Tag: half marathon

2014 Davis Moo-nlight Run Race Recap

Race summary: Night race which is a change of pace, mostly flat course through neighborhoods except for crossing a long bridge going over the freeway, decent course support and spectators.  Free beer at the end!

My friend KP over in Davis asked me if I wanted to do this race with her and her friend.  I had never done a night race before and thought it might be fun.  Since the summers are so incredibly hot in Sacramento in the summers, a nice race seemed like maybe a good idea.  While the days are hot in Sacramento, it usually does cool off overnight (though sometimes it doesn’t start feeling cool until well past midnight).  The race’s name would make you think you’re running late at night, but in reality the race started around 7 pm (still daylight at race start).

I liked that they had a same day race packet/t-shirt pickup.  This was at the start of the race.  The race is held on the eastern side of Davis – most commonly known for its university (University of California, Davis).  The race start/finish and other fun things were on the DMG Mori Campus (I guess it is some manufacturing company).  I arrived about 90 minutes before the race start.  I picked up my shirt and bib and returned to my car to put away the shirt.  I met up with KP and her friend and we just hung out until the race.  The people estimated to take longer than 2.5 hours actually started the race 30 minutes before we did.  So we watched them start.  At race start, the temperature was still in the mid-upper 70s.  This is way too hot than I like but I figured since the sun would be setting within the next hour, it should cool off considerably.  This race was unique because we ran over a freeway bridge to get to the south side of highway 80 and run around south Davis.  The course mostly took us through various neighborhoods (with one section of a paved path through heavily wooded areas).  We ran the first half of the race south of the 80 and then re-crossed the 80 back to the north side.  By this time it was almost dark and there were volunteers handing out some glow necklaces.  This was a nice touch since many of us didn’t actually carry flashlights or headlights and at least made us somewhat visible.

Because I’m not used to doing a race at night, or running for distance in the evening, my body was a bit confused as to what I was doing.  Luckily I was running with KP (we had left her friend behind as she was struggling to maintain a good pace and told us to just go on without her) and its always easier to run when you have a friend to run with.  Around mile 10, there was a random person on the course handing out orange slices and this definitely helped as the temperatures still hovered in the low 70s and it was hot.

The last half mile took us through a field near the DMG building and this is where it was a bit treacherous as there was no street lighting and we couldn’t really see where we were placing our feet.  I was a bit concerned I may land in a pot hole incorrectly and sprain my ankle.  I was relying a bit on nearby runners who actually did have flash lights.  I luckily made it through with no injuries and powered to the end.

Final chip time: 2:13:16

At the finish, I had my free beer (why else do you do races, right?) and also half of KP’s beer since she wasn’t feeling it after the race.  The race medal was cool because it’s the largest one I’ve had.  It also glows in the dark.

IMAG2839.jpg

-StewsCat

2010 City of Laguna Hills Memorial Day Half Marathon

Race summary: Well organized, good course spectators and support.  Very long slow downhill followed by uphill for the last 4-5 miles.  Decent race swag and medal.

In honor of Memorial Day I wanted to post about my first half marathon, which was the City of Laguna Hills Memorial Day Half Marathon.  I had been running consistently outside since January of 2010 and figured that I had done a handful of 5Ks and 1 10K and the next natural progression was to attempt the half marathon distance.  I was staying with my folks in the OC and this race worked out as perfect timing.

Packet pickup was at Road Runner Sports in Laguna Hills.  After I moved to San Diego, I discovered their lage facility in the SD area and it became a favorite spot to shop and find shoes.  The San Diego location also has their Clearance Store where at the time you could buy new shoes of the previous year’s edition for a lot cheaper (~1/3-1/2 of the original MSRP).  From what I recall the packet pickup was straightforward and smooth, no significantly long lines or anything of the sort.

Race morning turned out to be a beautiful one.  I had to drive about 30 minutes south of my folk’s place to get to the race and the sun was coming up as I drove down the freeway.  The start line was situated between the Saddleback Memorial Medical Center (the key sponsor of the race) and the Laguna Hills Mall, which provided plenty of racer parking for free.

race start
Race start

I was definitely nervous as this was my first race at this distance.  I felt confident that I would be able to finish as I had done a training run of 12.9 a few weeks before.  My biggest concern was still the shin splints.

The race starts out with a short 2 mile run through a small residential neighborhood (I think to ensure they reached the full 13.1) before coming out onto Alicia Parkway (a long stretch of road that was downhill for the first half of the race).  My right shin started to burn about 1 mile into the race while in the residential neighborhood and I thought “This is going to be a long day.”  I slowed down for a few miiles to see if that would ease some of the pain in my shins.

