State Number 7
– Tucson Marathon, Tucson, AZ
8 December 2013
The State of Arizona is host to sixteen or so marathons throughout
the year. Nearly five months after Missoula, my wife
and I decided to close out our 2013 marathon calendar with the 20th running
of the Tucson Marathon. This was my eighteenth
marathon and my first ever visit to the City of Tucson.
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| Plane over LAX Lot C |
On Saturday 7 December, the 72nd anniversary of
Pearl Harbor, we made our customary 3.5 hour drive to LAX. We park our car in Lot C and catch the
terminal shuttle bus for transport to the airport. Our standard parking area is nearly under the
flight path for Runway 24R where arriving aircraft are just a couple hundred
feet above the lot. It makes for a
spectacular scene when large aircraft are practically overhead. The larger jets seem to move very slowly as
if they are going to stall, but the smaller ones seem to move faster.
Shortly after 0800 Saturday morning, we boarded United Express 5438 for a 1h 26m non-stop flight to Tucson International Airport (TUS). The Canadair regional jet aircraft taxied to Runway 25R for the standard departure between the Palos Verdes Peninsula and Catalina Island escarpment with clearance given to filed flight level three minutes later.
The flight crossed over the Santa Ana Mountains (Cleveland National Forest), Salton Sea, Colorado River and over the Sonoran Desert for a VFR approach to TUS Runway 29R.
The Salton Sea is an interesting natural
feature. It is a shallow, saline, rift
lake located directly on the San Andreas Fault, in California's Imperial and
Coachella Valleys and the deepest point of the sea is only five ft higher
than the lowest point of Death Valley.
The lake is fed by various rivers, as well as
agricultural runoff, and drainage systems and was accidentally created in the
early 1900s. In an effort to increase
water flow for farming, irrigation canals were dug from the Colorado River into
the valley. Cuts were made in the banks
of the Colorado River to further increase the water flows. The resulting outflows overwhelmed the canals,
and the river flowed into the Salton Basin for two years, filling the dry lake
bed and creating the lake we see today. The
lake is not as saline as the Great Salt Lake, but is more than the Pacific
Ocean.
The Tucson airport is the second
busiest in Arizona behind Phoenix’s Sky Harbor Airport and with five airlines serving ten domestic destinations, mostly to Los
Angeles, Phoenix and Dallas/Fort Worth.
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| Tucson International Airport |
After
the expo, we managed to find a quick bite to eat to satiate our hunger before
checking into our hotel, the Red Lion Inn and Suites off Oracle Road. The hotel was a former a Quality Inn, but has
since been remodeled with a nice pool, spa (for post-marathon rehabilitation) and
putting green.
It was
about 1500 hours when we arrived at the hotel. At that time, it appeared a weather front was
approaching the area as winds were beginning to blow, temperatures began to
fall and the skies were becoming overcast. In the meantime, we relaxed in the room
reviewing the items in our swag bags and prepared ourselves for race day. We spent some time in the spa for a little
relaxation time even though the temperatures were rather chilly.
Late in the afternoon as hunger once again set before us, we decided
to walk across Oracle Road for a little Italian nourishment at La Mia Toscana Italian
Kitchen. I proceeded to order a calzone
with my wife ordering a cheese pizza. I
know, it’s probably not the epitome of a pre-marathon diet with low GI foods,
but it was worth the sacrifice.
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| Dusty Hill and Billy Gibbons from ZZ Top |
After dinner,
we headed back to the room and rested after a long day on the go. When my wife was getting her race items in
order, she notice her sunglasses weren’t around. She asked me if I would be willing to drive
to the local Walmart for a cheap pair of sunglasses. My first thought was a song from ZZ Top’s 1979 album Degüello, “[we]
hit that street a-runnin' and try to meet the masses and go get yourself some
cheap sunglasses.” So off I went to
Walmart to purchase a pair of cheap sunglasses.
I was the hero that evening.
Whether or not she’ll need them due to the anticipated cloud cover is
another story. In addition, I succeeded in
picking up some bananas and some low GI food for my pre-marathon nutrition.
After I got
back from my excursion to Walmart, we relaxed and watched some of the Fresno
State – Utah State Mountain West championship football game. It was a great game, but unfortunately, I
wasn’t able to watch the fourth quarter.
We had to get up early to catch a ride on one of the shuttle buses to
the start line.
