Havasu Half

The second annual Havasu Half in Lake Havasu City, Arizona was on Saturday, April 4, 2009. I was glad my boyfriend agreed to accompany me as driver (and race photographer) since Lake Havasu City is about a four hour drive from Phoenix. We drove up Friday evening and arrived around 10:30, much too late to visit the expo or pre-race dinner. We stayed at the Quality Inn & Suites which was offering special rates for race participants. The Quality Inn was the cheapest of the three race hotels at $72 + tax. For our short one-night stay, the hotel adequately met our needs... the staff was friendly, the room was clean, and the bed was comfortable. I would recommend the hotel for anyone considering the race in future years.

On race day morning, we drove over to the designated parking area promptly at 6am. I wanted to make sure we had a good parking spot because the race instructions said there were almost 700 participants (between the half marathon and 5k) but only space for 200 vehicles. It turned out that I didn’t need to worry though because there were at most 30 vehicles parked in the lot. Everyone else must have walked, taken a shuttle, or found some other parking.

It was a short walk over to the start/finish line where volunteers were still working to set things up. There was almost no one around and I was able to pick up my race number and goody bag very quickly. The goody bag had my short-sleeved cotton t-shirt along with the usual assortment of flyers and a few other things including a sample of Tylenol tablets, a toothbrush, and a small bottle of E-Lyte Sport Concentrate. I stopped by the Gypsy Running tent to try on some running skirts before heading back to the car to finish my race preparations and grab everything I needed for the race… sunscreen, body glide, iPod, Garmin, etc. Then it was back to the start area again for a visit to the port-a-potty and some last minute stretching.



Despite what the banner says, this is the start of the half marathon.

The race started promptly at 7:30am. Going into the race, I didn’t have any specific goals in mind other than finishing and earning another medal. My second half marathon ever was a month ago on March 8 and between then and now I’d been dealing with a bunch of issues from trying out new shoes to a minor injury. Most of my runs had been at around a 10:30 pace so I figured if I’d be happy if I finished somewhere near my previous PR around 2:24. But as I crossed the start line I was near the 2:15 pacer and make a quick decision to try and stick with her for awhile.

The first four miles were a loop around the island that was created when the London Bridge was installed. Sometimes it takes me a mile or so to get into a groove, but today everything was good right from the start. The weather was perfect for a race. It was in the 60s and sunny with a light breeze. I had my iPod, but didn’t turn it on at first because I was happy enough to just enjoy the view and listen to the conversations around me. Around mile 3 I finally struck up a conversation with the pacer and another fellow runner and we stuck together for quite awhile. Typically I run alone and I was pleasantly surprised by how nice it is to run with other people. This was the pacer’s first time being a pacer, and my first time running with a pacer.

I'm in the middle, number 339. The girl to my right is the pacer. The guy on my left is a fireman from Lake Havasu City.

Just before mile 5, we crossed the famous London Bridge. The rest of the race was an out and back. Since this was a fairly small race, only one lane of traffic was closed for us runners. The volunteers were great at directing traffic and making sure we stayed safe. This part of the course had a few small hills, but overall the course was very flat. Some water stations had just water and some had water and Gatorade. I stuck with the water. Again the volunteers were great and the stations seemed to have plenty of fluids available.

I felt very strong and was keeping up with the pacer very well, even though she was actually slightly ahead of pace for a 2:15 finish. We chatted occasionally. I ended up not using my iPod at all during the race. At mile 8 I took a GU, then grabbed some water at the turnaround. I seem to have gotten better at drinking and running and was able to run through all of the water stations, only slowing down just a little.

After the turnaround, the other runner who had been with us the whole time started to pull away. But the pacer and I continued on together. Around mile 11 I finally started to feel tired and it really helped to have the pacer encouraging me to press on. By now I knew I was on track for a PR which also lifted my spirits. Luckily it was mainly a slight downhill from here to the finish. After crossing the London Bridge again we had less than a mile to the finish. With the finish line in sight, I somehow still had enough energy to sprint the last 100 meters.

Here I am approaching the finish. The woman to my right in front of the sign was celebrating her birthday by running her first half marathon.

I was very excited when I crossed the finish line... I could tell by the clock that I finished somewhere just under 2 hours and 10 minutes. Woo hoo! Official results have my time at 2:08:45!!! I got my medal, met up with my boyfriend, then went to thank the pacer because I know I couldn’t have done it without her.

The post-race spread was just standard fare – Gatorade, bananas, oranges, and bagels. I think my only gripe for the whole event is that there was nothing to spread on the bagels. Once I had recovered sufficiently, I saw that it was just after 10:00 and I had plenty of time to get back to the hotel and take a shower before check-out time at noon. I sort of wanted to attend the post-race party, but my boyfriend wanted to start the drive back to Phoenix and since he was doing all the driving I acquiesced. But we did make a quick stop for a few photos on the London Bridge...


Proof that I've been there, done that.

Additional Photos:

Firemen from the M.C.C. Fire Academy running the 5k as a group.

View at Mile 4 of the half marathon.

Runners passing Mile 4.

Me on the beach with my medal.

Close up of the Havasu Half medal.

View of the finisher's area.


Havasu Half Course Map
Half Marathon and 5k Results

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April 2009 Races

Brian Mickelsen Memorial Half Marathon, 10K and 2 mile Run

April 18th - Cottonwood, AZ

If you've heard of the Verde/Mingus Blowout and can't find it. You've found it. A new name and they've added the half marathon. These races run thru Riverfront Park in Cottonwood, Tuzigoot National Monument and Dead Horse Ranch State Park. After your half, 10k or 2 mile run you'll enjoy live music, refreshments and a large raffle. For more info visit the city of Cottonwoods website.

Runner - We'd love to include your race reports. Learn more here.

