2H'2013 registered races

For 2H 2013... 2 FM, 3 HM to go back home..

13 Jul - ARR Summer Series#4 5k run (Kiwania Park)
1  Sep - River Jungle Marathon 42km (registered)
14 Sep - SP Half Marathon (registered)
13 Oct - Penang Run #3 21km (registered)
17 Nov - PBIM 2013 (registered)
12 Jan 2014 - Penang Run Series #4 21km (registered)

Whiskey Row Marathon - signed up for my 4th in US !!

4th May @ Prescott !  Registered :-)

Full #7, US Full #3 - Phoenix Marathon

Date : 2 March 2013 (Sat) | Location : Usery Mountain Verrado-Mesa Riverview |Distance : 42.55km | Time : 4:48 | Pace : 6:46’/km | Condition : a cooling morning, ended with a super hot morning | Route : first 3rd running downhill, then mostly flat | Satisfaction level : 3/5

Wow.. never know it took me so long to write this Phoenix Marathon blog.. >1 month later !

This was my 3^rd marathon in 6 weeks, something I will cherish in a long time.. but a  bit insane to say the least !  The race swag was pretty good with loads of discount vouchers and a sleeve warmer. The race was to start @ Usery Mountain and we are supposed to park our cars at the shopping mall @ Mesa Riverview. There was a long queue turning into the mall area, I reached the school bus with 5mins to spare ! Pheww..

Here’s a description of the Marathon from the home-site : The Phoenix Marathon has a beautiful race course that begins below the large white Phoenix sign painted on the Usery Mountain. Marathon runners will experience nearly 1000 feet of net elevation loss in this fast Boston Qualifier. The race has thousands of parking spots available around the finish at a large shopping center in Mesa. Phoenix Marathon runners will enjoy the diverse scenery from cactus desert. The Phoenix Marathon has spectacular views of the Phoenix Valley from N. Usery Pass Rd”

This is a race of 2 halves - rolling for the 1st (did my best half in a full @ 1:58), reeling in the 2nd half with the super-hot desert sun. It must be one of the hottest  run in all my 3 runs here. Ambulance was kept busy, some runners threw up and fainted/taking a rest by the road-side. I was nearly one of the stats but luckily dug deep to stay alive !  Timing was 4:48. Not the best of the timing but really cannot complain. Just glad I survived !

Elevation Map

The race bib collection area @ Tempe Marketplace

The route

race result

Full #6, US Full #2 - IMS Arizona Marathon..

Date : 17 Feb 2013 (Sun) | Location : Verrado (Buckeye)-Goodyear-Pebble Creek-Avondale-Litchfield Park-Phoenix-Glendale |Distance : 42.6km | Time : 4:47 | Pace : 6:44’/km | Condition : a slightly warmer 7degC at startup (vs Arizona RnR) but the last 10-12km, still running under noon direct sunlight | Route : mostly flat (love the changing scenes and landscapes) | Satisfaction level : 4.5/5

First of all, this is a last minute race entry. I only signed up a day before the closing date after it became apparent that I will be in town during the long President Day holiday weekend. That was originally allocated for Las Vegas trip but since we pulled-in to CNY, that makes it possible for me to take part. Was toying with the idea of Lost Dutchmen and this IMA Arizona… But decided on this in view of an easier route and more readily accessible drive to the pick-up point.

Woke up at 4am on race day, took some quick bites, then drove to pick-up point at Westgate @ Glendale. Boarded the Full Marathon school bus and took us !30mins to reach Buckeye, Verrado. Managed to catch some naps during the bus trip. We were promised a warm preparation @ starting point and was not disappointed. The Verrado Tower Center  was opened to us for use to keep warm while waiting for the 7am start. Managed to make full use of the toilet 3 times before walking to the start point with 5mins to spare !  Alas, and I forgot to turn on my Garmin watch until during the count-down.. That explains why I missed ~first 900m of the race tracking. The race took us through some nice neighborhood @ Verrado, I would say some of them are luxurious. The first 7 miles or so were through Goodyear, wide open space, nothing much to savor. Once we hit Pebble Creek, we were greeted by residents who enthusiastically waited to greet the runners.. Some even said “ Thank you for running”.. Love the Pebble Creek area with its multiple golf courses and serene neighborhood. Things were doing OK then and I was able to run without much problem, though I am always worried of the return of the dreaded cramps.

