Phoenix Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Mesa, Arizona
United States
Phoenix Marathon
47F / 8C
Sunny
Total Time = 1h 45m 51s
Overall Rank = 174/1010
Age Group = M 40-44
Age Group Rank = 19/62
Pre-race routine:

I had originally planned on running this event (I'm in), but waited far too long to register and the event sold out (I'm out). About 9 days before the race, a friend of my wife's said she was injured and would not be running. While she could not get a refund, the RD would allow her to sell her spot, but needed the name, etc right away. I said I'd do it if she couldn't find anyone else (I'm in?). She couldn't, so she passed along my info to the RD (I'm in!).
Fast forward to Monday before the race and I was sweating profusely during a ST session. Didn't think much of it at the time, but I was apparently was getting sick and was then laid up in bed for Tuesday and Wednesday (I'm likely out). I got a little better Thursday and told my wife on Friday night that I was likely 65% in for the race, but would make the call Saturday morning.
Regardless of my condition, this was just going to be a good, hard training ride to get ready for Oceanside 70.3. I would resist the urge to go all out and try to PR.
Saturday 4 a.m. came and I felt great. Got up, had my coffee and a protein shake, ate an old banana and got dressed to head out to Mesa. (I'm in)
I did not make it to packet pick-up on Friday, so I was hoping they'll still let me get my bib, etc. They did.
Event warmup:

Got my gear together and my bib on and started to make my way to the buses to take me to the start. As I'm leaving my car, Tanya (Standswithfist) was also heading in the same direction. Nice to see a familiar face and have someone to chat with on the buses that took us out into the middle of nowhere.
The middle of nowhere is right below the "(azstaterick & robot) as they were also trying to stay warm.
Finally ditched my sweatshirt and walked down to the start with the bagpipers (nice addition).
This was a smaller race, but I really like the vibe.
Run
  • 1h 45m 51s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 08m 05s  min/mile
Comments:

As I said, I was not going for a PR - - but I still wanted to have a good run. My goal was to be around 1:45, but that might have been too aggressive coming off being sick. First 3 miles almost felt like I was not running under my own power and that it was mostly gravity. I wonder if I trained downhill if I could do it faster?
Definitely felt I hit somewhat of a wall, but that was also running uphill on Power Rd and against a headwind.
Thought I had some gas left in the tank for the final 5k, but I could not find another gear. I did see Josh again around mile 11.5.
What would you do differently?:

Sign up sooner for this race. I reallly liked it and will most likely be back next year.
Post race
Warm down:

waited to see Josh finish and congratulate him on a very good run. gathered a few recovery snacks and headed to my car (I had to haul ass out of there and get to my daughter's opening day softball ceremonies where I am an asst. coach).

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Being sick the week of the race and having a more important race goal coming up in the next few weeks. I definitely didn't want to redline it and risk injuring myself for Oceanside.

Event comments:

Cool finisher's medal


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Last updated: 2012-02-25 12:00 AM
Running
01:45:51 | 13.1 miles | 08m 05s  min/mile
Age Group: 19/62
Overall: 174/1010
Performance: Good
HR monitor worked well pre-race. but failed to register anything once the cannon sounded. Weird Lap Time Distance Pace/Speed 1 07m 40s 1.00 miles 07m 40s /mile 2 07m 26s 1.00 miles 07m 26s /mile 3 07m 27s 1.00 miles 07m 27s /mile 4 07m 47s 1.00 miles 07m 47s /mile 5 07m 48s 1.00 miles 07m 48s /mile 6 07m 58s 1.00 miles 07m 58s /mile 7 08m 01s 1.00 miles 08m 01s /mile 8 08m 13s 1.00 miles 08m 13s /mile 9 08m 25s 1.00 miles 08m 25s /mile 10 08m 29s 1.00 miles 08m 29s /mile 11 08m 11s 1.00 miles 08m 11s /mile 12 08m 25s 1.00 miles 08m 25s /mile 13 08m 37s 1.00 miles 08m 37s /mile 14 02m 09s 0.20 miles 10m 50s /mile
Course: Desending for the first few miles, then a slight incline for 7 to 10, with a descending 3 mile finish. harder course than the elevation graph made it appear.
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 Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 5