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
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