Rock ‘n Roll San Diego Recap

13.1 miles in one of the most beautiful cities in the country – I’ll take it.

Rock ‘n Roll San Diego was a blast. While this was the first half marathon that I didn’t PR in, it was a very positive experience.

First – it was in San Diego. I love San Diego. The weather is great. The scenery is picturesque. There is plenty to do and see before and after the race and I tried to do it all. I went to Coronado. I went wine tasting. I went shopping. Need I saw more…

Second – my girls were with me. The ladies who initially helped shaped me as a runner. The ones who encouraged me to run with them even though I couldn’t keep up. The ones who told me I could run a 10K and they were right. The ones who told me I could run a half marathon and they were right again. I owe a lot to these women. We ran together every week for more than a year when I lived in California and did a fair share of races side by side. This was my first race with them since last year’s San Francisco Marathon – 1st Half. It was nice to share this experience together.

Third – it was my first Rock ‘n Roll race and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Overall it was well organized. The expo was great (although I was disappointed Race Ready wasn’t a vendor – I was hoping to purchase a pair of capri's). The start went smoothly. The finisher’s village was nice with a beer garden and food by P.F. Chang's.

Now back to my time and not setting a PR. I missed my goal by two minutes but I wasn’t disappointed. The last three half marathons I did, I shaved 4 – 5 minutes off my time during each race. I figured it was a matter of time before I hit a plateau. This race was 6 weeks after my last half marathon. Now that I look back, I don’t feel like I trained as hard as I could have. I did several tempo runs but only one speed workout. I had a few low mileage weeks due to work commitments. I did feel good on race day. A friend decided to run with me to help me get to my goal. We went out strong but I ran out of steam around mile 11 and really had to push to get to the finish line, one minute slower than my PR. This race was definitely a learning experience – I got some pointers on my stride that I’ll have to try.

After resting for a few days, my plan is to change up my training routine. I want to cycle two days a week, have a weekly long run, a weekly tempo run and alternative weekly easy runs and speed workouts.

I don’t know what my next race will be. There are a lot of options and I’ll figure it out eventually. In the meantime, I plan to enjoy the journey. Happy running!

This is the last post in the Marathon Mondays series. I hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed sharing them with you.

The Destination Race

I love to travel. Destination races combine my love of traveling with my love of running. Most of my half marathons have been destination races including my next race, Rock ‘n Roll San Diego Half Marathon.

Destination races are fun because you get to explore a new city or a new section of a familiar city. Now that I have running friends who live all over the country, it’s nice to reunite to run races in different cities. Plus each race is different. Some may take you through historical locations, while others have ocean views. There’s often new terrain you can brag about conquering. I like how race organizers want its participants to have a unique experience.

Traveling for a race does take some planning. After you register, you have to book a hotel and figure out how you’re going to get there – via plane, train or automobile. Then there are meals and getting to and from the race.

For Rock ‘n Roll San Diego, I’m meeting up with a bunch of my running buddies. We ran together for years when I lived in California so when they all registered for the race, I knew I wanted in. After I signed up for the race, I figured if I was going to travel 2,500 miles, I needed to make the most of it. So I asked a friend (who doesn’t run) to come with me. We’re flying in on Friday and staying until Tuesday. So in addition to running the half marathon, we’ll spend a few days in San Diego and Los Angeles shopping and sightseeing.

Do you participate in destination races? What do you like about them?

The Local Race Experience

Participating in a marathon in or near your hometown can be a very rewarding experience for lots of reasons.

First, you save money on travel. You don’t have to worry about airplane tickets, hotel rooms and rental cars. While I love a good road trip, with the economy being what it is, it’s easier on my wallet to race close to home (I do have an out of state destination race coming up but it might be the only one I run this year).

Local races are great because you can run the trail during your training runs. Being familiar with the course could help you run a good race. There won’t be any surprises. I chose not to do that for the Glass City Marathon because I like variety and surprises. The course covered areas I run on a regular basis but had plenty of streets I’d never ventured down. It was nice to explore new areas of my community and it kept things interesting.

Local races mean your friends and family don’t have to travel to cheer you on. They just have to get up early in the morning, but we’re worth it right?

Running in your hometown means sleeping in your own bed the night before the race (I really like this perk). I think I sleep better in my own bed than in hotel rooms. Familiar surroundings are comforting and relaxing. For GCM, I was well rested race day because I slept in my own bed.

Local races come with local bragging rights. The average person may not have heard of a “little” race like the Boston Marathon, but if you mentioned you ran (fill in the blank) race, they’ll know what you’re talking about because of the local news coverage or the traffic delays due to race road closures.

Since the race is in your backyard, you have an opportunity to help put on a quality event. Organizers are always looking for volunteers to assist with race preparations, work the expo or help out along the course. I volunteered at the expo for the Two Cities Marathon when I lived in Fresno a few years ago. It was nice to talk to the runners as they picked up their race packets. It was interesting to learn how far people traveled to be in the race. I developed an appreciation for all the hard work and organization it takes to put a race together. It also made me appreciate how hard volunteers work. Now I’m always gracious when I pick up my race packet or walk through a water stop. Good volunteers are essential and should be celebrated.

If you want to do more, you could join the race organizing body. From marketing and sponsorships to course logistics and website development, there’s so much to be done. The skills you use every day at work could benefit the race organizers. You never know until you ask.

What do you like about local races?