Our alarm wakened us early Sunday morning at 0430 giving
us sufficient time to ready ourselves and to drive a few miles to Canyon Del
Oro High School to board one of the shuttle buses to the start line. Soon after we parked the car in the school’s
parking lot, we boarded one of the waiting school buses around 0500 for the 45-minue
ride to the start line on Cody Loop Road at the base of the Santa Catalina
Mountains, near the Town of Oracle.
The
marathon’s website said that temperatures at the start are usually in the upper
30s, but I was starting to doubt that. As
we were walking across the parking lot, I would bet that temperatures were
already in the mid-30s and the school elevation was around 2000 feet lower than
the start line.
Science content warning – reader discretion advised. The dry adiabatic lapse rate is the rate of
temperature decrease with respect to elevation for a parcel of dry air rising
under adiabatic conditions. It is known
that air has low thermal conductivity and if the surrounding air basin is very
large, transfer of heat by conduction is infinitesimally small.
When these conditions are present, as the air rises by
convection, it expands, because the pressure is lower at higher altitudes. As the air parcel expands, it pushes on the
air around it, doing thermodynamic work.
Since the parcel does work but gains no heat, it loses internal energy;
therefore, temperatures decrease.
After
boarding the bus, my mind was busy with calculations. Using the laws of thermodynamics, the dry
adiabatic lapse rate corresponds to γd
= -
dt/dz, which yields
a rate of approximately 5.38° F
per 1,000 ft. Using this law and knowing
the air parcel was rather dry, I estimated the temperature at the start line to
be around 27°
F.
Lucky
for us, and the fact it was early December, we had packed some large trash bags
to use as make-shift outerwear to protect us from the cold temperatures and
wind chill.
To my surprise, my calculations proved
to be somewhat correct. At the start
line, it was really cold and windy with temperatures in the mid-20s. In fact, light snow started falling soon
after we arrived. Buses remained on-site
and runners were allowed to stay on them to keep warm.
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| Morning twilight over the desert |
It was fairly dark when we arrived as astronomical
twilight was gradually transitioning into nautical twilight. The race organizers provided portable
lighting for everyone’s comfort, but I would much rather have had portable
heaters for comfort. We stayed on the
bus as long as possible to keep warm, but there were several daring souls
wandering around outside looking for a place to relieve themselves among the various
Palo Verde trees (Parkinsonia sp.) indigenous to
the area as there weren’t many porta-potties available. Lining up to wait in the cold was the last
thing on anyone’s mind.
With start time approaching, we exited off
the bus donning our trash bags. The eddying winds and snowflakes
between the buses were relentless and bone chilling and seemed to permeate the
plastic bags as we were removing our warm-up clothes. We were cold and shivering, but not as much
as some who didn’t have any protection.
I proceeded to the gear-check area to drop off our bag then immediately
went to the start line.
The race began promptly at 0700 with approximately 900
runners toeing the line. Civil twilight
was waning as the sun started to rise over the eastern horizon, notwithstanding
the overcast skies. There was no fanfare
since only runners were allowed at the start line. We both kept wearing our trash bags as we
started the race, but it wasn’t long before I heated up enough to remove it and
deposit it at the first water station.
The marathon began on Cody Loop Road
(named after Buffalo Bill Cody who once owned a mine in the area) approximately
1.5 miles from Mt. Lemmon Highway, thence through the community of Oracle and
on to Arizona State Highway 77. Initially,
the roads in the area were comprised of a road mix asphalt surfacing with a
recent chip seal or rejuvenating agents and were pretty much free of broken
pavement and pot holes which made for a great running surface. The numerous drainage washes within the
Oracle environs caught my eye. I
wondered about desert rainfall intensities and the resulting flash floods common
to the area. Some roads are dipped
slightly to allow for low water crossings.
They are easily discernible due to the evidence of rocks, dirt and some
pavement erosion.
Low water crossings are cheaper than
building a bridge or placing a culvert to raise the level of the road above the
highest flood stage, particularly in semi-arid areas with rare high-volume rains.
Low water crossings can be dangerous
when flooded.
The first few
miles through Oracle were a net downhill with some undulations but very
endurable (maybe because we had fresh legs).
The roadsides were mostly bounded by Arizona pine trees (Pinus arizonica) and Palo Verde trees. A few local spectators were scattered along
the course throughout the community.
As runners merged onto Arizona
Highway 77, they were greeted with striking views of the Falcon Valley desert
landscape with Owl Head Buttes and the Tortolita Mountains rising in the western
background. Once the marathon platoon
thinned out, everyone was pretty much on their own. The peacefulness and quiet was Zen-like. It was very serene and relaxed – not your
ordinary marathon experience.