Miles 3-8 were down Alicia Parkway and this was all downhill.  I realized as I reached the turnaround point that I’d have to go uphill for the last half of the race.  The sun had come out a few miles into the race and was starting to warm up.  There was a good amount of spectators and people cheering, which was definitely helpful to keep pushing.  At the turnaround between 8 and 9, we moved onto a bike trail that was paved.  My right knee also started aching around this time and I just had to grit my teeth and keep moving forward.  The bike/run trail took us along the Aliso Creek and wove through parks and other areas.

Coming up to the finish line and finish area, there were a ton of people there cheering which really helped.  Since this was a race close to where my family lives, my parents and sister and her family were out at the finish line.  I was really glad seeing them.  I crossed the finish line and only really recall getting my medal and maybe a bottle of water (at the time I didn’t really check out the other post-race activities).  One neat thing about this race is that you received a 2nd tech shirt after finishing (I had received one at packet pickup as well).

Since my family was there, I didn’t have to take a shuttle back to the mall to get my car.

finish
First half done!

Final chip time: 2:25:16

-StewsCat

2014 Rock’n’Roll San Francisco Half Marathon Race Recap

Race Summary: Quick, efficient expo.  Early morning bus ride through the city to reach the start.  Hilly course with good amount of on-course support and spectators.  Beautiful run across the Golden Gate Bridge.

This was my 2nd RnR SF half marathon.  I also ran the inaugural race the year before.  For the second year of the race, the organizers decided to completely change the course.

Since I’m in Sac, SF is only a short 1.5-3 hour drive, depending on the traffic.  We love going to the city, though parking and driving there is not the easiest.  Since we were bringing the dog, we found a dog friendly hotel near Union Square.  Even though it is the touristy spot, it was located where I could walk to the finish line (shuttles took us to the start from the finish line) and actually is in a decent location to a lot of restaurants.

The expo was at the Moscone center and as per usual with RnR races, it was efficient.  I didn’t have time to explore the expo because the wife and dog were waiting outside the building.  But I do appreciate the quick packet pickup.

For my usual pre-race pizza dinner, we ended up at Pizzeria Delfina in the Mission District.  Originally we were going to try out Flour & Water, but the wait was too long.  This pizza joint is located adjacent to their italian restaurant Delfina in a small location.  The kitchen took up about half the space and there were a few small tables as well as a long counter.  Somehow we wound up getting seated at the counter after only a 5 minute wait.

Race morning I woke up super early as per my usual routine.  The hotel didn’t have in-room coffee so around 4 am, I ran across the street to a 24/7 pharmacy and picked up some nasty tasting coffee.  I then made my way to the finish line at Civic Center Plaza.  There I boarded a bus to the very west side of SF (northwest corner of Golden Gate Park).  I sat next to an older gentleman who said he had done a ton of Rock’n’Roll races.  We discussed some of the races that we had both done.

The start line had plenty of porta potties and there was no wait should you need to relieve yourself, which I liked.  My friend and her husband were also running the race but they were running late and we didn’t end up seeing each other.

All RnR races have corral starts.  I lined up in my corral and we were off.  The beginning of this race is a little disheartening.  You run about 1/4 mile and make a right turn and face your first hill.  This is a long slow upwards climb so its best to mentally prepare for hills.  Also because we were running through many neighborhoods, there is a noticeable dearth of bands on this course compared to other RnR races.  We wound our way along the western coast of SF and towards the Golden Gate Bridge around mile 4.  I had run across the bridge the previous year at the inaugural RnR SF race and knew the bridge is not flat.  Many people were stopping when they reached the bridge to take a selfie.  Since I had done this last year with my friends, this race I kept pushing and tried to pick up my pace since I had a slow start with the early hills.  After crossing over the bridge and back, you then run along the north end of SF past Crissy Field, the Palace of Fine Arts, and down towards Fort Mason.  Upon passing Fort Mason, we hung a right onto Polk Avenue and headed south towards the finish.  This was a little deceptive because there were a few more hills in this area prior to a downhill to the finish.  By mile 11 at Fort Mason, my legs were pretty shot with the up and down hills and I was just hanging on to finish.

Final chip time: 2:16:34

I felt good about that time given all the hills.

IMAG4096
2014 medal (below) compared to 2013 medal (above)

-StewsCat

 

2015 San Diego Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon Race Recap

Race Summary:  Well-established race with a long history.  Needed more porta potties a the starting line.  Point-to-point with a challenging somewhat hilly race.  Great spectators and good on-course support.  Standard swag – tech t-shirt and medal.  Fairly spacious and large race expo.

