(Warning: This race report is a long post!)
The Rock N Roll San Diego ½ Marathon was a big race, with
over 24,000 participants running through the streets of downtown which required
multiple street and freeway closures.
Because of these closures, we had to be in our pre-paid parking garage between
4am and 5am, Sunday morning. That sure made for an early start. My mom and I
got up at 3:30am, quickly got ready, ate a power bar on the way, and drove to
the parking garage arriving around 4:30am. It was still dark outside, and all I
wanted to do was go back to bed!
We parked the car, and took the walking bridge across to the
bus line where we waited to be bused to the race start. The line for the buses
wasn’t too bad, and we got to the starting area by about 5. We still had more
than enough time to find the bathrooms, the gear check and a spot to relax
while we waited for the race to start. That’s the hardest part, I think;
waiting for the race to start. The anticipation, the nerves, the temperature
getting warmer and warmer as the sun comes up and you still can’t start
running.
After eating a second “breakfast” (yogurt and granola),
checking our bags (which we combined into one for easier pickup), multiple
bathroom trips to ensure a comfortable start, the marathoners finally got
started. The National Anthem was sung, and their corrals were released, one by
one. It was overcast, and I was hoping it would stay that way throughout the
race because it was already about 65 degrees. They sang the National Anthem,
again, just before the start of the ½ Marathon and we figured it was probably
time to get lined up. One last bathroom stop and to our respective corrals we
went.
I was in corral 22, so I had a little while to wait. I was a
little nervous still, but also really excited. I was impressed with how well I
was able to sleep and now that I had been awake for nearly 4 hours I was
feeling loose and alert, which increased my confidence. The corrals were being
set off about every two minutes, so we were slowly making our way forward,
closer and closer to the start line. My mom was in corral 11 and released very
soon after I found my way into my own corral. By the time I made it to the
start line, I figured she was probably already at mile 2.
The corral was small enough that as soon as they let us
start (no gun, just a count down from 10) I only had to walk to the point where
I actually crossed the start line. I started my garmin and started running. A
wave of emotion hit me as I looked at the crowd around me, and was just so
elated that I was here. I was finally running the race I spend the last 12
weeks training for. I quickly found myself settling into a pace that felt a
little slower than I thought I really wanted to be at, but went with it because
the alternative was to zig zag through the crowd. I had requested a corral
change at the expo allowing me to start the race with faster runners, but since
I tend to start out sub-13 minute miles, I was still faster than them at the
start. I decided it wasn’t a bad thing, because at least this way I wouldn’t
burn out too fast. I have to admit though; I was a little surprised that the
lower elevation and all its extra oxygen didn’t really feel like it was a big
advantage for me. In fact, I felt a little weighed down. I was breathing like I
wasn’t exerting myself that much, but my muscles were feeling tired, like
normal around half a mile. They loosened up, but it was just really surprised
to see that they felt much the same as they do in my training, home in
Colorado.
I ended up running non-stop for the first 1.75 miles before
I had to stop and walk which is way farther than I have been going in my
training before walking, and I think had I not caught up to a big crowd, I would
have been able to keep going longer too. Unfortunately for me, the size of the
race really affected my run, and I’m kicking myself just a little for being
honest in my projected finish time. I think that had I been able to start with
much faster runners (who totally would have left me in the dust) I wouldn’t be
having to navigate my way through so many other people similarly paced with me
and could have run more consistently. As it was, I did find myself halting to a
walk, or slowing to a sub-15 pace to get around people throughout the entire
race.
I crossed the 5k mark at 44:12 – not a PR time, but right in
there with my average times, lately. I remember seeing the 5k flag and thinking
that that really could have messed with my mind if I let it, but rather than
going to a place where I was anticipating a finish as I crossed the timing pad,
I made sure to check in with myself and make a mental statement that I was
feeling strong and confident and just getting warmed up so bring on the next 10
miles!
At about 3.5, I saw my grandpa and then when he spotted me
he jumped off the curb and onto the course to give me a hug as I was passing
by. It’s such a huge motivator when you see a familiar face cheering you on,
and the silly signs many of the spectators were holding didn’t hurt either. I
saw him again, just after mile 7. His friend caught this video at 3.5.
Fueling is something that’s worked out pretty well for me in
my training. It didn’t take many long runs to figure out that I needed to
consume calories more frequently throughout the race and it was fairly easy to
figure out what worked for me and what didn’t. I ate a gel pack at miles 4, and
8; I had hammer perpetuem in my water bottles that I sipped off and on through
mile 8; I drank water at almost every aid station (every 2 miles), and I drank
the Gatorade at 3 of the aid stations. I also accepted a jolly rancher hard
candy being passed out around mile 9 when I was feeling really dry and needing
water but was in between aid stations. It helped me get to mile 10 where they
had water.
Mile 8 was a little rough. I had developed a blister on the
pad of my right foot, back around mile 3 and it was really hurting. My IT bands
were feeling tight. And I needed a pit stop after running down the steep hill
just before the gu station. I grabbed
some gu’s from the volunteers and decided to stand in line for the bathroom at
8.5. All the previous bathroom locations had lines too, so I was doubtful that
waiting for the next one would have a shorter line. I later found out I was
right. While I waited in line I stretched my IT bands and walked in place to
keep from getting tight. After my pit stop, I started my garmin back up (it
auto-pauses when you stop moving) and it beeped that the battery was low. I
decided to start runkeeper on my phone at that point and see if I could keep
the garmin on until mile 9. I didn’t want to run it until it died completely,
because past experience taught me that I will lose all the data from that
activity. At mile 9 I shut it off, and quickly realized how much I rely on it
to keep me on pace.
I was still on pace for a sub-3:30 finish, and fortunately, almost
the entire final stretch after mile 10 was downhill and or flat. I gave myself
another mental check in and reminded myself that I was feeling really good
(foot blister, aside) and only had a 5k to go. Caleb told me to think of the
race as a 10 mile warm up and a 5k race, silly boy. But, he wasn’t entirely
wrong, because as I reminded myself that I only had a 5k to go, I was able to
get into a mindset of “Hey, I do 5k’s all the time. This is no problem.” It
actually did help. I do not intend on doing a 10 mile warm up prior to my
future 5k’s, however!
As I passed the mile 11 flag, I started felt a little
relieved. I realized I was in the home stretch. As I passed the mile 12 flag, I
started to feel a little giddy. I was all but done. I knew I was getting close
to the finish line when the spectators were crammed in shoulder to shoulder on
the sidewalks, and I passed under a scissor lift with race photographers on
top. I gave myself a little re-assessment, and decided that I still had enough
gas to power through to the finish. I
picked up the pace, and worked on navigating through the other finishers. The
final stretch was a steep downhill, so I had to really focus on my footing and
the other runners as I sprinted and weaved my way through them, chanting in my
head “Faster, faster, don’t trip, faster, don’t trip, faster, faster, faster,
don’t trip, don’t trip, faster, don’t trip!” I made it through the runners, and
across the finish line feeling barely out of breath. That’s when I realized I
really could have pushed myself a lot harder than I did.
I was handed a finishers medal and a wet hand towel as I
stood in the finisher’s area with a big dopey grin on my face. I did it. I finished. I ran a half marathon.
I was so proud of myself. What an accomplishment. Runners high or just plain
confidence, I decided that yes, I probably will do that again someday.
*Race signs are not from my actual race, but they are the same as those I saw on the course
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