The highway departing Oracle steered
runners on a long straight steady downhill grade of around two percent. Knowing this was a net downhill course, I was
looking forward to finishing with a good time and kept imagining getting a PR. Besides the great volunteers staffing the aid
stations, spectators were non-existent.
The volunteers were supportive, encouraging and enthusiastic at times
when you need it.
Around Marathon Mile 10, runners made a
left turn onto Biosphere Road. From here, the road leads towards Biosphere 2,
although not actually entering the property, for two miles of basically uphill
and then turn around and run back downhill those same two miles. At that point, I was ready to tackle a hill
since I had been running downhill for several miles. I was beginning to fell discomfort in my
quadriceps and lower legs from the downhill running. This is the point where I began to start
walking for short distances. My split
time at the 12.5-mile mark was 1:58:27
for a 9:52 pace.
After the turn-around, the steeper downhill of
Biosphere Road was beginning to challenge my legs. I had not been training on hills, so I was
about to see what happens.
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| Biosphere 2 entrance |
When I turned off Biosphere Road
onto Highway 77 again, about Marathon Mile 14, the downhill was more
manageable, but the four mile detour began to wreak havoc on my legs and was
beginning to affect my performance.
About
two miles past Oracle Junction (Marathon Mile 22), the course turned left off
Highway 77 onto Saddlebrooke Boulevard then right onto Eagle Crest Ranch Boulevard
through a residential development. I had
to sit down and remove some pebbles that had managed to find their way into my
shoe. After I stood up, it was a real
struggle to start running again. To add
insult to injury (I mean that literally), comes another mile or so of basically
uphill. Who does that at this point of a
marathon? The hill at Marathon Mile 23
was so steep and painful, I had to walk, and nearly all runners around me did
the same. I heard many complain about
the hill and we were glad to reach the crest.
The downhill section into the Twentyseven Wash did not really thrill me
since my legs were pretty much shot at that point. After that effort, a sun-bleached dollar bill
caught my eye alongside the road (Edwin Road).
I couldn’t resist, so I picked it up and stuffed it into my gloves. Yes, it was still cold enough to keep the
gloves. I still have the bill today as a
token of this marathon.
After
that killer hill, the rest of the course wound around through the residential
streets in Community of Catalina. Around
Marathon Mile 23, I approached a fellow runner who saw my Maniac shirt and
asked how to become a member. We conversed
about the club for a while, how many stars I have and our marathon histories. After I informed him of the Maniac process, he
said he would be interested and had enough marathons to qualify. Shortly after our conversation, he tripped
over a piece of damaged pavement and did a face plant into the road. I stopped to assist him, and luckily he
appeared to be unharmed except for ripped pants and some road rash on his knees
and hands. That was a scary mishap.
We
were both feeling the negative effects of this run, especially for him. We helped and encouraged one other for the
last three miles to the finish line. As
we approached the end of Coronado Forest Drive for the right turn onto Golder
Ranch Drive, we know it was a short run to the finish line at the Golder Ranch
Fire District station.
I
pushed ahead of my temporary running mate at the final turn into the driveway
for the last push to the finish line banner.
Seeing the finish line seemed to make all the pain disappear. I was done, with an overall time of 4:24:33
with a 10:06 pace!
Age
graded score: 52.3% Age graded time:
4:02:30
I was
happy with my time and glad the run was over.
After I grabbed some food, water, tortillas, Advil sample packs and
chocolate milk, I retrieved my gear bag and was really beginning to show the
ill effects of not training for downhill running.
There
wasn’t much to the finish line festivities, so we decided to leave. We wanted to get out of our wet sweaty
clothes and jump into the hot tub for some relaxation, so we shuffled on over
to one of the waiting buses for transport back to Canyon Del Oro High School. My soleus, gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles
were becoming really stiff and sore.
Walking was becoming difficult.
When
we boarded the bus, it was such a relief to sit down and enjoy the warmth. I know it would be painful to get up when we
got to the school, so I was in no hurry to get back. After a couple of intermediary stops, it was
our time to disembark. I was not looking
forward to that by any means.
My
stiffness was so bad, I practically needed assistance to step off the bus due
to painful shin splints. I had to brace
myself against the door and had to utilize the handrail to step down. Walking to the car was slow and steady. I noticed others with the same condition and
could only laugh. The next few days were
going to be hell, I thought.
