2011 PF Chang's Rock N Roll Half Marathon

I didn't run this summer. Fitness wise I gave almost everything I earned over the past four years back. I gained 42 pounds. I lost the ability to even run a half mile. I went back on my cholesterol medicine.

Then in October I ran. I walked and I ran some more. 2 miles a day, six times a week. I got to the point I could run a mile non stop. In December I was up to run/walking 3 or 4 miles, five days a week. Slow progress. I dropped from 252 pounds to 242. Then, to 236 before the race.

The new year arrived, but I wasn't ready for a 5k, let alone a half marathon. I was resigned to skipping the PF Chang's Half Marathon. Four days before the race, the media started telling stories of some of the runners. A guy that lost 70 pounds and others. I wanted to run. I wanted to run with all the others in the half marathon.

Could I? My longest run was a 5 mile run/walk. No where near the 13.1 miles I needed. If I slowed down, could I run/walk the first half and walk the rest?

I felt I could do that. It didn't matter how fast.

Sunday morning arrived and off I went. I brought my cell phone and another camera so I could document the day. I was part runner, part spectator. I took the light rail down and got to chat with several runners heading the same way. I arrived at the race about 10 minutes before the elites would start. I've always wanted to see a race start, so I didn't get in a corral with thousands of other racers. Instead I was about 50 yards in front of the start line. See the youtube start.

I watched as corral 1 and 2 went. Then I decided that I didn't really need to get in a corral, I would just start running from there. I figured if my garmin didn't reach 13.1 miles, I would do a loop on the course before I headed into the finish shoot. Wouldn't that be a site to see.

I hit start on my garmin and followed corral 2. Saw a couple Elvi's running. Saw a homeless man with shopping cart cheering on runners. It takes about 2 miles to get out of the downtown area. I stopped to take some pictures along the way. The first mile was at an 11:48 pace. A few minutes slower than in other half marathons. I was hoping I'd do a bunch of 12 minute miles to start.

Mile 2: 13:08
Mile 3: 13:17
Mile 4: 13:51

The slower miles were due to me not being ready for a half marathon. It's like I did the four day Couch to Half Marathon plan. Just not a good idea. Now, I was taking lots of pictures and posting them on tumblr while I walked.

I was having a good time, enjoying the spectacle that is the Rock N Roll race series. I had no time goal.

Mile 5: 14:28
Mile 6: 14:08
Mile 7: 13:54
Mile 8: 14:41
Mile 9: 15:13

Since I started real early I found that a lot, and I mean a lot of runners were passing me. I think I might have seen 90% of the half marathoners. I saw two guys dressed as bumble bees. I saw two gals playing air guitar to the music as they ran with blow up instruments. I saw one girl fall on her face, but she quickly got up. I saw two different runners in extreme pain. I guess they should have done my four day training program. But, each mile was getting longer. I was getting a bit more tired.

Mile 10: 15:54
Mile 11: 16:49
Mile 12: 14:48
Mile 13: 16:20

But, I kept marching on. Actually, I saw a guy in army fatigues, boots and carry a pack soldiering on. The race organizers have UPS trucks at the start that you can put your extra stuff in. The trucks drive to the finish, so you don't have to carry your stuff. So, I went up to the soldier and as we ran I pointed to his pack and told him they had UPS trucks for that. We both laughed. I told him thanks for his service, gave him a fist bump and we parted.

Mile 13 was slow in part, because I was conserving my energy for running in front of the large finish crowd. And when I say conserving, I mean walking. I walked until I was close to the finish and then for the last 1/3 of a mile I ran in at an 11: 49 pace. You can see all my data at my RunningAhead.com site.

I finished 3:11 minutes after I started for a 14:38 pace. This was my 13th half marathon.

10/25/2008	Run	ymca half marathon - south mtn	Race	13.1 Mi	2:43:25	12:29
12/9/2007	Run	Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon	Race	13.1 Mi	2:27:41	11:17
10/27/2007	Run	ymca half marathon - south mtn	Race	13.1 Mi	2:49:30	12:57
10/7/2007	Run	Casa Grande Half Marathon	Race	13.1 Mi	2:34:49	11:50
3/18/2007	Run	Valley of Gold Half Marathon	Race	13.1 Mi	2:42:53	12:27
2/18/2007	Run	Lost Dutchman Half Marathon	Race	13.1 Mi	2:43:06	12:28
1/14/2007	Run	RnR Half Marathon Course	Race	13.1 Mi	2:47:54	12:50
/16/2011	Run	RnR Half Marathon Course	Race	13.1 Mi	3:11:33	14:38
1/17/2010	Run	RnR Half Marathon Course	Race	13.1 Mi	2:49:52	12:59
/15/2009	Run	Lost Dutchman Half Marathon	Race	13.1 Mi	2:19:47	10:41
1/31/2009	Run	Random Route	Race	13.1 Mi	2:27:15	11:15
1/18/2009	Run	RnR Half Marathon Course	Race	13.1 Mi	2:25:21	11:06
12/14/2008	Run	Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon	Race	13.1 Mi	2:32:36	11:39

It was my slowest half marathon. It was slower than my fastest by almost an hour. I had a blast. I would have loved it if I walked the whole way. I won't lie to you. I would have loved running a 2 hour half even more. But, I loved getting it done.

