Early Saturday morning, I headed down to Irvine to run with the newly formed Train4Autism OC Chapter. I planned on running an easy 30 minutes. I ended up running a little over 5 miles in about 49 minutes. I threw in some surges to see if my legs could handle some speed. The legs reacted pretty well. The others in the group were running 6 and 10.5 miles. After I finished my run, I jogged back out to try and get some pictures. A bunch of us then went to eat at IHOP afterwards. I'm pretty sure I didn't run enough miles to be eating that much food! :)
I hopped on the freeway and headed down south to San Diego, my most favorite city in California, for the packet pickup at the Sheraton Hotel. The traffic was pretty heavy. I really really really hate traffic especially on weekends. I usually get off at Sassafras St and turn on Laurel St to get the expo. But I tried going the other way around by getting off at Rosecrans St. The traffic was heavy and it seemed like a bad idea until I got past the Sports Arena area. I parked in the usual dirt parking lot and picked up my packet. The expo has gotten bigger in the last couple of years but it's still fairly small. I stopped by the Rock n' Roll booth and found out that the registration for the SD RnR Marathon will open on 9/1.
I left the expo and stopped by Mitsuwa to pick up some snacks for a late lunch. I then checked into my hotel in Kearny Mesa. There was some sketchy characters in the parking lot as I parked my car. This hotel was pretty old. They still gave out regular keys. It seemed like most of the people there were staying long term.
The bed was very old and lumpy, but I zonked out watching the TV. I got up and drove out to Tajima for some ramen. I think next time I'm down in SD, I will go visit the Dumpling Inn to change things up. After eating, I returned to my room. I had to run the air conditioner a little bit since it was a bit warm. I got my race drink and gear ready before calling it a night.
Race Day
Train4Autism - OC Chapter
IHOP - Strawberry & Banana Waffle and Ultimate Plate
I hopped on the freeway and headed down south to San Diego, my most favorite city in California, for the packet pickup at the Sheraton Hotel. The traffic was pretty heavy. I really really really hate traffic especially on weekends. I usually get off at Sassafras St and turn on Laurel St to get the expo. But I tried going the other way around by getting off at Rosecrans St. The traffic was heavy and it seemed like a bad idea until I got past the Sports Arena area. I parked in the usual dirt parking lot and picked up my packet. The expo has gotten bigger in the last couple of years but it's still fairly small. I stopped by the Rock n' Roll booth and found out that the registration for the SD RnR Marathon will open on 9/1.
San Diego RnR Marathon 2012
One Bad Mother Runner!
I left the expo and stopped by Mitsuwa to pick up some snacks for a late lunch. I then checked into my hotel in Kearny Mesa. There was some sketchy characters in the parking lot as I parked my car. This hotel was pretty old. They still gave out regular keys. It seemed like most of the people there were staying long term.
California Suites
Snacks from Mitsuwa
The bed was very old and lumpy, but I zonked out watching the TV. I got up and drove out to Tajima for some ramen. I think next time I'm down in SD, I will go visit the Dumpling Inn to change things up. After eating, I returned to my room. I had to run the air conditioner a little bit since it was a bit warm. I got my race drink and gear ready before calling it a night.
Tajima #1 - tonkotsu ramen with kakuni
Race Day
The 163 was shutdown for some pipework on race day, so I took the 805 down to the zoo. I got there around 4:30am, parked the car, and took a short nap in my car. I boarded the bus around 5am and got to the starting area at 5:30am. I found a spot to sit down. At around 6:30 I got up and walked to the front of the starting area to see if I can find some familiar faces. Well, as I was about to head for the portapotties, I was recognized by a Runner's World forumite. We shot the breeze for a little bit, wished each other a great race, and I headed for the potties. The lines were pretty crazy this year as they all crisscrossed. When I was done, I headed back to the starting area. It was super crowded.
Goal 1: finish first 10k in sub 50
Goal 2: finish in sub 2 hrs
The first mile felt good and relaxed. On the 2nd mile, Hikergirl catches me... which happens every year at almost the same exact spot. On the 2nd hill, I could not keep up with her and her friend. By mile 4, most of the downhills were over and my legs were done. I tried to hang on, but it didn't get any better. I got to the 10k mark at 49:44. I started feeling pretty horrible at mile 7. I took a walk break every 3 miles. Took gels at mile 6 and 9. I took a 1 minute walk break at miles 10, 11, and 12. I was so glad when I finished the final 2 mile hike uphill. The best part of this race is the downhill final stretch just shortly after crossing the bridge.