When
we arrived back at the hotel, the clouds were beginning to break up allowing
for some dim sunshine, but was still chilly – maybe low 50s. That didn’t to stop me from jumping into the
hot tub to relieve some sore muscles.
My
wife decided not to get in since it was still cold, but I hobbled over to the
pool area and got in. The water was
around 102° F which made it very comfortable.
I massaged my tibialis anterior muscles in the jets, but it didn’t help
much. I accepted the fact that I was
going to be in some sort of discomfort for the next couple of days or so.
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| Red Robin - Yummmmm |
About an hour after I got out of the hot tub, we started to get
very hungry so we ventured into Tucson for a late lunch at Red Robin in the
Tucson Mall. We each had a delicious
burger, endless fries and a glass of beer.
After burning over 3900 kcal or 16,380 kJ of energy over 26.2 miles, I
deserved a rather large meal.
After
we left the mall area, dusk was beginning to set in. We drove back to the hotel to digest, relax
and watch some TV and turn in for the night.
Monday brought us
to a tour of Biosphere 2. I have always
been intrigued with the facility since it was built in the late 1980s. We checked out of the hotel and left early
enough to catch the 0930 tour. With a
flight back to LAX at 1642 hours, we had ample time.
From what I learned, Biosphere 2 was an attempt to create a
balanced and self-sustaining replica of Earth’s ecosystems. It turned out to be a miserable and expensive
failure. Numerous problems plagued the
crew almost from the very beginning. Of
these, a mysterious loss of oxygen and widespread extinction were the most
notable.
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| Biosphere 2 |
Crew members were sealed in
Biosphere 2. A little over a year later,
the crew experienced a constant and perplexing decline in the percentage of
oxygen in the atmosphere. It was
initially hoped that the system was merely stabilizing itself, but as time
passed it became increasingly clear the something was wrong. When oxygen levels dropped to the point where
the crew could barely function, the outside managers decided to pump oxygen
into the system so they could complete the full two years as planned.
Obviously, Biosphere 2 was not self-sustaining if outside
oxygen had to be added in order for the crew to survive. The reasons behind this flaw in the project
were not fully understood until later. As
it turned out, the problem had more to do with carbon dioxide levels than with
oxygen. The soil was abnormally rich in organic
material and microbes were metabolizing this material at abnormally high rates,
consuming a lot of oxygen and produced a lot of carbon dioxide. The plants should have been able to use this
excess carbon dioxide to replace the oxygen through photosynthesis, except that
another chemical reaction was also taking place. It turned out that the concrete in the
structure was reacting with the carbon dioxide producing calcium carbonate and
water. The walls are now coated with
a
protective layer, but oxygen levels still continue to be problematic today.
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| Biosphere 2 |
Several species of plants and small
vertebrates became extinct. This caused
some problems since they were no longer able to propagate themselves. Other species thrived in the man-made
environment, such as cockroaches, ants and various vines which choked off other
plants. The crew had to put huge amounts
of energy into the ecosystem, but could not sustain the balanced ecosystem as
was planned, and, therefore, failed to fulfill their goals.
Another fascinating subject were
inevitable disputes among the crew, as well as among those running the project
from the outside. It would be
interesting to learn of the psychological interactions of the crew cohabitating
in a small environment for the time spent in the ecosystem.
In the for what it’s worth category,
my theory as to the failure starts with the four laws of thermodynamics
analogous to a perpetual motion machine.
You can't get something for nothing, you can't win, and you have to
lose.
Science content
warning – reader discretion advised. Simply put, the zeroth law helps define the
notion of temperature, the first defines the conservation of energy, the second
says the amount of entropy in the universe can only increase and the third
notes that the entropy of a system approaches a constant value as the
temperature approaches its residual entropy of the system.
Like
energy, mass is a conserved property, and it cannot be created or destroyed. Mass
and
energy can be converted to each other according to Einstein’s formula E = mc2. However, except for nuclear reactions, the
conservation of mass principle holds for all processes.
For a control
volume undergoing a process, the conservation of mass can be stated as total
mass entering minus total mass leaving equals the net change in mass.
In any isolated system, one cannot
create new energy (first law of thermodynamics). The sun’s energy entering the closed system
is not enough to sustain the ecosystem.
Mass and heat are lost to the environment through the earth, walls, windows,
etc. Energy leaving exceeded energy
entering causing a net loss in energy to the control volume. Eventually, the system will fail. I believe that is what happened.
