Greetings from Tucson, AZ! (Part 2)

Run Stats:
Day: 498
Miles Completed: 1749.3
Miles to San Diego: 350.7
Avg Miles/Day: 3.5
Marathons Completed: 66.8
Longest Run Streak: 15 days
Shoes: Skora Fit/Skora Tempo
Playlist Favs: Beatles AbbyRoad Album, Wings Over America, Storybrand Podcast
Guest Runners: None :-(

Bible Verse of the Day: Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for Me." Matthew 25:40

Run Reflections: Morning folks, thanks for tuning in again. It's been another good running week despite a thunderstorm that cut short my run yesterday. I should get pretty close to a 30 mile week and am on track for a 100+ mile month. I'm still virtually running along I-10 which turns north at Tucson towards Phoenix. In just a few more miles, I'll jump off I-10 (after more than a virtual year) and head west on I-8 towards San Diego. I still have plenty of miles to go in AZ and look forward to what I'll discover and learn along the way. This week is part 2 on Tucson. Info and pictures are from wikipedia and google searches of tucson running clubs.

Tucson, AZ: As another really large town (see downtown city pic), it's hard to tell the whole Tucson story in a single blog post. Therefore, I'm going to share a couple of (hopefully) interesting facts from wikipedia about the city. There's plenty of web links and travel/tourist info available in the Internet if you'd like to learn more about the town.

• Tucson is the 2nd-largest populated city in AZ behind Phoenix.
• Tucson is a spanish name that means "at the base of the black hill", a reference to a basalt-covered hill now known as Sentinel Peak & also known as "A" mountain because it contains a large letter A that is often decorated by the students at the University of Arizona.
• Tucson is also referred to as "The Old Pueblo".
• Tucson's Speedway Boulevard, a major east-west arterial road in central Tucson was named the "ugliest street in America" by Life magazine in the early 1970's.
• Mount Lemmon at 9,157 feet is the highest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains around Tucson. The mountain is named after 19th century botanist Sara Lemmon.
• Tucson is the home of the Davis-Monthan Air Force Base which, in addition to supporting several jet fighter squadrons, is also the sole aircraft boneyard for excess military and U.S. government aircraft. The areas dry climate and alkali soil make it an ideal location for aircraft storage and preservation. I've included an aerial photo of the boneyard and remember dragon by the base and being able to see glimpses of all the aircraft through the fence on the base perimeter.
• Some of Tucson's major cultural events include an annual gem and mineral show, a festival of books, the annual Tucson rodeo, (fiesta de los Vaqueros) and for the past 25 years, a folk festival that is one of the largest free festivals in the country.

In addition to a diverse city history and cultural, I would be remiss if I did not mention another speciality of this town - the Sonoran hot dog.

The Sonoran hot dog is a style of hot dog popular in Tucson and elsewhere in southern Arizona. It originated in Hermosillo, the capital of the Mexican state of Sonora, in the late 1980s. It consists of a hot dog that is wrapped in Bacon and grilled, served on a bolillo-style (think french baguette roll) hot dog bun, and topped with pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, and a variety of additional condiments, often including mayonnaise, mustard, and jalapeño salsa. The Sonoran hot dog is prepared and sold by vendors called "dogueros" at street carts. It was estimated in 2009 that over 200 places in Tucson purvey the Sonoran hot dog.

I recall seeing these carts around Tucson from my prior travels there but don't recall taking advantage of the culinary opportunity. I'm not sure why because this dish sounds like it's right up my alley. I've included a picture to see if it speaks to you too. I am aware that Five Guys makes a bacon wrapped hot dog and while they don't have pinto beans, you can pick your toppings and get a dog that's pretty close. Next time I'm in Tucson, I'm definitely going to find a doguero and check this off my bucket list :-)

Tucson Running Scene: Like many bigger cities, there are several running clubs in Tucson. Some of are "The Workout Group" - a group that has been meeting since 1997 at Reid Park to provide workouts for runners at all levels; and Tucson Trail Runners - a trail/ultra running group that focuses on long-distance trail runs on public lands in all five mountain ranges around Tucson. Their average run distance is 17-20 miles and they meet weekly on Sundays from September through the beginning of July. In addition, there are also many smaller groups called meetups that link running with other activities. From the meetup web site here's an overview of a couple of the Tucson meet ups that I thought sounded interesting:

• Running is Our Therapy (RIOT) - This is a group for runners who are new-ish (and also not so new) and enjoy cruising as very casual, lower paces (10-13 min/mile). Typical distances range from 3-13 miles and they try to host runs to meet in different parts of town.
• Dilliinger Brewing's Monday Running Club - Like craft beer and fitness? Every Monday, this running club meets at the Dillinger bar at 6 PM and goes for a run. After the run, they enjoy $2 off pints.
• Tucson Q-100 Society Running & Marathon Club - This is a group for southern AZ vegans who adopt whole-food, plant-based eating and running long distance lifestyle.

In addition to running clubs, the area also has plenty of road races of varying distances. Some of the upcoming races include:

• 13 May - Tucson 5000 - Tucson's Fastest 5K
• 20 May - Veterans & First Responders 5K
• 21 May - OutRun Anxiety 5K
• 17 Jun - Dash for Dad 5K
• 04 Jul - 5K Freedom Run
• 09 Jul - Run with the Roosters 5 Miler

Blast from the Past: In honor of Mother's Day this weekend, I thought I would share a blast from the past photo of my mom and me from sometime in the 1980's. As a Naval Officer, my dad was away a lot on deployments when we were growing up and my mom was the glue that held everything together while he was gone. We were fortunate that she could be a stay at home mom and her unconditional love and encouragement was a huge positive impact on our lives. I'm also blessed to have married a woman, my beautiful wife Jody, who provides that same kind of selfless love and encouragement to me and our kids. I'm a much better son, brother, father and dad because of the influence of these two incredibly special women! I love you both very much. Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there!!

Well, that's a wrap from here. Hope you enjoyed another glimpse of Tucson. Have a great week!

God Bless,

Pat