Race Directors - Send us your race info. It's free to promote on AFR.

April 2009 Races

The Havasu Half & 5k

April 4, 2009 @ 7:30 AM

Lake Havasu, AZ

Hey, it's the only half marathon that you can run over the London Bridge and onto a man made island out into a river they call a lake. It's the Lake Havasu Half marathon on April 4th.

You know the story. In the early 1960's London Bridge was falling down. Robert McCulloch, the chainsaw guy bought the bridge and then brought it to lake Havasu. They reassembled it over dry land, dug out the earth below to allow the Colorado River to flow underneath. Creating an island. The river is so big at this point that it looks more like a lake. Now it's a spring break destination and on April 4th it will be they place to be in Arizona to run a half marathon.

So, do you want to run a half over London Bridge? Go visit the Havasu Half website to learn more. And we are looking for a reporter to run the race and give us a race report. No experience necessary. You just need to be able to write and take some pictures.

Liska's Apothacary shop is proud to sponsor the Havasu Half. Support the sponsors that support your sport.

Lost Dutchman Half Marathon

You learn something at every race.

Yes, you do. You learn something at every race you run. I hadn't run for three days and my legs were fresh. Real fresh. This is a tale of what you learn when you go out fast in a half marathon.
The day started with a beautiful sunrise over the Superstition Mountains.

I got my picture with the Lost Dutchman himself. He wouldn't disclose were the his goldmine is. After all, it's the gold that's lost, not the dutchman.

Right around 7:30 the gun sounded and we were off. Actually, we waited as the faster runners were off. At this time I commented to all around me, "there goes my PR." But eventually we did get to run and it was less than a minute wait.

That's the Superstition Mtns. in the distance. Only about 700 runners in the half, so I didn't have to do a lot of weaving. The first mile split was 9:47. My goal was to see how many miles I could do under an 11 minute pace. 1:13 seconds was way too fast, but my legs wouldn't let me run any slower.

The second mile was 10:12. More reasonable, but still on the fast side. That made me 2 for 2 goal wise. I was a bit worried that it would get me later on. This course is half paved, half dirt road with lots of small hills. Mile 3 was 10:59, perfect and mile 4 was 10:42. I felt like I was getting in the groove.

Maybe it was the site of the medals before the race that got me in a fast mode.

There were lots of medals. I got the HM one on the right. Before the race I got to meet Alissa from Fountain Hills. She's one fast runner and it would be the last time I saw her.

Mile 5 was done in 9:58. Don't ask me. I have no clue as to why I was going so fast. Mile 6 was done in 10:06 and I was cruisin' to the half way point.

Then came mile 7. My first one over 11. I did it in 11:07. Was the first six fast miles catching up to me? I did the 10k in 1:03:47, which would be the fastest 10k I ever did. I did the 6.55 in 1:08:01. That mean't I had 2 minutes in the bank. I was hoping to do 1:10's each way.

Then came mile 8. I was trying to walk thru the water stations. I did it in 10:26. I skipped some stations and this mile most have been one of them. Mile 9 was my second mile over the 11 goal. It was done in 11:27, my slowest mile. I think it was the mile that I saw Lobster Girl. Two years ago I ran behind a girl in a lobster hat for a long time. I even took a picture and she happened to be in it. I recognized her this year. Asked if it was her and we talked for awhile. She's done 8+ marathons and can't even remember how many halfs. And she's young. I was a bit jealous.

Mile 10 was 10:43. Mile 11 was 10:58. Mile 12 was 10:27. During these miles I got to talk with a guy from New Mexico and a gal from Minnesota. We all got in the leap frog mode. When I walked, they would pass me. When they walked, I would pass. Sometimes we would chat. The gal from up north eventually passed me for good. Not sure about the guy.

But, I still had 1.1 miles to go and my legs weren't as fresh as 2 hours ago. Mile 13 came in at 10:25. I did a lot of walking, but I was running in the 9's and I was holding up pretty good.

Good enough to sprint to the finish line at an 8:50 pace. I stopped my garmin about 5-10 seconds after I finished.

It read 2:19:52.

2:19:52 is 7:17 better than I ran PF Chang's 28 days ago. It was 7:23 better than I ran London's Run 15 days ago. It is the fastest Half Marathon I've ever run.

It was a great day. No rain. Sunshine. High 40's to start. Mid 50's for most of the run. The third HM in less than 30 days. Two of them for PR's. The 11th HM of my life. 11 of the 13 miles under 11 minutes. A cool medal. A cool t-shirt.

If only the Dutchman would have shared where the gold is.

Gold Canyon Resort & Golf was a proud sponsor of this race.

London's Run Half Marathon

For two hundred yards we ran. Faster than we ran all day. We could see the finish line and as I ran faster, so did she. With a smile, I said to this stranger, "Are we racing?"

"Yes", was the only thing she said. We were moving fast, but it seemed as if time had stopped. I was now looking at her feet. Our legs in sync. With about 100 yards to go, I decided to go a little faster and with that I was gone. Crowds yelling for us. A run that had been going on for 2 hours and 26 odd minutes, boiled down to a 'duel in the desert'. This was how I finished a wonderful day of running in Queen Creek, Arizona.

This is a charity run to raise money for kids battling cancer. London was such a kid. There was a table (pictured) with pictures of all the kids. The race was held at Schnepf's Farm, an agritainment farm southeast of Phoenix proper. About 50 minutes from my home. I felt like I was going to the county fair as my car was in line to park in the field with less than 30 minutes until race time.

I had to make a decision. Run the 10k or run the half. I decided 13 miles would be good distance today and I had reason to run it anyway.