Now to lose some more weight and get ready for the next one.

Pictures:

Arizona Vs. Michigan - The 1000 Mile Challenge

Week Three is in the books. With the help of four team members running in this weeks PF Chang's Rock N Roll Marathon and Half Marathon, Team AZ has taken the lead.


Team Michigan
(week 3, name, YTD)


17.4 Ken Davenport 49.6


13.2 Jenn Warstler 19.37


7.15 Pam Shorkey 21.25


10.7 Carol Feldmann 25.5


30.25 David Potter 88.75





Week 3: 78.7 YTD: 204.47




Team AZ


14.8 Pat M 30.2


39.3 Rio 99.3

2 Nick 2


41.2 Adam 67.2


33.5 Susie 49.5



Week 3: 130.8 YTD: 248.2



Team Arizona now has a 44 mile lead over the High Five State. Adam lead the way this week with41.2 miles and a blistering 3:44 marathon.

Here's how we did on Sunday (click on stats to enlarge):

Susan Markosian

Adam Ricklefs

Pat Monahan


Demi Rio

PF Chang's Rock N Roll Half Marathon 2010

After running the Twin Cities Marathon in October and the Tucson Marathon in December, my plan was to run PF Chang's Rock N Roll Marathon here in Phoenix in January. A mixture of too much running and a minor injury after Tucson left me less than excited about running RnR AZ.

I had already paid for the marathon, so I decided I could run the half marathon and still enjoy it. Running the full would turn into 13 miles drudgery. I did not want to limp home to the finish.

I went to the marathon expo expecting to get inspired, but that didn't happen. I got my bib number, chip for timing and cool Sugoi technical running shirt and headed for the door. I did make one pass thru the expo. Got a free tee shirt from Traveler's Insurance (let's hope they don't call me).
Sunday morning and the weather was perfect. I was in shorts and my Half Fanatics tee and ready to run. Had a real nice chat with the German teacher at Chandler High. She came up to about my elbow and reminded me of one of the teachers in a Harry Potter movie. She had spikey blonde hair and a german accent. I tell ya, if my kids went to Chandler high, I'd insist that they take german. Great lady.

It took us about 31 minutes to get to the start line. Ryan Hall had passed the 10k mark two minutes before I even got to start (guess he didn't have to worry about me beating him). My goal was to just do 12 minute miles. Not a real big goal, but I did want to finish injury free too.

The first five miles on my garmin show 10:51, 11:16, 11:48, 11:57 and 12:05. I was up about 2 minutes and knew I would need those minutes later. Later came quickly.

The next four miles were all between 12 and 13 minutes with mile 10 being at 14:31. Thirteens and fourteens would be seen the rest of the day. I finished at 2:49, which was about 10 minutes more than I wanted.
As I was taking a walk break I heard this lady behind me on a cellphone. She told her friend that she was at mile 8 and Pat Monahan just passed her. I turned around to see this lady in an Ohio State University shirt. I slowed down and asked her if she said Pat Monahan. She said, Matt Monahan. Turns out there was a Matt Monahan running in the same race. Turns out I ended up with a faster time than him. Another Monahan from Apache Junction ran the marathon in 2:08, so we aren't all slow.

After the race I got my medal and an orange (it was awesome) and headed over to the marathon course. I was there to see some of my running friends. I knew that Adam from Gilbert would be done already. Congrats Adam. But, I thought I might see Susie from Queen Creek, Eileen from Mesa or Lisa and Karen from the Tumbleweed Running Club. I could have seen Demi from Scottsdale, but I don't really know her that well and she would have been easy to miss. I don't know how I missed Susie. It might have been when I was laying in the grass wishing my feet felt better.

I slowly walked down University Drive figuring I would see Lisa and Karen and I could run with them back towards ASU. I was getting hungry for lunch and no angels (that's what we call TRC women runners, men are called Charlie). I passed two bands and Margaritaville, the water station manned by the Jimmy Buffet fan club. I really like that water stop. As I walked I looked down on the ground to find a sweaty $20 bill. A runner must have dropped it. I was that much richer. I walked further and came to a spot across from a McDonalds. Do I dare cross the street and traffic to get a burger and miss Lisa and Karen. Yes, I was hungry. And I had the money. I watched out the window and hurried back to the running side of the street. Before I could take a second bite of my Big Mac, Karen appeared. She said Lisa was ahead of her. I missed her for a burger. I, offered Karen a bite. She declined and told me how she couldn't hold anything down. I kept eating. A couple runners saw my meal and were slightly jealous. I offered them a bite too.

