Originally I was registered for and planning to run the Inaugural Heroes 10-Mile Run in Anaheim, but it was canceled and a refund was issued. I actually thought about giving myself a weekend off of racing, but eventually I decided to run the Silver Strand Half Marathon. Coincidentally they also had a 10 miler, but why run 10 when you can run 13.1? :)
After picking up my car from the dealership (dead battery) and gassing up the car, I started my drive down to San Diego. I'm not sure why, but this drive down to San Diego just seems to get longer and longer each time I make the drive. I arrived at Road Runner Sports and found a parking spot way at the back of the store. After filling out the waiver forms, I got in one of the many bib pick-up lines to be assigned a number. After getting my bib, I headed into the store to pick up my race shirt and goodie bag. The guy giving me my shirt noticed my Santa Clarita shirt and made a comment that there is help available for those that run too much. :)
Race shirt
Back of race shirt
After using the restroom, I made my way over to my usual spot at the Mitsuwa Marketplace for a quick lunch before heading back home. Instead of getting a pre-made bento box, I decided to get in line at Musashiya for a hot cooked-to-order meal. I ordered their chicken katsu set. I must say that it was one of the worst chicken katsu that I had ever eaten. It tasted more like regular fried chicken. Perhaps they served me the wrong type of chicken as they had fried chicken as one of the items on their special menu. Oh well, it was still quite edible and the rest of the food was okay. I will definitely think twice before I order from here again.
Chicken katsu set
Sunday 11/11
I timed my drive so that I would arrive at Raema Park at about 5:15 am. I don't think I've driven this far South in such a long time as I was only about 5 minutes from the border. I exited off of the 5 freeway at Palm Ave and drove West towards Imperial Beach. I parked on Elkwood Ave just East of Raema Park right at the corner of 3rd St. I relaxed and waited in my car for a bit as the first bus wasn't scheduled to leave until 5:30 am or 5:45 am. There was a chill in the air as I made the walk over to the pick-up spot on 2nd St. The bus took us over to the starting area at Sunset Park over on Coronado.
I was among the first ones there as the starting line wasn't quite set up yet as it still needed to be rolled into place. I made my way over to the long row of portapotties to take care of business. After I was finished, I wrapped myself in my mylar blanket and found a spot on the curb to sit down and wait. As I waited, I spotted a few of my San Diego friends. They are some of the nicest people that I know. Her brother would be running his first half marathon this morning!
SD friends
Start line
The usual suspects
The race started at 7:30 am after the skate/ElliptiGO and hand-cycle/wheelchair participants started at 7:15 am and 7:20 am respectively. The course was pretty much pancake flat with the majority of it along the Silver Strand Blvd from Coronado down to Imperial Beach. I ran the first two miles just a tad too fast, but the legs felt surprisingly good. Not counting the Long Beach Marathon, this was the 5th consecutive weekend where I was running a half marathon. Going into this race, I just wanted to maintain a 8:15 - 8:30 min/mile pace throughout. At about 8.5 miles into the race, we finally got off of Silver Stand Blvd and started weaving our way towards Seacoast Dr. Coming through mile 10, I got a glimpse of the finish line. I was hoping to keep it together for the last 5k, but during that short span, everything quickly fell apart. I even had to take a short walk break right before the turnaround point. My friend would pass me during the last mile coming down Imperial Beach Blvd. My legs were beginning to cramp up, so I was unable to keep up and have her pull me to the finish line.
Coming through mile 10
Finish: 1:52:19
Click here for my Garmin data.
As soon as I stopped, my legs cramped up. My friend had just finished ahead of me and was taking pictures with her friend. So after having a brief chat, I had to keep moving to keep the legs loose. I got my finisher medal, a banana and a bottle of water. A little bit further down the finishing chute, they were passing out bottles of Naked juice fruit smoothie. Nice!Relive 'Silver Strand Half Marathon'
Overall I did okay and was pleased with what the legs were able to give me today. I gave myself a chance to run another sub 1:50, but I lost it in the final 5k.
I took my stuff and headed across the street to eat my banana and see if I could catch my friend finishing. I saw him come through and shouted his name, but he was running with music, so he did not hear me. Before heading home, I used one of the portapotties next to the gear bag retrieval area on Elder Ave.
Finish line
Finisher medal
Finisher medal and post race goodies
My legs were still a bit tight on the drive home, so I drank the bottle of Naked juice fruit smoothie which helped. I didn't have enough gas in the tank for the drive home, so I rolled into the Chevron gas station on El Toro riding on fumes. There was a McDonald's next to this gas station and boy was I tempted to go in there for some salty french fries!
Fill 'er up!
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