Thus, machines which extract energy
from finite sources will not operate indefinitely, because they are driven by
the energy stored in the source, which will eventually burn out.
Biosphere 2 was quite a thought-provoking
experiment and still continues to intrigue me today.
The 1h 15m tour was exceptionally
difficult for me but yet captivating. The
walking expedition was approximately one-mile in length, complete with over 200
stairs to climb, and with very stiff and sore legs, these obstacles were tough
to overcome, but I succeeded. At times,
I wish I had a wheelchair. The
interpretive specialist was very knowledgeable and led us through the different
biomes, the basement technosphere and the lungs within the facility always
keeping my attention, amazement and wonder.
At the conclusion of the tour, we, at least I, hobbled back to the
car and into Tucson for some lunch before we had to get back to the
airport. We accidentally stumbled upon
an Italian restaurant during our drive through the campus of the University of
Arizona. Sauce Pizza & Wine on
Campbell Avenue, not far from the University, looked to be inviting where my
wife ordered a personal pizza and I ordered a meatball and mozzarella panini.
After
the great lunch, it was time to head back to the airport to return the rental
car to catch the United Express non-stop flight back to LAX. We arrived at LAX on-time at 1930 and got
home later that evening.
Overall,
the Tucson Marathon was a well-organized rather small marathon and well worth
the experience. Hereinafter are my views
and opinions of the marathon.
I have nothing but
positive things to say about the logistics of this race. The bus transportation to the start line went
smoothly. Keeping the buses running
giving runners the option to stay on and keep warm was much appreciated. While waiting for the start, the PA system
was loud and clear and great music kept everyone entertained. Grooving to the music was a way some were keeping
warm.
Aid stations were well-spaced
and well stocked with great volunteers handing out energy gels early on, which
I'm sure was a bonus for some people. It
was for me.
The desert scenery
was fantastic, but could be boring to some.
Besides the noise of vehicles on the highways, the serenity and peacefulness
of the run made it worthwhile.
Porta-potty lines
were up 6-10 deep. When you average 3-5
minutes per person per use, some people had to practically freeze to death
while waiting in line. I did notice many
runners finding places behind trees or bushes for quicker relief. I wonder if anyone used sticks to knock off
their frozen pee streams. Bring plenty of
layers to keep yourself warm because sub-freezing temperatures (even snow) at
the start is a real possibility.
The
marathon’s website claims this course “is primarily a downhill marathon with
some hills around mile 2-4, and mile 11-12 and 22-23.”
The elevation
profile on the website could be construed as misleading. The first few miles has some semi-steep rolling
grades with parabolic roadway camber. Take
heed for those suffering with ITBS. I
expect some runners could interpret the profile plot as a smooth downhill, but in
reality it could be characterized as a set of tough initial set of hills. If you do this race, then plan for early hills
followed by a serene, quiet run. After
22 miles of steady downhill running, your legs are pretty much done, so be
aware of the nasty hills after Marathon Mile 22. One hill could even be billed as sadistic. They can really test your fitness.
If the valley
temperatures are warm, be sure to hydrate and take some salt tablets so any cramping
can be kept at a minimum. There is no
shade on the course, so be sure wear sunglasses and apply sunblock to your
exposed areas of skin even if the UV index is low.
Once outside of
the Community of Oracle, there was no fan support to provide physiological stimuli
to epinephrine secretion, but the volunteers staffing the water stations and law
enforcement officers watching the traffic were friendly and engaging. When runners pass by Oracle Junction, fan
support picked-up again, giving everyone needed shots of epinephrine. This is the point where most runners needed the
hormone stimulus.
The finish line was
held in the parking lot behind the fire station with ample supplies of water
and food, but was not large. Gear bag
drop was nearby and easily accessible; however, there was a little walk to the
bus loading area. So if you are sore,
just tough it out.
Race volunteers
and vendors were giving away Advil packs, packs
of tortillas from a local tortilleria and other food items. I am not a picky person so bananas, water and
chocolate milk are enough for me.
My advice to the
race director is to post a more accurate elevation profile on the website so runners
may have enough information for their race plan. I do realize space may be limited and the
exaggerated scales of a profile graph make such representations hard to
visualize, but perhaps an explanation of what runners should expect might help.
Based
on my experiences, I would strongly advise anyone interested in this marathon to
do a lot of hill training before attempting this race. It can be murder on the knees, quads and
lower leg muscles.