As you might know, I visit the Runner's World forum and leave posts and comments. There's a few of us Arizonans that do. One guy is AZ Nick in Queen Creek. We've discussed meeting at a race, but our race schedule never lined up. Lately, I and a few others convinced Nick he was ready to run a HM. He picked this race to run with a relative. Then, that relative bailed on him and he was preparing to run it alone.

Now Nick seemed like a nice guy, but I only knew him from RW and facebook. Do I want to run for over 2 hours with a stranger? What happens if we can't stand each other? One of us would have to suck it up and run away.

Nick called right as I was entering the porta potty. I told him I'd call him back. We finally met. I got to meet his wife and BIL. They ran the 10k. I told Nick I'd run with him and we decided to do his 4 minutes of running and 40 seconds of walking pattern for an 11 mpm pace. Nick's 4 minutes were long. And his 40 seconds were short. Seriously, we did skip some of the walk breaks and we settled into doing sub 11 mpm miles for the first 4 and then 11 to 11:35 miles the rest of the way.

The course was beautiful. Queen Creek is pretty flat. We had mountains to look at, but for the most part we were running in between farm fields. Lots of dirt roads and a few closed country roads. All straight aways, but lots of turns and in one section you go back and forth three times. The race started with us running past about 5 horses that were running in the pasture.

Nick and I talked the whole way. Kinda like when Karen and Lisa run. But, not about pedicures or tissue paper. We talked running. Jobs. Men stuff. After about 2 miles, I knew we would be running the whole race together and that it would be a pleasure.

I started running with my Phoenix Coyotes sweatshirt. Nick's a big time Coyotes fan, so he was alarmed that I was going to leave it road side. I did at the four mile point. Never to see it again. But, after the race as I was watching them award medals to the 10k winners, I looked down and saw a Coyotes sweatshirt. It was old and beat up and I'm thinking, "oh, someone has a sweatshirt just like mine. Wait, it is mine." The volunteers picked it up and my sweatshirt beat me to the finish line.

The last three miles Nick and I were trying to figure out if we could a) finish under 2:30, b) finish under 2:27:09 (my PR). I kept doing the math, looking at my garmin and telling Nick what we needed to do. Our start was 15-20 seconds late and we did a short stop so I could refill my water bottle. With half a mile left we knew that 2:30 was in the bag, but could I get a PR? As a side note, I wear my garmin really tight. The picture below is what my wrist looked like after the race. I mean 30 minutes after. I guess I plumped up during the race.


Back to the race, Nick and I had a final turn to make and then it was about 200 yards to the finish. I said let's go and started running hard. That's when I caught up to the 'lady in black' that was a willing racer.

In I came at 2:27:15 or 6 seconds over my best time. No PR today. But, a great run anyway.

Race Results

It was great weather (60's), a great location, a great time and a great volunteer group. But, what made it best was running with Nick in his first half. It's the first half marathon I've run with someone. From start to finish. We are close to the same speed and we enjoyed each other's company. I know that if I ran this today, by myself I would have been 2:34 or more. Easy. Nick and I paced each other well.

So, there it is. London's Run Half Marathon is HM #10 and the second one this month. It's the second fastest HM I've run.

At lunch I saw this license plate:

Back in the day, when Steve Prefontaine was running for Oregon and was one of the best runners in America, a rival school had t-shirts made. They simply said, "Stop PRE".

Curtis Design Studios was a sponsor of this race. Please support the sponsors that support your sport.

P.F. Chang's Rock N Roll Half Marathon

P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona 1/2 Marathon – 1/18/2009 by Lisa Ngai


