The Humana Rock and Roll Half Marathon 2019

The Humana Rock and Roll Half Marathon 2019

Flat Me

The half-marathon start line is very close to the ASU bridge over University Drive in Tempe. 

Packet pick up was fast and easy. Held in the Phoenix Convention Center. There were a lot of vendors to check out after getting my race packet and run shirt. 

The morning of, I looked online to find the parking for the event. With the half marathon distance starting at a different location than the full distance marathon. I was able to navigate getting to the start line with not problem. There were drop bag trucks very well marked to take your belongings/warm clothes to the finish line. With the race starting a 7:50, I stretched and warmed up at about 7:40, thinking that would be enough time. 

I got to the proper coral I seeded myself in with plenty of time. By the time I crossed the start line it was about 45 minutes after the 7:50am start time. With all the different waves, I could have relaxed, off my feet and stayed a little warmer before turning in my drop bag. 

The course was a big loop with very gradual if any inclines.  The course was well marked, as well as the mile markers. The Rock and Roll marathon has bands on stages every mile or so to keep you motivated. It’s always fun to listen to the different music groups as you pass by their stage. 

The first few aid stations were stocked with plenty of water.  It wasn’t until mile 5 they started offering gels and Gatorade Endurance, along with water. 

About two miles out from the 13.1 mile course, a lot more spectators were lining the course. 

At the finish I was handed my medal and walked through a great swag/support line getting nutrition and drinks. 

There was a main stage with the headline performers performing. There was a great energetic party atmosphere with many food and product vendors in Tempe Beach park. 

I loved the aspect of the app the race series has created. From getting information at your fingertips to keeping track for social media followers and family and friends to monitor your progress. 

They also have section on their app where you can listen to music to your preference based on beats per minute to keep you energized around the course. 


Disclaimer: I received an entry to the Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona to review as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews

Useful tips and tricks for having a great training swim

Four things that I find super useful when swim training.  Although summer swimming season is halfway over, these four items can be used when swimming at indoor pools too. 

Baby Shampoo, Rubbing Alcohol, waterproof music player, corrective lens goggles.  

First off baby shampoo.  No, not to wash your hair with before or afterwards. Baby shampoo is great for helping keep your swim goggles from fogging up.  Place a small drop of the baby shampoo in each lens, rub it around coating the entire inside. Let it sit for a few seconds then rinse out with cold water.  Don’t rub the lenses on the inside when rinsing, just use the force of the water coming out of the faucet.  With the “no-tears" properties of the shampoo, if you miss rinsing a little bit of it, it’s no big deal.  I have to use this method when I start having trouble with them fogging up.  Give it a try. 

Second on the list, is a good pair of swim goggles.  There are some corrective lens swimming goggles out there but the best I have found and love are Barracuda USA goggles.  They make non-corrective lens goggles as well. Although much of lap swimming is staring at a line on the bottom of a pool, clear vision is still important. 

As a triathlete, good vision in an open water swim is crucial to staying on course and exiting the water. This is sometimes hard enough as it is but add having difficulty seeing and becomes a little harder.  Exiting the water in a triathlon and running to your bike can sometimes feel overwhelming. Barracuda USA corrective lens goggles have made seeing that lane line as well as the edge of the pool that much sharper, vision wise. The H2RX Blue (blue strap, clear lens) and the H2RX Smoke (black strap, tinted lens) come in diopter corrections of -1.50 to -10.00. These high quality made goggles come with three different size nose bridges to customize the fit better to each persons facial features as well as two adjusting straps making sure the goggles stay put on your face. The fit is very comfortable and the anti-fog coating is excellent. The goggles come with a protective case to store them in when you are not wearing them. The wide angle view is incredible. All it would take to see if you would benefit from wearing these corrective lens Barracuda USA swimming goggles is a call to you eye doctor.  Give them your vision prescription and see if they can help you out telling you what diopter correction you would need. Simple as that.  In the long run it will save you from swimming a longer open water course in a race, or worse grabbing someone else's bike in transition. 

