San Diego Half Marathon!

Well, I don't know how else to start this post other than saying.... I totally rocked it!! And not only did I rock, but I had fun too! This was such a great race, and the runners' high I felt afterwards was the icing on the cake.

I went into the race with a 'realistic goal' and a 'dream goal'. Realistically, I was thinking I could finish in 2:40. In dream land, I thought it would be awesome to finish in 2:30. Well, I beat my dream goal by a whole minute and a half and finished in 2:28:31!!! 

Yes, I totally realize that there are so many awesome runners out there who would laugh at those numbers. But for me, it was a complete and total victory, and I was thrilled with my effort. And statistically, it wasn't too shabby! Overall, I placed 9,426th out of 27,000-ish runners, 5,484th out of all female runners, and 1,164th out of 2,313 runners in my division. Top 50% of my group means I was in the totally awesome half! So when Ethan asked me today if I won my race, I told him I sure felt like I did. (I tried to explain that Meb Keflezighi won the race, but Ethan wasn't impressed...He said he could probably run faster than him. Methinks he's a bit too confident in his own athletic prowess.)

There were definitely parts of the San Diego course that were challenging (a few hills that just never seemed to end, and a couple of miles running on a pretty banked superelevation, which was tough on my ankles), but overall I really enjoyed the course a lot. The first four miles were through the Balboa Park area, and that was all very pretty. Then we took the on-ramp to the 163 freeway, which was actually really neat! The freeway in this area was in cut, with steep slopes of bright greens shrubs and trees on either side, and there were lots of overpasses with spectators lined up to watch the runners. After about the 7th mile, the course got pretty boring though. And the last mile was pretty tough, because I could see the end in the distance, and in my head I knew I was close, but it seemed SO far away.

Mentally, I performed so much better in this race. I managed to distract myself pretty easily. For the most part, I was passing people instead of being passed, which helped boost my confidence. I also enjoyed the people watching on the course, especially reading people's t-shirts. {My two favorites: "Run Like a Mom: Enjoy 26.2 Miles of Peace and Quite" and "It isn't sweat, it's fat cells crying"} Since this race was also a charity run to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, there were also lots of runners wearing shirts in honor or memory of loved ones. Some of those were very touching and encouraging, but pretty sad too. Joel agreed, and even told me he had to stop reading them because he was tearing up a bit. Thinking about people fighting life and death battles really puts the race into perspective and helps you push through. I remember having a little pity party at about 9.5 miles, thinking about how I was getting tired. I finally snapped out of it and yelled at myself. "Of course it's hard! Did you think it would be easy? You're running a half marathon, not sitting on a couch! Quit your complaining and run faster!" Yes, I actually said those words to myself, and yes, they actually worked.

If you've ever even entertained the tiniest notion of entering a race, DO IT. You will not regret it at all! If you've never ran before, start by running to the end of your block...then go a little farther....then a little farther than that. Then sign up for a 5k. If you run consistently, but seem to have reached a plateau, then enter a race that is way outside your comfort zone. If I can do it, then this sport is truly open to anyone that has a willing spirit. The running community is so supportive and encouraging, and I think every single person who laces up a pair of running shoes is eager to welcome new runners to the club. The more the merrier! (And if you need further proof that runners are just plain fun people, check out the flash mob from the San Diego starting line!)

 

Overall, this was as close to a perfect race experience as I could ask for. I had so much fun and I'm already looking forward to my next half. (Santa Barbara in November???)