Rock 'n' Roll AZ Official Thread

I'll be there! Doing the Tough Mudder on Saturday in Mesa, then the RnR 1/2 Mary on Sunday.

I like that the 1/2 is now a loop course and the start/finish is at the stadium. I'm planning on walking from the hotel to not have to deal with parking. And yay for no busses!

I was very disappointed that Tough Mudder scheduled their event for the day before RnR AZ.  A 12 mile obstacle course the day before a full marathon is simply out of the question.

You made a good decision to go half marathon so you could get in the Mudder.  Have fun!

The B52's start at 11am.  So, it's a BQ to see the B52's.

If I'm hearing Rock Lobster when running down Rio Salado, I'm not spending next April in Boston. 

Well?  how'd it go?  Looking forward to reading your race report.  (mine's up)

wasn't that gentle decline miles 19-22 just a godsend? 

3h52s. I was satisfied with this for my first full marathon.

But check these splits and what happens when I got greedy after 16 miles:

Thru 6 miles - 8m32s pace,

6M Thru 13.1M - 8m24s pace

13.1M Thru 16M-8m40s pace  ... right on plan, Then at 16 miles, decided to abandon the plan I'd spent 4 months training for and put the hammer down (guess how that turned out....)

16M thru 20M - 7m46s pace ...Then the wheels came off:

Last 6 miles.... 10m21s pace.  Ughhh. Lesson learned is plan the run (~8m40s pace), then run the plan. Also, the wall is a good word for it.

See you out there next year.

A bunch of studs in here...I'm almost embarrassed to post my time. Besides Pat's Run, this was the only organized run event that I'd ever done. I really had some challenges during my training trying to figure out how to pace and didn't follow any "plan". Big mistake! In fact, I posted a thread a few weeks ago and had about half of the responders tell me to drop down to the half and the other posters telling me to go out there on the full and have fun. (Here's the thread: http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=417901&posts=25&start=1 ) I opted to go out and do the full even though I'd only run over 18 miles once, 10 days before the event. I'm glad I did as I had a blast, finished strong, and left me wanting to do another even though I said that this would be my only one. My time...5:04:29. Not turning many heads with that time, am I?? The funniest thing about my time is I thought, "Hell, I can do 14 in under 2 hours no problem, so I should definitely finish right around that 4:00 mark." LOL!!! Ah, ignorance is bliss!!! I did my race report if anyone wants to see how a first timer who finishes in 5 hours felt about it.   Would love some AZ runner partners, so hit me up people...

Glad you had a great experience.  That's what it's all about. 

Some of us here are faster, sure, but few of us are racing each other anyway.  We're all running down our own dreams, and enjoying the journey. 

Running a marathon isn't about running 26.2 miles.  It's about running 600 miles during the prior 4 months.  It's about getting up at 5am day after day and lacing up the running shoes.  Working through the pains, getting to know your body and what it can do, and then going out on race day and proving it to yourself (and maybe to others).  a very personal journey that we each pursue how we wish.  If faster is what you want- then you'll get plenty of good advice on these forums on how to get there.  If not, then that's fine too.  Enjoy your journey- however you choose to pursue it.

http://beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=420950&posts=4&start=1

GoodStash - Morey nailed it.  The race is not about how you measure up to others, it is how you measure up to yourself.  Because when all is said and done, unless you are a Kenyan, Ethiopian or other elite runner, you will always be chasing someone.  Only you can satisfy your own objectives and goals, so only you should be making final decisions on your training regimen and race schedule.

Forums like these are great sounding boards, but when push comes to shove, all decisions should be yours.  It sounds like you made the right one for yourself in seeing the full distance through.  Learn from what you experienced, chat away with all of your fellow athletes in the forums, and just have fun trying to reach your own goals.

From your RR comments and your forum comments, it sounds like you have already got a plan together on how you think you cam improve.  That is what it is all about to me personally - how can I learn from my experiences and improve my results or efficiency next time?  There are many brilliant athletes roaming around here, but you still have to take their advice with a grain of salt, as what works for them or others may not work for you.

Finding training partners has always been one of my biggest hindrances.  From finding someone of the same general skill level, to finding someone close by, to finding time to coordinate training schedules, it gets darn near impossible (at least for me).  Multi-sport groups like ONE, Phx Tri Club, Tri-Scottsdale and others might be a benefit, as they have athletes of all different skill levels and they do a number of coordinated training sessions for all.  I am a member of ONE, but still have yet to figure out how to best participate to help both myself and the organization.

You have started a great journey that many others have started and are on - hopefully together we can share our accomplishments, challenges and motivations to help one another a little bit here and there.  Congrats on your first full marathon - now it is on to the next!

Sounds like everybody had a great race and/or learned something that they can take with them into the next race.

I surprised myself with a 13 minute PR in the half distance. I was shocked because I really haven't done much since IMAZ. I guess more of that IM fitness is around than I thought. Anyways, my RR is here

What's next for everybody? I'm running the half at Lost Dutchman and trying for the goal I didn't hit at RNRAZ.

wow- a 13min PR in a HM?  (wait, let me get my calculator out)

that's like 1 min/mi faster.  Incredible!  excellent improvement.

Nicely done on the huge PR!  Ha, we must have been somewhere around each other off the start.

Thankfully nothing big on my calendar for a while, time to dig into training.  Last couple Xterra trail runs of the season that I'll need to use more as training runs.  Digging into a Pfitz 18/85 plan in another week to prepare for Rim2Rim2Rim in early May and then off to Anchorage for Mayor's in June.  Oh, planning on hitting up Marquee as well.

Joined ONE this year as well.  You headed to Happy Hour on Friday?  I plan on being there and finally getting to meet some of you peeps.

I am planning on it as of right now.  Some family emergencies on my wife's family that may change my plans, but for now I expect to be at 'the kilt'

congrats to everyone who ran the half and full mary on sunday!

dude, jasen...lets schedule a time to go out to bartlett lake for a OWS! lol never again the bike course until i'm 20lbs lighter

What's up, man?! I just texted you yesterday or the day before. I just got a neoprene cap for cold water OWS so I'm ready! I hear that water is in the low 50's right now

Also thinking about making the Tri Family JCC race in Feb. my first tri of the year...

I signed up for the JCC maxi tri as well earlier this month.  Maybe in a couple weeks we can go out there, anyone else who's up for a chilly OWS at bartlett is more than welcome to join us!  where'd you get your neoprene cap? i need to get one of those

Boo-Yah!! 10minute PR today! Awesome race and very sore legs. Loved it all :-)http://connect.garmin.com/activity/142082380

Actually, according to my Garmin, my time at 26.2 was 2 minutes faster than they clocked me. Full distance mine read was 26.42. My primary goal was 4:22 which would have measured out to a 10-minute mile all the way. Oh well, so I still have that to shoot for. Overcast and cool: optimum distance running weather. I liked what I perceived as a couple added long-ish inclines, made it slightly more challenging course. Bad was starting us off 30 minutes late because of the mix-up with the light rail schedule, whose tracks cross over near the start line. Otherwise a great day, great race and great result. Now bring on the multi-sport!

... sometimes Garmin on auto-pause stops time at hydration, or potty breaks, or even around 180 corners. Just sayin'... nice work, too.