Since I had a race tomorrow, I swung by Chick-fil-A for lunch. Besides breaking the McDonald's pre-race tradition, I've also been making a push to earn red status on their app. One benefit from eating here is that it helps me cut back on the red meat intake.
Chick-fil-A sandwich x2
After work I stopped by a Chevron gas station along the way down to fill up my gas tank so that I would have enough fuel to make it down to San Diego to pick up my race packet. Once again the packet pick-up was held at Road Runner Sports in San Diego.
Fill up the gas tank
As usual, the packet pick-up process was quick and well organized. After getting assigned a bib number, I was then given a long sleeve hoodie race shirt, drawstring bag, throwaway gloves, mylar blanket, and a brochure with race day information. While I liked that their race shirts were different from most races, I would still prefer a regular short sleeve t-shirt especially for a Southern California race. After I used one of their restrooms, I hopped in the car and went to go get dinner.
Packet pick-up at Road Runner Sports
Long sleeve race hoodie
Swag
For dinner, I drove out to the Chick-fil-A just off of the 15 freeway at Carmel Mountain Rd. This location had become my go-to place as I usually stay at a nearby hotel for most of my races in San Diego. It just so happened that they gave me a free grilled chicken sandwich as a reward on the app. In addition to the free sandwich, I ordered a Cobb Salad with chicken nuggets and an unsweetened iced tea. When my food was brought out to me, they also gave me 2 gift cards good for either a chocolate chunk cookie or a small icedream cone!
Free grilled chicken sandwich!
Chick-fil-A gift cards
Cobb salad with chicken nuggets, grilled chicken sandwich, and unsweetened iced tea
Free grilled chicken sandwich
After I was done with dinner, I drove over to the nearby La Quinta Inn to check into my room. In my room, the front desk manager had left 2 bottles of water, a Nutri-Grain bar, and a hand written note welcoming me to the hotel. I've never had that kind of special treatment before for a not-very-high-tier hotel.
Compliments of the front desk
Letter from the front desk
After I got settled in, I laid out my flat runner. Once again I went with last weekend's race shirt. I then proceeded to watch a bunch of TV before I finally called it a night. I even caught my favorite episode of season 4 for Rick and Morty.
Flat runner
"Stay in the car!"
Saturday 12/21
It was nice staying pretty close to the start of the race. Still I wanted to get there early to make sure that there's no stress in finding a parking spot. Per the race instructions, I parked in the Penasquitos Village parking lot off of Carmel Mountain Rd just in front of the Floor & Decor. The start line was across the street on Penasquitos Dr. After using one of the portapotties, I went inside the very crowded lobby of the Hotel Karlan to get out of the chilly morning air. I bumped into a few of my friends doing the same thing.
I went back outside to meet up with my good friend as well as to take a pre-race photo with the Half Fanatics. After the picture, we went to drop off her gear bag and then get into the start corral. Before settling behind the 1:40 pace group, I went up to the front to say hi to my friend who was warming up.
Half Fanatics pre-race photo
Warming up with Dan
Start corral
The race started promptly at 7:30 am. Since this race was a net downhill course, I went into the race wanting to see if I could run a sub 1:50. At the very least, I want to put in a solid effort. Everything felt good through the first 8 miles. The remainder of the race was a grind to the finish line. The last little out-and-back on Sorrento Valley Rd wasn't cut short this year, but I was running on fumes. I took a walk break after reaching the mile 12 marker and I had a bit of trouble convincing my legs to get going! I knew that a sub 1:50 was in the bag, but still I had to pull it together during that final mile. During the final stretch, 2 fifteen year olds blew by me and another runner as if we were both standing still. Oh to be young again! :)
From Dan the man!
Must be nice to be 15
Finish line
Finish: 1:48:00
Click here for my Garmin data.
I was glad that I was able to finish the race in under 1:50 with a couple of minutes to spare. It helped a lot to be familiar with the course. I was also happy that the course wasn't short like it was back in 2017 when I ran the race for the first time.
After getting my finisher medal and a bag of post race goodies, I waited for my friend to finish. I knew that even though she was feeling a bit under the weather that she wasn't that far behind. If she's healthy, she's usually ahead of me.
Finisher medal
Post-race goodies
The post race area with the vendor booths was extremely crowded. Eventually we went our separate ways as I went to go search for the location where they were handing out the Route 56 Challenge medal. After obtaining my extra medal, I made my way over to the final corner to cheer on my fellow runners before catching a bus back to my car.
Route 56 Challenge medal, side 1
Route 56 Challenge medal, side 2
Once I got back to my car, it was time for me to drive into work to check if everything was up and running after a recent system update. After confirming that everything was good, I began the drive home. Along the way, I stopped in at the Chick-fil-A in Brea to grab a quick lunch. Both the parking lot and the restaurant was packed. Fortunately I found a parking spot with minimal hunting and I was also able to find an empty seat at a long table. I conveniently skipped the line and placed my order via their mobile app. I ordered the Cobb salad with chicken nuggets, Chick-fil-A sandwich, and a lemonade. This has started to become my go-to meal at Chick-fil-A!
Cobb salad with chicken nuggets, Chick-fil-A sandwich, and lemonade
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