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


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Phoenix, Arizona
United States
55F / 13C
Overcast
Total Time = 1h 44m 57s
Overall Rank = 1349/19298
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 172/1173
Pre-race routine:

Usual breakfast of an english muffin, orange juice, banana, and added a little coffee in. Stomach was churning a bit on the drive to the race though. I've been fighting a cold all week, and food hadn't been sitting well the last couple of days.

Arrived in plenty of time, hopped on the shuttle (which were once again like hot-houses...ugh!), and arrived to the usual port-o-potty chaos.
Event warmup:

Managed to just catch the marathoners heading out, stretched, bathroom, stretched, bathroom...

I was in corall two this year, so it seemed like a looong jog from the bathrooms to my start position. I arrived just in time as they started the national anthem.
Run
  • 1h 44m 57s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 01s  min/mile
Comments:

I had envisioned starting at a 8:10 to 8:15 pace over the first 5k to get my legs under me, reduce to about 8:00 pace, and then pick it up after the 10k mark. That never materialized. I was right on the 8:00/mile mark from the get-go (my goal was 1:45:00) so I decided to stick with it, assuming I'd pick it up after the hill at mile 10 and easily cruise to my goal.

Despite the weather, that was a rough one. Both hammies were sore from about mile two on (they've been acting up this week), and that long "hill" took a lot out of me this year. I tried to hammer it home, but only managed to pick it up significantly on mile 13 to just barely beat my goal.

I think the cold I've been fighting all week too some out of me, despite feeling pretty good that morning.

Looking at my garmin though, my pacing was excellent. Other then the couple of hills, I was within +/- 5 seconds of my goal pace for the entire race.

Lap Pace/Speed
1 08m 02s/mile
2 07m 56s/mile
3 07m 59s/mile
4 07m 58s/mile
5 07m 59s/mile
6 08m 06s/mile
7 07m 58s/mile
8 07m 59s/mile
9 08m 03s/mile
10 08m 08s/mile
11 08m 05s/mile
12 07m 58s/mile
13 07m 44s/mile

What would you do differently?:

I don't think I drank enough, which was definately not a good thing since I was still fighting off a cold. With two gels, over 13 miles I usually drink about 12-14 oz. I only drank maybe 10oz during a hard race effort. Stomach issues from the morning had me on edge to take in more I think.
Post race
Warm down:

Wandered aimlessly (as usual) taking in fluids and food (banana, powerbar). I remembered that I had a stamp to get in the PF Changs "VIP" tent and was pleasantly suprised with the leg rubdown with ice. That was nice! After that I was ready to head home.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Not enough fluids. Still fighting a cold from earlier in the week.

Event comments:

Tons of volunteers, good crowd participation, and it seemed like more drink stations from last year.




Last updated: 2010-11-24 12:00 AM
Running
01:44:57 | 13.1 miles | 08m 01s  min/mile
Age Group: 172/1173
Overall: 1349/19298
Performance: Good
Course: It's McDowell street in downtown Phoenix, what's there to say? Lots of pawn shops, auto-detailers, mexican restaraunts, and probably a few Van Buren street ho's thrown-in for good measure.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Not enough
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
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: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 4