2012 RnR San Diego Half Marathon Recap

Saturday, June 2nd - Expo

I arrived at the Health and Fitness Expo around 10:20 o'clock. It was a little crowded but not too bad. I picked up my bib as fast as I could and proceeded to the exit. Ok, I am just kidding! If you follow my blog regularly you know I like to spend my time at the expo to check the latest running gizmos and gadgets, apparel, etc...At this expo there were over 60 exhibitors. One of the largest I've ever visited.
   

 

I made it to Pure Running Heaven! No, I didn't pass out or fell into a deep dream about running ( although I often find myself daydream about running the Boston Marathon). I just stopped by Brook's booth.

In Pure Running Heaven, I met some famous runners. Ha, who knew that Abraham Lincoln, Mona Lisa and Gandhi like to run too? :)

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They also provided runners with heavenly gait analysis and the chance to check out the new lightweight PureProject shoes. Pretty cool!  The next half hour I walked around, sampled over a dozen of healthy drinks and bars. Maybe not a good idea to do this 20 hours before a race. I was just killing time, waiting for Chrissie Wellington (four-time World Ironman Champion) to make it to the stage. The wait was sooo worth it. I love listening to her story! Imagine running your first full marathon in 3:08?  What about running a full in 2:52:41 after swimming 2.4 miles ( 3.86 km) followed by a 112-mile (180.25) bike ride? Amazing!

Ah, the Goddes of Triathlon

After meeting Chrissie, I was ready to leave when suddenly I spotted one of my all-time favorite runners, Olympic Marathon Bronze Medalist, Deena Kastor.  OMG, I was starstruck! I wanted to tell her how much I love her. I watched her in The Spirit of The Marathon movie over a dozen of times. But words didn't come out of my mouth. I just acted like a 15 year old girl, "omg, you are my hero. Can I take a picture with you?" hahahaha. This just happened to me once before when I met Kara Goucher in Las Vegas. Deena Kastor was so nice and down to earth. She wished me luck at the race. Now, my friends at Brooks were right, this expo was Pure Running Heaven! The rest was not but I'll get to that later.

With Deena Kastor

 Sunday, June 3rd - Race

My husband and I woke up at 3:00 and left home at 3:30 am. Very early! We drove to the San Diego Sports Arena, as suggested by the organizers, and took the bus to the starting line. We arrived at Balboa Park around 5:15 am. We had plenty of time as the race didn't start until 6:15am. We headed to the grassy area between corral 4 and 5 where my running group (WCRR) was meeting.  The coaches were running together holding a 43' WCRR 10-man PF Chang's Dragon.

My coaches

With my husband

Right before the race started, around 6:00am, I met my friend Wendy. She lives in San Diego but we met at the RnR Edinburgh and later at the Rock N Roll Madrid.  Too bad she is not blogging about her races :( She is doing a cool RnR challenge this year! 12 RnR races in 12 months! Quick stop by the porta-loos ( love that word) and time to run.

Race
The race started at 6:15am. My corral crossed the starting line 10 minutes later. I was in corral 9. There were a total of 42 corrals for +/- 30,000 runners. It felt too crowded!

Since I ran this race in 2011, I knew what to expect. The first four miles were nice, good rhythms ( 8:45 , 9:16, 9:23, 9:10) around the Balboa Park area.  From there we headed to highway 163.

Miles 4 - 5.5 were going up ( elevation:136 ft - 283 ft). I slowed down to 10:43 min/mile. This was way too slow but I couldn't run any faster.  I blame it on a "wardrobe malfunction". I was wearing a brand new running skirt with compression pants that were too big for me causing extreme discomfort and a horrible chaffing. Aghghgh, runners 101, never do anything new (food, outfits, whatever) the day of the race!


My thighs were burning me but I managed to speed up a little bit between miles 5.5 and 6.  We looped around some bridges and soon we were at Friar's Road.  From then on, it was all flat and familiar. Miles 10 and 11 were the worst. My neck and shoulders were hurting as if I pulled my trapezoid muscles ( I need to have this checked). On top of that, my chaffing was worsening and the streets were narrowing to a point that I almost accidentally knocked down a runner who stopped right in front of me to walk. I couldn't find a way around him. Oh, nooo!

At mile 12, I saw my friend Edward right in front of me. WTH! Why is he running with the half marathoners?  This was supposed to be his BIG day. His Boston Qualifier.  I sped up to talk to him. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. He looked left and right and realized then that he was in the wrong spot. He had missed a turn, just .5 miles ago. To his defense, the sign indicating "half marathons left, full marathoners right" was miniscule and with such a crowded course it was easy to miss. OMG! I feel bad for him. If this happens to me, I'll be furious! My friend has been running an average of 80 miles a week for the last few months to prepare for this. After our small chat, he sped up while I stayed behind.  I can't run at his ridiculous fast pace!!

Eight minutes later, I arrived at the finishing line. My legs were feeling strong but my thighs were bleeding :-(  My finishing time: 02:12. My worse this year but still, 6 minutes faster than my 2011 RnR San Diego.  My husband arrived few minutes later. 

Post-race

I don't think I've ever seen so much food in my life. Not even at the Portland Marathon last year.
 

And the award to the best running outfit goes to ... the dude with the tutu :)

Running Elvis

After the half marathon, we took a free bus to the San Diego Sports Arena to pick up our car and head home.  Easy in and out.

Race Highlights:

Good

• Visiting the expo early. My husband had to go back in the afternoon to pick up his bib. It was too crowded.
• Meeting Chrissie Wellington
• Meeting Deena Kastor
• Meeting my friends and my running group
• Post-race snacks
• Getting to the starting line and back to the parking

Bad

• Too crowded. I almost knocked down a runner.
• The course is not necessarily breathtaking

Ugly

• Bad case of chaffing