La Jolla half-stroll-a-thon 2011

Before the race

Everyone has their own race to run. A slow race for me still beats sitting at home. But it has to be done within reason. I had skipped a marathon 2 weeks ago because my leg was just hurting too much for 26.2 miles. If I'm not confident in finishing within the race time limit, I will not start the race. Too much damaging pain is also an issue.

I was hesitant in running jogging the La Jolla Half Marathon. After the painful 2:40 at the NYC half, the smartest thing to do would be to continue with the rest. But I wanted to see if everything was getting better. The thing that bothered me more than the hurting left lower leg was the very painful right hip flexor.

The day before the race, I decided to give it a go. I had purchased VIP packet pickup, so I could get my race packet at the starting area on race day. The pickup table opened at 6am and I got to the Del Mar Fairgrounds around 5:30am. It felt okay when I walked around, but I knew it's the pounding from running that causes the discomfort in the left leg. My plan was to see how it felt and if it was too much, I would drop out. The first mile was a loop around the parking lot so dropping out would be very convenient.

About 30 minutes before the race start, the announcer announced that their national anthem singer backed out and that they were looking for a volunteer. It turns out there was a couple of runners that were professional wedding singers. So they harmonized the national anthem which was pretty good.

Starting Line

The race

I don't usually for a half marathon but I brought my camera because I planned on jogging the course. This was the first time I've attached my bib to the iFitness belt. They released us in two waves. The second wave was for leisure runners and walkers, so I started near the back of the first wave. The first mile was uncomfortable because it was mostly cambered. I tried to land as softly as possible. After a while it felt better especially as we hit a small hill. The downhill sections causes discomfort in the left leg. If I concentrate on the form, the right hip flexor did not hurt. It got a little sore near the end, but it was nowhere near the pain I felt in NYC. I pulled over to the side near mile 4 to take a picture of Torrey Pines.

Torrey Pines State Park up ahead

I did most of my passing during the big climb up Torrey Pines State Park and the last climb up Torrey Pines Road to Prospect Place. Right before the steep cobblestone downhill there was a line of people looking for bandits. Among those bouncers was a lady wearing a shirt that read "WTF!" I told her "seriously, nice shirt". We were pretty fortunate to have an overcast for pretty much the entire time as the weather can sometimes get very warm for this race.

1: 9:50
2: 9:22
3: 9:40
4: 10:39
5: 9:58
6: 11:35
7: 9:42
8: 12:54
9: 11:33
10: 11:07
11: 12:05
12: 11:55
13.1: 13:07
Finish: 2:23:27

After the race

Even though it was my personal worst on this course, I'm glad it felt better than several weeks ago in NYC. I took 1 minute walk breaks every 3 miles and a S cap every hour. I also took 3 Hammer gels during my walk breaks. The water they were passing out at the finish line tasted horrible. It was tap water from a hose, which they used to fill up plastic trash cans. I liked the shirt and medal this year. They've been pretty ho-hum in the years past.

Bib, shirt, and medal

I took a picture of the cove before getting on the bus back to Del Mar. I love the San Diego area, especially La Jolla. I would love to come down here every chance I got, but this might be the last time I run the Triple Crown series. Well, at least until I rest up so I can at the very least run a 1:30 half marathon. I felt pretty out of shape in this race since I haven't been running at all for a while. My right calf was cramping really bad on the bus ride.

La Jolla Cove