P. F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Phoenix, Arizona
United States
Elite Racing Inc.
60?F / 0C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 59m 43s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group = 25-29
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

I always have to get to races ridiculously early. I have nightmares that I'll miss a race start. So, Got up about 6, left the house about 6:30 am. Took the train down to the start line, and had the necessary 30 minutes to wait in line for the port-a-potty.
Event warmup:

I don't usually warm up so much.
Run
  • 1h 59m 43s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 08s  min/mile
Comments:

Well, here's the deal. I've never been very good at pacing. Part of that is because the start of the race really sets the tone for me. When I start slow, I get into that groove and have a really hard time talking myself into picking up the pace. SO, I like to start fast and see how long I can hang onto it. Sometimes it works, a lot of times it doesn't. What I really need to work on is some form of happy medium. SOO.. I started out of the gates fast. I was running 840-8:45 for the first six miles easy. Miles 7-8 were closer to 8:50-8:55. I was feeling really strong and thinking i might just be able to hang onto this til mile 10 and just finish the last 5k. Well, mile 9 was a LONG mile, my heart rate was just up there and I was hitting the wall. I even stopped to walk for like 15 seconds. At this point I really considered giving up on my two hour goal, it was a stretch goal anyway giving my run training. BUT, after a few seconds of walking and looking at my watch/pace I knew my first half race had been fast enough to give me some cushion. SO, i began to ran again and told myself to keep it about 9:30 and see where I was at time wise at the 10 mile mark. Once i hit 10 miles there was some downhill and i had 9:!5-9:30 and felt like the 2 hour mark was still within reach. I was at 1 hour 30 minutes at the 10 mile mark, so i just kept telling myself, ten minute miles will get you in, ten minute miles will get you in. So, that's what i did for the last three miles I STRUGGLED big time to stay around 9:50 pace. I was that runner you look at from the sidelines and go "oh, she's hurting". I was. I remember running down Rio Salado thinking where does it end?? It was UGLY. Finally crossed the finish line and knew my watch time was under 2:00, but wasn't sure about the official time, since my watch doesn't show seconds. Was happy to have met my goal and although I felt like death running, once I finished i was fine. Then i hung out at the finish line waiting for Angel to cross.
What would you do differently?:

Find that happy medium of starting fast, but not too fast. I was really close to doing it this race (i think). Didn't hit the wall til mile 9.5-10, but when i did, i hit it hard.

My half mary PR is 1:53. Someday I would like to hit that again and I felt like yesterday was good progress towards that goal.
Post race
Warm down:

I had a 15 minute head start on Angel and his friend Stephen due to our corral numbers. SO, i waited at the finish line for about 45 minutes for them. Sat down and stretched a bit, tried to shake out the legs. Angel and Stephen crossed, both looked so happy and in much less pain than I was while finishing.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

I have to start doing more tempo work and definitely some speed work if i want to get faster.

Event comments:

The only thing I didn't like about the race is the part of the course where you run down McDowell Rd FOREVER! It got really boring to me, I was seriously thinking can we turn soon, please?

Otherwise Rock N Roll always puts on a really good show.




Last updated: 2010-01-17 12:00 AM
Running
01:59:43 | 13.1 miles | 09m 08s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
Course: Really pretty flat course through Phoenix. As we headed towards Tempe there were a couple of small hills, nothing serious just enough to mess with you a little bit.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4