I had a late start heading down to the race expo in Del Mar. I liked it when this race used to have race day packet pick-up for free. The expo was located at the Hilton San Diego/Del Mar hotel and was scheduled to open at 10 am. I got there at about 10:45 am while encountering some weekend traffic along the way. Per the final race instructions, I parked in the dirt lot just South of the hotel. There were a couple of people stationed there directing traffic.
One of the cool things that I saw right near the entrance of the expo was a horse that was there for you to sign and take pictures. It was a fairly small expo. After picking up my bib, race shirt, and a drawstring bag, I had to hurry out of there since I had a movie to catch over in Poway.
Race shirt
Back of shirt
Drawstring bag
I watched the Avengers: Endgame at the AMC Dine-In Poway 10. I made it just right before they started the previews. The theater was packed with every seat taken. I had a seat in the very first row so it was rather easy to find. I had the same viewing experience when I saw the Black Panther on opening night. You pretty much had to watch the movie from the fully reclined position. It was uncomfortable at first viewing it that close, but you get used to it. I thought the movie was much better the second time around. I was able to catch things that I kind of missed during the first viewing. Even though I knew the outcome, it was just as emotional the second time through.
After the movie, I drove over to the nearby La Quinta Inn near the 56 and 15 freeways. The motel was a bit tucked in the back. It wasn't quite visible from off of the main road, so you might miss it if you weren't paying attention. After getting checked-in, I grabbed my stuff from the car and dumped them in my room.
Since I didn't have a chance to eat lunch earlier, I walked across the street to eat a late lunch at McDonald's. I placed my order using one of their kiosks. I ordered 2 McDoubles for $3. Also by using the mobile app for the QR code, it allowed me to score a free order of medium fries. Thank you to the Padres for winning yesterday!
Free fries when the Padres win!
McDouble x2 for $3 and free fries
After finishing off my meal, it was time to relax a bit back in my room. While watching some TV, I heard about the shooting at the Chabad of Poway synagogue that took place earlier in the day. Such terrible times that we live in these days. The movie theater that I was at was about 6 miles away.
A few hours later, I went back to McDonald's to pick up dinner. I ordered 2 Quarter Pounders with cheese and a Happy Meal. It was much busier during this visit, so it took a while for my food to come out. When my food finally came out, I was ready to walk out and head back to my room. For some reason, I decided to check which Avengers toy they had thrown in there. It was a good thing that I checked, because they did not include the toy. They were quick to rectify the mistake once I notified one of the employees.
Dinner
Once I plowed through my dinner back at my room, I laid out my flat runner for tomorrow's race. I brought one of my favorite INK n BURN shirts.
Flat runner
Sunday 4/28
I got my stuff ready and headed out to the Del Mar Fairgrounds. I arrived at the same dirt parking lot at about 5:15 am. Even though the race was scheduled to start at 6:30 am, I still like to be there early. I grabbed my stuff and walked over to the fairground via the underpass. Since I was there pretty early, I got first crack at the restrooms. It was nice to be able to take care of the usual morning business with flushing toilets instead of using one of the portapotties.
Restrooms were open
After I was done, I walked around the place to check things out. Most of the stuff remained the same as when I had last run this race back in 2013. They had a stand near the starting line selling coffee. I don't remember that being there.
Morning coffee
I was headed back to the restrooms to use the urinals one last time. As I was headed there, a guy named Adam started a conversation with me because he saw me with my NYC Half Marathon mylar blanket. I guess they can be used as a conversation starter. It turned out that he had also run in the race. We had similar time goals for this race, so we both ended up starting in wave 2 with the 1:45 pace group.
Start line
For this race, I wanted to see how long I could maintain an 8 min per mile pace. The answer was 2 miles. Once I hit that incline at around mile 3, my breathing was getting out of control and I felt like I was overheating, so I decided to pull over for a walk break. I had totally forgotten just how hilly this course was after a 6 year hiatus. I tried to get the legs moving again after the long downhill leading up to the climb up Torrey Pines. That climb was just as brutal as I had remembered it. I remember being able to run non-stop up this section once or twice when I was in much better shape.
Just like old times, I got to see Coach Jimmy as I was running along Torrey Pines near the golf course. He was my coach when I ran a race for Team in Training. He was headed in the opposite direction of the race, so I figured that he was running back and forth, coaching his runners.
My legs had a difficult time handling the long downhill section along La Jolla Shores Dr. I was barely running a sub 9 min mile. It was much easier for me to handle that last uphill on Prospect during the final mile during which I had passed a runner wearing a rather large backpack. He would come sprinting past me on the grassy section right before the finish line. Someone sure lit a fire under his ass! :)
Finish line
Finish: 2:04:29
Click here for my Garmin data.
In the 8 years that I've run this race, I've never really run this race well. I couldn't break 2 hrs, but this was my 3rd fastest time for this course. I think what I ran this day was the best that I could do with my current level of fitness. I have been putting on more weight recently as I had switched to weight lifting to give my legs a break from running. I'm hoping to return to running more miles once my Achilles aren't so tight and sore.Relive 'La Jolla Half Marathon'
After crossing the finish line, I got my finisher medal. The square medal was okay, but the lanyard was one of the better ones that I've seen in all of my years of racing. I also got a brown paper bag full of post race goodies. I drank the TruMoo and saved the rest for later consumption.
Finisher medal
Post race snacks
Post race area
Along the way over to the shuttle pick-up spot near the corner of Coast Blvd and Ocean St, I walked past the beer garden. I saw that they were serving Ballast Point beer. They brewed some of my favorites when I used to drink beers. I wonder if they or other craft breweries will ever start brewing anything non-alcoholic especially with the current Sober Curious movement.
Beer garden
Before getting in line for the shuttle back to my car, I took one last photo of my medal with the ocean in the background. One of the things that I miss about my undergrad days at UCSD was the close proximity of the beautiful La Jolla Cove! I used to come down here early in the morning to do my QT's.
Beautiful scenery at the cove
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