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


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Phoenix, Arizona
United States
Elite Racing Inc.
60F / 16C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 22m 54s
Overall Rank = 74/21985
Age Group = M40-44
Age Group Rank = 5/1049
Pre-race routine:

Jamie, Mom, and I drove down and parked at ASU Stadium near the finish line. We were then bussed into downtown Phoenix where the race start was. As we did in '06 and '07, we had bought tickets for Scottsdale Running Co.'s Stage Rock where they rent out a boxing gym and set up heated tents with heated bathrooms, food, coffee, the works! It's a great way to spend the hour or two before the race began. Jamie and our other friends doing the Marathon left around 7:10 for their 7:40 start and Mom and I headed over at 8:00 for our 8:30 gun. Weather was cool but not bad and the sun was just coming up.
Event warmup:

Mom and I walked down the corral area. They had 36+ corrals for the Half and over 22,000 participants! HUGE race. Mom was in Corral 6 and I was in 1. Mike Reilly was one of the announcers! How cool!
Run
  • 1h 22m 54s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 06m 20s  min/mile
Comments:

I really had not prepared to race this race. All my training since Clearwater has been base work with very little speed/interval training. I wanted to relax for the holidays and just get in consistent training, not specific training. I had figured my HR for an open Half could be in the high 160's which i could hold for 1:20 or so. Once the gun went off, I settled into a grove in the low 160's, my open Marathon range, and felt so good I just stayed there.I just didn't feel like I had the legs to push it more.

I went through the first 5K in 20:20 with the plan of picking it up after that. I continued to feel good and was running very well and smooth, keeping my form in check and waving and high-fiving the cheerleaders. :) I was having a blast and was running with a smile on my face. 10K came up in 39:19, so a dropped over a min. over the second 5K. I had my GU Roctane and grabbed a cup of water. This was the only nutrition/hydration I took during the race. The 3rd 5K came in around 19:13 and I actually though I might get close to 1:20-1:21.

At this point, the course started to turn southeast towards Tempe and the winds really kicked in! It was gusty and this was the only part of the course with any appreciable hills. People in front of me started to struggle, but I ran the hills well. I couldn't hide behind anyone to avoid the wind, however, as I was moving up through the field and it was very empty and spaced out. So I just leaned into the breeze and sucked it up. By the time I hit mile 12, I knew I had been slowed considerably but that at least I wouldn't be a total disaster by not getting in under 1:25.

The last few corners were packed with spectators and I waved to to them and thanked them for their word of encouragement. I high-fived down the entire finishing chute and people were going nuts! It was awesome, I finished by jumping up in the air for a fun pic. :)
What would you do differently?:

Train for another Half at some point and go under 1:20.
Post race
Event comments:

After a while, I was able to find Mom in the family reunion area. She crushed it with a 2:06 and second in her AG! Still my hero. :). Then we made our way to the last 1/8 mile of the Marathon course to watch for Jamie, who blew me and my expectations away by coming in 3:55, a full 30min PR. What a great day. :)




Last updated: 2008-11-14 12:00 AM
Running
01:22:54 | 13.1 miles | 06m 20s  min/mile
Age Group: 5/1049
Overall: 75/21985
Performance: Good
Average HR 157 Splits: 5K- 6:30 pace 5K- 6:06 pace 5K- 6:17 pace 6K- 6:30 pace
Course: Pretty much a straight shot from downtown Phoenix to ASU in Tempe.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 4
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Too easy
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5

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2009-01-19 3:03 PM

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Champion
9600
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Fountain Hills, AZ
Subject: P. F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Half Marathon


2009-01-19 3:10 PM
in reply to: #1916657

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Subject: RE: P. F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Half Marathon

You didn't slow down cuz of the wind.  you slowed down cuz you don't have enough fat to sustain you in a half mary.  duh.

Nice run, and congrats to Jamie and your mom.

2009-01-19 9:41 PM
in reply to: #1916657

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Expert
892
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Subject: RE: P. F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Half Marathon
Nice work as always, Bryan.

Kudos to your mom & wife, too.... very cool!




Edited by LJR 2009-01-19 9:42 PM
2009-01-20 6:58 AM
in reply to: #1916657

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Master
2411
2000100100100100
Goodyear, AZ
Subject: RE: P. F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Half Marathon

Wow! Well done to the entire family, you guys are all awesome!

I have no doubt that you can easily go sub 1:20! Glad you all had a good day!

2009-01-21 9:45 AM
in reply to: #1917598

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Cycling Guru
15134
50005000500010025
Fulton, MD
Subject: RE: P. F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Half Marathon

Awesome work.

Did they give hardware out to 5 places?  I know some larger races do.

And congrats to the family kicking butt as well!

2009-01-21 11:54 AM
in reply to: #1916657

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Pro
3870
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Virginia Beach, VA
Subject: RE: P. F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Half Marathon
Nice race...bummed I missed it.


2009-01-21 6:08 PM
in reply to: #1916657

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Champion
9600
500020002000500100
Fountain Hills, AZ
Subject: RE: P. F. Chang's Rock 'N' Roll Arizona Half Marathon
Thanks all! Rick, awards went only 3 deep and for M40-44 and 3rd went 1:18.
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