I drove down to the expo on Friday afternoon. Got to the mall parking lot about 20 minutes before the expo opened. But wouldn't you know, there was already a line formed to get inside. We waited about 15 minutes before they let us in. During that time I shot the breeze with a few runners. Most of them were older runners and thought I was crazy for running another marathon so soon after completing the Goofy's Challenge. Pony happens.
This year they had the bib pickup right at the entrance. Not sure if this was really a good idea as it got a little congested. After picking up my bib, I went straight to the back to pick up my race shirt. This year's race shirt felt a little cheap. I liked the race shirts from a couple years back. That was when they gave out a really nice Nike drawstring bag. This year was a cheap-o kind. If anyone wants a drawstring bag, I have a lot at home. Just say the word and I'll give you one or two. They also gave us a cap. I don't wear caps, so if anyone wants it... let me know.
Front design on the left chest
Back design
CapI then walked through the expo which seemed to have shrunk from last year. That's good for me. Less chance of me buying anything or signing up for new races. I stopped by the usual RunRacing and Rock n' Roll booths to say hi to my friends. I did not sign up for any races. But I did get my questions answered for the San Diego RnR Marathon. They have heard the issues and are addressing every one of them in this year's race. There will be no annoying trolley ride to the Murph after the race. They will be using the Airport Authority parking lot again.
RunRacing boothPre-race stuff
I drove back up to work and later "carbo-loaded" with my co-worker at Agora Churrascaria. I think the only thing I ate that was green were the capers. I forgot to get some salad.
For Sunday's race, it was the debut of my new Train4Autism shirt. It's much more colorful than my previous one. I'm going to have to start covering up the shoulders again since they're getting quite freckled. I'll save the singlets for shorter races.
My new Train4Autism race shirtRace day
I woke up before 2am to get ready for my drive down to Carlsbad. I got there at about 4:15am. I was the first car in the parking lot. I always park at the same spot each year. I got there early enough to the see the trucks and vans drive off to the aid stations. Volunteers are a special group of people for waking up so early! They also hadn't erected the starting line yet. Many people don't realize just how much goes into putting a race together. I took a nap before getting out into the cold to use the portapotties. This is one race where there's not a issue with portapotties. I like my final pee to be around 30 mins before the start and even then there was no line for a portapotty.
It turned out my RWOL friend NYCJoe was parked next to me. As I headed out to the starting area my TNT friend spotted me. We took a picture and I wished him a good race in the half. Right before the race started Shacky spots me. It looked like we were both going to use the 3:40 pace group at the beginning. He was going to speed up after an hour with them. I was just going to hold on for as long as possible to gauge the "health" of my right foot. The race started promptly at 6am after the national anthem. It was nice and dark.
Goal A: sub 4:15
Goal B: sub 4:30
Goal C: sub 4:45 (bad day)
I was running at a comfortable pace. I made it a point not to pass anybody in the first couple of miles. There was a very chatty group of girls behind me. I let them pass me since they sounded like they were right on my heels. Another girl in front of us drops a bottle. One of the chatty girls comes to a dead stop to pick it up. I almost plowed into her. Good thing I was paying attention. I wasn't pushing hard so I had no idea at this point that I was running way too fast. It was also too dark to read the pacer's sign and I missed mile marker 1. When I looked at my watch at mile 2, I knew I had goofed. It got bright enough for me to read his pace sign and it was the 3:30 group. He had ran the first 2 miles fast and I followed him instead of the 3:40 group. I gradually slowed down. One of my friend that runs her marathons in the 3:20s passes me. I knew I was in way over my head. I took my first walk break at about 30 mins. My kilt-wearing friend Shacky passes me and I told him I followed the wrong group! I did not see the 3:40 group until mile 8. I followed them to the hill at mile 9 and decided to fall back a little and catch them on the downhill. I was catching up to them but by mile 12, I felt like I was out of gas. Everything was headed south in a hurry. Who knows. Maybe my body is so used to shutting things down at the half. The right foot was starting to bother me. I got to the half in about 1:50. I took a walk break around mile 14 to rest the foot a little. But it was getting worse and the weather wasn't helping. I was sweating a lot more and the cramps were setting in. I started popping the Endurolytes more frequently. It was quite annoying being passed by the half marathoners when you're already at mile 16. I prefer races where marathons are never in contact with people running other distances. But having said that, it was great that my friends Dr Spandex and Hikergirl comes up to me as they're running the half marathon. I ran with them for a little bit before their turnaround. I guess I just wanted some friends to commiserate with me in my race gone bad. Maniac Joel passed me before mile 18 and maniac Raj passed me somewhere before mile 20.
I'll let you guess which mile I sat down at a bus bench for a much needed break. I was pooped, barely able to walk up a hill. After sitting down, I started eating my Clif Shot Bloks. They always seem to work better for me than gels.
The rest of the race was just a run-walk nonsense to the finish. I kept leapfrogging with some power-walkers. Boy can they walk fast! They would overtake me every time during my "walk" breaks. My walking pace was more like strolling. Around mile 25 my arms started to cramp. As I finally got to the mile 26 marker, I could not run. The legs were cramped up and I had nothing left on me to loosen them up. To add insult to injury, a girl that was leapfrogging with me sprints passed me about 100 meters from the finish line. She also slows down as if she was taunting me. I could barely jog at that point, but I would say that that was a fitting end to my busted race.
1-2: 14:38 (7:19)
3: 8:07
4: 8:22
5: 8:19
6: 8:26
7: 8:39
8: 9:09
9: 9:04
10: 8:21
11: 8:56
12: 8:20
13: 9:01
14: 10:05
15: 10:54
16: 11:17
17: 11:47
18: 13:01
19: 13:35
20: 15:14
21: 18:14
22: 13:14
23: 13:10
24: 13:13
25: 12:34
26: 12:52
26.2: 2:27
Finish: 4:40:56
Post-race
After the race, I drove a few miles south to Casa de Bandini for the RWOL lunch. From what I can recall those in attendance from the forum were RiP, HikerGirl, BarbBQ, Mr. BarbBQ, Shacky, Lifesabeach, Amuse, Mrs. Muse, GrapevineRunner, GIM, CharliePro, Wayne, IrungirlSD, Mr.IrungirlSD, ShelbytheHottie, Spandex is Fun, Sam, and I'm sure I left out somebody.
I had 2 stone IPAs and the ceviche. Again it saddens me to say that I don't eat as much post race steaks as I used to in the past. Stuff like colon cancer is no fun. So I love steaks... but in moderation.
2 Stone IPAs... 1 empty, 1 about to be emptied
CevicheThis race has a very scenic but tough course. If it's not going up, it's going down. Even the downhills felt hard. But I still prefer a rolling course over a flat and fast course. I keep hearing that the race will be revamped to be entirely along the coast. So the race can only get better!
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