Race Report - The 2010 AFC Half Marathon

Background

The third and final race of the wildy popular Triple Crown series in San Diego is arguably the most difficult. I can't speak on that one way or the other as I've never run the La Jolla Half marathon (the Carlsbad Half marathon completes the triple crown series), but with a killer hill at mile 11 and unpredictable summer weather, I can say with 1,000% certainty (dawg) that it's not my favorite.

Having run this race 3 times with all 3 races well below expectations, I wasn't eager to go for the sad face four bagger. But with the new training program I've been following, I've gained some confidence. Unfortunately, due to the popularity of the Triple Crown Series noted above, tons of runners seeking the special medal make this race sell out months in advance...with that said I had to procure my bib through other means - frowned upon means. if you know what i mean(s).

Pre-Race


Me, Jason, Jenn and Laura got to the bus loading area and start line without issue. With over an hour to spare we hit the rest rooms first and then kind of just chilled for half an hour or so before I left them to warm up. Ran into Marc and Brannen during their warm up. These two are fast. I want to be like them when the grow up - and that's why I hired their coach.


The race started as expected...a big clusterf*ck at the start. I don't know why they put up the estimated time banners, they are never used. There is one road that leads in/out of the Cabrillo National Monument, it's used by buses dropping us off up until the gun goes off as well as the staging/corral area. With buses coming in as late as 15 minutes prior to start, there's no time to get lined up. *clap* wait - was that that gun?


Race


Without corrals, things can get dangerous. Being surrounded by runners of all levels I found myself weaving and wasting energy; unavoidable as slowing down for slow runners just to pick it up again would have the same effect. Mile one was slow. Miles 2-5 were better, picking up the time I had lost and I was back on track. I was trying to remain conservative, knowing the generous downhills have been my downfall in my past 3 attempts at this race.

The pounding of the downhills can make for a very ugly middle portion of the race, but at mile six, I still felt okay, but in an attempt to keep my heart rate below zone 'you're going to die' I backed off a tad, hoping to just get out of the Harbor Island loop unscaved (i.e. not walking). The Harbor Island loop is approximately 2.5 miles of tangible FML. In fact, I'm 87% sure that's where FML originated.

I made it out of the loop of death at the same time my pace began to waver. I spent a good portion of mile 10 with trying to chase down my buddy, Van. his strut is unmistakable. 'If I can get to him, we can finish strong together', I thought. Probably an accurate thought, but he managed to elude me and I was alone again and with my pace slipping I was getting eaten alive by the stronger runners. Demoralized, I put my head down and continued on.

With 3 miles left, my high expectations, my personal 13.1 PR and the course PR were all out of reach. I got to the top of 6th street w/ my family and Joy and Oli waiting to cheer me and my friends behind me on. That was cool. Across the bridge and down into the finish I saw Janice and her kids as they waited for Marko (who I also saw at the start). That was cool too.

I crossed the line at 1:56:44.

Post-Race

Maybe I should change my blog title... clearly, Half Marathonin' ain't easy either. Dissappointed, but not completely heartbroken, I know I have a lot to work on and a lot of room for improvement.

I have to have a conversation with my coach to talk about the direction of the training programs coming months.

*ps - sorry for the lack of pictures to add some color to this blog, but this is one I'd rather forget. Like Rene says, 'no point in dwelling. on to the next one.'