2013 Rock n Roll San Diego Half Marathon Recap

Race Date: Sunday, June 2nd, 2013
Start Time: 7:30 a.m
Start: Balboa Park. Finish:  (near) Petco Park
Expo: Fri 5/31 (11pm - 7pm)  & Sat 6/1 (9am - 5pm)





Friday, May 31st - Expo - Got Carbs?

I headed to the expo around 5:00 p.m, right after work. I met my friend Tessa and easily convinced her to sign up for the race. We stopped by the Brooks' new race expo booth  "Carb Happy, Run Happy". We  "ate" Brooks shoes a la carbonara hehehe.

I still haven't digested these shoe's soles!

Saturday, June 1st - Movie and Dinner. 

I won tickets to watch the world premier of the movie documentary "The Spirit of the Marathon II".  This movie is a MUST see for all runners and non-runners. It tells the story of seven different people and their big dreams and struggles as they prepare for the Maratona di Roma. The movie is inspirational and most likely will make you cry. It might also leave you with cravings for Mimmo's Pizzeria Il Podista. For those of you that are wondering, this movie is completely different than the first part. To me, it's more emotional and bigger in many senses. After all, all roads lead to Rome!

 As many of you now, one of my biggest dream is to run Maratona Di Roma. I was supposed to run it this year but I had to postpone. I am actually glad since they ran into logistical issues, due to the unexpected decision of the Pope to step down and the conclave happening on the same day of the race. However, after watching this marathon on the BIG screen and want to go there more than ever.

After the movie, I met some running friends at Cucina Urbana for dinner and tutus exchange. We were all wearing Boston's color's for the race.

Sunday, June 2nd -  Race Day

I woke up at 3:15 am to a delicious breakfast prepared by my mom, who is visiting from Spain. Toast with almond butter, chai tea, fruits .... I can't complain! I usually eat 1 banana and that's about it. I was feeling spoiled! I had strep throat and a horrible sinus infection but the breakfast really woke me up, making me feel way better.

Thirty minutes later,  I left home and arrived at  Qualcomm Stadium where I took the Trolley to downtown. I paid $5 for the round-trip.  We were supposed to do a transfer at Santa Fe Depot station but after waiting for 10 20 30  40 minutes, I decided to walk the 2-miles to the starting line. This was a good hilly warmup. Unfortunately, I didn't arrive on time to see my friend Edward before the full marathoners took off but we synced up later. He finished in 3:14, a PR. Amazing!

Say tutu

I had no expectations for this race. I've been training hard for the San Francisco Marathon ( June 16th). My legs were feeling strong but I could hardly breath ( chronic sinus).  "Lo que sera sera", I told myself.  This was also a new race course and I was excited to avoid highway 163 all together. I didn't really study the elevation course nor the route. I just wanted to be surprised.

We started off at 6th & Quince. As the race gun went off, my iPhone died. "Oh Great! As long as my Garmin is 100% operational, we'll survive!", I told myself.  We left Balboa Park and headed to North Park. There were a number of local bands, teenagers dressed up like Marilyn Monroe, school bands, drag queens and Elvi ( aha plural for Elvis).  There was even a Michael Jackson impersonator, which I believe I met at the "Awesome 80s" race last year. We ran through residential areas and unfamiliar business districts. Restaurants were opened for breakfast. Delicious smell in the air. Neighbors were coming together, sitting in their front yards offering beers and tequila shots to the runners. "No thanks,  perhaps later!". The atmosphere was phenomenal. Great support and volunteers too! I wish I could say the same about the course itself. It was very unattractive. San Diego is one of the most beautiful cities in the US but you would never know about it based solely on this race.

I ran the first 6 miles chasing a girl that was wearing a  "today is my birthday" shirt and another one wearing a hot pink tutu. They kept my mind busy until I lost them in the crowd. At many points during the race I worried that my finish time was going to be horrible since I almost had to come to full stops as the the street lanes were narrowing down in some parts of the course. Too many runners!

After running through El Cajon Blvd and other streets around Florida Gardens, we arrived in Balboa Park, on the east side. I had a big smile on my face as we ran though the Balboa Golf course. Many of the miles that followed I ran with my 7-year old daughter earlier on this year at the Hot Chocolate race. At mile 10-11, there was a great music band. They sounded like Metallica. Only 3 miles left and it's all going downhill.  I looked at my watch for the first time and last time during this race. 8:30 min/mile. "Really?" I suddenly turned into a human calculator:

 "Can I PR today? Let's see ...  if I keep this pace, I will sub-2... if I run 8:45 min-9:00 min/mile I won't be able to do a sub-2 but I'll PR ... if I run 9:30 .... Forget about all this! Just run!"

Do you ever do this?  OCD kicking in high gear! With these thoughts, I flew through downtown
crossing the finish line in  2:04:51 My new PR!! I almost cried! I haven't been able to run at my regular speed since last November due to piriformis issues. The RnR Portland Half Marathon, a couple of weeks ago, was my fastest this year (2:07). Today I PRed with severe sinusitis! This gives me confidence in finishing the San Francisco Marathon in an acceptable time.

These are my stats:
Overall: 5638 out of 18072
Division: 384 out of 1742
Gender:2307 out of 11041

Race Summary
-Well organized
-Great support from spectators
-Plenty of water stations

I would like to see
-Better transportation to the start line
- More scenic route