I parked at the parking structure on 10th Ave just South of Island Ave. I noticed that the traffic was unusually congested getting to the structure. I would find out later that there was a graduation ceremony taking place at Petco Park which drove up the price for parking at this structure from the usual $6 to $10. I guess it's still cheaper than parking at the San Diego Convention Center parking lot which was $15.
It was a short walk over to the convention center. I picked up my race packet and my race shirt before checking out the very familiar expo. I was out of my Clif Shot Bloks, so I decided to buy a box of salted watermelon GU for $25. It was a new flavor. The lady even threw in a nice GU water bottle. I bumped into a few of my running friends as I was picking up some Lifeway sample products that I promptly ate for breakfast. Then I made my way to the Rock n' Roll area to I sign up for next year's race. It was $95 for the full marathon plus $9.99 for processing fees.
Yeti!
Breakfast!
I picked up my race day parking pass that I had pre-paid online for $15 which came with a wrist band to ride the shuttle to the starting area. I went back to the stage area to meet up with some friends and to listen to Meb Keflezighi, who had just recently won the Boston Marathon a little month ago. It was pretty cool to hear him talk about his tactics and experiences during that race. That prestigious race couldn't have been won by a nicer guy! I've met him several times in person and he has always been friendly and very humble.
After leaving the expo, I went searching for lunch. I had a craving for some In-n-Out burgers. I first stopped by the Pacific Beach location, but there was no parking and I didn't feel like getting in the super long drive-thru line. So I hopped back on the freeway and headed over to the one in Kearny Mesa. The parking was just as horrible there, but I was able to find some street parking across the way. I got myself two Double Doubles, one for each hand. I was so hungry, I probably could've eaten two more. Before heading to my hotel for the night, I walked over to the Mitsuwa across the street to buy a some drinks and a bento box for dinner.
I checked into the Holiday Inn Express in Sorrento Valley. I liked this quiet location. I enjoyed a 6-pack of some Stone Go To IPA while going through my expo haul and watching the Dodgers game on TV. Apparently I didn't notice it when I bought the 6-pack that somebody had swapped out a bottle with a Saison which I don't particularly like but it was a nice change in taste after drinking several IPA's in a row.
After watching the Dodger game, finishing my dinner, and drinking all of the beers, it was time to lay out the race gear and go to sleep. Sometimes it's hard to sleep the night before a race, but drinking a bunch of beers sure helps.
Chicken katsu bento
All empty
Race gear
6/1 Race Day
I got ready, checked out of the hotel, and drove out to park at my assigned parking spot. This year I was assigned the parking structure at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront located adjacent to the San Diego Convention Center. I waited inside the hotel for a bit before going back out to catch the shuttle to the starting area. It was still dark when I got off of the shuttle. I looked for a banana and some water before going over to wait by my UPS gear check truck. I checked my gear bag before heading over to the usual spot for the pre-race Marathon Maniac photo at the corner of Nutmeg St and 6th Ave at the stairs of St Paul's Episcopal Cathedral.
Marathon Maniacs pre-race photo from Paula
This would be the 12th consecutive San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon for me since the time when I ran my very first marathon back in 2003. So it would be very easy to understand that this marathon has special meaning for me. I am very familiar with the ins and outs of this race. The weather usually gets pretty warm, but I thought that I was good enough to run a sub 4:20. I ran the first 10k at a harder effort. Then when the course went on the bike paths at Mission Bay, I eased off because that cement surface really beats me up! I got to the half in about 1:53. The second half would have a bunch of significant climbs but they were all runable sections. The seemingly never-ending 2 mile-ish climb on the 163 really demoralized me. I tried to recover and rally during the last couple of miles, but leg cramps kept threatening to lock up the legs. I do love that the current course ends with a long section of downhill ending at the Gaslamp Quarter. I was somewhat disappointed that I didn't finish sub 4:20, but I'm always okay with finishing a marathon under Oprah's 4:29:20. :)
Starting corral
1: 8:11
2: 8:14
3: 8:03
4-5: 15:59 (8:00)
6: 8:34
7: 9:00
8-9: 18:09 (9:05)
10: 9:06
11: 9:02
12: 9:01
13: 9:02
14: 10:13
15: 10:17
16: 9:48
17: 10:23
18: 10:57
19: 11:08
20: 10:28
21: 14:54
22: 13:39
23: 11:31
24: 12:39
25: 11:31
26.2: 13:34
Finish: 4:23:22
After crossing the finish line, I grabbed the usual water, Gatorade, and Power Bar before heading over to the UPS trucks to pick up my gear bag. After getting my bag, I headed over to Petco Park to grab my free beer and relax a bit before heading home. While I was enjoying my beer in the shade, I had a nice conversation with two ladies. They sure had a lot of questions for me concerning being a Marathon Maniac and not popping any pain pills. Apparently they also do not like to be reliant on pharmaceuticals. I bumped into a few of my friends before heading home. I liked that the post-race festivities were held inside the beautiful Petco Park.
Along the way home, I stopped by my favorite ramen shop, What's Up Men, to eat some lunch. They had a new item on their menu so I gave it a try. It was Reimen, some cold ramen noodles, which was nice since it was a bit warm to be eating a hot bowl of regular ramen. I also ordered the kurobuta sausages and an Asashi draft beer.
Reimen, sausages, and beer
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