2013 Rock n Roll Portland Half Marathon Recap

Race Date: Sunday, May 19th, 2013
Start Time: 8:00 a.m
Start & Finish: Waterfront Park
Expo: Fri 5/16 (12pm - 6pm)  & Sat 5/17 (9am - 5pm)


Friday, May 17th - Expo

The expo was held at the Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center in the Kenton neighborhood near Marine Drive. It took us a while to get there as we mistakenly headed to the Oregon Convention Center on Martin Luther King Blvd instead. Ooops! Next time, we will park in Portland Downtown and take the MAX transit to the expo. We paid $8 for parking ( no voucher provided) and proceeded to pick up our bibs and shirts. This was quick and easy, probably because it was early Friday afternoon.

At the expo, I met my friend Tessa from San Diego. We stopped by Brook's "Run Happy Cavalcade of Curiosities", a custom double-decker British bus featuring free running gait analysis and some arcades. Hmmm, I don't know about this whole circus idea. They also has some weird show featuring a "Human Jesus Lizard" that could run on water. It was basically Brook's campaign for their new DNA shoe technology. We only stayed for the chance to win a pair of Brooks running shoes but no suck luck that day.

Sunday, May 19th - Race Day

I woke up at 6:00 a.m and my lovely husband drove me to the Embassy Suites hotel  in Portland Downtown where my friends were staying. Their hotel was next to the world famous VooDoo Doughnut shop. This place is usually packed but there were no lines at these early hours, of course. I wasn't sure if it was open, but I could see some lights on inside. Hmmm suddenly I felt the urge for eating donuts, but I was running late. Lucky me, my friends were waiting for me at the hotel with the iconic pink box. How sweet! What can I say? Awesome friends and truly the best donuts I've ever tried.

After donut feasting, we grabbed a quick bit at the hotel's free breakfast buffet.  I ate a fresh watermelon, honeydew, grapes, pineapple and a banana. Ohhh I shouldn't have. I never eat this much before a race and now I was full.

It's good that we had a 10 min walk to the starting line. The temperature was perfect. No rain at all.

Few minutes later, we were at corral 8. The race started at 8:00 a.m sharp. We crossed the starting line 9 minutes later. The first few miles were in the Waterfront Park. We ran on Naito Parkway and looped around Downtown. At mile 3, I saw Joe Taricani from The Marathon Show. I screamed ¡Viva España! He is a big Italian soccer fan. He screamed "Hey, Ciiiiry! Forza Italia". 

At mile 5, the 2:00 hour pacers passed me. Nooooo! I tried to keep up but they were going 8 min/mile. I checked my watch "9:30 min/mile. I am still on target. Calm down!". Soon after, we crossed the Hawthorne Bridge to the east side. It was hard to run on the bridge as the floor was not asphalt nor concrete but medal grid covered by a temporary blanket which made it difficult to speed up.

Taking careful steps.

Once we crossed the bridge, we were at mile 6. The next 3 miles were kind of flat and uneventful. This part of town is very industrial looking. Nothing interesting to see.

At the expo, I was told to watch out for the hills around mile 9.  Since I didn't study the elevation course, I didn't know how steep these hills were. I had no expectations but to enjoy the course, run non-stop. As I ran through Hawthorne Blvd I thought "Are we in mile 9? I am confused! Where are the hills?". It was not bad at all. I guess I am used to the rolling hills in San Diego and San Francisco. At the top of the street, I could see the Bagdad Theater and Pub where I watched some good movies with my husband in the past. Big smile on my face. Soon after, we made a sharp left. We were now running through beautiful residential areas and parks. "Aha, this is the Portland that I like! Craftsman houses with gorgeous front yards and colorful hydrangeas".