I walked with Karen all the way to the finish, then snapped this photo of the two new Marathoners.


The day was over and I headed home. Below are pictures of my new shirt and medal.

Here's all three Rock N Roll Half Marathon Medals. The first one is from the 2007 Hm that I ran in 2:47:54. The middle is the 2010 race in 2:49:52 and on the right is 2009 run in 2:25:21.

So, now I have to plan my 2010 race calendar. Not sure what I want to do, but I'm thinking I want to run the Lost Dutchman Half Marathon next month and the Pat's Run (Pat Tillman) in April.

Rock 'N' Roll Mile by mile

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 Arizona

I didn't want to miss the game, so I decided not to run.

Really? In the age of DVR's? I ran.

I ran for a Personal Record. I got a shiny medal.

I wear my TnT shirt for all the RnR AZ races. This shot was taken with my camera phone.

2:27:23 (2:25:21 Garmin time).

18 seconds better than my best.

The 2 minute and 2 second difference was due to visiting with my wife and kids at the 10 mile mark and a short potty break. My garmin stops when I stop.

The day started off at 7 am with me meeting friends at the shuttle stop. Karen, Lisa, Candice, Caroline, Mary (Denver), Christina and I loaded up on a old school bus to head toward downtown Phoenix. The emergency alarm was going off for most of the trip.

We got down to the start and I got to meet Eileen and her dad. He came out from Boston. Then we all went our separte ways to the various corrals. Candice and I started in 16 and about 30 minutes after the first group took off. The leaders were probably close to half way at that point.

Candice and I stayed together for the first 5k, then as I took a quick walk break she moved on. Not to be seen again. She ran a great first half marathon and beat me by 5 minutes. Below are my splits. Not counting the 2 minutes of non movement. My best mile split was 10:15, my worse was 11:48. Usually I throw in a couple 12's or 13's, but not today. I ran 94% of the race, with only 12 minutes of walking .78 miles.

10 Things I liked about today

1. The weather was great. Cool to begin and I didn't think it got to hot at the end.

2. Lots of friends. I even saw Geri from softball. But, I missed CJ.

3. My last 3.1 miles were progressively negative splits.

4. I PR'd

5. all the Team In Training fans.

6. Seeing my family at the 10 mile mark.

7. Completed my 9th half marathon.

8. I wanted to average 11 minute miles and ended up with 10:58 (not counting the pit stop).

9. Feeling pretty good six hours later.

10. The Cardinals game was awesome and they are going to the Super Bowl.

A Marathon Contest

15 Marathon Events in January

How many can you name? I use the Runner's World January 2009 magazine, that I just got in the mail.

Viv, down in Texas asked for some motivation. So here's some Arizona style.

A Race within a race contest, right here on Pat's Blog. If you are running in a marathon or half marathon in the month of January you can take part in our race. This way Houston Marathoner's can compete with Disney Marathoner's. There'll be two categories. One for 26.2 miles and one for 13.1. I'm doing the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon right here in Phoenix on January 18th.

Here's the Rules:

1. Enter before january 1 by emailing or commenting on my blog.


2. Specifiy which race you are doing, when and what distance.


3. Train Hard


4. At the Expo, buy something under $5. If you get something for free at the expo, make sure it's really cool.


5. After the race I will link your race report and let everyone know what you bought.


6. Chip times at the race website will count as your official time. Therefore, I will need your real name for this contest.


7. The fastest runner will get to pick first from our collection of goodies. Everyone wins something.


8. You will be responsible for mailing your gift to the person who selected it.


9. Marathoners pick from the marathon stash. Half marathoners pick from the HM stash.


10. These rules can change. Like if someone buys an IPOD, then I'll change the rules, so that I'm the winner of said item.

Eat That Frog - The Movie

My broker (real estate) like to motivate us. Usually, I say 'whatever' and hit delete. I thought this was cute and very helpful.

How can you run across the London Bridge, but never leave the country?

By running the Havasu Half. Way back when, the founder of a chain saw company bought the London Bridge. Took it apart and reassembled it in Lake Havasu, AZ. It was rebuilt on dry land. They then dug a channel for the Colorado River under the bridge, making an island and a tourist trap.

Anyway, that's one of the races I want to do for 2009.

It's the Ceiling of The Lone Butte Casino.

The picture from yesterdays post is some artwork on the ceiling of our newest casino. I went over to take some pictures. The casino took $4 from me. It was the biggest gambling loss of the year for me.

Deck the Halls'

No time to run today, as we celebrated the season by putting up the Christmas tree and decorating the house. Hope all of you are enjoying this joyous time of year.

PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon

I just read this about the 2009 PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon and Half Marathon here in Arizona.