I hit the half 21km @ 2:00 flat, a PB for my Full run. But things did not go well after that. My left knees started to feel sharp pain. After a few KMs, my right knee to feel one kind. I decided to take it easy and did some jog-walk-run after that. I am trying to avoid aggravating or cause any injury as my next run is 2 weeks away !  Did some photo taking with my iPhone along the route. Target was 4:15, and soon the 4:15 and 4:30 pacers passed me. The next target was to end the race with ~4:45. I did almost just that with a 4:45. The last 101-12km was running under the hot sun, so the bandana face mask came in handy to protect my neck.

Overall, a very scenic race, very well organized with lots and lots of drinks. Volunteers were superb – better than Arizona RnR, we do have cyclists who frequently ride past to ensure runners are in good shape. The mile by mile marker was a blessing as I used that to gauge my speed. Started with ~9mins/mile, then slowed to 10-10:30 before ending the last few miles with ~13mins/mile !

Now, some rest and a busy week to taper into my 3^rd and last full (for now) @ Phoenix Marathon @ Mesa.

At the start point in Verrado. Race starts at 7am.

3mins before start. Alas, I was slow in starting up my Garmin.Missed around 900m of tracking

25th mile marker

22nd mile marker

Finish point @ Glendale

Towards the finish point

University of Phoenix Stadium

The Monster Hill - our own version of Heartbreak Hill

Hot and lonely towards the 25th km !!

Medals

Combo picture of my run - didn't buy. 1 CD of all pictures cist $49.99.

Results published

Itching for marathons ! 2 in 3 weeks !!

So my itching legs wanted to run, and my itchy fingers went ahead and register for another run next week !  So my next 2 full marathons (6th and 7th) will be :

17 Feb (Sun) - IMS Arizona Marathon at Glendale area
2 Mar (Sun) - Phoenix Marathon

I must be getting nuts !

IMS Marathon Course Map & Eleveation Map

Phoenix Marathon Course Map

Phoenix Marathon Elevation Map

My 42km on my 42nd big day - A Really Rocking AZ Rock n Roll Marathon !

Date : 20 Jan 2013 | Location : Phoenix Washington St-Scottsdale-Temp Sun Devils Stadium |Distance : 42.37km | Time : 5:14 | Pace : 7:25’/km | Condition : from near freezing 3degC to 20degC, running under noon direct sunlight | Route : mostly flat | Satisfaction level : 4/5

What a raced it was – a race totally into the unknown and I must thank my lucky stars for coming out of this alive and well !

This was my 5th full marathon. When I signed up for the PF Chang’s Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon (10^th edition), I have no inclination how the weather will look like besides it being a winter for AZ. Boy, how wrong I was ! I arrived on Jan 15^th to a freezing 0 deg C night temp and that was the 1-week coldest spell in >20 years in AZ. Although the temp got slightly better over the last few days, it was still freezing cold for all of us.

The pick-up of the race kits @ Phoenix Convention Center was a smooth one. Took me 20+minutes to arrive at the destination.. and a US12 parking fees. Much better than finding a public parking place as I have no idea where are those. The fact I could find my way there (using Waze of course) was an accomplishment itself. The race pick-up and expo was huge, much bigger than the one @ SCMS. I picked up both the Kids Rock and my own race kit. Corral 4 was my wave startup location based on the 4:15 finisher time I entered. Huge merchandize area selling everything from shoes to running tees/jackets (it’s winter !) to all forms of sports nutrition and training equipment/tools.

Saturday (Jan 19). Kids Rock for the kids. Venue : Temp Beach Park (20mins away from San Cervantes). We all dressed up in 2-3 layers of clothes as it was a 3deg C morning. Race starts at 9:30am and they are all divided by Grades, from Kindergarten to 6^th Grade. Jadyn is in 3^rd Grade while Jaden 1^st Grade. The fun run distance was 1-mile along the ‘beach’ front while Kindergarten half of that distance. With 1,200 kids and many more adults, we arrived to a carnival like atmosphere. There were the Disney crew warming up the kids with songs and dances.. The race was a fun run and every kid gets a finisher medal – a cool rock guitar medal, and of course a nice running tee. The kids had fun and went back with even more stuff – more tee-shirts (as they gave away more free tees), pop-corns, engraved medals, blankets etc. The park is pretty nice place for the kids to run and skate on its promenade along the beach.

