Holiday Half Marathon 2023

Friday 12/8
Even though there was race day packet pick up, I decided to drive over to A Snail's Pace Running Shop in Brea just a few minutes ahead of the end of my work day. I came up to the intersection to turn onto the main road and waited for a green light. Knowing that this intersection was quite notorious for crashes, I checked to see if the traffic was stopped before I made my right turn when I got a green light. The car in lane 1 stopped, but the clueless dumbass in lane 2 driving a Porsche drove right through a stale red light while clearly holding his cellphone in his right hand. If I had gone, he probably would've t-boned me!

There was a ton of traffic once I exited the freeway at Imperial Highway. I had to squeeze my way across to the left lane in order to make the left turn at Randolph Ave. I'm pretty sure that the driver behind me didn't like that as he or she gunned it as soon as I was out of the way. Not sure what was the rush as there was traffic waiting for that driver less than a block ahead! Per the usual, the whole race packet pick up process was really quick. The guy was looking for a QR code, but my confirmation email only had a bar code which he was able to use to look me up. I was assigned a bib number and given my race shirt before I was on my way back home.

Race shirt

Sunday 12/10
The race would start and finish on the In-n-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip. Per this article, it had only changed its name from the Auto Club Raceway at the beginning of 2023. The email that was sent out told us to enter the Pomona Fairplex through gate 15 on Arrow Highway just west of White Ave. Even though I had already picked up my race packet, I decided to just get to the race early to avoid any traffic headaches. There was no line to enter when I arrived right at 6 am. Parking was a flat $17. I followed the car ahead of me and was directed by a guy with a red glowstick on where to park. It would seem that other cars that arrived later were just parking wherever they felt like parking. Ultimately, it didn't really matter since it was a huge parking lot.

I stayed in my nice warm car and ate my remaining sample Science in Sports energy bar. At about 6:30 am, I left my car to go check out the start area as well as to use the restroom. I was expecting to use portapotties, but there were several restrooms just beneath the bleachers. After I was done, I slow jogged it back to my car as it was pretty chilly outside.

In-n-Out Burger Pomona Dragstrip

Race expo

Elf and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation backdrop
between the bib pick up and awards tent

Festival map

At about 7 am, I got ready and gathered my stuff before heading out to the start line and use the restroom one last time. Along the way, I bumped into a couple of my running buddies. They would join me on the walk over. We went our separate ways to take care of our own pre-race routines. Once I was done with the restroom, I headed out to the end of the dragstrip where I bumped into my friend Stacy. It was nice to bump into so many familiar faces as we waited for the start of the race. There was a pre-race announcement that the start would be delayed. It ended up being delayed by 10 minutes.

Luis and Charles

Stacy

Amador

Rachel and Jim

Paul

Karen and Dan

Pam

For this race, I wanted to go out at a decent pace to see what my legs can handle. My legs felt great. Apparently, a 7:45ish min/mile pace was what they wanted to run. It was nice to see that I was keeping up with my friend and the 1:40 pacer without struggling. That pace felt okay through the first 2 miles, but I knew that I just didn't have the endurance to maintain that pace for 11 more miles. I took my foot off of the gas starting with the 3rd mile and stopped for a walk break after reaching mile 4. The only other time that I've run this race was back in 2019 where I recall running around Puddingstone Lake in a counter-clockwise direction. This year, we ran it in the opposite direction.

Half marathon race course

From Nadia

The run through Frank G. Bonnelli Park was nice, but boy were there rollers! Those short climbs here and there caused my pace to drop starting with mile 7. Eventually, I started to feel it in my right hip, so I had to back off and take walk breaks. Miles 10 and 11 were a grind. A combination of inclines and the roads being a bit cambered aggravated my right hip. The 2 hour pacer passed me and kept plowing ahead at a faster pace which made me double-check my watch. Even though I was slowing down, I was on schedule to finish a few minutes ahead of 2 hours. Not sure what he was doing. Mentally, I was pretty worn out as I approached mile 12 on Puddingstone Dr due to the strong headwinds. As I made the turnaround on the short out and back on Fairplex Dr, I saw that my friend Stacy was not very far behind. She usually beats me at races, so I didn't want to give up too easily. Once I ran onto the dragstrip, I emptied whatever I had in the tank for that final stretch to the finish line.

Finish: 1:56:47
Click here for my Garmin data.

After crossing the finish line, I waited for my friend as I knew that she wasn't too far behind me. This was one of the few races where I managed to beat her. We got our finisher medals and continued down the dragstrip where we picked up some post race snacks and a bottle of water.

