Craft Classic San Diego Half Marathon 2018

Saturday 10/20
Once again I spent most of the morning watching English Premier League matches. I didn't start getting ready until I was done with the match between West Ham United and the Spurs. Once I was ready, I first stopped in at Albertsons to buy water and some snacks for the short weekend trip down to San Diego.

Snacks and water

Then I stopped at Reef Tropical Fish in Anaheim to buy new fish for the aquarium at work. After stopping by work to drop off the fish, I started heading down to San Diego. I came across so much traffic, more than I had anticipated. I didn't come across any accidents, so I wondered where everyone was headed?

Black ghost knife

I was pretty hungry when I finally rolled into San Diego, but first I stopped in at Road Runner Sports to pick up my race packet before going to get food. The process was simple and quick. After getting my bib, I went inside the store to get my race shirt and a pint glass. They were actually giving out beer samples which I forego since I don't drink anymore. After using the restroom, I drove over to the nearby Mitsuwa Marketplace where I bought a chicken rice bento and a plum flavored rice ball. I found a spot in the food court to eat the food before driving out to my hotel.

Race shirt

Back of race shirt

Green Flash pint glass

Chicken rice bento and plum flavored rice ball

For this one-nighter, I stayed at the Homewood Suites by Hilton San Diego-Del Mar. It was located off of the 5 freeway just South of Carmel Mountain Rd coming down Vista Sorrento Pkwy. The person at the front desk that checked me in to my room was very nice and friendly. I had a room on the ground floor. It was very spacious and everything was clean.

I relaxed a bit in my room waiting for the NLCS game 7 to begin. Unfortunately they didn't have the FS1 channel on their TV, so I had to use their WiFi to stream the game on the Fox Sports app. About midway through the game, I drove out to the nearby McDonald's to grab dinner and to cash in one of my winning game pieces. I used the game piece for a small strawberry banana smoothie. This McDonald's was a bit weird as the parking lot for the shopping plaza was practically empty. The inside of the restaurant was also pretty empty except for a couple of customers and 2 employees. They even had signs at the counter suggesting that you order from one of the kiosks. I placed my order via the mobile app. It took what seemed to be forever for my small order of a McDouble and a cheeseburger to come out.

Strawberry banana smoothie

McDouble and cheeseburger

I listened to the game on the radio on the way back to my room. I ate my food while watching the rest of the game. I also took the time to lay out my flat runner for tomorrow's race. It was such a relief to see the Dodgers handle the Brewers rather easily after 6 tough games.

Dodgers win NLCS game 7

Another trip to the World Series

Flat runner

Sunday 10/21
I got ready and left the hotel at about a quarter after 5 am. Per the race instructions, I drove out to the parking lot near Green Flash Brewery by entering from Genetic Center Dr after turning North from Mira Mesa Blvd. The parking lot was pretty empty as I was among the first ones there at just before 5:30 am. A few of us were looking for the pick-up spot for the shuttles. We followed the line of buses and finally found it on Top Gun St. The bus dropped us off at Camino del Sur just off of the 56 freeway. The start area including the portapotties were all along Torrey Santa Fe Rd. After using one of the portapotties, I decided to go wait inside the nearby Circle K as there was a little bit of a chill in the air.

Start line

As the start of the race approached, I went back outside and got into the starting corral where I bumped into one of my fellow Marathon Maniacs. She's also a frequent racer that I get to see at a lot of my races.

Pre-race photo with Maricris

Having run this race before, I knew that the first half along the 56 freeway would be fast. While this section of the course was somewhat undulating, it was mostly downhill. I made sure not to overdo it as there would be plenty of long climbs during the second half. I did okay with the two small climbs at miles 7 and 8, however I totally forgot how long that climb was at mile 10. I only made it about halfway up the climb when I started laboring with my breathing even though I was barely jogging. I decided then to just walk it. By the time I got to the top, my legs were done and I was running on fumes so I couldn't really take advantage of a short downhill section. The final climb up to Top Gun St and to the finish line was every bit as cruel as I had remember it to be!

Finish: 1:53:01
Click here for my Garmin data.

Relive 'Craft Classic Half Marathon'

Besides that one long walk break while climbing up Sorrento Valley Blvd, I ran a pretty good race. Coming into this race, I wasn't sure that I could finish in under 2 hrs as I was pretty wrecked when I ran this course during their inaugural year in 2016. It felt bad enough that I did not return last year.

Finish line

After getting my finisher medal/magnet, I picked up a couple of snacks and a banana before heading over to the Adidas Solarboost VIP lounge. In order to get inside the lounge, I had to RSVP for it back in late August. I also had to be wearing a pair of Adidas to gain entrance. They had someone there at the entrance checking for your name on a clipboard and your shoes. They had a nice spread of desserts and fruit which I did not partake. I instead opted for one of their chorizo burritos. They were also giving out massages which I also did not do.

