2010 San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon - Race Report

Date: June 6, 2010
Start: ~6:15am
Goal: Around 4:00 hr
Finish: 4:00:48
Elevation:



After running some errands on Saturday morning, I was headed down to SD at around noon and didn't arrive at the Convention Center until almost 2pm...darn traffic. By the time I actually parked the car, the convention center was a madhouse. It was beyond crowded! I was hoping to run into some bloggers so that I could say hi but the only person I saw at the expo that I knew was Danica who probably doesn't remember who I was. I couldn't even get near some of the vendor tables but I got everything I came for. And I was off to check in to my hotel room. I stayed at the Holiday Inn about 1.2 miles from the start line. It was a good hotel except for the clogged tub. :( The hotel appears to have been updated recently so it was nice and I had a nice view of the San Diego Bay and the lovely 5 freeway...haha.

View from my hotel room, a pic of the Gaslamp District right across the street from the Expo and there was no 13th floor at the hotel. I always thought that was a myth.)

I went to Knowlwood for breakfast Saturday morning and they have some good grub there. It's a very manly place to have breakfast. I say this because the majority of the people I saw while I was there were mostly men. I know I said I didn't like Belgian waffles but I ordered it anyways because Belgian waffles is better than no waffles.

Went to dinner at the Souplantation w/ Sister J, the "Ukranian" & M. I admit I ate a lot again but this time I meant too and once again I was uncomfortable and too full. Can't get enough of that Souplantation. Then it was back at the hotel. I watched some random movie that I didn't catch the name of, then it was lights out. (below is also some funny photos of a potta potty fitting room at the expo and a funny name for a gift shop near the Souplantation.)

Woke up at 4:30am Sunday morning to get ready to walk to the start line and to our pleasant surprise, our hotel had a shuttle taking people to the start line...major win! So we got there with plenty of time to check my bag and stretch out. I even ran into Glenn. (Nice to finally meet you!) We exchanged a few words and then parted ways to head to our corral. I was feeling kinda nervous while I was standing at my corral with my sister waiting for the race to start because to be honest I have not really trained for this race. I have not ran anything over 13.5 miles since running the LA Marathon back in mid March. Plus, I had ran a half marathon just 6 days before. So I was a bit nervous about finishing this race in a reasonable amount of time.

As soon as the first corral took off, all hell broke loose and everyone else just started walking forward and going over and under the dividing corral ropes. I think at around 6:20-6:30am, I crossed the start line and we were off and running. I ran with my sister for the first couple of miles, but I had a feeling that my sister wanted to take this race nice and easy so I decided to hang with the 4 hr pace team for the next couple of miles. I had to stop to use the potta potty around mile 4 as I had not wanted to get into those impossibly long lines at the start line. I broke from the 4 hr pace team shortly after that. I ran into Emil out on the course somewhere, I cannot remember where. It was nice to meet you Emil, I hope you finished strong!

Overall this course was great. Loved running on the 163 freeway and the flat second half. It was hot out there. I had to stop at many water stations to drink multiply cups of water and Cytomax as well as stretch. Once we hit the area around Seaworld (I think it was Mission Bay), there was a nice breeze as we were running through the long stretch. So hot out there !

Finally, I was at the last 6 miles and really struggled with these. Right after I past the 25 mile marker, I saw Glenn at the sideline to my right and he paced me all the way to the final 0.20. He asked how I was feeling and I think I told him I felt like death at that point. Thank you for pacing me! It was so neat to run the spectator-lined path to the finish line. Everyone was cheering so loud. I've never seen so many spectators covering a course like this before. I even saw one of my coworkers out volunteering and cheering everyone on. I didn't even realize it was her until I called her later to ask. I was feeling so good when I crossed that finish line and was not in too much discomfort. I stumbled forward to get my medal, a cold bottle of water, and a much needed cold wet towel. I almost forgot to mention about the wet cold sponges they were handing out at some of the water stations at the last 6 miles. Those were so wonderful! And those that were spraying people with hoses, THANK YOU! The volunteers were AWESOME! They were so cute and happy. Some of them were trying to get a laugh out of me when I had to stop and stretch my sore legs out. Volunteers Rock!

I could not wait to get back and get a shower before the hotel kicked me out. :) I cannot believe I made it back in time. I also wanted to mention that the Pat & Oscar breadsticks that they were passing out at the runner's recovery area tasted like pure heaven. I ate 2 pieces and then heading out.

Good race. I might come back. Maybe! :) Oh and I PRed by 1 min I think. Official time has not come out yet so this statement is based on my Garmin time. Oh I hope so! (edit: yep PRed by 56 secs...haha)

Finisher's medal, race shirt, content of swag bag and the long line I was in to get into the convention center parking lot. Man, I was on that street leading up to the CC for 25 mins. Terrible.

This is me at the final sprint to the finish line. It was so hot that day. If you look closely, you will see that I am holding a wet sponge in both hands to try to keep cool.