Silver Strand Half Marathon Race Recap

Date: Sunday, November 11th
Starting Time: 7:00am
Starting Location: Coronado
Finishing Location: Imperial Beach

I signed up for this race in the last minute. I just wanted to complete one last long run before the Valencia Marathon ( Nov 18th) and since my friend May was running it I told myself "Why not?". I heard it was flat and fast but a tad boring. Honestly, I didn't care about my finishing time. I was doing it for fun.

At the starting line with my friends

This is a point to point race, from Coronado to Imperial Beach via Silver Strand Beach. I've never been to this part of town and I didn't have any expectations. It was a pretty day. It started cold but soon it was hot and windy. 

The first 8 miles were on the highway. Nothing too spectacular. There was no view of the coast from there but we could see the bay on the left side.  Soon, we arrived at mile 9 and some residential areas.  The next 2 miles felt like an eternity. On the horizon, I could see a small hill. On the other side, I could see the 12-mile sign. Mile 11 was my least favorite part of the race course. The area was fenced and against the highway. It looked like a concentration camp. A thought invaded me "Are we running for our lives here? If that is the case, I better go faster". Soon after, a fast 70-year old passed me. "Whaat? No frigging way" I thought. "I'll keep up with him or I'll die today". And that is what I did. I ran side-by-side with my new running mate and a BIG smile on my face until the finish line. I crossed it at 2:06:23. Not bad for a training run. 

  

Imperial Beach

Minutes later, I met my friend May and learned that she has ran a sub-2. BIG congrats!!