This was my very first half marathon, and definitely my biggest race ever, both in terms of distance and sheer number of participants. I went to the Expo on Saturday for packet pick-up and spent at least a couple hours wandering the Expo. It reminded me of college career fairs. I picked up some free goodies and entered a bunch of contests. I also sampled a lot of food, from chocolate milk to apples to saffron yellow rice. Although there were a variety of great vendors, the only things I bought were a couple pairs of Wrightsocks and a commemorative RNR AZ pin.
On race day morning, I was lucky enough to be dropped off near the start line and didn’t have to deal with parking or shuttles or bag check. I think I got to the start area around 7:15-7:30. It was cold, but I planned ahead and wore throwaway clothing I bought at Goodwill and Old Navy. At the start area, they had water, coffee, Cytomax, and bananas. I don’t remember if they had any other food. I grabbed a bottle of water and ate the Clif Bar I brought with me.
I made a trip to the port-a-potty, took a short jog and stretched, waiting until about 8:25 to leave my throwaway clothes behind and head for my corral. The race was supposed to start at 8:30, but with the wave start it went sooo slowly. I had enough time to hop out of the corral and make another trip to the port-a-potty. It was about 9:00 by the time I officially crossed the start line.
I skipped the first water stop around mile 1 because it was way too early for me. Other than a slight ache in my left thigh, I was feeling good and the first few miles were uneventful. I guess I’ll throw in here that I really appreciated all the crowd support along the route. Even though they weren’t cheering specifically for me, it was great just to see people out there cheering. There were a lot fewer cheer squads and bands than I expected. The cheerleaders were very enthusiastic, although there was one group who was chanting something like F-O-P-E and I just couldn’t figure out what they were trying to spell. I’m indifferent on the bands. They were a nice distraction but the music didn’t do anything to motivate me. With all the crowd support, I don’t think I would have missed the bands if they weren’t there.
The next water station was around mile 3.5. All the water stations were set up with tables lining both sides of the course. The first tables had Cytomax and the last tables had water. I didn’t realize this and thought they only had Cytomax so I grabbed a cup. Which was fine, because I just waited a little longer before having my first Luna moon. I still haven’t figured out how to drink out of a cup and run without spilling, so I took a short walk break through each of the water stations. I think other than the first one, I hit every water station along the route.
Throughout the race, I was running with a decent-sized pack of people. I guess that’s what it’s like when there are over 20,000 participants. The organizers did a good job with the water stations. It was a little tricky trying to maneuver, but could have been much worse. It was impossible to avoid weaving around people completely, but the distance recorded on my Garmin was pretty darn close to 13.1.
Between about miles 3.5 and 5.5, I felt this odd tingly sensation in my left foot, like it’s fallen asleep. It’s happened before while I’m running so I wasn’t too worried, but I’m glad it didn’t last the whole rest of the race. One of these days I hope to figure out what causes it.
Somewhere around mile 5 or 6, I struck up conversations with a couple people. The first was an elderly man who was wearing a shirt stating that he had completed a marathon in all 50 states. He said that he did it between when he was 50 and 70. And he’s 79 now. I congratulated him on the achievement and said I hope to still be running when I reach that age. The second was a young woman wearing a really cute skirt with two layers of ruffles at the bottom. I asked where she got it and she said it was by Nike. She thought it was a running skirt but was actually a tennis skirt. I checked out the Nike website, and their tennis skirts are definitely cuter than the running skirts. Not fair!
I saw quite a few people wearing fun attire for the race. Before the race even started, I saw a couple guys wearing bumble bee costumes. Then during the race I saw someone in a cow costume. There was a kid around 12 or 13 wearing a bright florescent green wig who got a lot of crowd reaction. A lot of people who came together were wearing matching shirts with their group name and/or information about the cause they were running for. Reading people’s shirts helped keep me occupied on the course. I guess that’s a plus for participating in such a large race.
Around mile 10 my sporadic training caught up with me and I really started to get tired. I no longer noticed the ache in my left leg very much because the rest of me was hurting as well. My pace slowed, but I kept running except through the water stops. I’ve heard and read how the last part of the race is all mental, but never really comprehended what that meant until I was actually going through it. I forced myself to keep running slowly, although actually it wasn’t too difficult because by then it actually hurt more to walk then run.
Somewhere after mile 11, I stopped for water than pulled out my cell phone to call my boyfriend and tell him I was getting close. After that, I just focused on continuing to run to the end. I was so tired at this point that I couldn’t think about anything else but finishing. We ran across a bridge from Phoenix to Tempe, which was a nice change from the previous scenery. I smiled and waved as I passed a photographer, but I guess he didn’t catch me because I didn’t see a photo from the bridge among the rest of my race photos. There were so many people lined up along the fences on the way to the finish line. I tried to look for my boyfriend but couldn’t find him. And somehow he missed seeing me pass too! That was disappointing.
Anyway, I crossed the finish line and was so happy to be done… sort of. There was still a lot of walking ahead of me. I got my finisher medal then stood in line to have my photo taken. Somehow I missed where they were handing out the mylar blankets. Not that I really needed one because it was warm by then, but I would have kept it as a souvenir. I grabbed some water and a bottle of Cytomax. My left leg was really hurting so I wandered over to a medical tent. I kind of figured there wasn’t a lot they could do for me. I had just run 13.1 miles… of course I’d be hurting. But I did get the good advice to ingest some salt. The medical person put a packet of salt in my Cytomax. I didn’t taste it at all, but I do think it helped.
Overall, it was a great experience for my first half marathon. Although there were a few times, when it was annoying to have such a large crowd of runners, for the most part I enjoyed being out there among all the people having a fun time and aiming for the same goal. I’m glad I chose a big race rather than a small one for my first. And I’m very happy with my finish time of just under 2:24:00.

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April 2009 Races

PF Chang's Rock N Roll Half Marathon

Mile 1 (10:23):

30 minutes to start and then an air horn. Not very exciting. Candace and I are running together at a 10:30 pace. Just the speed I want, but Candace is chomping at the bit. Not that she’s a horse, just using the metaphor. Lots of runners, but plenty of room to run. Some weaving, as expected. The first mile went great. My feet would hurt all day, but I expected that. What I didn’t expect was a weird feeling in my right knee. It would go away, but later in the day it was tender.

Mile 2(10:15):

I shed my sweatshirt onto the sidewalk. Then Candace points out the guy collecting the clothes for Goodwill. Oh well. The run is going well. We are still doing 10:30 miles, but everyone once in a while I see a 9:xx pop up and I have to slow us down. It’s Candace’s first half, so I try to be the sage and not let us flame out in the first half of the race. I was glad we were banking some time. 11 minute miles was the plan and I knew I would need these seconds later on.

Mile 3(10:18):
I suggest to Candace that we take a walk break. I know I told her that was my plan before. She says she plans to maybe take a break at 4 and 8 miles only. I’m thinking, why didn’t you mention this before today? We agree to part ways and I tell her I’ll catch up later. I’m sure she thought, “right, like that’s gonna happen.”. I knew it too. Good luck, Candace and God’s speed. She finished 5 minutes ahead of me in her first half marathon ever.

Mile 4(11:01):
I did take about a 20 second break at the 5k water stop. I’ve been doing 10:xx miles and haven’t been spending time taking in any of the scenery. Just running. Said, “Go Boilermakers” to a West Lafayette runner. He appreciated it. Then a little while later I saw a central Ohio runner and said, “Go Buckeyes”. She appreciated it too. Saw a Michigan runner and resisted the idea of tripping her. This was the first plus 11 mpm due to the walk break.

Mile 5(10:20):
Back on track. Running by myself. Two years ago I remembered checking out all the buildings along McDowell. This year I don’t remember doing that as much. I still saw the weird ‘Chinese lettering’ over the street. It’s not really kanji, but everyone thinks it is.

Mile 6(11:38):
I get to the half way point and I don’t remember any of the bands, except for the Buddy Holly tribute band and the one band that was on break. I’ve passed 8 bands at this point. None of the water stops volunteers had any crazy costumes. At the full marathon last year, the creativity was great. Water stops and cheer squads had themes. Not so much on the half course this year. My pace has slowed and is up in the mid 11’s. This was to be the first of six straight miles over 11. Don’t know why I didn’t do a little self coaching at this point.