At mile 10, I started getting tired but I was focused. I was also told at the expo that the last 2 miles were all going downhill around Lloyd Blvd.  But I knew we needed to cross the river ( by foot :-) to the other side so there must be an hill somewhere. Lucky us, it was just a short one to the N. Steel Bridge. Once we crossed this bridge, we were back in Naito Parkway with 1 mile to go. I was full of energy and very excited as I thought I was going to PR. Unfortunately, I didn't realized that my Garmin had lost satellite reception while running across the bridges and my time was off by few minutes. My official finishing time was 2:07:24. It not my personal record but it's my best finishing time this year. Yahoo, I am slowly coming back from my piriformis problems!

2013 RnR Portland Finisher's Medal

BIG congrats to my friends Eric and Tessa on their PRs and Brittney for finishing her first half marathon at her young age. What an amazing accomplishment!


Race Review

- Well organized
- Nice course with some hills
- Beautiful medal and shirt

Tips
- Park in downtown and take the MAX to the expo.
- If you book hotel, stay on the west side of the city.



Race Course Profile

My next BIG event is ...

The Wipro San Francisco Marathon on June 16th.  I can't believe it's only 45 days away! 

Looks like I am going to have a lot of fun!  Hills, hills, hills!

Between now and then I have the following races:

May 5th -   Cinco de Mayo 10k

May 19th - Rock n Roll Portland Half Marathon 

June 2nd -  Rock n Roll San Diego Half Marathon 

On a separate note, this year I entered the ballot for the 2014 London Marathon. According to the race organizers, the ballot closed after 11.5 hours when it reached 125,000 registrants. Oh, wish me good luck! My ultimate running goal is to complete all the World Marathon Majors ( Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, New York and the newly added Tokyo) and beat Oprah's marathon time hehehe. Now,  seriously,  I'll be happy with a BQ.

What about you? Do you have an ultimate running goal? What is it?

Boston Marathon Tragedy - Runners United

My thoughts and prayers are with all the victims of the Boston Marathon explosions. As you probably know by now, there were more than 130 injured and 3 killed, including an 8-year child. I don't have enough words to express the sadness.

There's a movement happening for runners to unite and wear a race shirt tomorrow,  Wednesday April 16th, to honor and remember those lost today. Let's do it. For those without a race shirt or if you have to dress up to work, wear the Boston marathon colors of blue and yellow. Spread the word

2013 Inaugural Transamerica Rock 'n' Roll San Francisco Half Marathon

Race: Sunday April 7th, 2013

Expo: Friday & Saturday, April 5-6 - Moscone Center

Start / Finish: Van Ness Ave. Between Fort Mason and Aquatic Park

Time: 7:00 a.m.

Corral: 6

Saturday, April 6th 

I arrived in San Francisco at 8:30 a.m. after a pleasant 90 minutes flight from San Diego. This was my first flight with Virgin America. Vibrant colors, individual touch screens and nice music playing in the background. I love the lounge feel to it.

As soon as I landed, I spotted The Plant Cafe Organic.  I ordered a Healthy Sunrise (carrot, beet, orange, apple, lemon juice). YES! This is probably the healthiest and most delicious breakfast I've ever had at an airport.

From the airport, I took the SamTrans bus to San Francisco downtown. Grgrgr, I waited 40 minutes for the bus to arrive and another 60 minutes to get to the city. Why didn't I take the BART? Never again! The BART is the best transportation option for me. It was cold and rainy. Lucky me, the closest bus stop was just a few blocks away from my hotel. After meeting my friends at Le Meridien, we headed out to eat.  Let the pre-race carb-loading begin! First stop, my friends' Febr and Leo's restaurant, Kirimachi, for authentic Japanese miso ( vegetarian) ramen soup. Delicious!

Next, Stella Pastry & Cafe in Little Italy for some mouthwatering Napoleons and tiramisus.

From Little Italy, we walked at least 2 miles to the Moscone Center where the Health & Fitness Expo was held. We could have taken the bus but we needed the exercise after all the food indulgence. Picking up the running bibs and shirts at the expo was relatively easy. The expo was not too crowded.

From the expo, we went to Chinatown for massages and window shopping. We probably walked another 2 miles. Our hotel was located in the Financial District, very close to the Transamerica Building.