Finisher medal

Adidas Solarboost VIP lounge

Post race snacks and chorizo burrito

Snack spread in VIP lounge

I didn't stay in the lounge too long. Shortly after finishing the burrito, I left the lounge and walked over to the beer garden to give it a quick look. It looked to be much more organized and less chaotic this year. I was about to head back to my car when I recognized the voice of the race announcer. I stopped by to say hi to my friend before leaving.

Green Flash beer garden

My friend, the race announcer!

Staten Island Half Marathon 2018

Friday 10/12
I guess I'm used to checking the weather forecast only for my destination that I was a bit surprised that it was raining a bit for my drive out to the airport. For this trip, I was able to score a really cheap parking rate on SpotHero for uncovered parking at the Four Points by Sheraton hotel. It ended up being cheaper than it would have been if I had parked at Parking Lot C. Besides the rain, it was a pretty uneventful late night red-eye flight via JetBlue out to JFK. During the flight, I tried to watch the Incredibles 2, but once again I fell asleep. This was my third attempt and I don't think I've seen all 100% of the movie. It wasn't a bad movie. I was just plain tired every time I try to watch it. #GettingOld :)

Rainy night in LA

Saturday 10/13
I landed in JFK at about 8:30 am which was a bit later than usual. I took the first available AirTrain and it was headed for Jamaica Station. From there I took the usual E train into Manhattan and got off at the 7th Ave station. Since I arrived a bit later in the morning, I was able to first go to the NYRR Runcenter to pick up my bib and race shirt before getting breakfast.

NYRR Runcenter

Long sleeve race shirt

I went to my usual spot, Connolly's on 45th St, for breakfast. I'm usually here right when they open so I would practically have the whole place to myself. It felt a bit weird showing up later in the morning as it was actually pretty crowded. They found a spot in the bar area for me. I had my usual, the full Irish breakfast and coffee.

Full Irish breakfast

After breakfast, I walked down to the AMC Empire 25 on 42nd St to catch a showing of Free Solo. Lately the MoviePass has been very restrictive on which movies that I could see. Thankfully I'm open to seeing a wide range of movies including this excellent documentary on rock climbing. I thoroughly enjoyed watching this movie.

Free Solo with the MoviePass

After the movie, I took the D train down to Chinatown getting off at Grand St station. My hotel for the weekend was only about a block away from the station. For this trip, I stayed at the Wyndham Garden Chinatown hotel. I had enough reward points for the 2 nights to be free. After I got checked in and got to my room, I took a shower and relaxed a bit until it was time to watch some Dodgers baseball.

View from my room

At about the 7th inning stretch, I went out to pick up dinner at the nearby McDonald's and some drinks for the weekend. Conveniently there was a 7-Eleven just around the block from the McDonald's.

Cheese burger and McDouble

Drinks

After eating my dinner and while watching the rest of the game, I laid out my flat runner to make sure I had everything for tomorrow's race. It didn't look like the Dodgers were going to win because their bats were cold. However they finally scored in the 7th inning with a go-ahead 2 run home run by Turner in the 8th inning. The win tied up the series at a game a piece.

Flat runner

Dodgers win to even up the series in the NLCS

Sunday 10/14
After I got ready, I walked over to the Canal St subway station to catch the R train down to the Whitehall Terminal. They were doing a bunch of maintenance over the weekend, so the train was running on a different track. Good thing I read the posted sign or I would've missed the train. Once I arrived at the terminal, there were already a bunch of runners waiting there. The ferry schedule was very easy to figure out as they come every half hour. I caught the 6 am ferry over to Staten Island. The ride was about 30 minutes. Once we arrived at the St George Terminal, most of us waited in the terminal because it was a bit chilly outside and the race didn't start until 8 am. I walked around the terminal a bit to pass the time. I ended up perusing a gift shop that was selling Donald Trump and Lady Liberty bobble-heads. They actually looked to be nice quality souvenirs.

Gift shop at St George Station

About an hour before the start, I wrapped myself in the mylar blanket that I brought with me and headed outside to use one of the many portapotties lined along the Ferry Terminal Viaduct. It wasn't quite busy yet, so some people were also using that area to warm up.

After using the portapotties, I went through one of the metal detectors at the security checkpoint to enter the corral area. Along the way I saw a group of volunteers opening up boxes of finisher medals and removing each of them from their individual wrappers. That reminded me of when I used to volunteer for the Disneyland races. I was one of the few people that got into the corrals early at about 30 minutes before the start of the race. It was pretty empty, so I made my way to the front of my corral.