Mile 7(11:30):
Turning off McDowell onto 44th. I do remember seeing the Chinese Cultural Center. Throughout the entire race the Team In Training fans cheered long and loud. I wore my TnT shirt from the 2007 race when I was a member. Now as an Alum, I appreciate them yelling my name, which was printed on the front. This will probably be the last for this shirt. It’s a bit big on me.

Mile 8(11:16):
Gu city. This is where they hand out packets of Gu. The volunteers do a great job of yelling out the flavors. I took a vanilla and a tri berry. Ate the tri berry and I still have the vanilla. I had a mint chocolate that I didn’t eat either. For the race I had 5 pieces of Power Bar Gel Blasts. I really like them. One Gu. Half a Gatorade before the race. Seemed to be the right amount. Anyway on mile 8 the road is littered with all these gu packets, then all the water cups. I thought about picking up the packets, because Gu will give you free packets for every so many you mail to them. Gu’s attempt at cleaning up the environment.

Mile 9(11:35):
Van Buren Street. Or the hill. Think of the crookedest street in the world. You know, the one in San Francisco that all the tourist go to see that’s very steep and very crooked. The Rock ‘N’ Roll HM hill isn’t. It’s a nice incline for a quarter mile or so. It’s one of the few spots on the course where you can see the backs of runners in the distance. I ran some of it and walked some of it.

Mile 10(11:48):
The race director needed to added some mileage to the course when they had to detour out of downtown Tempe. They did this by having us go down a street and up a parking lot (Oakland A’s stadium lot). It’s a small hill with a band and bathrooms at the top. My family was at the bottom, so I got to spend a couple minutes chatting before I made a bee line for the porta potties. I do appreciate them coming out to the race to see me for less than a minute.

Mile 11(11:19):
You’re in Papago park, but on a road in an industrial section. Not very scenic. In the distance I could see ‘A’ Mountain. Or the mountain next to the finish line. It looked so close, but still 2 miles away. It seemed it wasn’t getting closer. It’s a slight incline too. I was passing quite a few runners at this point. Seemed like a lot of folks were walking and in the ‘getter done’ mode. Two years ago, I was one of them. I was cramping and miserable. I stopped at a porta potty with no success. It was probably the most miserable I have ever been running. That was then. On this day I was starting to get my groove back.

Mile 12(10:59):
Up and over the Tempe bridge. All I saw was the pavement. I don’t remember the decorative stone sides. I don’t remember the lake below. I’ve run over this bridge many times and it’s beautiful. Today it was just ground to cover and I needed to run if I wanted a PR. All day I was looking to my garmin to keep pace. I needed 11 minute miles. I’d do the math at every mile and I was ahead for the longest time. Here, on the bridge I knew that if I ran I had a shot at beating 2:27:41. My pace was slightly over 11 mpm, but I knew I had a small cushion. Not enough to walk, however.

Mile 13(10:42):
You come off the bridge and make a left hand turn onto Rio Salado Av. Lots of fans to run past. It’s my favorite part of the course. You know you are close and you can feed off the cheering. I picked up the pace and was under 10 minute miles, but had to slow down. I still had a ways to go. I kept running. I think I ran the last mile as strong as I could.

The last .1(8:40):
Off the road and into the parking lot. Lots of fans and cheering. Knowing it was going to be close, I was running in the 8’s. I was weaving around folks and I didn’t care about the finish photo or anything but the time on my garmin. I did see the gun clock read 2:5x:xx. My garmin read 2:25:xx and I knew I had a PR. As I’m walking after I got my medal, it hit me. The garmin didn’t account for my family visit or the porta potty. I must have missed the PR. What did the gun clock say. I think it said 2:59, minus the 30 minute late start and my time will be 2:29. No PR. I stopped in my tracks. NO PR! I missed it by a few minutes. I recalculated. No way I spent 4 minutes with the family and in the porta potty. It would be close and I’ll find out at home.

The Ride Home: I thought about the race and how I felt like I ran a smart even race. I was ok with it, regardless of the PR question. I planned to stop at Firehouse Subs to get a sandwich and then go watch the Cardinals play for the NFC Championship(on tv). Then I realized the sub shop has tv’s and they’ll be watching the game. I dvr’d it and didn’t want to know the score. I ended up going to Baja Fresh instead. Got home and immediately went to the computer where I learned that indeed I PR’d by 18 seconds. The fish tacos I had couldn’t have tasted better.

P.F. Chang's Rock N Roll Half Marathon

Race: PF Chang’s Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon by Mike Miller
January 18th, 2009

Well… after several months of training and hard work Kimberly is officially a “half-marathoner”. Of course we are talking about the PF Chang Rock-n-Roll Half Marathon held here in Phoenix which she had a great run that was surrounded by a whole couple days of running focused fun. I too actually ended up running the race with her. Originally Clay was going to come into town to race and I was going to be the drop-off man, but he had an injury that kept him sidelined until just recently, so I stepped in.

The whole thing was more of experience surrounding the sport of running than a race per se. In fact, I would say things kicked off on Friday. You are required to pick up your race bib and packet before the race at the fitness Expo that runs Friday and Saturday. Knowing it would way crazy busy Saturday we headed downtown on Friday lunchtime. The expo was at the Phoenix convention center and was actually quite a lot of fun. After getting our bibs and packets we walked around all the booths. It was nice because almost everything was really related to running. The biggest was all the PF Chang’s official race cloths. Sadly most of the items just did not fit Kimberly, so she ended up with just a hat and a shirt that is more to wear than run in (of course you do get a regular t-shirt in your race packet too).