At around 8:30 pm, we headed back to Little Italy for more carb-loading. We had reservations at E' Tutto Qa. The food was amazing and the service very friendly. I ordered the Arancia e Finocchio (salad of oranges, fennel, black olives & arugula with a lemon and olive oil dressing) and Orecchiette pasta with artichokes and tomatoes.  The restaurant was packed. There was a lot of singing and Italian speaking or I should say screaming. There were at least 5 tables celebrating birthdays. We were also treated to a delicious free panna cotta, courtesy of the restaurant manager. This food tasted very authentic. I would definitely go back again.

Saturday, April 6th - Race Day

We woke up at 5:00 am and left the room an hour later.

After a couple of stops, we ran /walked 2 miles to drop our bags at the gear check next to the starting line, adjacent to Ghirardelli's.

The weather was perfect; not too cold. not too hot, not too sunny.

The Race

The first three miles we ran through Fort Mason, the Marina Boulevard and Crissy Field. I was happy to run side by side my friend May again. We both participated in the Nike Women's (Half) Marathon last October. We continued running together at lunch times until a month ago when she moved to San Jose. [insert sad face]. We were familiar with the course, at least those 3 miles, since we covered them at the Nike Women's Marathon. Perhaps I should mention that for the NWM, we started in Union Square going downhill. For the RnR San Francisco Half, we started in Fort Mason going uphill. I kept trying to convince myself that this was good, that we need to start slow.

The next 2 miles were rough. We ran UP and UP and UP. Not a lot of downhills. What to expect. We are in San Francisco after all! I also told myself I wasn't going to stop to take pictures but I couldn't help it.

Still smiling at mile 4

Miles 5 -7 were across the Golden Gate Bridge towards the Marin County. There were beautiful views of Sausalito from the bridge. Of course, I had to stop again for more pictures.  While running the Golden Gate, I thought of ultra-marathon runner Dean Karnazes. In his book  "Run!: 26.2 Stories of Blisters and Bliss", he wrote about this little game he played with his friend Toph to cross the Golden Gate bridge at night without getting arrested. The sidewalk is usually close to pedestrians in the late hours. He basically jumped the fence and ran as fast as he could. Did he get caught? Well, you have to read the book ;-) I smiled at this thought and secretly wished he was running amongst us.

After reaching the end of the bridge, we ran through some trails and looped back to the other side of the bridge.  This was probably my favorite part of the course.  The sun was coming up and you could see the San Francisco skyline on the horizon. It was really breathtaking! We were very lucky that it was not foggy at all!

We ran miles 7-9 on the Golden Gate Bridge towards San Francisco. I really liked that we ran both directions. It was a little cool and windy but I didn't mind it one little bit.

I was running  9:05 min/mile trying to make up for all the lost time taking pictures.  I could have ran faster but unfortunately the bridge's sidewalk was a little narrow making it difficult to pass the runners. Soon we reached the 10 mile marker. We were going downhill. I loved it! The next 3 miles around the Marina Boulevard were flat but not fast for me.

The terrain was sandy and it was hard to speed up. However, I knew we were very close to the finish line. There was one last hill around mile 12.  I was deep in my thoughts when I saw a runner wearing a shirt that said "Running on Natural Gas". This made me laugh.  The last half mile was all flat. I crossed the finish line in 2:16. Not bad considering that I stopped for at least 10 minutes to take pictures ( before the bridge, while crossing the bridge, while looping the bridge, after the bridge :)

2013 RnR SFO Half Finisher's Medal

After the race, I met my friend May who arrived few minutes earlier. We walked all over the place in search for our free beer. Aha, at last we found it, a few blocks from the finish line!

Few minutes later, we met the rest of the "gang" and went out to Greens Restaurant for delicious brunch.

I highly recommend Greens Restaurant to all healthy nuts out there. Lots of options for vegetarian and non-vegetarians. I ate Mesquite Grilled Brochettes - Mushrooms, Little Farm potatoes, peppers, yams, fennel, red onions and Hodo soy tofu with charmoula. Hamada Farm fruit and almond quinoa, Moroccan carrot slaw.

