistent pace that keeps my forward momentum but doesn’t drain me.
And most importantly, no long-distance run is complete without a powerful soundtrack. I BLASTED my music for the entire time. When I take a road trip, there is nothing that helps more to keep my mind off the task at hand than rocking out to some great tunes.

Are any other Drive to Fivers, “Run” to Fivers? I’d love to hear your feedback on how the two activities parallel.

Time for an airport run in the Legend. There are very few places where shorts & flip-flops are weather-appropriate attire in January. Phoenix is one of them.

Adios, until next time mom! Hopefully soon!

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St. George Marathon

Posted in ILX, Running, Utah on October 8, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer (ILX): 16,666

26.2 miles doesn’t sound very far to go. It’s a feat that my 1994 Acura Legend has completed nearly 20,000 times. But when you’re on foot, it’s a whole different story! This past weekend’s adventure was a trip to my hometown in St. George, Utah where I participated in the St. George Marathon. I ran this one last year as well.

The race runs down State Route 18 in Washington and Iron counties. It’s one of the most scenic races in the world – and one of the fastest, thanks to its largely downhill terrain. The highway parallels Snow Canyon which has always been a favorite automotive photo-op background, like this photo set from February 2005 when my car had 155,000 miles on it. At the time, I had a McCulloch 8000K HID kit for the headlights, and Catz XLO foglights.

It was also here that I filmed this June 2007 video of my 1994 Acura Legend when it had about 290,000 miles on it and was wearing my 19″ Racing Hart C2 wheels.

Here’s how my adventure started last Thursday night. After work, I departed for the 5 hour drive to Las Vegas, Nevada from Scottsdale, Arizona. I picked up my friend Jeff who’d flown in from Calgary, Alberta.

Our drive to St. George from there was just 100 miles and took about 90 minutes. I admit, it took a high-volume concert of Psy’s song “Gangnam Style” to keep me awake until our 1 a.m. local time arrival. The following morning, Jeff and I indulged in the best breakfast in town with my mom, courtesy of Bear Paw Cafe on Main Street. I highly recommend the French toast! The fresh squeezed OJ hit the spot, too.

Mom’s 2003 Lexus GS430 has recently completed its first 100,000 miles. Still looking good! The silver cars posed for a quick photo-op after breakfast.

Jeff and I made a quick pit-stop at my brother’s workplace. He’s got an old Lincoln Towncar limousine out back that we’ve taken out on the town before.

Evening before the race.

3:30 came far too quickly the next morning. Anxious to get the show on the road, we headed to the finish area where shuttle buses took us to the start line up the canyon. Here I’m pictured with Jeff and with my step-mom, Tanya who also competed.

Temps were only in the 50’s up there so we huddled around bonfires with about 7,000 other participants until the race got underway.

Here’s the race course.

At 6:45 a.m., we were off! My fast-paced music playlist got me motivated. I snapped this picture with my phone while running.

Highlight of the race was definitely the crowd support. My mom watched for me from mile 16, grandma and friend Matt at mile 24, and dad with sis-in-law Kali at mile 25! It was great to see familiar faces to keep my mind off the task at hand.

Thanks to my buddy Rob for capturing this pic as I made the final stretch into the finish gate!

And a much-needed mist bath to cool off!

My average mile was 9 minutes, 29 seconds. I ran 6.3 miles per hour. This put me at a 4:08 finish time.

Meet-up with mom post-race. There were 5,696 people who finished the race.

And getting shuttled back to the house in style, courtesy of my friend Matt’s 2012 Infiniti G37 convertible. This car’s equipped with the “Infiniti Performance Line” (IPL) package, which includes both performance enhancements and some hot styling upgrades (red leather interior!).

Jeff wrapped his calves in tape to help ease some soreness. Stylin’.

And as if we hadn’t had enough adventure for the day, we headed to Las Vegas for the evening.

The ILX made its way down the Strip to our hotel, Treasure Island. Traffic was a mess but the ILX clutch is light and doesn’t give my (sore!) left leg as much of a workout as the old 516k Legend clutch does.

