After I was done with work, I left the office and headed straight for the expo at the Road Runner Sports near the 52 freeway at Convoy St just east of the 805. I've been here before for the Craft Classic Half Marathon in July, so I knew where to go. After parking the car, I went to one of the tables to be assigned a bib. I see that more and more races are doing this now, so no bibs are wasted on no-shows. After getting my bib, I was given a choice of a pair from a pile of throwaway gloves. Then I was directed into the building where I picked up my race long sleeved hoodie and a drawstring goodie bag. There wasn't much goodie, but the bag was pretty nice. The long sleeved hoodie was pretty nice. It came with thumb holes so the sleeves would stay down and cover part of the hand.
Packet pick-up
Race long sleeved hoodie
With thumb hole
After I was done with the expo, I drove down to the nearby Mitsuwa Marketplace to pick up a quick dinner. I decided to get a bento box instead of eating from one of the stands in the food court. They have a microwave oven available for you to heat up your food. However I was fine with eating it cold. Just to make sure I had enough, I also got one of their soured plum rice balls.
Bento dinner
After I was done with my dinner, I drove over to the WorldMark San Diego - Mission Valley. The roads here were still ever so confusing in this area. It's a good thing that I've been here before back in my college days. Even as a WorldMark owner, the check-in process was long, but friendly. I enjoyed the other properties that I've stayed at so far, but I'm started to feel that their friendliness is just to butter me up for yet another "no pressure" sales pitch. They signed me up for a morning presentation on Sunday before I checked out.
Finally when I was able to go to my room, I first parked the car in the underground parking. They gave me a parking card to display in my car and I used the room key to open the gate. The parking area and spaces were very tight even for my Mini Cooper. There were some wider spaces, but those were very limited and I would feel bad parking in one with a Mini Cooper.
I've only stayed at two WorldMark properties so far, WorldMark San Diego - Balboa Park and WorldMark Seattle - The Camlin. My room at both properties were good, but this one was much better. There was an actual bedroom and a door. There was also a separate TV inside the bedroom. This particular feature of privacy for the sleeper was one of their main selling points when I had attended my first sales pitch.
WorldMark San Diego - Mission Valley
The Star Wars Movie Marathon was still going on, so I watched some of my favorite parts of Episode 1 before turning in for the evening. It's such a shame that George Lucas had created two great characters in Episode 1, but killed them both off before the end of that same episode. While watching the movie, I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's race.
Darth Maul, my favorite Sith Lord
Flat runner
Saturday 12/16
I got ready and drove out to the starting area near the Carmel Mountain Rd exit just off of the 15 freeway. We were directed to park in the parking lot at the corner of Carmel Mountain Rd and Penasquitos Dr. I was there at about 6:15 am and the parking lot was already pretty full. The race started at 7:30 am, so at about 7 am I walked over to the nearby Jack in the Box to used their facilities. There was a long line even for the men's restroom. Fortunately I only needed to use the urinal. I bumped into a few of my San Diego friends there that I haven't seen in a while.
Start line
Charlie!
Even though the course was a net downhill course, there were some significant rollers especially during the first couple of miles while heading west on Carmel Mountain Rd. Then the course pretty much followed the 56 freeway all the way over to the Torrey Pines north beach lot at the end of McGonigle Rd. For the most part, my left ankle held up until about mile 8. Everything slowly came apart in the next couple of miles. I tried my best to keep it together, but eventually I had to take walk breaks. The little out-and-back on Sorrento Valley Rd between miles 11 and 12 was apparently short since the gate was closed. I was definitely surprised when I came up to the mile 13 marker. From talking to my friends after the race, the course was about a quarter of a mile short.
The gate at Sorrento Valley Rd was closed
Finish line
Finish: 1:50:43
Click here for my Garmin data.
While I was pleased that my left ankle was doing much better even during the downhill sections, I wasn't too happy that the course came up short. There was no way I should be so close to running a sub 1:50 for a half marathon even if it was a net downhill course.
After getting my finisher medal, I walked along the finisher chute and got in the line for the post race snacks and water bottle. I saw a few familiar faces that had finished ahead of me. It was cool to catch up with them. I then made my way over to catch one of the buses back to my car.
Medal
Post race snacks
Once I got back to my car, I drove back to my hotel. After getting cleaned up and relaxing a bit in my room, I eventually rolled out of my room and drove out to Kearny Mesa to pick up something to eat for a late lunch. I stopped at a Chevron along the way to gas up the car. For food, I decided to go to the Mitsuwa Marketplace again where I bought another bento box.
Broiled salmon with spicy miso bento
After finishing my lunch, I drove over to the AMC Mission Valley 20 to re-watch Star Wars: The Last Jedi. The 3:30 pm time slot worked the best and it was in 3D. Since I had watched it in 2D at a fan event the day before the actual opening day, I thought that this would indeed be me giving the movie a fair shake. Unfortunately, the deep flaws in this movie proved to be too deep to be excused. Although it was a much better viewing experience with the movie theater practically empty, the movie was still a big disappointment for me. With the 2nd viewing, I revised my initial rating of a D to a C+. The hate was definitely flowing through me during the initial viewing in a crowded theater as I sat there wondering how others could be enjoying that sloppy piece of work up on the screen?! If it hadn't carry the Star Wars name in its title, it wouldn't be worth a 2nd viewing.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi 3D
After the movie, I drove over to the nearby Chipotle to pick up dinner. I got my usual chicken salad with white rice, pinto beans, mild tomato salsa, and chile corn. I took it back to the hotel to enjoy while watching some TV.
Chicken salad
Sunday 12/17
In the morning, I got ready and packed up my stuff before going down to the lobby to attend my scheduled WorldMark presentation. I first stopped by my car to drop off my bags. Along the way to the presentation, I noticed in the parking garage that there was a pile of old mattresses and boxes. I guess they're in the middle of refreshing the place. That makes perfect sense since the bed in my room did feel really nice and new.
Old mattresses and boxes
Before the presentation they gave out some complimentary breakfast. They always try to hook people into attending the presentation with this breakfast, but it's actually not that good. After sitting through the presentation, they tried to sell me more credits again. They claim that it's a no pressure offer, but the guy assigned to me kept telling me that I need to buy more credits because they're changing the level requirements at the new year. This was after I had already told him that I was already aware of that fact. No means no, bro.
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