Santa to the Sea Half Marathon Recap

For once, a timely race review.  I’m sure I’ve left something out.

Speaking of leaving something out…

My Race

I did nothing for 2 days before the race despite wanting to do some kind of easy run on Friday or Saturday.  I actually had a pretty lazy week leading up to the half. One final shorter night of track;  a short and easy bike ride; and a really short and easy run with a hill.  After I re-checked the course elevation, looked at my pacing from last year, and determined a rough goal pace for this year, I tried to stop obsessing about race details.

Actually, let’s back things up a week.  I had been running in these lightweight lower drop shoes that I was growing very fond of.  I was wearing them for track, wearing them for some faster runs, and had a great 12 miler in them. Then following my 10 mile run in them the Sunday before the race, I was surprised to see several rips.  

           
This shoe tried to disguise itself due to embarrassment from falling apart at 105 miles.

Commence freak out. I was unable to find this same style online in my size, which was a good thing, because I didn’t really want to buy another pair of defective shoes. But I also didn’t want to wear another pair of shoes that was a totally different type of shoe than I had been training in (heavier, bigger drop, more support).  Note: I notified the brand and they responded quickly and offered to make it right. Just not in time for my race. 

So I  broke one of the cardinal racing rules: DON’T DO ANYTHING NEW FOR RACE DAY and ordered another pair of shoes described as having a similar feel- minimal cushioning, firm ride. (Old pair – 4.9 oz, 3mm drop.  New pair – 4.8 oz, 4mm drop) . New shoes came on Friday, I didn’t get to break them in on a run, but I did wear them around the house and we instantly bonded.

Sunglasses sold separately.
Noodle hugger sold here.

   Do these sleeves make my calves look fat?

Back to Race day.

I slept decently, only waking up once at 4:15 to freak out and confirm that I hadn’t yet overslept. I went back to sleep and got up at 5:05, met friends at 5:45 and we were on our way. We parked by 6:40 and had plenty of time to feel the air and make last minute adjustments to what layers we were wearing. We got on the shuttles around 7:15, unloaded at the start line by 7:30, and still had 30 minutes to kill.

I found the banner for the 1:45-1:49 line up, just ahead of the 1:50 pacers.  The race started pretty close to on time at 8:02am next to a giant Santa. 

 
No, I didn’t bring a camera with me. Thank you Google Street View.

My plan was to start comfortably, which was necessary with the crowd. Beyond that, I intended to see how I felt, and go from there.  It did not end up being a perfectly orchestrated negative splits kind of race.

I felt pretty good after running the first mile in 8:34, and the friend I started with encouraged me to take off, reminding me I wasn’t supposed to stay with her.  So I did. And after another mile, I looked down to see that I had run the second mile in 8:11. Whaa? I thought about slowing down a bit, closer to 8:20, but the pace felt sustainable.  The next mile was 8:15. Awesome.  Coming up on mile 3, I started to hear the 1:50 pacers behind me.  They were kind of annoying so I hoped I could just stay ahead of them (“And up at this stop sign, you’re going to turn right!”).  No thanks.  Unfortunately, they were averaging a good 10-15 seconds faster than goal pace and had banked an extra minute+ by the 6 mile mark, so I couldn’t shake them. 

Miles 4, 5, and 6 were 8:11, 8:08, 8:08. It again crossed my mind that maybe this was too fast.  It felt comfortably hard, but I didn’t at all feel tired yet.  I was just a hair over 51 minutes at the 10k point (incidentally, a new 10k PR for me by a minute). At the half way point I was at 54 minutes (3 minutes faster than last year’s first split).

I took my beloved Salted Caramel Gu from about mile 6.5 to 7.5. I take my time.

My current favorite fake food for running

The 1:50 pace group passed me somewhere around mile 8 after the pace leaders announced they were going to pick up the pace a bit. For the record, I was around a 1:06 at this point which translated to still being  more than a minute below goal time.  So this again annoyed me, but I let them go and hoped they would just get out of earshot. I didn’t need encouragement in the form of, “Look, everyone’s standing and cheering because they think you’re the president!”
 
I did start to lag a bit, with miles 9-11 at 8:28, 8:24, 8:26.Karma. 

Soon after that that first slower mile, my friend caught up with me.  My initial thought was, “ahh, sh*t,” because as she said, I was supposed to be ahead of her (turns out she was having a much better race than she expected!).  Really, though, I was glad for the company and the mid-race motivation.
Around mile 11 I mustered up the energy to pick up the pace a bit.  I managed an 8:17 then an 8:10 and the last little nubbin at a 7:13 pace despite a U-turn a quarter mile from the finish.  