ChronoTrack Timing System

State of the art ChronoTrack systems will be used to record participants’ times at the start, at certain splits along the courses and at the finish. The ChronoTrack system uses a disposable tag, called a D Tag, which allows you to walk away from the finish without the need to have your tag collected.
The ChronoTrack timing tag (D Tag) will be attached to your race bib. The D Tag will be labeled with a number that matches your race number. When you pick up your bib, please make sure these numbers match, and also verify that YOUR name is printed on the bib you are issued*. Proceed to the Solutions Table if any of the information is incorrect.
Prior to the race, you must remove the tag from your number and attach it to your shoe. Please follow the instructions provided in your registration packet.
PLEASE NOTE: All participants in this race must wear the ChronoTrack timing tag on your shoe in order to have their times recorded. ChampionChip timing equipment will NOT be used at this race; ChampionChip timing chips will NOT record your time.
*If you register for the race before online registration closes (midnight, January 11, 2009), your race bib should have your name printed on it.

Visit chronotrack.com for more information.

It's official, I've signed up for the 2009 PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon. It's $75 until September 15th. Then it goes up $15. Plus, I used the code in Runner's World Magazine and saved another $10. So, it only cost me $65 plus the Active handling fee. If you need the code it is RWHIGH2 and it's good until October 31st.

My Running Schedule

Here's my schedule for the fall running season up to the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon in January.

9/20/2008 - Air Force Anniversary 5k at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson.

10/25/2008 - YMCA Half Marathon in Phoenix.

11/9/2008 - Phoenix 10K & 5K in downtown Phoenix.

11/27/2008 - Mesa Turkey Trot

12/14/2008 - Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon.

1/18/2009 - PF Chang's Half Marathon

My First Marathon - PF Chang's Arizona Rock and Roll Marathon

Mile 1236, Tempe, AZ - The plan was to get up, eat some oatmeal and get out the door by 6 am. I put out my gear the night before and the morning went smoothly. I planned to park south of the university and get on a shuttle at University and Rural. I figured it would be less crowded than were I got on last year. Last year I was in a shuttle line with over 300 other runners. This year, maybe 30 of us. I sat next to Jim. He was running his first half marathon. Jim graduated from ASU back in 1968, which puts him in his 60's somewhere. We got to talk about some early Phoenix history and a little bit about the race itself.

Guess who signed my race bib?

My son says my bib number is binary 20. I like it too. I even passed a building with the address 1010. I should have gotten a picture, but it was early in the race. You'll notice I took more pictures later when I was walking more. I used my Treo mobile phone for the pictures.

The Start and miles 1-5

It was 20 degrees warmer than last year. It felt great. I had my running gloves and my Air Force sweat shirt that I bought at Goodwill. I left it at a water station about 3 miles into the race. The first 5 miles heads north away from downtown. Lots of Team In Training runners with their state names on their backs. I saw and talked with a bunch of them from Wisconsin, NYC, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Utah and Iowa. I wish everyone had their state on their back. It's a great ice breaker. As we headed north, one fan had a sign that said, "I thought Obama was running?". I didn't think of it quickly enough, or my reply would have been, "He's running, he's right behind Hillary." The RnR marathon is full of bands and spirit squads. I tried to give high five's to all the spirit squads. They liked it and since my name was on my shirt and I got to hear their appreciation. "Way to go Pat" "You can do it Pat" "Pat, lookin' good". I didn't worry about finishing, pace or anything at this point, I was just enjoying.

Miles 6-11

We turned onto Missouri Avenue to head east. I was still feeling great. All my splits were under 12 minutes per mile for the first 10 miles. I was under 1 hour and 52 minutes at the 10 mile mark. My hope was to be under 2 hours. 8 minutes is huge and I knew I would need it for later in the race. We crossed over the freeway (51) and many of the cars driving under were honking. I probably heard two dozen horns and it was a short bridge.

And the bands played on. You don't get to hear a full song and you hope their not taking a break when you run past. But, it's a great boost to hear them. Even, if you don't like their style of music.


Near mile 8 you get to see Camelback Mountain for the first time. You know you have to run past it and you see it constantly for the next hour or so.

Miles 12-19

Right as I got to the 12 mile mark, Mike Aish of New Zealand crossed the finish line. He won the race, but I kept running. In my training runs I always started to slow down around mile 11 and today would be the same. After 10 miles of sub 11:55 miles or better, my next three miles were over 13 minutes each. If I was just running the half, I could concentrate on leg turnover and finish strong. With the full, I was just happy to be moving forward. We entered into Scottsdale and I started thinking about fellow bloggers. Katie and Moon running in the Disney marathon today. Irene and Darrell in California, Jeff and Dan on the east coast, Firefly and Runnergirl from last year's race, Cheryl & Emil, the newest runners. The Wisconsin Wimmers. Eric, Chad, Lisa, Karen from Arizona. And the gang I got to meet at the Saturday night dinner. You all inspire me when I read your blogs and it helps to think of you when I'm running.