Volunteers opening up the finisher medals

The race started a little bit after 8 am. I was part of the 2nd wave of runners that was released. We started by heading South on Bay St for about the first 2.5 miles before making a right turn on School Rd. That road curved into Lily Pond Ave which in turn became Father Capodanno Blvd. We would stay on this boulevard until the turnaround point at Midland Ave which was about a quarter mile short of the mile 6 marker. Just before reaching that turnaround, I bumped into the New Yorker that I had talked to at the Orange County Half Marathon a few weekends ago. From there we would retrace the route back to Lily Pond Ave. The short steep climb during the 9th mile zapped all of my remaining energy in my legs. After reaching the top of the climb and turning on to McClean Ave, I had to pull over and take a walk break. I couldn't get the legs going after that climb. It was pretty nice to run through Fort Wadsworth before heading back up on Bay St. I've only been through Fort Wadsworth while waiting in the start village during the NYC Marathon. Nearing mile 11, we made a right turn at Hylan Blvd then turning left on Edgewater St. That street would then turn into Front St then into Murry Hulbert Ave. The final stretch would be an uphill climb up to Hannah St to cross back over to Bay St for that final climb up to the finish line.

I'm pretty sure we were running up a hill late in the race

Finish: 1:53:33
Click here for my Garmin data.

Relive 'Staten Island Half Marathon'

I was running a pretty decent race but those late climbs really ate me up. My legs were on the verge of cramping and locking up as I crossed the finish line. While it was nowhere near my best run, I was just glad that I was able to run a good race to finish off my 9+1 to earn my guaranteed spot for both the NYC Half Marathon in March and the NYC Marathon in November for 2019. I really cannot wait to run both races!

Finish line

Finisher medal

Close up of medal

9+1 done! I'm in for the 2019 NYC Marathon!

I'm also in for the 2019 NYC Half Marathon!

I picked up a recovery bag and a mylar blanket as I made my way through the finisher chute. To get back to the St George Terminal, there was a small lane off to the left for those that didn't need to collect a checked gear bag. During the walk, I drank half of my Gatorade to make sure my legs don't cramp up during the ferry ride. After a short wait, there was a mass of humanity getting onto the ferry heading over to Manhattan.

After getting back to my room, I got cleaned up and ate most of what was in the recovery bag. I laid around in my room watching TV until it was time to go get lunch.

Contents of post-race recovery bag

For lunch, I placed an online order with Taiwan Pork Chop House via their website. The website said to give them about 30 minutes. I made the short walk over to Doyers St to pick up the food. The alley did remind me a bit of Taiwan. The place was pretty packed inside. My food was ready to go, so I paid (cash only) and was on my way back to my room. I got their chicken leg rice along with a small order of their bean curd and seaweed. Both items were far from the best, but they were decent.

Doyers St

Taiwan Pork Chop House

Chicken leg rice

Bean curd and seaweed

Later that evening, I went back out to check out another Taiwanese restaurant, Taiwan Bear House, located on Pell St. When I first arrived, the place was completely empty which was such a stark difference to the popular Joe's Shanghai next door. I walked around to see if there were other last minute alternatives. I decided to just get the food there. I ordered their pork belly rice bento and a side order of fried chicken leg. The good thing was that since there was only one other customer there, I was able to get my food right away. Another good thing was that they accepted credit cards. The portion for the bento was small for the price, but I didn't mind since I've been working on losing weight.

Pork belly rice bento

Side of fried chicken leg

Monday 10/15
I got ready and checked out of my room at about 10:30 am. Before heading to the airport, I took the 6 train up to eat lunch at Go Go Curry at their Midtown East location at E 53rd St between 2nd and 3rd Ave. I got there just as they opened. I ordered the usual Home Run with chicken katsu curry and added fukuzinjuke.

Go! Go! Curry!

Home Run add fukuzinjuke

After inhaling my lunch, I walked over to the NYRR Runcenter to get my medal engraved which was complimentary for NYRR members. There was a huge line when I arrived right at 12 pm which was the posted time for the start of medal engraving. The whole process took maybe 30 minutes. They sent me a text when my medal was done.

Free medal engraving for NYRR members

Once I picked up my medal, I hopped on the E train at the 7th Ave station and headed over to JFK to catch my flight home.

About 3 hrs into the flight, I switched over to FS1 to watch the NLCS game 3 with the Dodgers vs. Brewers. Machado is turning out to be a knucklehead... besides making it a habit of not hustling to first base, he is now doing illegal slides into 2nd base. I cannot wait for our regular shortstop, Cory Seager, to return from his season ending ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction aka Tommy John surgery!

Flight home

Thankfully when I landed at LAX, I didn't have to wait long for a Four Points by Sheraton shuttle to show up. However the line was pretty long at the front desk for me to get my parking lot exit ticket. There was only one person working at the front desk and there were a lot of people waiting to check into their rooms.

Along the way home, I stopped at the usual gas station to fill up the tank for work tomorrow as well as to pick up a late night dinner at the McDonald's located at the gas station. How convenient to be able to kill 2 birds with 1 stone!