1: 7:34
2: 7:52
3: 7:39
4: 7:45
5: 8:35
6: 8:37
7-8: 18:41 (9:21)
9: 9:36
10: 9:55
11: 10:04
12: 10:59
13.1: 10:53
Finish: 1:58:11
Post-Race
Goal 1: finish first 10k in sub 50
Goal 2: finish in sub 2 hrs
The first mile felt good and relaxed. On the 2nd mile, Hikergirl catches me... which happens every year at almost the same exact spot. On the 2nd hill, I could not keep up with her and her friend. By mile 4, most of the downhills were over and my legs were done. I tried to hang on, but it didn't get any better. I got to the 10k mark at 49:44. I started feeling pretty horrible at mile 7. I took a walk break every 3 miles. Took gels at mile 6 and 9. I took a 1 minute walk break at miles 10, 11, and 12. I was so glad when I finished the final 2 mile hike uphill. The best part of this race is the downhill final stretch just shortly after crossing the bridge.
1: 7:34
2: 7:52
3: 7:39
4: 7:45
5: 8:35
6: 8:37
7-8: 18:41 (9:21)
9: 9:36
10: 9:55
11: 10:04
12: 10:59
13.1: 10:53
Finish: 1:58:11
Post-Race
I finished 10 minutes faster than last weekend's half marathon in Chicago. I guess you can make a case that I was sandbagging it in Chicago. That or my not-so-carbo-loading meals were not conducive to faster running in Chicago.
After getting my medal, I walked over to the finisher area and picked up my Triple Crown medal. I took a picture with my medals and went to grab some drinks. Then I managed to find my San Diego friends. After sharing our race stories, I walked with a few of them to the car.
The post-race meetup was at Gordon Biersch. Since I had nowhere to go to clean up, I drove over to the restaurant. I had about an hour to kill. So I ended up buying some clothes at the Old Navy and went beer shopping in BevMo. I bought some Oaked Arrogant Bastard because I heard good things about this beer.
I loaded the beer into the car and walked over to Gordon Biersch. People started arriving for the post-race gathering. The early birds started with some drinks. I had the Märzen as my first. It was pretty tasty. The next one I had was the Blonde Bock. It was surprisingly good! Once everyone arrived, we started putting in our orders. I got the Seafood Cobb Salad. It was a pretty big bowl of salad. Very filling for a salad. I got a Hefeweizen to round out the meal.
It was nice to meet up with runners, people that share a common interest and don't look at you as nuts for running. I got to catch up with a few San Diego friends that I only get to see about twice a year. I also got to meet new people. I guess I'll have to come back again next year even though this course always kicks my butt every year!
After getting my medal, I walked over to the finisher area and picked up my Triple Crown medal. I took a picture with my medals and went to grab some drinks. Then I managed to find my San Diego friends. After sharing our race stories, I walked with a few of them to the car.
Shirt and medals
The post-race meetup was at Gordon Biersch. Since I had nowhere to go to clean up, I drove over to the restaurant. I had about an hour to kill. So I ended up buying some clothes at the Old Navy and went beer shopping in BevMo. I bought some Oaked Arrogant Bastard because I heard good things about this beer.
Oaked Arrogant Bastard
I loaded the beer into the car and walked over to Gordon Biersch. People started arriving for the post-race gathering. The early birds started with some drinks. I had the Märzen as my first. It was pretty tasty. The next one I had was the Blonde Bock. It was surprisingly good! Once everyone arrived, we started putting in our orders. I got the Seafood Cobb Salad. It was a pretty big bowl of salad. Very filling for a salad. I got a Hefeweizen to round out the meal.
Gordon Biersch Märzen
Gordon Biersch Blonde Bock
Gordon Biersch Hefeweizen
Gordon Biersch Seafood Cobb Salad
It was nice to meet up with runners, people that share a common interest and don't look at you as nuts for running. I got to catch up with a few San Diego friends that I only get to see about twice a year. I also got to meet new people. I guess I'll have to come back again next year even though this course always kicks my butt every year!
2 comments:
Great recap Emil!! This is a race I'll have to participate in one year!
Emil, nice write up! Nice race! Saw this on Twitter and glad to read it.
I enjoyed AFC as well, we finished with about the same time. I see from the sidebar we also ran "togther" in LA and Chicago Marathons in 2010!!
My AFC write up is at
runwithperseverance.blogspot.com
Feel free to stop by!!
Run strong and smooth!
Joe
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