At mile 14 the marathon course is within a half mile of the half marathoners. I wish I would have thought of this when I was running. But I reached mile 14 at 10:19 am. Karen, my running buddy was at mile 7.5 right around that time. I wouldn't be surprised if Lisa, Marcy and others were around there. Oh, so close. The good vibes would have helped. I heard another runner say she stopped in the medic tent to get some Tylenol. Why didn't I think of that. Right before mile 18, I saw the medic tent. I dropped in and asked for Tylenol. They asked me how I was doing and if it was for general pain. I overheard them telling a women that she couldn't leave the tent yet until she had some more salt water. I quickly said I was feeling great, just general soreness. They marked my bib and gave me my meds and I bolted out of there.

This is a picture of me bolting. I saw a young lady walking so I asked her how she was doing. She forgot her knee strap and her ankles were bothering her. I suggested the medic tent for Tylenol and that they might have a strap for her knee. You know those rubber things they tie around your arm for giving blood. Maybe one of those. I then asked her to snap a couple of pictures of me running. She did and then I'm not sure where she went. We were in downtown Scottsdale at this point.

Mils 20-25

I got a call from Amy that they would be right before mile 20. It was great to see my wife and kids, Tyler and Emily. We chatted for a bit and I got to fill my water bottle with Gatorade G2. I was putting NUUN in my water up to that time and I think I did a great job hydrating and keeping my electrolytes in check. I did stop sweating around the half way point. Salt was starting to cake on my face and clothes. My hat that was drenched in sweat for most of the run was drying out. The second have of the race, I used the water stops for pouring 3-4 cups of water on my hat and head. Each time I did I would think about the Chicago Marathon and running out of water. No chance at this race, it was very well stocked.

It was great to see my family. A big boost. I ran the next mile in 12:18, 2 minutes faster than any other mile in that part of the race. My family, the Tylenol and the DQ all must have contributed. I've gotten many blizzards at this DQ.

But, today I ran past it and two McDonald's. Yes, I counted. The second McDonald's I saw a runner come out of it.

I noticed a lot of folks walking once we were in the 20 plus mile range. I would run for .1 to .2 miles before I was walking again. In that time I would pass a dozen people or more. Some of them would leap frog me when I was walking, but a lot of them were walking to the finish. I talked with one guy about the TnT program for a few minutes. I saw another guy with a 50 States Marathon tee on. I learned that he has done all 50 states. Pretty impressive.

It was a flat course. a few minor rises. I can't remember any downhills. Except at the bridge. This is the rise, not bad except it was around mile 23. As you cross over the bridge you look west and you can see ASU and Sun Devil Stadium. It's 3 miles away and you know that's the finish. At this point my legs, knees, hips are hurting. I've run further than I've ever run and everyone around you is just marking on. It's quiet, not like the start when everyone's talking. Almost eerie. We all just kept moving forward. Some jogging, most walking. No one running.

The Final Mile

I held off thinking about my mom and dad until I got to the final mile. My parents are in their 70's and still doing pretty well. My dad worked a lot of years in the restaurant business. He managed everything from supper clubs to breakfast joints. Lots of long hours and back breaking work so that my sisters, brother and I could have a better life. He didn't get to spend as much time with us kids as I get to with mine. I realize that I'm a lot more fortunate that I even have the time to run and be with my wife and kids. Thanks for everything dad. My mom is going into the hospital today to remove her gall bladder. She doesn't seem to be worried about it, but I am. At a very early age my mom moved from her home in Japan to live in America with 2 babies and no one besides her husband and his family. She taught her kids to be good and work hard. Thanks mom and I pray all goes well today. Mile 25 started with a detour around a water main break. We ran through the Salt River Project compound.

Ran down University past a water station manned by pirates.

And then I get a call from Lisa and Karen, my running buddies with the Tumbleweed Running Club. Yeah, it's just the three of us. Lisa yells, "we see you." I hang up and take a picture. Then we run. Karen tries to keep up, but her legs were killing her. She wishes me well and falls back. Karen, thank you. That short run with you really did help. I really appreciate it. It means a lot. Lisa and I went further. She carried me all the way to the end of mile 26. Lisa, thank you. I'm sure the runners we passed were amazed that someone could be running after 5 1/2 hours. I didn't really realize we were running at that point. I said before that I was Charlie and they were angels. And today they both were.


Lisa told me good luck and quit running. Amy, Tyler and Emily were somewhere near the finish line. I ran past them, but didn't see them. What I did see was a shadow. Someone was trying to pass me at the finish. The crowd was cheering us on and damn if I was going to let someone pass me. I forgot about the 26 miles and it was down to a race of .2 miles. I ran harder than I did at any time that day. My best mile split was 10:25 during mile 2. I was running at a 8:17 pace at the end. I ended up passing two other people and not letting anyone pass me. Thanks for pushing me their at the end. I wish I would have turned around and gotten your race number.