Stacy not too far behind me

Finisher medal

Post race snacks and water bottle

Start and finish line

We then made our way out to the food vendors area. I didn't feel like eating fair food for breakfast, so I passed on the food. We took pictures at the backdrop between the bib pick-up table and the awards table. I only opted for Clark Griswold as I'm not a fan of Buddy the Elf. We also got pictures with Santa Claus before we parted ways. My friend wanted to hang out and wait for her other friends to finish. I was headed out for some breakfast.

Clark Griswold

Santa Claus

After getting back to my car, I first tried to place an order on the McDonald's app. However, there were no good deals for breakfast. Instead, I opted for Wendy's. They had stalls designated for mobile order parking. This was my first time using their mobile app to place an order. As I was browsing their breakfast menu, the app notified me that breakfast had to be placed by 10:25 am and picked up by 10:30 am. I went with their 2 item combo for $3 where I got a sausage biscuit and a medium hot coffee. I then got into the drive-thru lane. When I got to the second window, the employee told me I would have to wait for the coffee. He had me pull up to the door and wait. They must have already switched to lunch mode and was completely out of coffee. I'm sure they had to brew a new pot of coffee as it took about 10 minutes before another employee brought the food out to me.

Where I parked

Parking lot

Sausage biscuit and coffee

Lopers Club Holiday Classic Half Marathon 2023

Saturday 12/2
Prior to my usual morning walk around the neighborhood, I watched the first half of the Arsensal v. Wolves match. I must say that those Gooners looked quite impressive with their first 2 goals which came quick and early! If they can continue to play this way, the league cup will certainly be theirs this year. I came back from my walk to find that they had relaxed after that first half and even allowed the Wolves to score. Still they won 2-1 taking them to the top the table. I then caught most of the first half of the Forest v. Everton match before heading out.

In addition to picking up my race packet for tomorrow's race, I had to first swing by Brea Mall to pick up a Black Friday order from BoxLunch. I found a parking spot in aisle C of parking garage A over by the car detailing area. From there, I entered the mall at the entrance right next to The Spa at the Glen. Since I hadn't been to this mall or any mall in a while, I ended up taking a lap around the mall just to see what was available. I saw that there was a pretty long line to get pictures taken with Santa Claus and the Christmas tree. While there were sections of the mall where there were vacancies, it wasn't nearly as bad as Puente Hills Mall.

Parking garage A

Where I parked

Entrance

After I finally made my way over to BoxLunch which was near Nordstrom, I checked in with the employee at the counter. After checking my ID, she looked up my shipment on the computer to mark it as being picked up. At first she only gave me 1 of the 2 Funko Pops that I had ordered. I thought the computer would've shown that it was delivered in 2 shipments, but it did not. I had to let her know that my order was split into 2 shipments, arriving 1 day apart.

Early release Funko

Funny stickers. High school & college español for the win!

From there, I hopped on the freeway and headed out to Redlands to pick up my race packet over at the Running Center. It was a very quick process. Took maybe 3 minutes total. They even had a sign outside telling you where to go. I went inside and one of two young ladies helped me out. They both looked to be in high school. They noticed that I was wearing a Tottenham cap. The one that helped me was a Man City fan and her best friend next to her was a Liverpool fan. After assigning me to a half marathon bib, she wished me a good race and football match tomorrow. Thanks, but I seriously doubt that my team will have any chance of beating City tomorrow! I then went back outside to pick up my race shirt from the guys under the EZ-Up canopy. Before leaving, I asked them where I should park tomorrow. They suggested that I park in the Citibank parking lot if I plan to get there early.

Race packet pick-up instructions

Long sleeve race shirt

Back of race shirt

Swag

I got home at about 12:15 pm and was able to catch most of the Newcastle v. Man United match while I ate lunch. Man United looked to be always a step slower and was quite ineffective. Newcastle dominated the match, but they only managed one goal from Anthony Gordon which was enough to win 1-0. The score could've easily been 3-0.