This race holds some sentimentality for me.  I ran my first full distance marathon in 2011 at this race.  After moving away from the San Diego region in 2011, I try to get back to the city regularly as it is one of my favorite places.  Originally my good friend convinced me to sign up and then he ended up not traveling to or running the race.  I wasn’t too upset because, as I just said, it is one of my favorite cities to visit.

San Diego Marina
San Diego Marina
Downtown SD

As this was my first race since the NVM 2015 disaster and injury, I was definitely not going for a time goal.  I really just wanted to run the entire race without having to walk.  The Expo was unchanged from when I attended 5 years prior.  The SD convention center has been the host of the expo, which is nice because it provides a large open room to hold the many many vendors.  As a Rock’n’Roll race, it is very organized and packet/bib pickup went very smoothly with only a short wait.

For my pre-race dinner, we headed to Buona Forchetta in the South Park neighborhood.  Pretty much every pre-race meal has consisted of a combination of pizza and beer.  For my half marathons, this has resulted in good results overall.  I don’t know how I feel about that combination as a pre-full-marathon race.

Compared to the first time I ran this race and lived in the area, we stayed at a downtown hotel this time.  This allowed me to walk to the starting line on the northwest side of Balboa Park (this is the same starting line as 5 years before).  My major gripe with this race was the lack of enough porta potties.  I arrived well before the half marathon race start so I could use the facilities and be ready.  The porta potties were spread throughout the park in groups of 5-15 in a line.  Since I wasn’t in a terribly huge rush, I jumped in a line that had maybe 20-30 people in front of me.  As I stood there waiting and waiting, I could hear people around me talking about how long they’d been waiting.  A lady came up behind me and asked if she could go in front of me because she was running the full marathon (that started 30 minutes before the half).  I let her go ahead of me and watched her make her way up towards the front.  By the time I was just 5 back the full race had started and I saw many people (in my line and other lines) forgo the porta potty as they needed to get to the starting line.

Rock’n’Roll race starts are all well-organized with lots of corrals.  I found my corral, squeezed in like a sardine and waited for our start.  The half this year runs through various neighborhoods east/northeast of downtown.  I used to hang out in this area with friends and enjoyed running through it to give me a different perspective.  There are tons of good restaurants and bars in this area.  While running through the residential parts, I actually ran directly in front of my friends’s house.   Since I hadn’t been training as well as I should have since the 2015 NVM, I felt very sluggish the first 3-6 miles.  I actually felt nauseous and almost started walking within the first 3 miles.  This is not something I’ve experienced with any other race.  I told myself it was way too early in the race to start walking so I just kept pushing on slowly.

The course has long areas of flatness with a few areas of both decent inclines and declines. The air felt muggy and while I know San Diego isn’t the most humid place, it definitely is a lot more than where I lie and train.  I settled into a routine after about 5 miles and trudged along fairly well.  Around the 9 mile mark when we started back into Balboa Park, I could feel myself slowing down some.   I’ve always prided myself on not walking during (most) races, but I ended up doing some run-walking.  I’ve always liked Rock’n’Roll races because of their regular entertainment throughout the course.  There was a DJ in the last 2 miles of the race that helped push me to finish.

Finish time: 2:16:09

I skipped the post-race celebration (Petco Park) and walked a few miles back to the hotel so we could grab some brunch.  Later that day we met up with a local friend at Bali Hai.  Bali Hai is a San Diego institution and famed tiki bar/Polynesian restaurant.  We enjoyed some tasty cocktails and food there.  It’s a bit out-of-the-way so you really need to know about it to actually visit/find it.  I’m glad that we were able to check it out and the cocktails were tasty.  There’s also a great view from the restaurant.

The next day before driving back up to OC, we checked out the San Diego Zoo.  Prior to this, we figured since it was a Monday morning that maybe we’d get a seat at Hash House.  I’ve been trying to take the wife there for 2 years and we were seated right away.  The food is definitely yummy!  After Hash House, we went to the SD zoo.  This was our 2nd time going and as always it is a wonderful visit.  To round out the SD adventure, on the way back up north, we stopped at the Stone Brewing World Bistro & Gardens for some lunch and brews.  If you haven’t heard of it, Stone built this large compound that has the brewery, a restaurant, and a garden area that you can walk with your beers.  It’s truly a lovely place.  The food was also tasty as well.

Hash House breakfast!
SD Zoo!!
Stone Brewing

 

Overall a great trip to one of my favorite cities!