The Conclusion

My official time is 5:51:34. I finished 5738th out of 6453. The first part of the race was a nice steady 10-12 minute pace miles. It was great. The middle miles were fine and I got to talk with a lot of fellow runners. The final miles were hard. I felt like I was running on a bed of nails and I had some toe issues. The medics at the finish asked if I was ok. I said I was, when actually I was fantastic. I was overwhelmed with emotion. A bit chocked up. I got my medal. I shook hands with a fellow runner that just finished his 5th Arizona RnR. I got my picture taken. Met up with my family and drove home.

Today I sit with sore legs and a happy feeling that I got my first marathon done. Time to start planning marathon number 2.

Thank you, everyone for supporting me.

Calling all participants of the AZ Rock and Roll Marathons

Yes, there's a blog just for runners, volunteers or fans of the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathons. Visit it if you'd like to lurk or post.

I've seen several other races, both Ironman and marathons have a blog like this. It would be a great way to connect and we might even end this blog with a Pasta Dinner the night before the big race. Well, I guess we'll end this blog with a bunch of inspiring race reports.

So, check it out. I hope to meet a lot of you fellow PF Chang runners.

Let's Play Two

Softball Nite

Last night was softball night. We started playing in the rain, but that quickly ended. We played a really bad team and won two games by the 20 run mercy rule. I walked, tripled and walked my first three at bats. The rest of the night I spent trying to hit the ball as far as I could. I don't have a lot of power, so I end up not doing real well. I flew out to the left fielder a few times. It was very humid, by the end of the night my grey tee was totally drenched. Fun was had by all. At least on our side.

Random pictures. My first car. A 1982 (?) Toyota Corolla hatchback. I took over my brothers payments on this beauty. I had just graduated from college and it's in the parking lot of my first apartment in St. Louis, MO. Did you know? I've never owned a brand new car. Now, we've bought new cars for my wife, but never for me. That's ok, I'm not really into cars and I'm pretty frugal too. (Green Alert: buying used is being green, isn't it?)

Sculpture found in the parking lot of a Gilbert, AZ office park. It rotates in the wind. Pretty cool.

Training for a full marathon.

My exercise consecutive days is now up to 50. My training for the fall will revolve around the various 5k's I have planned and will also focus on the PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon in January. My plan is to test my left knee with my long runs. If I get through those 12, 14 and on up to 20 milers ok, I will do the full marathon. If the knee acts up again, I will do the half. This will be my first full marathon. 13.1 miles has been the furthest I've run to date.





Here's me with Clark Kent at last years Rock and Roll half marathon. Rumor has it he turned into Superman around mile 10.

If he really is Superman, why didn't he run the full marathon?

Anyway, I'm hoping I can be a bit of a Superman this year. (Green alert: The ND Irish sweatshirt I had on was bought at Goodwill, left at the 3 mile mark of the marathon and should have been donated back to Goodwill)

*SparkPeople please leave a comment. I'd love to know you visited.

Running Schedule

Here's my tentative running schedule for the next few months:

September - the Run to Remember 5k on the 8th, I Did a Run 5k on the 16th, Montezuma Castle 10k on the 29th.

October - Cactus Cha Cha 3 mile Trail Run on the 13th, Race for the Cure 5k on the 14th, Ghost and Goblins 5k on the 28th. I know two of them are back to back days, but they're short races.

November - New Times 5k on the 11th, Dobson Ranch 5k on the 12th, Las Vegas Turkey Trot 5k on the 17th.

December - Half Marathon time. I am either doing the Fiesta Bowl Half in Scottsdale or the Tucson Half in Tucson.

and then in January I will be doing the Rock and Roll half marathon again.

Anyone want to come out to Arizona and run, I'd love to see you.

Marathoners Everywhere

I went to a friend's 50th Birthday party last nite. I had a great time because it was the first party after I ran a half marathon. I got to brag a bit.

Then today, at church we're leaving and the guy in front of me says to another couple, "So, did you run the marathon?" It turns out that there was a couple sitting in front of me that ran last Sunday and the couple behind me ran too. That makes 5 runners in three pews.

Today's Run: 4.21 miles in 48:05 at a pace of 11:25. I cut the run short because the rain was coming. It rained all morning and we had a 4 hour window in the afternoon before the rain returned. I am so happy it rained this week and not last week.

The Pictures are In

The pictures are in. At the finish my time was 3:17:43, which makes my chip time even better.

2:48:57

To view the pictures go to http://www.asiorders.com/ and look for bib # 39364. For some reason, you might have to copy and paste. Blogger won't allow links to this company.

I'm moving on up

I checked the PF Chang's RnR Marathon website again by clicking any of the blue in the last post and my time improved. I now finished in 2:49:54. If this keeps up, by next month I might be under 2 hours.

I, also found out that I finished in 14,525th place out of 20,245 runners in the half. I finished 815th out of 977 men between the ages of 45-49. I was the 6359 man to cross the finish line.

