Painted Rocks Half Marathon

There is a 3-race series in San Diego called the Triple Crown that includes the Carlsbad (half or full) Marathon in January, the La Jolla Half Marathon in April, and the America's Finest City (AFC) Half Marathon in August. Complete all three of these races in a year and you will receive a Triple Crown medal. Almost all of my San Diego running friends ran the series last year, and I was so jealous of their extra-special series bling. After completing the Carlsbad Half Marathon earlier this year (race recap here) I decided that I'd go for the Triple Crown and run La Jolla and AFC as well. I'm a medal addict!

Bye Bye Triple Crown

I dragged my feet registering for the La Jolla race (I'm doing sooo many races this year that I need to spread the costs out) and by the time I was finally ready to register ... it had sold out two days prior. D'oh! I was bummed to be missing out on the Triple Crown and also sad to skip a race that I had planned for that weekend. Soon after La Jolla sold out though I received an email about a new half marathon that would be taking place that same day called the Painted Rocks Half Marathon. It was a trail race and an inaugural race, two things that interested me. The final selling point was that the race was only $50 and the email advertising it included a discount code. Sold! I had never done such a long trail race before but figured it wouldn't be too hard. The course profile was described as "mostly flat with rolling hills" and I figured it was probably similar in profile to the San Dieguito Half Marathon which I had no problem running. (San Dieguito race recap here.)

Course Overview

Race Countdown

As race day approached I received an email with the final race instructions and was bummed to see that the race director was strongly suggesting/mandating that every runner carry at least 12 oz of water on them. Shoot, I'd finally weaned myself off of my Fuel Belt for non-marathons and was disappointed to have to carry water for the race. (It is such a nuisance to have something heavy strapped to your body.) 

A few weeks before the race the organizers also held a course preview run and I heard from another runner that there was a "small creek crossing" which was "quite refreshing" to run through. Erm, I don't find getting my shoes wet in any occasion "refreshing". I have 3/4 length orthotics inside my shoes covered by an insole, and when my shoes get really wet the insoles bunch up over the orthotics. I was really starting to worry about having to run through water but was relieved when I heard that there were actually a few rocks in the water that you could hop across on if you were careful. Whew!

I picked up my race number and goodie bag the Saturday before the race and was really excited to see that we got race hats instead of race shirts. Yay! I have a million race shirts but I don't have enough running hats yet. 

Painted Rocks Half Marathon Hat

Race Day

The race was scheduled to start at 7am but the organizers wanted everyone at the race between 6:00 - 6:45am so they could check everyone in before they headed out on the trails. err.. why, would we get lost? The course was described as "a lakeside single track trail, a suspension bridge to cross the lake and single track ridge running with stunning lake views. The course is an out-n-back with mild elevation gain and well groomed trails." Keep in mind that previously the course was also described as "mostly flat with rolling hills". 

Course Elevation

UM.... there were barely any flats on the course, the trail was up and down and up and down on rocky ground, the single file trails were okay on the way out, but since it was an out and back it was dicey to be running head on into people at points. A few spots on the trail were just on the edge of Lake Hodges and I think if you stepped wrong and slipped you be in the water. While there was only one creek crossing that required having to run through the water or play leapfrog on rocks, but there were also two others spots where the trial crossed water and you had to carefully cross as well to stay dry. This means there were six opportunities to get your shoes wet. GROSS! Luckily though, I missed them all! 

Trail Racing is Dirty!

In the first few miles of rocky hills up and down and around I was moderately irritated by the course and felt completely misled by the description. The race organizers and I have waayyyyy different descriptions of flat. I was amused when I posted the course elevation on dailymile.com and one of my friends there said "I think they meant mostly hills with rolling flats". haha. :o) I was doing pretty well on the course but that's only because I run on a hilly trail 3 or 4 times each week. If I was a casual runner who only ran on flat ground or on the treadmill I'd be toast! This course was hard! In addition to challenge of the topography, due to the single file nature you were pretty much  locked into a pace. I was running the course with a fellow GOTR coach and we chose a spot pretty close to the front with a plan of running between 8:20-8:30 miles. Good thing we were able to keep that pace up pretty well, because there wasn't any room to slow down. If you slowed down you would have been bowled over by the string of runners behind you. 

Single File Down the Trail

 

The course was an out and back and I hadn't thought about  how this would work out on the way back until the first runners started coming back in the opposite direction ... right into us on the single-file trail. Ack! I almost ran smack into someone when rounding the corner of one bush and was glad that I was alert and nimble enough to miss any crashes or falls. As the miles ticked by I felt okay physically, but I was mentally exhausted by how alert you had to be while train running. I was tired of constantly scanning the ground for rocks and looking for places to put my feet to make sure I didn't roll my ankle. I'm completely amazed that I never tripped or fell, although I read that several others did from the race's Yelp review. In the last few miles of the race it was really heating up and I was soooo glad that I had decided to go with a singlet. 

Sporting my San Francisco Marathon Ambassador Gear

Approaching the Finish

I was so happy to be approaching the finish line in the end and made a mental note to myself to stay away from trail races in the future. The race was way harder than I expected, I felt that the description of the course difficulty level was a complete lie, and I was covered in a layer of dust. Yuck!

Official Finish Time: 2:04:47
Age Group Place: 6/39
Overall Place: 71/227

Painted Rocks Half Marathon - Check!

Painted Rocks Half Marathon Medal

A Change of Heart

After the race was over I felt tired, dirty, betrayed, but accomplished. I finished the half marathon in over two hours, and for the first time I didn't care. I thought I did great! I realized that doing a hilly trail course was liberating, because I couldn't compare it to my flat races and the pressure of a PR was off. Ooh, that felt nice! I complained a bit to some trial runners about the course after the race and was surprised when they said that this course really was flat .... compared to most trail runs. Okay, I think that disclaimer needs to be added in for the trail running naive: "This course is relatively flat, compared to Kilimanjaro." :oP

Crossing the Suspension Bridge

The race directors who put on this race also put on several other trail races which range from a 5K to a 15K. One of their races is called the Stairway to Heaven, and is a 15K course that climbs into the sky. Who was crazy enough to do this race? Uh oh ... maybe me. I am intrigued to see what such a ridiculous course profile will feel like to complete, and again, there's no pressure of a PR on a climb into the sky. I haven't signed up yet, but I think I will. I currently don't have any road races scheduled for June so heck, why not give something new a try? Who knows, maybe come July I'll be the kind of person who describes the San Francisco Marathon course as "mostly flat with rolling hills". ;o)