-StewsCat

 

2015 Napa to Sonoma Wine Country Half Marathon Race Recap

Race summary:  Point-to-point race (starting just outside of Napa and finishing in the heart of Sonoma).  Course is mostly flat running on country roads through various vineyards and wineries.  Decent on-course support with water stations every few miles.  Spectators were scattered throughout the course though not as much support as you’d get at bigger races (such as Rock’n’Roll races in the bigger cities).

In a YOLO moment, my friend KT and I decided to try to sign up for the 2015 Napa to Sonoma half.  This race fills up every year usually within an hour of registration opening.  It also tops many race lists for must do race or races to travel for.  Since I live not too far from Napa, I figured it’d be worth it to see if we could register.

Luckily I was off work the day that registration was to open.  KT, however, was not.  She gave me her info so that I could try to sign us both up for the race.  As I anticipated, the registration web site was very slow and sluggish.  I managed to get myself registered within the first 15 minutes.  However the site became super congested and I could not get KT registered.  I even tried using my cell phone to see if I could get on that way.  Somehow I did manage to register her about 45 minutes after registration opened.  I believe the race filled up by about 1-1.5 hours.

The race weekend coincided with celebrating my MIL’s birthday so we were to make a weekend of Napa.  This was my first time staying at a B&B.  I must say that I was quite impressed with it.  We stayed at the Beazley House, which is the oldest B&B in Napa.

IMAG1375
Beazley House

They had fresh homemade chocolate cookies all the time (yum!).  At checkout, they also provide you with their cookie recipe because it has been requested by so many patrons.

As this was my second race after my strange knee issue (see NVM 2015), I was running this for fun and didn’t have any specific time goals.  This worked out because since we were having a celebratory weekend, I knew that I’d be eating/drinking in a way not conducive to running.  Two nights before the race, we ate at Solbar at Solage Calistoga, which is Michelin starred restaurant.  I must say it was a tasty meal.  The night before the race I wanted to semi-carb load and we ate at Oenotri.  This was my 2nd visit to Oenotri and I was very pleased with it – homemade pastas with in-house made charcuterie.  While I only had 2 cocktails, I knew this may affect my race.

Packet pickup: Hanna Boys Center.  My biggest complaint with this race was the packet pickup.  They chose a location that could not handle the traffic – parking was a nightmare.  They then had everyone lined up (~10 rows) in a small gym so you couldn’t even tell which line you needed to get in.  The lines weren’t clearly marked with the bib number ranges (they previously had emailed you your bib number).  I was able to pick up my bib within about 5 minutes.  However, I was picking up KT’s bib number and waited in line for about 45 minutes to get hers.  There were various vendor booths and nothing too special.

IMAG1373
They did have interesting race bibs I must say.  Thus far all previous bibs I’ve had are either rectangular or square

Race morning I ran through my usual routine and was dropped off at the race start (Cuvaison Carneros Winery).  They had a decent amount of porta-potties at this location and it was a nice setting for a race start.

Crowded start

 

I felt fine at the initial outset except the very beginning starts with an uphill about 1/4-1/2 mile.  This really drained me and I started feeling the effects of having some drinks the night before.  After only making it about 3-4 miles into the race, I told KT that I would need to slow it down and for her to go on without me.  This was going to be a long day.  The weather (middle of summer) started to warm up.  We ran through mostly vineyards and other rural/farm type lands.  It wasn’t the most scenic race.  There were scattered populations of spectators.  I just kept telling myself to keep putting one foot in front of the other.  The last few miles brought us into Sonoma and then we finished at Sonoma Plaza.

The post-race is what makes this race.  As part of the finishing amenities, each runner receives a wine glass.  There are numerous (~30+?) wineries with tables set up and pouring free tastings (most places had one red and one white) and you could enjoy as much as you’d like.  This was a little strange because it was still well before noon and here you are sipping on wines.  Since I was dehydrated and wiped from this race, I only sampled from 3-4 different wineries.  Some tables also had some snacks such as cheese (and who doesn’t love some cheese!).  The medal also was fairly neat in that it was multi-functional (wine stopper, wine corkscrew, bottle opener.

Wine glass at the end for tasting
Finisher’s medal

Finish time: 2:24:26

This was my 2nd slowest half-marathon, only faster than the very first half that I ran in 2010 when I had some setbacks (shin splints, knee pain).  Overall can’t complain since I had done some serious celebrating prior to this race.

It was a fun experience though I don’t know that I’d run this race again since it has been the costliest half-marathon race I’ve done.  But I can mark it off my list!

-StewsCat