San Dieguito Half Marathon

Wow. This post is a day late because frankly, I didn't feel like doing anything after the run yesterday.

I suppose I should mention before I start that this run was gorgeous. The course winds through Rancho Sante Fe, which for the uninitiated, is the wealthiest neighborhood in this great country of ours. Seriously. Oh, also worth noting is that this entire run is either uphill or downhill. Tough on the legs to say the least. For anyone that's interested, here's the elevation chart:

Death Hills

Okay, back to the race... I wanted to start slow. How slow? No clue. Maybe 7:30 (It was mostly downhill)? So, the race starts and were off. I cross mile one, and there's a guy with a stop watch that calls out 8:20. 8:20! How is that possible? I'm running downhill... So, now I'm a bit nervous and speed up. I also make the decision right then and there to not check my watch for the rest of the race. Why? Because I don't want to be fretting about time the whole way when I'm just trying to get through this thing.

So, miles 1-9 feel great. I'm passing people each uphill, enjoying the downhills, and feeling pretty good. I also am able to tell (without looking at the clock or hearing the time splits) that I'm cruising. Probably close to 7 minute pace. Good times.

Then I hit mile 10. Uh oh. Here's the point where I've reached the maximum amount of distance that I've trained heading into this race. And my legs are feeling it. It's like a switch goes off and my body is telling me no. Basically, I suffered through 10. I really slow down for 11. Then that wonderful thing happens between 11 and 12 where the mile seems to take four. I'm convinced I've missed it, when I see the marker up ahead. My legs are trashed. I'm running slow, but I have a mile uphill to finish this stupid thing. I'm not sure running 13 is any fun at all at this point. Basically mile 12-13.1, I crashed. Crazy leg cramps. I stopped and walked four times (with stretching). The last mile was just over 12 minutes (looked at my watch at 12). Ouch. I see the finish finally, but cannot even speed up. I end up crossing at 1:40.

I'm totally stoked with the time, especially with this being my first. That said, that really competitive side of me knows I could have likely run closer to 1:36 or so had I not crashed. No worries. I'll train better next time.

Next up: La Jolla Half Marathon at the end of April.