I’m sure this logo is somehow copyrighted by the Lost Dutchman Marathon.  Just so you know, I’m no-way-no-how claiming this as my own artwork. I just think it’s really awesome as is the story behind the Lost Dutchman.

I was really excited about going to this race. I really was.  First, the medal (of course). Then the weekend with my husband.  And of course knocking Arizona of the half marathon list, even if it is my home state.  Of course, Murphy’s Law had other plans.

Friday: George and I decided to make a weekend out of this race, i.e. a mini racecation. Food, fun, and a run!  Enjoying every opportunity to eat in the Phoenix area, I thought “Great!”  Our first stop Friday evening was Beckett’s Table. I highly recommend this restaurant, as do the reviews on TripAdvisor.  I had the Salmon, and I mean WOWWEE! And we had a nice romantic table for two in the corner.  Sweet!

[Spoiler Alert!] At this juncture of the story, I need to tell you that Arizona was experiencing higher than normal temperatures and pretty nice weather.  See the informative pictograph below:

So, I thought “This will be a nice race!”  Quite like the representative obligatory “having a great time running” picture on the LDM website.  Or at the Expo:

Saturday:

OK, so truth be told I’m getting tired of writing about a race I didn’t run.  So here you go:

Rain. Gray. Cold.

(Insert expletive of choice here).

Went to expo and packet pick-up in AJ (that’s Apache Junction for you non-natives). Located in a local community center.  Nice people and well managed.  Didn’t buy anything.  Looked like the following pictures:

Nice volunteers. At the expo. Cute pic.

More rain. More gray. More cold.

Got a flat tire driving away from the expo.

Went to Discount Tire. Got new tire(s). Sat in Chili’s for 3 hours waiting for said tires because it was Super Sale Saturday or something and apparently all of Mesa needed new tires.

At least one of us was happy.  This is before the flat tire.

1. This would have been part of the run 😦 2. The flat. 3. The offending nail (at very top of picture).  

Had dinner at cool Baja-style Mexican restaurant in Mesa.  Killer ceviche. Baja Joe’s Mexican Cantina. Highly recommend.

Went to bed hoping I wouldn’t have to run in the rain.

Sunday:

I woke up at 4:30 to rain. Remained optimistic however.

Yeah. Right.

Drove to the parking at the Rodeo Grounds in AJ. Rain was coming down and it was dark! Cold, too. George stayed in the truck while I boarded the bus to be taken to the start at Prospector’s Park.  Got off the bus and immediately headed to a ramada (as in picnic, not the Hotel, which I would have preferred at this point) with the other participants.  I donned my trash bag and waited for the start.  Then the wind picked up.  Great. Now it’s cold, wet, and windy.

Trying to look as miserable as I felt. In a trash bag.

Proof I was actually there.

Proof of the weather. In Arizona.

Then I got sane. I have not prepared nor trained for these kind of conditions. I’m not an intense, type-A type of athlete.  I do this for my health and for fun, both of which were in serious jeopardy at this point, IMHO.  I decided I was not going to be pulled of the course at mile 6 for acute hypothermia.  So, I texted George to make sure he was still in the parking lot and told him I was coming back.  I boarded a bus (I wasn’t the only one!) and went back to the Rodeo Grounds.  George and I went to a local coffee shop and then went home.

The End.

P.S. Here is the medal I missed out on and the reason I decided to pass (both pics from the LDM Facebook page:

Fun medal. Not fun, wet, cold running.

There’s always next year.