This past weekend, November 1st-2nd, I attended the Cactus Classic Marathon in Tucson, Arizona, joining some 160 other skaters. There was to be a fun skate on Saturday afternoon, followed by the marathon on Sunday morning. The best part of the weekend would be a tie between the friendly Arizona skaters who welcomed me in, and the lovely Tucson mountains and countryside.
I flew in on Saturday, headed to the hotel for registration, and proceded to the advertised Fun Skate. There were some 40 of us who skated a paved trail in a park on a beautiful afternoon, including Kim Perkins, who recognized me and even gave me a pointer on my technique. Afterwards, there was a raffle in which a number of prizes were given away (luck was not with me), and then people began talking about going to dinner. I got myself invited to an outing of primarily Arizona skaters (shout out to Alan, Michael, Flo, and the others) and Glenn from San Francisco, and our Japanese noodle dinner commenced. Conversation was light and friendly, and I headed back to the hotel to freshen my wheels, clean my bearings, and get ready for the big morning on Sunday.
Awoke, geared up, and headed over to the course. At dinner, I'd heard that it would be rather technical and challenging, with the road quality being similar to Austin's Veloway BEFORE it was repaved, and the first half of each lap (three laps for the full distance) being generally uphill. There was one stretch of about 200 feet of pavement that was extremely rough, on par with A2A's gatorback, but was mostly avoidable via a concrete strip on the right hand side of the road. Also, the event was at elevation (2640 feet), according to a sign I observed while driving in. If you've ever been to Colorado or high in the mountains, you know the effect that elevation has on breathing. I hoped I would be okay.
The pro skaters started off, and we in the Open Section were let go about 30 seconds later. I made my way to the front, and soon found myself in the lead pack of about 20 skaters, but I was in the rear. I decided to get closer up and at one point had moved to 6th position. That was about as far as I would get. About a mile later, the skater ahead of me had slowed and a gap was growing. The people behind me were shouting "Gap!" and I realized we needed to go around our slow frontman if we wanted to catch the lead pack. So I pulled. We caught the lead pack, but I had burned a bit too much in catching them. I dropped off and tried to get on the back, but did not have the energy or the lungs. I was worried that the altitude was having an effect.
I also noticed I was in need of some water. After passing the first water area (only two on the course), and unable to grab water, I realized I might be in trouble. It's hard to hydrate when they are handing out small dixie cups that are only half full, and less than that if you successfully grab it. I was able to manage to get a cup at the second water area, but staying hydrated was going to be a challenge.
For some of the first lap I skated with the chase pack of about 7 skaters. There were three from the San Diego Street Elite who were taking turns pulling, but the middle/back was doing the caterpillar dance. We passed through the rough 200 feet, and I had somehow created a gap. I had a small lead on the pack, but expected they would catch me. This small lead turned out to be a BIG mistake, as the long downhill part of the course was beginning. The entire pack passed me and I was unable to jump back in. Had I been able to stay with them, I believe my marathon time would have been in the 1:30's.
For about half the remainder of the first lap (of three) I skated alone, desperately hoping a pack would catch me. Sure enough, not too far into the second lap, I was caught by a pack containing most of the women who would end up forming the top 6 in the open section, and one other male skater. Penny and Michelle, both from Phoenix, were two of the skaters in the group. I joined them, and we proceeded to complete the entire second lap, working as a very good pack, and with me leading for a decent portion of the back stretch. The long downhill was fun, and I think someone with a GPS shouted out that we were doing 41 miles per hour. My left foot, more wobbly than it has ever been (even at A2A) provided some evidence of this as well. Towards the end of the 2nd lap we proceeded around a right hand turn, and I braked a little, lacking confidence and wishing it were a left-hand turn - the mark of an indoor skater. This too would be a mistake. The pack passed me, and I spent half a lap chasing them, but was unable to get closer than 30 feet from them. They would finish about 2-3 minutes ahead of me.
So the second lap was done, but the third lap remained. At this point I was pretty dehydrated. I was pushing as hard as I could, but was without a pack. I gave the uphills all I could, and did not coast during the downhills. It was not until the awards ceremony that I would know my time, but I had worried that I was in the high 1:50's. Gladly, I was mistaken.
My result: 1 hour, 45 minutes, (with the following lap split times: 33 minutes, 34 minutes, and 38 minutes.)
This result earned me 2nd place in my age division (20-29) in the Open Section. The overall open winners had completed it in 1 hour, 27 minutes. And though I know I could have done better, I am happy with this, as I was basically only 25 minutes behind the pro skaters. At the Disney marathon, I was about 45 minutes behind the pros, so I've definitely made great progress this year.
Other notables: Our friendly Kim Perkins placed first in the Pro Master's Women with a time of 1:27. Also, I think ALL the skaters from Texas (including the four from Dallas) each placed and took home medals. Go Texas!
Afterwards there was a happening party with food, drink, a pool and a hot-tub going on at one of the skater's places, and I spent an hour there before heading to the airport. I chatted with Ken from San Francisco, most of the Phoenix and Tucson skaters, including the youngest looking 72-year old skating and web-mastering guy I've ever met, and also Randy Bowman - the winner of the pro section in 1:16.
All in all, a great experience, and I can't wait till next year!