2016 Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Half Marathon
I should have been nervous about running the RnRAZ Half
Marathon: I hadn’t run 13.1 miles since
before my Labrum surgery in August 2015, and I’d only begun running again
during the weekend of the 2015 Las Vegas Rock ‘n’ Roll 10k (a 2 mile walk/run
trial and then walk/running the RnRLV 10k).
This would be more than double my longest run in 2 months of training;
runners should not make big jumps in distance such as this, it often leads to injury. I felt confident that I could mitigate the
risks with a good plan to take walk breaks and to run much slower than I would
for the 10k distance I’d proven myself on.
I believed in my heart and in my muscles that my strength and
conditioning was good enough to run an entire Half Marathon at an easy pace but
my safety was more important than my pride.
There is a great deal of peace in having a plan.
Doubling my longest run wasn’t the only risk I took
regarding the Half Marathon: I decided
at the RnRAZ expo, just 2 days prior, that I was going to run both races
fueling with Glukos Energy products. I
would never recommend changing your fueling the weekend of your big race to anyone;
you just can’t know how your body will respond.
That being said (and well understood), I believed that Glukos Energy fuels
would indeed work well for me after taste testing it and running with the
tablets on the 5k. At the time of the
race I had no true compatible fuel on hand because none had passed my run tests
the last time I trained for, or ran, a marathon (RnRAZ 2015). I couldn’t stomach the various gels I’d tried
over 10 marathons; every one either made my stomach revolt or they were too
sweet and made me gag (or both in some cases).
Glukos Energy tablets and gels were so mild and light in flavor when I
tested them at the Expo I knew that it would be my next training fuel. Since I had nothing to lose and no fueling
baseline I went with the new official Rock ‘n’ Roll on-course fuel.
I knew that this half marathon would be special, for
personal and family reasons, but I never expected it to start off on such a
great note as finding out that our race day invitation included Pre- and Post-race VIP access (as well as the all-important parking pass). The Half Marathon Pre-race private VIP area
was located at The Handlebar Tempe bar, a really nice bike (and RnR runner)
friendly beer garden in historic downtown Tempe. They had the bar opened wide up for us, literally;
the back side of the bar is actually a garage door which they had rolled up to
expand the whole facility to an outdoor seating area. The outdoor section had big heating lamps
stationed all around the tables so we were comfortable almost everywhere. Rock ‘n’ Roll also brought a few Porta-potties
to a far section of the outdoor area to combat the always-present line of
runners in need. Another great perk that
the VIP access brought was having our very own Gear Check right there at the
bar. Charlene and I created a short
Periscope report for everyone interested in watching that early, I felt like
the cameraman for a roving race news crew.
Heh. That entire VIP set up put
us in a great frame of mind before the race, the buzz and movement from all of
the racers was excited and anticipatory.
I think the bar employees even wanted to go running with us but that’s
just speculation. What I know for sure
is that the comfort of the VIP area had me completely relaxed and race ready.
The VIP area was a quick walk away from the race start line
so it only took a few minutes to get there once the corrals were opened for
everyone. Charlene and I were able to
find an open spot in Corral 3 to finish warming up and soak in the race
atmosphere. I’ve always enjoyed looking
out over the sea of runners at Rock ‘n’ Roll events; the Half Marathon alone
was over 11 thousand people (that was wild to see).
Once our corral crossed the start line I felt like I’d stepped through the front door of my childhood house; many great memories, a level of comfort despite someone else owning it, and the feeling that it still welcomed me. We kept to an easy pace that wouldn’t wind us but was enough of a stretch that our muscles didn’t cramp from moving in an awkward way. I did have to break plan and pattern after the second mile as we neared the All Pro DJ stand; he was playing once of David Bowie’s songs as tribute while we were in earshot so I had to pull up in front of his stand and show him the St. Jude’s dedication bib I dedicated to the Rock ‘n’ Roll legends memory (I wore it for both of the 5k and half marathon). I yelled a quick “Thank You” for playing David’s song and caught up with Charlene to finish the run. I think that one of the nicest things about having bands and DJs on the race course is having a favorite current or old song playing as you run by, it gives you a spiritual lift even if your smiling and happy already. I believe that my sister and I were having a great time during the entire run even though her stomach betrayed her around mile 11. Even after that quick stop we were both in very high spirits, especially as we rounded the final corner of the race and saw that the race clock was still under 2 hours. I had hoped we’d be able to run the half marathon in under 2 hours but it wasn’t a priority; when I saw that we were close but still under I told my sister “Let’s beat the clock” and we both kicked up the pace to close the final meters. We finished at 1:59:08 (gun time) and couldn’t have been happier for each other. We knew our chip time would be well under that since we started in corral 3 but beating the course clock just made the completion of this goal that much more real.
We capped off the morning be exercising the Post-Race
benefits of our VIP passes (wrist bands).
We found the VIP bag check truck quickly enough and got our stuff with
no line or hassle, picked up our remix medals, and then made our way over to
the VIP area. The first thing we did
once we arrived was to go check out the massive spread of food and get me
signed up for a much needed massage. Those
two benefits alone made the VIP pass a high priority for all of my future RnR
races; the food they offered fit both my sister’s dietary needs and my crazy
picky stomach; the massage kept me from cramping up and protected my muscles
from the coming 5 hour drive home. One
of the benefits of the VIP pass that I hadn’t considered ahead of time was that
we’d have the opportunity to see and maybe even chat with some of the Elites
from the race too. While I was chowing
down a turkey wrap sandwich, Charlene made a Periscope interview with Roosevelt
Cooper, the Men’s Overall 2nd place winner (huge score). We even had the opportunity to chat with a
friend of hers while they ate lunch and I chatted with a couple of runners who
had flown in from Pennsylvania for the race.
The last thing we did before leaving the finisher’s festival
was to visit the Toyota booth, they were making personalized/custom souvenir
45rmp records for the asking. They told
me the records didn’t have anything recorded on them (Toyota jingles though the
years?), they were just for the coolness effect. Can’t argue there, they are a definite
classic Rock ‘n’ Roll look.
The long drive home was filled with excited conversation,
just as it was last year, but much more relaxing and leg cramp free. We stopped in Wikieup Arizona to stretch, eat
and drink, and change drivers. We also
took the opportunity to get our finisher pictures done so we could have
something with each of us wearing all of the race weekend medals.
I can’t thank Rock ‘n’ Roll enough for the wonderful life
memories the RnR Arizona race weekend has given my sister and I, and for giving
us the opportunity to participate in and share this experience with everyone.
*Disclaimer: I was an invited guest to the
RnRAZ, the views, reviews and opinions expressed are my own and not influenced
by the organizers nor sponsors or any other company/individual affiliated with the
event.
- Previously - The 2016 RnR AZ 5k
- Previously - The 2016 RnR AZ 5k
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