http://barracudausa.com/

Next up is a waterproof MP3 music player A.K.A. iPod with case. I enjoy using numerous audio set ups from X-1.  Not only are the headphones sweat proof but underwater proof too.  The devices I own have fueled many a sweaty and or pool workout.  I am either seen at the pool with my X-1 case for my 3rd generation iPod Nano that I wear in a Velcro belt or the Interval 4G waterproof headphone system attached to my goggle strap.  I guess you could say the one I use the most, is the one that is charged ready to go.  Both securely hold my iPod and keep it dry yet allow me to use my playlist to push my workouts to the edge. Each set of headphones comes with different tip sizes that can be easily swapped out to fit comfortably, however I have had custom ear molds made at Gold Canyon Hearing, a local hearing business, helping to make sure the ear phones stay in place.  The smallest bit of water still gets in my ears, but the custom molds totally help with ear issues and getting tons of water in the ear. The set up is awesome. I fire up a good playlist and away I go.  Swim workouts are very enjoyable and the music helps me stay focused.  Really the only drawback is losing track of time and laps.  Also, make sure then you keep an eye on your battery level of your device, not having the battery charged makes for a long and sometimes dreadful swim workout. 

https://h2oaudio.com/

I advise only using your headphones while running, swimming, at the gym or other activity other than cycling on the road.  Using a headset while cycling is dangerous, as the rider must be listening for traffic and others around them. 

Finally is rubbing alcohol.  Although the custom ear pieces I had made from molds of the inside of my ear seal all water out, if you were to swim without ear plugs of any type, water might get in your ears.  After getting out, drop a few drops of rubbing alcohol in each ear doing one ear at a time.  Tip your head and let the water stuck in your ear drain out. It’s a very simple and easy fix to removing water from our ear.  There are special drops or liquids on the market that do the same, but save yourself a little money and just go with the rubbing alcohol. 

A little rant about headphones, and when not to wear them

 I can relate to listening to music gets you motivated and the time go by faster I guess. 

I just don’t get it.  Why would you risk your safety by wearing earphones while riding a bike in traffic or with other cyclists?  This may seem like a rant and I guess it is.  It could be compared to riding with with one eye shut.  It’s just dumb.  If you have an important phone call your waiting for and that is why you are wearing a headset, then I suggest you don’t ride and wait for the call to come in. 

I often wears earphones while swimming and indoor cycling on a trainer.  I even wear them running, while keeping the sound down in order to hear my surroundings. 

TREKZ Titanium Bluetooth headphones by AfterShokz

I’ve been using the TREKZ Titanium Bluetooth headphones by AfterShokz while running and using my indoor cycling rollers. These headphones sit right outside in the front of your ear sitting on your jawbone. The sound travels through bone-conduction. The sound is great. Pair it with your smartphone, which is very easy to do. The headset is very comfortable and can even be worn while still wearing glasses. The main purpose of these headphones is to allow you to hear better what is around you and not totally cutting out ambient sound. It’s an open ear design. Obviously, I would never wear these while riding bike in traffic or out on the street, but I do wear them running and they still allow me to hear the world around me. After charging up the unit, with the provided micro-USB cord, it will return about six hours of play time. Although they are not water proof, can’t be submerged, they are sweat resistant. The headphones come with two fit bands, for those with smaller heads, a micro-USB charging cord, two ear plugs, that help block out noise into the ear canal as well as a storage case.

The headphones can be used to take phone calls as well as listen to music. According to the person on the other end of the phone, the quality of the voice in the call is excellent. By the way, I’ve even used them while out mowing the yard and having them synched to my smartphone playing music. 

Liztek Smart Bluetooth Speaker PSS-100

Liztek smart bluetooth speaker PSS-100

The high end quality sound from this speaker is beyond impressive. First off the battery life is up to 10 hours connected through bluetooth or up to 12 hours using the provided jack from line in from your device.  It can connect with smart phones, tablets, mp3 and mp4, laptops and desktop computers as well as portable gaming units. The bass sound is outstanding. 

While connected to a smart phone it can be used for hands free calling and SIRI can be activated, using an iPhone, with a button on top of the speaker.  It uses bluetooth 3.0  On the back of the speaker near the on button, is a micro-USB charging port. I use the speaker add great quality sound to videos while showing them to clients while bluetooth connected to my laptop.  The speaker can be set up to 10 meters away and still receive the signal, no problem. While connected by bluetooth you can control your volume and tracks by using the buttons on top of the speaker.  For someone who picky about quality sound without spending a lot this is a must have.  