Some of the highlights of the Expo was the Cliff Bar booth (hey I got a free bar and you know I live on those), the ‘nutrition designed specifically for you via a DMA profile’ booth (cool), the ‘one more mile’ booth that has a ton of cool saying running gear, and finding some rub on ibuprofen. The show was actually so big a couple of hours flew by before we got out of there.

With an early morning wake up coming Sunday, we wanted to have a chilled out day Saturday so we decided to walk around old town Scottsdale. They had a special Art Walk for the Race and I was able to have lunch with a friend and business acquaintance that was in from Portland. It was a beautiful day and I think we spent several hours walking the shops and checking out the art before heading back to our side of town for dinner at Buca Di Beppo.

When deciding to do the race Kimberly joined a running group up at our club, and the group was all getting together (I guess as is tradition) the night before the race for a dinner together. They are some great folks on ‘the team that Kimberly has really gotten to know (and me too somewhat) over the last few months. The dinner was early (for obvious reasons), we all enjoyed some ‘pump up’ conversation, carbed’ up on a ton of pasta and bread and called it a night about 7:00 or so. We got home, laid out all our stuff – which is a ton, you would be surprised – and hopped in bed with hopes of actually getting SOME SLEEP before having to wake up at 4:00 tomorrow and head to Tempe. I emphasize try to get sleep because for both Kimberly and me it seems so hard to sleep the night before something like this. Kind of like Kids on Christmas Eve I suppose. But unlike Xmas Eve, we had to run 13.1 miles starting less than 11 hours time we finally crawled under the sheets.

Luckily, we both fell asleep fairly early for us and actually got about 4 hours sleep before we decided to get up (15 minutes before the alarms went off – not sure why we even bother to set them). We pounded the oatmeal, packed the car, and did everything else and were out the door headed to Tempe about 5 minutes after 5:00am.

Seeing the race is a point-to-point race, you have to park at the end (Tempe) and then get shuttled to the starting area (Downtown Phoenix). We got parked an on the bus without much issue. After a grueling 45 minutes we finally got off the bus in Downtown. We had the stinkin’ heater seats and as cold as it was outside we were about dying of heat on the bus before she turned it off at my request (I was sweating!). Being a little spoiled we headed over to a pre arranged location called Stage Rock. Basically it was a boxing gym with attached tents near the race start. The good was it had heat, bathrooms that you could get into within a minute (versus the 30 minute wait plus around the start line) and a good place to stretch, etc. We enjoyed it for sure and I think it helped having an inside place the last hour before the race to relax and have a coffee.

Thirty minutes before the race we started heading over toward the start. I needed to use the bathroom but with 30 minute waits and (was was by then) only 15 minutes before the gun, it wasn’t going to happen. Hopefully next year they get more facilities! Anyway, with 26 ‘corrals’ (places you are assigned from the start based on projected finish times) we darn near were running to get to ours. Kimberly was in 10 and I was in 4. When we got to corral 10, we had a kiss and I reminded her (and myself) to enjoy. This was going to be a riot. Yes it was something that would be tough for old folks like us, but we trained for it and we were going to enjoy soaking it all in.

13.1 Miles, a lot of bands, a ton of smiles, and a couple hours later Kimberly and I ran into one another again at the gear pick up area where we planned to meet. Each of us were wearing our finisher medals and a couple of big grins. It was really a special experience. Kimberly said for sure her favorite race that we have done to date. I dug the vibe of Bisbee maybe a little more but this was way special for me too. We both had remembered to soak in the experience of doing our first (of what I am sure will be many more) half marathon. We smiled, slapped the hands of the young well wishers along the run and huffed and puffed our way to some pretty decent times for old folks like us :-). There is no doubt this will be an annual thing for us. So next year, put it on your calendar and come out an join us.

BTW have I mentioned: I am proud of my woman!

Race Photos

Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon

It's my favorite half marathon, period. Today, I ran the the Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon in Scottsdale for the second year in a row. Most other races, I might have stayed in bed. The weather forecast was for rain. My heel didn't feel 100% or even 80%.

But, this was the Fiesta Bowl. Bigger than Texas v. Ohio State. It's my final race for 2008. It was my final race for 2007 (funny, in 2006 my final race was the Holiday Bowl 5k in San Diego).

The start and finish line are at the Scottsdale Center for Performing Arts and they have a wonderful sculpture garden. I got a "LOVE" shot after the race.

The finish line festival is around one of the fountains. Here's a shot right after I finished the race. The race started at 7:30 am under clear skies. I didn't feel a drop of rain the entire day. It was cool, maybe 50 degrees at the most. I started with one of my famous 'goodwill throw away' sweatshirts and got to run with Karen and Christina for a bit. I, also, got to see Chad who was running the 5k. We started 2 minutes after the gun (not that we heard it). Karen said I could go on, as I was hoping to get a PR (I always do), so after running a bit with the TRC (Tumbleweed Running Club) I looked at my garmin and headed south of an 11 mpm pace.

According to garmin, the Fiesta Bowl course is 94% flat. The other 6% are speed bumps (well, the hills were not an issue). Five miles up Scottsdale rd, across Gainey Ranch (a nice subdivision) and then back home along the Indian Bend Wash (home of the SF Giants, at least in March). I love to look around as I run in new areas, so much to see. I've driven these roads, but you miss a lot at faster speeds.

Six of the first seven miles were at 11 mpm or less. Mile 7 was at 9:57. I have no ideal why. My feet felt fine and I wasn't having any issues with getting winded or tired legs. I was taking some walk breaks and conserving my energy. I knew I hadn't logged enough training miles (better to spare the heel, then train too much). But the last six miles were a bit slower.