Half Marathon Official Results

It's still a Personal Record:

Bib FName Age Sex ChipTime ClockTime Overall SexPl DivPl pace
39364 Pat Monahan 45 M 2:51:35 3:20:20 14413 6339 816 13.05

The official numbers aren't as good as I remember. But that's ok because it's not about the number, as much as it is about the experience. And the one thing they can't change is that I covered 13.1 miles. Except for the corner I took on the inside of the cones. But, hey I also ran on the outside of a few corners too.

Notice the difference in chip and clock time. That means, for anyone that hasn't run a chipped time race before, that I didn't pass the start until 28:45 after the gun sounded. So, when I started the leaders where around mile 5 or 6. It would have been a better race, if I would have gotten the 6 mile head start.

Running: Yesterday was a rest day. I'll run a bit later today.

John "The Penquin" Bingham: He's got a column in Runner's World and I've read his book, "The Courage To Start" His big motto is, "The Miracle isn't that I Finished, The Miracle is that I had the Courage to Start".

TnT had him speak at REI last night. About a dozen of us were there. I expected to see a table with books, tapes, marathon info and other stuff to buy. John shows up with none of that. He didn't push anything. He mentioned his marathon in Tucson. He answered all our questions and was very cordial.

At the end, TnT held a raffle for two free entries in the Valley of Gold Half Marathon that is to be run on 3/18 in Tucson. He drew the first number and then said, "what the heck, let's let everyone go for free". They then passed out about a dozen free entries. Thanks, John.

I planned earlier in the day to run this race, so the entry fee waived is a great deal. I'm excited.

2007 PF Chang's Rock and Roll Half Marathon

I am now a half marathoner. I ran my race and I'm very pleased with the results. I believe I finished around 2:47. My goal was to finish and enjoy the race. I did. I then wanted to finish under 2:50, which I did (I think) and finally I wanted to finish under 2:40. I missed this, but that's ok.

My day started after not getting much sleep last night. I woke at 5:30 am and left the house around 6:10 am. I had a bagel and planned to eat something at the start line food court. I dropped my car off at an ASU (Arizona State) garage, which no one was using. Walked to the north side of the finish area to the other parking, which everyone was using. This must have saved me half an hour. I then got in line for the bus ride to downtown Phoenix. There must have been 1000 people in front of me, but the line went fairly fast, until they ran out of buses. Then we waited. I was talking with two guys from the National Guard cross country team. I didn't even know they had sports in the National Guard. These guys were freezing there butts off. It was near 30 degrees and the sun had not come up yet. I wore sweats over my sweats, a full winter coat, a sweatshirt, gloves and a stocking cap. I planned to have most of that stuff transfer ed by UPS from the start to the finish. It worked out well. The gloves, were mismatched pair that I have had for over 10 years. I ditched them around mile 6. The sweatshirt was a Notre Dame model that I picked up at Goodwill yesterday for $2.48. And that included an older t-shirt from the 2005 Rock and Roll Marathon. Both looked brand new. At Goodwill I met another family that was doing the same thing I was. Buying throw away clothes for the RnR.

We got to the starting line a half hour before the gun. I had enough time to drop off my bag at the UPS truck, go to the bathroom and get in line. I was in corral 19. It took me half an hour to get to the start line. So, when we started, the leaders were probably at mile 6. No first place for us today.

The first 2 miles are through downtown Phoenix. It starts out at the state capitol and winds through a rough part of town. There was about 6 people with signs proclaiming that if you don't follow God, you gonna go to hell. It was interesting to say the least.

Boy, there were a lot of runners. We turned onto McDowell. A lot of people were chatting and having a good time at this point. I was enjoying all the atmosphere and before I knew it I saw the 5k sign and realized that I had run the entire time. I have never run a complete 5k before and I felt great, but it was time to take off the ND sweatshirt. I really liked the deal I got at Goodwill, so it was a bit sad to leave my new sweatshirt behind. I left it spread out on an unused drink table, so that ND fans could see it and be motivated by it.

I walked thru this drink stop and tried the Accelerade sport drink. I think I'll stick with gatorade. So, now I was running with only my TnT shirt and sweats. I had forgotten that I had put my name on my shirt. At this point a lady cheered me on by my name. I staired at her, trying to figure out how she knew me. I'm a little slow, but I figured it out. My name is on my shirt, dummy.



When I got tired I played a game. This was the first run I tried this and it worked pretty well. I would try to name three cities in each state. Some states I can name lots of cities, but the dakotas and Wyoming are tough ones. Anyhow, it kept my mind busy for a while. The other thing I did was ask fellow runners where they were from. I met people from Canada, Kansas City, Arizona, Boston, New York and a few other places.

I also, got a photo of me and Clark Kent while we were waiting to start the race. A fellow racer was dressed in a suit with a fedora that said, C. Kent, Reporter. He said he had Superman Tights on and that he would transform into the man of steel around the 12 mile mark. Pictures to follow soon. I got a picture of me and the Corona Del Sol Spirit line. That is the high school my son goes to. I actually used a disposable camera to take the pictures, so we'll have to wait for them.

