San Diego Half Marathon 2013

Saturday
I drove down in the morning via the 5 freeway and parked at Horton Plaza. I then walked over to the expo at the Broadway Pier. Just like last year, the organization was top notch. The flow of traffic was well thought out and controlled. I went right through the exhibitors and headed to the tent in the back to pick up my race packet and race shirt. The view from the end of the pier was pretty nice. I got a nice picture of the USS Midway. I stopped by the Injinji booth to check out the new not-yet-released trail midweight toe socks. I think I've bought too many pairs since one of the reps remembered me. :)

Expo banner

Expo at the Broadway Pier

Exhibitors

Race packet and shirt pickup

USS Midway

I walked back to my car and went to go validate my parking ticket only to realize that they've changed the system. They removed all self-validating machines. Apparently they've caught on that people have been parking here for free and haven't necessarily shopped at the Horton Plaza. They had two attendants on different floors validating your ticket only if you've made a purchase of at least $10 in one of the stores. I ended up buying a pair of boxers at GAP to get my "free" parking.

I then drove over to the old Sports Arena to eat lunch at Phil's BBQ. Parking here is always a pain in the ass, but I found a spot. I could've skipped the long line and eat in the bar, but I've made a decision to stop drinking beer so I didn't want to tempt myself. The wait for general dining was about 30 minutes. Once I got to the counter, I ordered a full slab of baby back ribs and corn on the cob. The cashier liked my Marine Corps Marathon jacket. I think he was a former Marine that had run in that marathon with his friends. After I got my food, I almost choked on my first rib. I couldn't swallow something that felt a bit hard. At first I thought it was just a piece of hard charred meat. I finally coughed hard into my napkin and out comes a small piece of broken rib bone. Good thing no Heimlich maneuver was required. Next time I'll have to be careful and slow down. But man, they have some good ribs. :)

Phil's BBQ

Baby back ribs and corn on the cob

I then checked into the Good Nite hotel near Seaworld. It was kind of hard to get to because it was surrounded by a bunch of one way streets. I believe they were in the process of remodeling the place. But the room had a decent bed, so it was good enough for an over night stay which saved me a very early drive the next day.

Decent bed

Old TV

I went out to eat an early dinner at Tajima. I ordered some geso (calamari) and a bowl of regular tonkotsu ramen. Before heading back to my hotel room, I stopped by a nearby McDonald's to pick up some late night snacks, a Filet o' Fish and a Big Mac. Before eating my food and going to sleep, I went through the expo haul and got my race gear ready. More and more races are giving out less goodies in the their goody bag. It was nice to find a Clif Bar, Shot Bloks, and some Zico drinks in the bag. They gave those that ran the race last year a different legacy shirt.

Geso

Regular tonkotsu ramen

Filet o' Fish and Big Mac

Expo haul

Race gear

Sunday
I checked out of my hotel, drove into downtown and parked on 8th Avenue just south of Market. When I got my stuff ready and was ready to head over to the starting area, I was spotted by my friend who happened to park across the street from me. I guess we both had the same idea on where was the best place to park. We walked over to the Hilton and hung out inside to stay out of the chilly weather. We bumped into some of my running friends on the way out to the starting corrals.

Hilton bridge

Petco Park

Starting line

My goal for this race was to just finish under 2 hours. But I wanted to incorporate some "speed work" for at least the first 10k. I wanted to test how my legs would respond to some speed. Also I needed to bank some time early for the big climbs late in the race.

It was pretty congested starting out of corral 1. I ran the first 2 miles or so with the 1:40 pace group. It actually felt good to move a little bit faster. But I was starting to labor a bit with the breathing so I pulled back a bit. I tried to keep the miles around 8:30. Once I got through the first 10k, my legs felt heavy. But I knew that I pretty much had a guaranteed sub 2 unless I completely give up and walk too much. The climbs were as brutal as I had remembered from last year. People forget about the small steep hills leading up to the monster hill on Washington Street. But man, they almost guarantee that you'll want to walk on the final huge hill. I walked a good portion of it and thought it would be a great time to eat my GU. While strolling along, I saw my friend pass me hammering up the hill. So I ran up to catch up to her. I ran a little bit with her before slowing back down. On the big downhill during the last two miles, I could only coast. There was no zip at all left in the legs. The final stretch to the finish line was pretty nice. I would even go as much to say that it was a better finishing chute finishing in the Gas Lamp Quarter than having it on the warning track inside Petco Park.
1: 7:40
2: 7:50
3: 8:07
4: 8:40
5: 8:21
6: 8:26
7: 8:41
8: 9:23
9: 9:59
10: 11:34
11: 10:33
12: 9:07
13: 8:47
13.1: 0:53
Finish: 1:58:02

After crossing the finish line, I got my nice looking medal and a Zico drink. I then made my way back to my car and was cramping up along the way. The drank the Zico and waited a bit in my car for the cramps to subside before driving home.

From the expo to the finish line, this race was pretty much perfect. The level of organization was unrivaled by very few races. They sure kept up the quality of the race from last year's inaugural race. I've run many races and this race is definitely on my list of top 3 favorite half marathons. My other favorite half marathons are the Grete's Great Gallop and the Disneyland half marathon. I will definitely be running this race again next year!

Medal

On my way home, I took the 15 freeway. I've been using this freeway more often to avoid the weekend traffic on the 5. I stopped by my favorite local ramen shop, What's Up Men, to eat a big lunch.

Kuro shoyu ramen add egg with fried rice