Not to bore you with the details, but my left heel started to be a constant pain and I didn't deal with overcoming it like I should. I would run some, then walk some and watch all the people I pass, pass me by.

I ended up finishing the race around 2:32:44, five minutes slower than my PR. I'm ok with that time. It could have been much worse. I didn't stop at the McDonalds for a Big Mac around mile 10 and I didn't stop at the Circle K for a bag of fried pork rinds at my 12 (I don't really like them anyway). I made my way to the finish, just like Karen in the picture below.


Karen, got a PR and was happy. She didn't have any leg issues and you couldn't tell she had just finished 13.1 miles. She did great.

Christina ran her first half marathon, therefore she too got a PR. Two out of three TRC runners got PR's today, which ain't bad (ain't ain't a word, so don't use ain't).

Here's the TRC - Christina, Karen, Pat. The medals this year are the same as last year, but bigger and thicker. Metal must be cheaper this year.

Christina getting a back rub by the fine folks at Massage Envy.

If it looks painful, it probably is. But, I'm sure it was good for me. Here's Amber removing my bothersome left leg.

YMCA Half Marathon

That's the long sleeve tee you get and my bid number. I paid the morning of the race, so getting a two digit number was pretty cool. There's probably 300 halfers and the same number of 5k'ers running. I saw bib #1 on his way back in. I was jealous. Sort of.

This picture doesn't do the line to get into the park justice. It was a bit of a traffic jam and I was afraid I was going to be late. I made it with time to spare. At the registration table, the lady said my name and Ried, Life Strides was sitting next to her. He said Hi. I knew he was going to be there, but I was already in the zone. I wish I could of had more time to talk with Ried. I'm not conversational right before a race. Check out Ried's report, it has pics of the start.

The YMCA Half Marathon bills itself as the oldest continuous footrace in Arizona. Going on 40 years now. Wyatt Earp starts things off with a real shot gun start. Wyatt is a great great great (I don't know how many greats) grandson of the famous Wyatt Earp.

I started in the back with a gentleman that had a Aramco Houston Half Marathon shirt on. We discussed that race and how wonderful it is. He really recommends it.

This years race had about 1 mile of double track trail running. Much better than the park road to start things off. I tried to take a picture but it was still too early with not enough light. But, to see that long string of runners on the desert trail was pretty cool. We started the race at around 57 degrees. We'd finish around 75. A nice pleasant day for running.

I knew this wouldn't be a PR day. I was hoping it wouldn't be a PW (Personal Worst) day. And as you can see with the splits, the downhill and my speed work lately paid off. The first five miles were all under 11:24. I ended up eating a GU at the 3 mile mark and the 6 mile mark. My gut told me that I didn't want to eat anything else on the back end of this race. My split at 6.2 miles was 1.09.22. Just one minute and 23 seconds away from a PR for the 10k. I continued for the next three miles to get splits just over 12.

Then slowly, I took longer walk breaks and the splits crept up into the 13's and 14's. Mile 11 was the start of the hill back up to the finish. It's not a steep hill. I kept telling myself it wasn't a hill at all. But, I ended up walking a lot of it. With about 1 mile left there were two other runners near me. One lady was running her first half. I told her she need to do the Rock and Roll half in January. She looked at me like I was crazy. Do this Again?

The other lady went off course twice. We had to yell at her to keep her running on course. She kept ahead of me and would run whenever I would run. It was one of those things, if you walk I'll walk, but I want to beat you. With about 100 yards to go, I broke out into my finish kick. A full sprint. Garmin said I was under a 3 minute per mile pace at the end. I passed her, but I just like to sprint at the finish and would have even if no one was in front of me.

My final unofficial Garmin time was 2:43:25, about 6 minutes faster than last year, same race. I'm ok with that. It's a tough finish and I'm not really prepared to run a half at this point. This is all part of my training for the 'real half', The PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half in January.

So, this was a great race to do for the second time. So, in 22 months time I have done one full marathon and 7 halfs. Half Marathon #8 is early December and it will either be the Fiesta Bowl Half in Scottsdale or the Tucson Half about 1.5 hours from home. Then #9 will be the Rock and Roll Half.

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April 2009 Races

YMCA Half Marathon

YMCA Half Marathon & 5K (Volunteer) Report by Reid Axman.


I've never written a volunteer report before. This was my first time volunteering for a race. I've wanted to do one for a long time, but never got around to doing it. So, I was excited to have this opportunity, even though I had to get up super early. I was assigned to the race-day registration table. It was kinda fun to be on the other side of the table. I got to meet a lot of people, including fellow RBF, Pat. We didn't have much opportunity to talk because there were a lot of people registering, but he seemed like a real nice guy. After he walked away, I thought, "I should have gotten a picture with him." Maybe next time.

When it was time for the half marathon to begin, I happened to be bringing some supplies over and got to see the unique start. Wyatt Earp, complete with shotgun started the runners. With a BANG, they were off. It was pretty cool to see all those runners fly by! Something I'd never experienced before. I've always been one of those runners.

My next assignment was to keep the 5K runners in order as they crossed the finish line. I really enjoyed seeing the runners cross the finish and be the first to congratulate them. This didn't last too long as I was given a new assignment of running the results over to the results board. After my first run over, I was given the new assignment of official timer. And I spent the rest of my time clicking a button when the participants finished. That doesn't sound too exciting, but I really had a good time seeing everyone as they reached the finish. It was interesting to observe them. Some were completely exhausted, some were as thrilled as can be, some were relieved it was over. There were families running together. I think the youngest finisher (not in a stroller) was 5 years old. And I was surprised to see how many people were running with their dogs! I guess the "Family 5K" includes pets.

