Tucson Marathon

     Part of the run training focus was to do a Marathon early enough to recover for prepping for Oceanside 70.3 in March.  On Halloween, we did a half marathon - LA Rock n Roll half, and was looking to be on track for a good marathon by achieving a PR of 1:40:27 by 9 seconds and non rested.  We ended up flying to Tucson on friday night after work, and met Johnna's brother and sister in law at the Hotel for dinner.  On saturday, we did our run and swim, checked in at the expo, and then drove the course.

      Not sure if it was the pasta I ate, but I was wide awake all night--probably not the food, probably positive nerves.  We got up at 4:30 to get on the bus at 5:30 that took us to the start of the point to point race.  We huddled in the bus until the start, as it was cold and dark.  We started at 7am, just as the sun was coming up.  Goal time was a 3:40.  I settled into the 3:20 group, lost them around mile 9 and then settled in with the 3:30 group.  At Mile 20, Coach Hillary of TeamHPB was cheering me on and then surprised me by bunnyhopping the course after her own half marathon PR of 1:25.  Right around then the 3:40 group caught me, and I managed to hang on perfectly for a wait-for-it 3:40:00 flat!  Johnna came in at 4:30 just behind her brother and sister in law.  Kudos to Johnna who trained through a torn calf muscle (found out later) that she tweaked on our Thanksgiving weekend hill repeat session.

     I was super happy about my time.  I split it well -- out in 1:47, back in 1:53.  I managed the new nutrition plan well  - 8 gels in total during the race.  It was the first time a) that I took in that much in one event, and b) that I felt the surge after taking in nutrition each and every time.  Mile 25 was the hardest.  I remember turning up the hill to the out and back to the finish, and as I turned I got that familiar hammy yank.  I pretty much had to ignore it, as I was being yelled at tocrank it up to the finish.  If I hadn't seen Coach Hillary those three times on the course, I probably would have faded to a 3:45.  Nothing like motivation and accountability.

    Many cool run sessions went into the making of this marathon PR (previous was 4:09 in 2006).  16 miles on the Queen K the day after the World Championship; 20x Hill repeats on a hot humid Kona afternoon; many 20+ mile runs, and some double run days.

Tom Stacy Johnna and Me

   Flight home on sunday night was brutal.  We had to connect through Vegas.  We could barely walk through the terminal.  We looked pretty funny, but probably just blended in with the usual las vegas airport crowd.

Five in a Row - USC Water Polo National Champions

     Thriller of a Water Polo game at the home pool at USC.  USC played UCLA for the national championship.  It was a rematch of last year's final, and USC was going for not only it's fifth national championship in a row, but also for another undefeated season.

    Experience wins along with doubling down on defense.  The seniors really stepped up-Mike Rosenthal, Tobias Preuss and Matt Burton.  Add to that, an unbelievable crowd at the game and both the USC and the UCLA bands.  In the first period, the Trojans scored first going up 1-0.  UCLA answered with 4 straight goals in the first period, leading 4-1 at one point.  The first period ended with USC down 5-3.  I was nervous.  The crowd was nervous.  The players didn't look nervous, however.  Christian didn't look nervous.  He was enjoying the game and the USC cheerleaders. 

    In the second period, the Trojans and Bruins traded three goals each, and at one point, USC took a 6-5 lead.  USC would manufacture three more goals to open the second period -- a Michael Rosenthal nearside bullet, a Vavic blindsider and a booming blast from Tobias Preuss to storm into the lead, up 6-5 with 4:47 to go in the first half. UCLA, again, was unfazed. Three straight Bruin goals would erase that hard work by the Trojans and take UCLA to an 8-6 lead at the break -- the most first-half goals surrendered by the Trojans all season long.   
     In the second half the USC defense clamped down limiting UCLA to one goal in third period.  The crowd was going nuts, as the third period ended UCLA 9-USC 8.  This was going to be a nailbiter.  Jack was playing great defense, and Jovan was using a double post defensive posture to stymie UCLA's offense.
     UCLA would take a 9-8 lead into the fourth period, which opened with a Rosenthal steal at 2-meters to get the ball into USC hands. That's when Burton came up big with goal number two to equalize early, and the Trojans would keep their eyes on a fifth straight prize to pull out the dramatic win. USC outscored UCLA 5-2 in the second half to power up that championship comeback push.

     That championship confidence seemed to win out for the Trojans over the pressure of keeping USC's undefeated 2012 season intact in front of countless fans. With 2:25 to go, Michael Rosenthal ripped in his third goal of the game for the fourth draw of the game. USC goalie James Clark came up with a clutch save next, and the USC defense held strong to get the ball back. The Bruins had managed to keep USC's No. 2 scorer, sophomore Kostas Genidounias, quiet on the scoring front during the game. At least, until the final minute of play. Burton found the hot-handed Genidounias for a searing score that gave USC an 11-10 lead with 40 ticks to go. It was the Trojans' first lead since the 4:47 mark of the second period, and it was a big one. As UCLA found itself in unfamiliar territory, having been ahead or tied for all but barely two minutes of the game to that point, the Bruins scrambled to try to find an equalizer. Instead, the stubborn USC defense stood tall. Mace Rapsey nabbed a UCLA pass and got the ball to Rosenthal with just 15 seconds left, and USC was in the driver's seat for the big win.
    Unbelievable game.  Winners know how to win.
    

I now believe.  :-)