At mile 9 I got to see my family. My wife, Amy. Son, Tyler and daughter, Emily were there to root me on. We then raced to the finish. I ran there before they could drive, park and walk to the finish line. Seeing them gave me a boost to the 10 mile mark.

Somewhere around the 10 or 11 mile mark I felt less than perfect. I made two stops at porta-potties, but that did not make me feel any better. I believe I lost a bunch of time between mile 10 and 12.

But all was not lost. I got my second wind as I started over the Tempe Bridge. Tempe Bridge is beautiful and it actually goes over water. A rarity in Arizona. The final mile I was passing people and I had a lot of energy. I believe I was doing about an 11 minute pace, which is pretty good for me.

At the finish I was all alone. There was a group in front of me about 10 yards and a group behind me about 10 yards. I was all alone for the finish photographer and the announcer said my name, mentioned how wonderful Team in Training was and asked me if I was a first time marathoner. With raised arms I said yes and the crowd gave me a pretty good cheer. Unfortunately, my family was still a bit a ways from seeing me. But, they did hear the announcer.

What impressed me most about the race, was the large number of Team in Training coaches and support people on the course. I bet there were TnT people cheering us on every half mile. I'll give you a report on my TnT experience later. But to say the least, the race day support from TnT was phenomenal. I will let them know about what a wonderful job they did today.

TnT also had a huge tent at the finish with drinks, food and seating. But do you know what I liked best at the finish? Spenco, the footcare people gave everyone a pair of slippers. Nice rubber slippers that felt soo much better than my running shoes at that point. I have spenco insoles now and I will continue, because I'm sold on Spenco now.

All in all, Elite racing did a fabulous job with the RnR Marathon here in Arizona and I'm now thinking about doing some of there other races. That is once, my legs and feet feel better.

Weather: We started the race at 30 degrees and finished at 41. The race organizers must have left the bananas out last night, because they were still pretty frozen at the end of the race. The Arizona Republic reported that it was the coldest low in Phoenix since 1990, or before I lived here. So, on the coldest day I've ever experienced in Phoenix, I got to run a half marathon. I actually felt fine until mile 11 when I felt cold and sick. But that was temporary.

Official Time: Elite Racing had some equipment malfunctions. I did not get a split for the 5k or the finish. I saw the clock when I finished read 3:17:xx. I know I started about 30 minutes after the gun. So I know my time is around 2:47-2:48:xx. As soon as I get my finish photo, I should be able to figure out my official time. My split for the 10 k was 1:11:11. 18 seconds off my PR from the Mesa Turkey Trot. My split for the 10.2 mile mark (I don't know why this distance) was 2:09:xx.

2007 PF Chang's Rock and Roll Marathon Health Expo

On Friday night Amy and I went to the Health Expo at the Convention Center in downtown Phoenix. It was well organized with virtually no lines to get my bib, t-shirt and goodie bag. Lots of vendors and stuff to buy. It was exciting because this is my first big race. It's billed as the World's largest Marathon and Half Marathon. They are expecting up to 39,000 runners in both races.

I, also got to meet Runnergirl (Jennifer) and MNfirefly (Denise). Amy and I met them at Seamus McCaffrey's Irish pub downtown. The four of us had a great time talking about running, blogging and life in general. I will have a picture of the three of us runners soon.





I'm 39364 in the race and will start in corral 19. Hopefully, I will get to the start line before the winner finishes. I plan to take my camera on the run, so expect some more photos. I consider this more of a tour, than a race.

Nike + Problems

I dropped my daughter off at church youth group and planned a run in the neighborhood near our church. It's called Dobson Ranch and it is a master planned community built in the early 1980's. It has several lakes and I ran around the north lake. It was dark, so I didn't see much, but I enjoyed the run.

I started my nike + on my ipod but I didn't get voice prompts. The music played, the time and mileage got recorded. I just didn' t hear the lady tell me my pace and when I reached each mile. When I got home, all the data was lost. I hope this is only a one time problem. We'll see.

Before I lost the data, I did look at it. From memory I did about 4.8 miles in 1 hour and 1 minute and some seconds. I ran a bit better, but in the middle of the run I walked for almost half a mile. I don't know why. I was just enjoying the walk.

This time next sunday I will have done my first half marathon. Before than I will attend a TnT meeting on Wednesday, met several fellow bloggers on Friday, gone to the health expo and carb loaded with the Tnt'ers on Saturday night. On Monday I am going to hear The Penquin, John Bingham speak to a group of TnT'ers.

It'll be a perfect week, especially if the Buckeyes win big tomorrow night. (I grew up in Ohio and my heart is still with my Ohio teams: Buckeyes football, Bengals football & Reds Baseball)