Walking about the town.

And the southbound view from our 32nd floor room at Treasure Island on Sunday morning.

Prior to going our separate ways, we dined at Denny’s.

New York, New York in the background.

Matt captured a few on-road pics on Highway 93 just north of Wickenburg, Arizona.

A great weekend of mile-making for both me and for the Acura ILX! I was remarkably rested when I got home and that’s thanks in large part to the comfortable ride and spacious cabin in the car. I look forward to getting to spend time behind the wheel. Let’s see where it takes me next.

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Marathon Miles

Posted in Legend, Road Trip, Running, Utah on January 15, 2012 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 505,390

How’s that for an illustration of mileage differences! I had the opportunity yesterday afternoon to accompany my friend Matt with his mom who was looking for a new vehicle. She ended up buying a gorgeous graphite-colored Infiniti G37 coupe that had 20 miles on it, or about 505,370 miles less than my Acura Legend! New off the lot. I wonder if I’ll ever own anything so new.

When she brought it by my house in the evening, it had 39 miles on the odometer, and I was allowed to drive it about 6 miles to meet up with friends at a local car show. I’ll be curious to see if the Infiniti’s got what it takes to get to half a million and beyond. It sure does look and ride nice!

It was another in-town weekend for the old Legend but with plenty of running around. Since my mom was in town, we had some sights (and people) to see over the past couple of days. She and I had registered about a year ago to participate in a half marathon race together.

After picking up our runner information packets at the Phoenix Convention Center on Saturday morning, we drove up historic Central Avenue to meet a couple of friends for brunch at The Good Egg. En route, we passed by a number of important landmarks, including this hotel called the Westward Ho. Completed in 1928, it was the tallest building in Arizona until 1960. The hotel itself closed in 1979.

Since we’re on the subject of mileage achievements: This morning we participated in the Rock & Roll Arizona Half Marathon. The 13.1-mile race started in downtown Tempe, Arizona, and ran a huge loop through the cities of Scottsdale and Phoenix, then back to Tempe for the finish. We couldn’t have asked for better race-day weather, at 60 degrees and overcast.

This is a picture with my mom at the start line in our assigned corral. Literally thousands of people participated. We were herded like cattle!

Post-race and back to our shuttle vehicle.

And finally a farewell as mom caught her early afternoon flight from Phoenix to Salt Lake City at “Sky Harbor” airport.

Bon Voyage!

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Miles to Run

Posted in Running on October 3, 2011 by tysonhugie

Odometer: 497,459

The Legend this weekend completed its nearly 19,000th (26.2-mile) marathon and I completed my fifth. I now have a greater appreciation than ever for just how far that distance is! The St. George, Utah, marathon is one of the most scenic races in the country because it descends through an area known as Snow Canyon. I’ve often used Snow Canyon as a backdrop for car pictures over the years, including in April 2007 when I filmed this.

Once again like clockwork the Legend got me safely to my hometown last Friday. Saturday morning, I had an insanely early wake-up call in order to be transported via bus to the start line for the race up State Route 18 north of St. George. Here I’m awaiting the 6:45 a.m. green light along with friends Deena and Tanya.

In the end aside from uncomfortably warm temperatures and a knee that wanted to give out on me, the race went well and I finished. The fatigue set in later in the evening, though, especially after I drove the Legend to Las Vegas and wandered around the Strip another couple of miles with friends. En route to Nevada, I stopped for a couple of pictures at dusk in the Virgin River Gorge at the Cedar Pockets interchange on Interstate 15.

Not too shabby for being iPhone pics!

I had the honor of meeting Andrea who submitted the Liberty Mutual “Responsibility Project” article during my visit to Vegas.

Spending about five hours in the car today to get home to the Phoenix area definitely didn’t help curb the soreness, either. I hobbled into the gas station this afternoon in Kingman, Arizona feeling like I had Jell-O for legs. And that old clutch is giving my left leg a real workout. Next service on the car is due just prior to 500k! Coming up! In the meantime, the car keeps chugging on faithfully.

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