Volunteering was so much fun! There really is a lot going on that we don't really see as runners. The amount of work it takes to organize, set up, direct, take down, etc. etc. is incredible. I really respect the race directors and everyone behind the scenes for doing what they do for runners. Race day must be a crazy day for them. This was a great experience, and I can't wait for another opportunity to volunteer again. I highly recommend it!

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April 2009 Races

Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon

Dear Mr. Race Director,

Please let me take this time to thank you. It was a wonderful day for a race. The skies were overcast, but not a drop of rain fell during your half marathon. The volunteers on the course were friendly. We had plenty of water, GU2O and assorted GU flavors. The course was flat for the most part and Scottsdale always has plenty of sites to see.

My race went well too. The first few miles I ran with my Earlham College sweatshirt. Around mile 3 I dropped it off in the bushes along Scottsdale road. I hoped to pick it up later, but it was gone. If you have a lost and found and it's there, please let me know. If I never see it again, that's ok - it needed to be replaced anyway.

I ran along side two women at the start of the race. They passed me and were about 10 yards ahead until around mile 5. I passed them, they passed me, I passed them and so forth throughout the entire race. Around mile 7 I passed a guy that had a garmin that would beep every 30 feet or so. I would think it was my garmin, so I would check my wrist every time his garmin beeped. I got tired of the HR beep alert and the distance beep alert on my garmin a long time ago, so mine only beeps on the mile. I had to distance myself from him so I didn't have to hear his. But, of course, he and I would leap frog each other for miles. I passed one lady, she must have weighed 90 lbs and she was walking. I asked how it was going and she said she was hurtin' a bit. I told her to hang in there. A couple miles later, she passed me by.

Here's a picture. It looks like a sky cake with a wedge cut out.

But, it's really a building with the Arizona sky above. We've been cloudy alot lately.

My first mile was done in 9:54. I knew this wasn't going to last. I wanted to do as many 11 minute miles as I could. So, I got in to a good groove of doing 10:50 splits while I was running. My walking added to the time.

My splits:
1-9.54
2-10.31
3-11.24
4-10.47
5-11.16
6-10.45
7-11.10
8-11.54
9-11.36
10-12.00
11-11.24
12-12.59
13.1-11.23

As you can see, my splits slowly creaped up. But, for the most part I ran well. The last two times I ran I had a sharp pain in my left knee. Runner's knee. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to run today and would end up not finishing. I used my knee strap that I had bought months ago and it worked great. I did not have a single knee issue the entire day.

I loved this race because they gave out finisher's medals and the coolest tee. This is the race associated with the football bowl game. The football players may get better swag (I think they get a Wii), but I love my medal and tee.

But, the neatest thing about this race is that I set a PERSONAL RECORD for a half marathon. I ran this one in about 2:27:41. My previous PR was 2:37:21 at the Casa Grande half back in October. That's about 10 minutes faster.

After the race, I ate an apple, went to the john and headed back out onto the course. I wanted to get another 5 miles in. I ran the course backwards and got to see and encourage the extreme back of the packers. I ran out about 2 miles, saw the last runner with the sweep cyclist and saw the volunteers taken the course down. I ended up having to wait at street signals, so I turned around, caught up with the last runner and ran in with them. I almost got an extra four miles in. My legs were dead. Check out the map below. We covered a lot of Scottsdale in one big loop. When I was adding extra miles on, a cop pointed out that I was running the wrong way. It was a loop course with the start and finish near each other, but I told the cop I parked near the start and needed to go back. About 10 seconds later a confused cop yelled, "I thought the start was near the finish?"

Again, I'd like to thank you Ms. Race Director and all the volunteers of this years Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon.

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April 2009 Races

YMCA Half Marathon

This week I really tried to watch my calories and I think I got a bit dehydrated too. This morning was the 39th Annual Downtown YMCA Half Marathon and I wanted to make sure my fueling was just right. I woke up at 5:20 am and ate a peanut butter and banana sandwich. I forget who, but that's someone's sandwich of choice on race morning. You know who you are. I packed 4 gels. Three of them were Carb Booms, which I was trying for the first time. One was a PowerBar double espresso gel, which I really like. None of it helped.

As you can see on the chart, I bonked at around 9 miles. We started in South Mountain Park and immediately got on the street and left the park. The first mile and a half was downhill. It was hard to hold back and I was running some of it below a 9 minute pace. I slowed down and hoped I could conserve my energy, since I had to climb this hill on the way back.

Here's a view of some of the runners visiting vendor tents before the races.

Running out of the park you pass the horse stables.

And Scorpion Gulch. This isn't used anymore. I guess you could call it an abandoned tourist trap. About two miles into the run we got off Central Avenue and onto the canal. The asphalt was not in good shape all along the canal, but we did have great views of the mountains to the south and downtown Phoenix to the north. I ate my gels at 3, 6 and 9 miles. On the way back I got to talk with several runners. This kept me occupied, but I was feeling fatigue in my calfs around mile 9 and was reduced to walking. Two weeks ago I felt great the entire run. I think I started this race dehydrated and it just got worse until my legs felt like lead. I walked more than I ran the final three miles. Going up hill into the park you run along the open street and in car after car you see runners eating bagels, drinking Gatorade looking into your eyes and feeling your pain. They finished along time ago, I still had some unfinished business.

And since this was a training run of 14 miles, I knew I would have to do 9/10 of a mile after the finish line. I turned left into the Parks parking lot and I could see the finish line and 3 runners in front of me running, but running slow. I decided that I wasn't going to walk across the finish line. And, if possible I was going to pass the other runners. I kicked it in gear. Checking my garmin later I see that my pace went all the way down to 4:54 at the finish line. I passed two of the runners easily and the third one I passed with the official at the end pointing toward me. I passed her too.

What did I get for my troubles?

An apple and some Gatorade. My garmin said I finished 13.1 in 2:46:30. The official time was 2:49:05. Either way, far from my PR of last week.

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