Sunday 12/3
I got ready and left the house at about 5 am. I arrived at the Citibank parking lot at about 5:45 am. The lot quickly filled up. It was a chilly morning, so I sat in my warm car with heated seats while I ate my usual pre-race energy bar. I finally ate one of the sample Science in Sport energy bars that I had. It was already way beyond the best used by date. The taste was okay, but the texture was a bit strange. At about 6 am, I got out of my car to go use one of the portapotties. I promptly ran into my friend Rachel. She had just picked up her race packet and was returning back to her car. I didn't realize that they had race day packet pickup! It would've saved me the trip out to Redlands yesterday. However, she didn't receive a cookie. Perhaps that was the incentive to pick it up the day before. None of that was spelled out in the race emails or the website. Your guess was as good as mine. Before heading back to my car, I checked out the fire station to see if I could find any familiar faces that happened to be volunteering.

Science in Sport energy bar

Portapotties

Fire station

With about 30 minutes until the start of the race, I got my stuff together and headed back out to join the line for the portapotties one last time. After I was done, I came across the usual suspects. I was kind of surprised to see my friend Robert aka Latino Heat. He told me that it was a last minute registration for him. I warned him about the hilly course. Eventually I spotted my friend, Dexter, while I was waiting in the start corral. He was roaming around taking pictures as he was one of the race photographers.

Rachel

Latino Heat

Start line

Dexter

The music was cutting in and out during the singing of the national anthem. However, the guy singing it had a very nice baritone voice and clearly did not need any musical accompaniment, recorded or otherwise. The race started about 8 minutes late. Just prior to the start of the race, they had warned us that it was an open course and to watch out for vehicles. They also told us that a small section of the course was changed due to road construction. At about mile 1.4, instead of turning right on Tulip Ave followed by a left on Orange Grove St, we continued straight on Hillcrest St followed by a right turn on Lawton Ave then a left turn onto Orange Grove St. The rest of the course remained the same.

Race course and elevation profile

My legs were definitely feeling much better. Without the annoying Achilles tendinitis in both ankles, running was much more enjoyable. It seemed that my legs were wanting to move at a 7:30 min/mile pace. That's great, but I knew that I just currently don't have the endurance to maintain that kind of pace for a half marathon. When I felt that my heart rate was climbing as well as a growing discomfort in my right hip, I took walk breaks at miles 2 and 3. I ended up running with my friend Robert for a little bit until I took off on him during a long stretch of downhill. From there, I followed a small pack of runners all the way to the turnaround point at about mile 7 where I promptly took a walk break and started taking in some of the Chargel that I had brought with me. Unfortunately, the way back was mostly uphill. The combination of running uphill and the cambered roads really started aggravating my right hip. I started taking extra walk breaks to keep the discomfort from getting too bad. Most of the climbing was over by mile 11. I took one last walk break at about mile 12 before convincing myself to run that final mile to the finish line. When I made that right turn onto Lawton Ave, I made my way over to the north side of the road. However this road was crowned and very cambered along the edges. The female runner that was just ahead of me went all the way into the middle of the road and it looked as if she was playing chicken with the oncoming cars! I wasn't as brave as her, so I stuck closer to the edge. I was glad to reach that final left turn onto Loma Linda Dr for that last stretch to the finish line knowing that I would be finishing in just under 2 hours!

Mile 12.2

Finish line

Finish: 1:59:00
Click here for my Garmin data.

Man, that was every bit as hilly as I remembered it to be! The last time I ran here was way back in 2005 when it was only a 15k race. The road camber really irritated my right hip. The last several miles were a grind, but I was happy that I did just enough to finish in under 2 hours for a hilly course.

Robert waited for me at the finish line. After I received my finisher medal, we took a selfie in front of their backdrop setup before we headed into the fire station for some post race goodies. I was expecting pancakes and coffee, but instead I got a big chocolate muffin, a banana, and a small bottle of water. They were out of coffee when I was there.

Finisher medal

Back of finisher medal

Glad to be finished

Post race chocolate muffin, banana, and water

My friend and I then went our separate ways. He left to join his family at the LA Rams game and I started heading back home. Along the way back to my car, I got a plastic shopping bag with a back scratcher/shoe horn from the Lucky Feet Shoes tent. They have locations nearby at Redlands and Riverside.

Back scratcher/shoe horn

Before heading home, I decided to swing by the 1st original location of McDonald's. It's just a museum these days. After watching the movie, The Founder, back in 2016, I looked up this location and made a mental note to make a visit if I was ever in the area. I kind of had forgotten about it until I saw episodes concerning the history of the McDonald's franchise on The Food That Built America on the History Channel. Unfortunately, the museum wasn't open until 10 am on Sundays. I could've waited, but I left after taking a few pictures of the exterior. I'll have to return again to check out the inside.

The 1st original location of McDonald's

Near the back

Hamburglar