P.F. Changs Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Marathon - RunMarathon


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Phoenix, Arizona
United States
Elite Racing Inc.
45F / 7C
Sunny
 		Total Time = 3h 32m 23s
Overall Rank = 760/6453
Age Group = M35-39
Age Group Rank = 124/624
Pre-race routine:

Up at 5:00 am. Ate a bagel with peanut butter, honey and a banana. I took a shower to wake up and had a cup of coffee.

Finished my prerun routine and had the wife drop me at the start line at 7:20.
Event warmup:

Did some knee lifts and butt kicks to stimulate the muscles.
Run
  • 3h 32m 23s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 07s  min/mile
Comments:

My plan was to stick with the 3:30 pace guy and not let go. I hung with him through 16 miles and then they changed pacers. The bullpen pace guy picked it up and I couldn't hang on. According to my wife the 3:30 pace guy came in 7 minutes before me. That's 3:25 not 3:30!

I felt great through 15 miles. I didn't feel like I was working too hard. I didn't have any tweaks or strains and pains that you sometimes get on long runs. I just went out and tried to hang with the pace guy.

It was pretty crowded around the pacer. Everybody was jockeying to stay close to him. This was the most contact and jostling I've ever experienced in a running event.

When the pacer left me I knew I had a couple minutes in the bank and tried to slow down/hold on to hit my goal time of 3:30. I was still in the ball park at mile 20. That is where somebody threw a piano on my back. I started to feel sluggish and just couldn't keep pace.

I started to tighten up and was fighting to hold on. I knew if I could just keep moving I would beat my pr of 3:37 from 10 years ago at the Marine Corps Marathon so that was my plan.

Mile 24 I started cramping in my legs and upper body. I pushed though and finished though.

I was happy with my pr, but not satisfied. I really wanted to run 3:30.
What would you do differently?:

The cramping and performance issues concern me. I took water at every aid station. Took 3 e caps at one hour and 3 more at 2 hours and consumed 4 gel packs total (2 from my flask and 2 more on the course). I also drank another 25-30 oz of gatorade/accelerade on the course.

Getting sluggish at mile 20 of a marathon is to be expected, but I need to figure out my nutrition as to why I had the cramping issues.
Post race
Warm down:

Walked to the family area and met up with my wife and friends. My buddy pr'd the half so that was good to hear.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Cramping. I felt like I had gas in the tank, but the legs weren't cooperating.

Event comments:

Could have had better selections of food post race!. I got yelled at for sitting on big bags of ice in the recovery area. Who puts mountains of ice bags at the end of a marathon and doesn't expect somebody to sit on them...




Last updated: 2008-01-14 12:00 AM
Running
03:32:23 | 26.2 miles | 08m 07s  min/mile
Age Group: 124/624
Overall: 760/6453
Performance: Good
8:06 Max 236?? obviously not Avg 204 8:01 Max 155 Avg 153 7:47 Max 162 Avg 158 8:19 Max 162 Avg 160 7:38 Max 162 Avg 159 7:48 Max 162 Avg 160 7:56 Max 163 Avg 160 7:53 Max 164 Avg 160 7:45 Max 178 Avg 160 8:08 Max 166 Avg 163 7:53 Max 207 Avg 167 7:33 Max 168 Avg 165 7:43 Max 166 Avg 165 7:52 Max 169 Avg 166 7:57 Max 170 Avg 166 8:11 Max 169 Avg 166 7:56 Max 174 Avg 170 7:59 Max 228 Avg 172 8:02 Max 171 Avg 169 8:13 Max 172 Avg 169 8:34 Max 172 Avg 169 8:14 Max 173 Avg 169 8:32 Max 170 Avg 168 8:25 Max 174 Avg 170 8:43 Max 174 Avg 170 11:06 Max 173 Avg 168 10K 49:32 Half 1:43:23 20 miles 2:38:47
Course: Pretty flat large loop from Phoenix through Scottsdale to Tempe.
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] 3