The top of the speaker has a LED light indicator on it which blinks blue as the bluetooth is connected. The indicator will also indicate with a red light a low battery status. 

The six buttons on the top of the speaker control the handsfree talk mode or SIRI, moving a track back, playing or pausing a track, next track and volume up and volume down. On the back of the speaker are the on/off switch, line-in audio jack and micro-USB charging port. The speaker charges with the micro-USB plugged into a USB 2.0  To fully charge the unit will take between three and four hours. 

Incased inside the unit is a right and left speaker with the microphone in the center, for the handsfree use. 

To find out more check out Liztek.com

Liztek Wireless Bluetooth Speaker PSS-60

 Liztek Wireless Bluetooth Speaker PSS-60

The Liztek wireless bluetooth 3.0 speaker delivers a great sound. The speaker can be used as a handsfree phone device when connected to your smartphone.  It can connect with smart phones, tablets, mp3 and mp4, laptops and desktop computers as well as portable gaming units. Each side of the speaker delivers 3W with the two piece 40MM drivers delivering a excellent rich sound. To fully charge the battery is takes about three hours with returning between five and eight hours of use.  This is done connected to micro-USB charging the battery located under the on/off switch. The bluetooth connection will reach to about 10 meters away. It can also be used as a wired speaker by simply using the line-in mini port on the back of the speaker. While connected by bluetooth, you can control your volume and tracks by using the buttons on top of the speaker. The speaker can play music off a flash drive with a USB port on the back or slip a TransFlash/SD card in the port also located in the back to play tracks off from them. 

To find out more check out Liztek.com

X-1 by H2O Audio to fuel your workouts

The smallest amount of sweat or water can turn your headphones into a quick piece of junk. You have invested enough in your audio, so why let sweat ruin it.  I enjoy using numerous audio set ups from X-1 by H2O Audio.  Not only are the headphones sweat proof but underwater proof too.  The devices I own have fueled many a sweaty and or pool workout.  I am either seen at the pool with my X-1 case for my 3rd generation iPod Nano that I wear in a Velcro belt or the Interval 4G waterproof headphone system attached to my goggle strap.  I guess you could say the one I use the most, is the one that is charged ready to go.  Both securely hold my iPod and keep it dry yet allow me to use my playlist to push my workouts to the edge.  I have a few different choices when it comes to headphones I use.  The Surge Sportwrap and Surge mini waterproof headphones are both high quality made and transfer music to your ears without having to worry about being ruined by any amount of moisture. Each set of headphones comes with different tip sizes that can be easily swapped out to fit comfortably. 

 The Surge Contact waterproof headset is great for those that want to stay connected with an in-line waterproof microphone.  The clip stays positioned where you put it and has a convenient one-touch answer/end button.  All the sets of headphones I have came with five sets of elastomer earplugs to comfortably fit any ear opening.   

As an ambassador and member of  Team X-1, contact me through my e-mail or DM on Twitter to find out about getting a discount. 

I advise only using your headphones while running, swimming, at the gym or other activity other than cycling on the road.  Using a headset while cycling is dangerous, as the rider must be listening for traffic and others around them. 

X-1 Audio Waterproof Cases

I have been using X-1 by H2O Audio waterproof headphone systems for years now. A great way to enjoy music without having to worry about sweat or water damaging your electronics.  I was using Surge headphones attached to a swim belt in which my iPod 3rd generation Nano was safely inside a case providing me numerous hour of enjoyable quality workouts in the pool. With wanting to do flip turns, the cord which ran along my back, I was afraid would get in the way.  So I decided to get another waterproof case from X-1. 

The case I got was the Interval 4G system which holds the 4th generation iPod shuffle and attaches to the goggles strap.  Out of the way from swinging arms while swimming.  I now use the other case I have for running on the treadmill or riding my bike on the indoor rollers.

I had the custom ear molds made at Gold Canyon Hearing, helping to make sure the ear phones stay in place.  The smallest bit of water still gets in my ears, but the custom molds totally help with ear issues with water in the ear. The set up is awesome. I fire up a good playlist and away I go.  Swim workouts are very enjoyable and the music helps me stay focused.  Really the only drawback is losing track of time and laps.  Summer has unofficially come to an end with Labor Day and so has my season pass to the local pool.