Meet Me Half Way

San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon/Half Marathon Race Report

This a half  of a report because I ran the half marathon, meaning I'm going to leave out the mile by mile account, (but it isn't any shorter of a report) however, I will go over many of the highlights that made for a wonderful day and a couple of things that made me think "WTF???"

My son drove us to the marathon start area, thank goodness.  We arrived sort of late and missed most of the track club's final stretch before the race. We did arrive in time to sit and stretch a bit with AKA Alice, but then it was soon time to check in our gear, use the port-o-potty (*cough* bushes) and find our corrals.

 AKA Alice multi-tasking - stretching and taking pictures.

I found Rich, who was dealing with some first time marathon pre-race jitters 

Hubs and I in corral 17 waiting for the race to start.

Friends from RU also in corral 17.

 Kirsten, a PT from RU,  running her first marathon just one year after having heart surgery.

The original plan was to run the marathon, but with the foot injury, being out for 9 weeks, and only having 3 weeks of haphazard running, I made the switch to the half marathon.  Thank goodness they offered a half marathon this year.  The course was OK, and we ran more through Balboa Park than in years past, and I liked that.  Again, Coach Paul was everywhere with his bull horn with encouraging words to ALL the runners, not just the track club. 

For most of my run it was overcast, but a little humid.  I also drank the electrolyte on the course, Cytomax, which is something I never do since I bring my own, but it agreed with me, and I think it did help.  The sun came out around miles 10, and it felt warmer than normal, but with about 3 miles to go I knew I could deal with it. I was feeling for the marathoners, though, as the air temperatures really heated up.

Around mile 11 or so, I saw AKA Alice running in the opposite direction, which was so cool because we stopped and hugged.  What a boost for my psyche, and I'm glad I saw her at that point because I knew she was doing good.

At the last .1 mile, I ran in with a track club member.  I don't know her well and I can't remember her name, but I see her all the time.  We sort of sprinted in together.  I can't wait to see the photo finish.

Official chip time - 2:30:55.  Officially my slowest half marathon, but considering everything I went through, I'm quite happy with it. 

Post race I trekked into the medical tent, iced my foot, and went through the finish are to load up on bread sticks, fruit cups, electrolyte drinks, etc, and found Molly.  Funny thing, Molly switched from the marathon to the half marathon, but still had the marathon bib, and received a marathon medal because of the marathon bib.  The volunteers wanted to make sure there were enough medals for the half marathoners. 
 

Happy to be finished! BTW, Molly's bib says " I like cheese." 

Rich is now a marathoner!

I spent a lot of time at the track club tent, talked to friends about their races, and enjoyed the shade of the tent. At one point I did walk over to the track club water station, located less than a mile from the finish.  I did see several friends run by, and I was hoping to see Hubs. I thought he may have passed me, but it turns out he didn't. There's a story about about why he decided to toss the PR.

Hubs ran the marathon and was doing well, setting some course PRs for himself.  Around mile 12 he ran past a track club member who was having a hard time, sobbing.  He decided to chuck his PR and spend time running and walking with her, just to help her get through a few miles until she found her friends on the course. He ran in the rest of the way, knowing he'd finish over 6 hours, but was OK about it, he was still concerned for the young lady. 

Once Hubs was finished, he wanted his free beer, so we gathered all of our belongings and headed over to the "festival" area.  In years past this was at MCRD, in a nice grassy area.  This year it was in the crappy, beat up asphalt area in the Sea World overflow parking lot, which is hard to walk on if you've just run a marathon and can barely walk as it is. The cracked and chipped asphalt was also hot and sticky, and not conducive to staying to enjoy the festivities. To make matters worse, they wouldn't let Hubs into the beer area because he didn't have his ID on him.  Um, helloooo?  WTF?  He's obviously over 21.  He never runs with his ID because he has a shoe ID tag.  We've NEVER had to show ID before.  We also had wrist bands to get free food at PF Chang's booth, but by the time we got there the food was gone!  Thank goodness we didn't have to deal with the shuttle buses because I understand that was logistical snafu, and many people said that it took longer to get back to Qualcom Stadium (where they parked) than it was to run the marathon!
Since my son volunteered at the track club water station, he was able to park near by, and drove us home.

Back at  home Hubs enjoyed his beer and fell asleep on the couch, and I posted a Facebook update.  My son did us a favor and picked up burgers from In 'n' Out.  I scarfed down two protein style burgers, took a shower and was in bed by 8 PM. 

Next race is the Annual Independence Day 5k/15k in Coronado, and probably the 5k. 

Oh, and today I need to visit my local DMV to renew my driver's license.  Yay.

Saturday's Song:
The Good Life - Tony Bennett

PEACE