 

Sunday (Jan 20). The BIG day. I wanted to run a 42km to commemorate my 42^nd birthday and this one came at a perfect time. The morning was equally cold – 3deg C. The race route starts from Phoenix, then goes thru Scottsdale before ending at Tempe near the Sun Devils Stadium. I planned to drive to Temp Beach Park to park my car and then hop on the Light Rail to the starting point at Phoenix. Alas, it was not to be as the roads leading to the park was closed and I have no idea how to go to the park – GPS did show that :(  Alternately, I made a detour to the Phoenix and decided to park at the designated place. The race was scheduled to start at 7.50am. Arriving at ~6.30am, I was able to find the designated car park easily. No need payment, so it was great. The Arizona Center car park was a short distance walk to the starting lineup @ Washington St/3^rd St. I did some warm-up, queued pretty long for the pee.. then we were ready to start !

The corral allows a wave start which is great so that there are no scrambling at the start with the fast runners at the front and slower ones at the back.. Standing at the starting line, you can see some runners started to take off their jacket which were used to keep them warm right before the race and threw them to the pavement. Those were then collected by the volunteers for charity. I kept myself warmed, at least as warm as can be – wore the long sleeve tee inside, followed by a Rock 2 Rock purple tee outside. Good thing I brought the gloves, else I would have gotten frost-bite. No kidding, it was THAT cold. Frankly, I would have gave up the race by the 1^st 5k if my gloves did not keep me warm. The gear check-in (we call if baggage deposit) was simple. Just your last name and the UPS courier truck. Quick and easy process.

The flag off was smooth, took me close to 3 minutes to reach the starting line-up. The first 5k went on well. Then the air started to get too cold for my comfort as the faster you run, the more the cold air will go into the lungs. It was uncomfortable but I could bear with it. The first 10k was completed in 55:22, a pace of 5:32’/km.  One thing for sure. The crowd, the cheer groups and the volunteers were fabulous ! One will not get bored as for every 10m, there will be someone clapping, cheering on the runners, showing giant playcards.. and this went on all the way until finishing line !  Simply fantastic. One of the highlights of my running history.

By the time I hit 15^th km, I felt a twitch on my right calf, then quickly followed by my left. And it felt like PNM all over again. Cramp striking so early ! I soon felt uncomfortable but I still managed to continue run-jog-brisk walk.  But the effects was clearly seen. My 2^nd 10k slowed to 6:32.

I hit the half mark @ 2:08 and that as the time we went into the Scottsdale town center with great fun-fare and carnival-like atmosphere. But I was limping along. But the cheers helped a bit for me to jog, else I would have given up much earlier !  I started to do stretching by the curb more often but the pace has slowed to slow jog as for small stretches, then brisk walk. Now both my calves and also my quads are hurting and stiffened like hell !

The 30k until the finishing line was the hardest – it was a long stretch of straight road leading to Tempe and I was running (or rather walking) under the noon hot sun. There were no shades and the sunlight pierced through directly. I am glad I wore long sleeve and compression pants and my neck/face was fully protected by the sunblock… and I read somewhere that the ozone layer is thinner during winter.. Geez.. By 30km, my camp has subsided a bit but now, it was my left knee pain ! I could not run for a stretch without feeling the pain. Could be ITB I suspect.. and so I decided not to risk more injury and walked all the way to the finishing line, albeit with some very slow jogs from time to time..

Overall timing on my Garmin:

First 10k – 5:32

2^nd 10k – 6:32

3^rd 10k – 8:11

4^th 10k – 9:05

Last 2.37k – 8:51

Overall, it was great race. The experience was invaluable. Who would really have opportunity to really race in a winter with a temp swing from 3 to 23 in 4-5 hours time !

I thoroughly enjoyed the race – the volunteers were outstanding (every water station could easily have 40 volunteers, or more !), the cheer group and spectators were simply fabulous in cheering.. they were simply generous with their inspiring words.. The runners were well behaved with great ethics (like stepping aside when slowing down/stopping – btw, not many people walk. Many just run or jog.. simply awesome !). It’s an experience I will cherish for a long time. The timing was a PW but I have no qualms over it – 1) it was a run @ an unknown weather condition, 2) I have not run for the past 3 weeks and now went straight into a marathon – I have to blame myself for that.

Moving forward, I need to bump up my training plans and strength training. The winter season where the sun sets @ 5:45 and goes totally dark by 6:30pm. It will be a challenge.. Next marathon – Phoenix Marathon on 2^nd March 2013. Something could come up in between now and then :)

It was a chilly 3deg C at the starting lineup

Put all my photos into a collage

The finishing @ Tempe.. 23deg C