Summary

The Rock 'n' Roll San Francisco Half was simply AMAZING! This is probably one of the most scenic races in the US. The temperatures were perfect, the views were breathtaking. I loved the mixed terrain ( asphalt, gravel and sand) and the challenging hills & trails. If they keep the same course next year, I'll come back!

Race profile

My running outfit next year!

BIG congrats to all my running friends, especially Leo who completed his first half marathon wearing a green tutu. By the way, he says that this is his "first and last half marathon" but for some reason I have a hard time believing it!

Do you remember what you said when YOU finished your first big race? :)

2013 San Diego Half Marathon at Petco Park

The San Diego Half Marathon at Petco Park is one of my favorite local races. I ran the inaugural in 2012 and had the best time. This is also my half marathon PR ( 2:06:08). For 2013, I had a different goal ( not necessarily a PR) but to conquer the infamous Washington Street hill ( mile 9-10). As for the rest of the course, I just wanted to enjoy it. Afterall, I ran the Rock N Roll New Orleans Half Marathon two weeks before and my legs had not fully recovered.


Saturday, March 9th - Expo

Last year the Sport, Health & Fitness Expo was located at the famous Petco Park. This year, they moved it to Port Pavilion on the Broadway Pier next to the USS Midway Museum

 

We arrived at the Expo around 2:30 p.m. There was a lot of traffic in the area so ended up parking at Seaport Village, a beautiful 10 minute walk to the Expo.

We quickly stopped by the West Coast Road Runners (WCRR) booth to greet my running coaches.  They were the official pacers of the race, once again. How exciting! We picked up our bibs, our legacy shirts and our goodie bags which included a free ticket to the Midway Museum. Soon after we left the expo.


Sunday, March 10th - Race Day

I woke up at 4:45 a.m, left home a half hour later and drove to the Westin hotel in downtown to meet my  friends. We walked from there to the starting line where I met WCRR coach and 2-hour pacer, Sharon.

The gun went off at 7: 15 a.m.  The first few miles around downtown and Pacific Highway were flat and fast. I was averaging 9:15 min/mile ( slower than last year). Still, I was feeling good, keeping up with the 2 hour pacer.

 
I remember the course very well except for the sandy terrain around Liberty Park. My feet didn't like it very much and I started to slow down, 9:20... 9:30... 9:35. This didn't keep me from smiling as we passed the Bikram Yoga Old Town studio at mile 7. I remember thinking "The best is yet to come". No kidding! Soon we passed the first small hill, under a bridge. Lots of people walked it. I ran it. I remember thinking "Oh if you are walking this small hill, you are definitely walking Washington Street. No way!" and few minutes later "There it is. OMG! This was my goal for the day, from the bottom to the top!".  Sharon was running at 9:18 min/mile speed while I was rapidly going from 9:40 to 9:45 to 10:00 to 11:00 to 11:35 minute/mile. "Grhrhrhr. I might as well walk", I thought. I stopped 3/4 of the way. Nooo! Mission unaccomplished! OK, there is always 2014! Need more hill training!


At the top of the hill, there was my favorite neighborhood, Hillcrest. Running here at this early hour is torture for me. It's smelled sooo delicious that all I wanted to do was to EAT. Forget about running! The rest of the course is all downhill. I smiled as I remembered experiencing an incredible runner's high last year. 

2012 SD Half Marathon

My last mile was a fast one, 8:45 min/mile. Unfortunately, I've wasted too much time in Washington Street.  Also, the race this year finished in 5th avenue. It was not the same. The Petco Park ending last year was waaaay more glamorous.  My finishing time 2:13.

Race Review
- Very well organized.
- Beautiful course with challenging hill.
- Best Post-race snacks including Chuao chocolates.

- Nice legacy shirt.

-Beautiful medal

Post- race - Cafe 21

After the race, I celebrated with my friends at Cafe 21. This is one of Bobby Flay's favorite brunch restaurants in the US. The food was outstanding.