Chip time: 1:48:48.  New PR by 6 minutes!
17/136 in my age group  -  125/1054 women  - 358/1750 overall



So I guess my splits were about 54:00/54:48 53:40/55:07.  I may make more of an effort to run negative splits for my next half, but I don’t regret running miles 2-6 the way I did. Initially I thought those paces were too fast, and maybe they were, but I ended the race without a ton of energy leftover.  If I didn’t feel whooped at the end, I would have kicked myself for not pushing more.

Race Logistics

I carpooled to the race with friends.  We parked at The Collection, a new shopping area in Oxnard, about a 5 minute drive from the start, where we caught school buses to the start line.  There were plenty of school buses so there wasn’t a need for assigned shuttle times. Port-a-potties were available near the parking lot shuttle stop and at the race start.

From where we were dropped off, we had maybe a quarter to half mile walk to the actual starting area.  Estimated finish times were listed on banners to help with the line-up, and there were pace groups as well.  Along the side of the race line up was the bag drop and the donated toy collection area. This was a little cramped and chaotic.  Gift drop could have been closer to the bus drop off, but I understand they probably want a photo with all the gifts below the giant Santa, which is at the start line.

UPS managed bag drop which was necessary since it was just above freezing at the start, and because it was a point-to-point course with our cars waiting close to the start line. It was in the mid 40s but sunny at the finish.  Post-race bag drop pick-up took way longer than it should have. I was easily standing in line for 15-20 minutes and it took them several minutes to locate my bag once I gave them my bib number.  They sort of had bags sorted by number, but organization was lacking or there weren’t enough volunteers in the truck looking for bags once a bib number was called out to them.

Cheering sections along the way were fantastic, as were the volunteers and police officers helping with traffic control along the course.  The course was flat/downhill.  The only inclines were two overpasses, one at about .5 mile and the other around mile 6.  The course goes through fields, an industrial center, neighborhoods, the historic district (nice Christmas decorations by the way), more fields, then along the ocean.  Visibility was amazing and you could see the Channel Islands so clearly toward the end.

This is where your strawberries come from.

Finish line food was great, there was Powerade, Water, and Pineapple juice.  There were Powerbars, fruit cups and bowls made up with different combinations of orange slices, strawberries, raspberries, bananas, pretzels, and cookies.

As for the pacers? I will be curious to see the official time for the 1:50 pacers.  One of the 1:50 pacers dropped back and was WALKING against race traffic when I had about 3/4 of a mile to go. This annoys me because I took my pacing job seriously and these dudes were clearly several minutes ahead.  I’ll let it go now.

We stuck around for awards at 11 because there were some age group awards for people in my running group.  There were several buses waiting to take people back to their cars when we were finally ready at 11:30 and there was no waiting. It was probably a good 15 minute drive back toward the cars.

Post Race

Back where we parked, we grabbed lunch and beer at the conveniently located Yard House before driving home.  Well, riding home, for me. Which is good because this is a strong beer.

My PR-celebratory Old Rasputin.

New 10k PR

Let’s start with July 4th.  I ran a 10k.  I wanted to run a race because it’s been a while (March?) but was also dreading it for a number of reasons:

1. It has been ridiculously hot. Triple digits and humidity. It’s not supposed to be humid here.
2. I have felt sluggish during my speed work and tempo runs.
• Possibly worth noting that these runs have not been on flat ground.
3. The 10k race course runs on the bike path where my running group has been doing speed work while the track is rebuilt.
• Speed work is extra unpleasant at 6pm when the temperature is still in the 90s.
• Therefore this part of the bike path is now always unpleasant.
4. I only want to run a race if I’m going to try for a PR. Or run on trails.
• Last year I ran a 53:27
• Last year’s 8:36 pace didn’t sound so easy to beat when tempo runs have felt slow.
• I am sure I will have to adjust this race mentality as I get older and slower.

I surprised myself and ran a 52:03, which was an 8:23 average pace.  Miraculously, 1st in my age group out of 8.  Not sure where the other 15 people from my age group at last year’s race disappeared to.  30th female out 115 and 91st overall of 238.  If this race occurred one month later when I’ll be 30… I would not have placed in my age group. Women 30-34 are FAST around here.

The course wasn’t exactly flat. That gradual uphill in the second half is very noticeable especially as the sun is starting to feel hotter on you on this fully exposed course.

Which must explain my paces…  8:19-8:20 pace for the Down Half. I don’t think I have ever run this consistently over a 3 mile distance.  And then I did it again. 8:38-8:39 for the Up Half. 

I looked at my watch when it beeped every mile but otherwise tried to just zone out and run, paying attention to effort level until I hit 6 miles and could see the finish line, then it was go-time.  I brought music, which I don’t normally do.  But I remembered being annoyed by the slapping of a nearby runner’s Teva sandals last year and didn’t think I could handle that again.

       

I wasn’t the only one decked out in red, white and blue:

Week of June 24:
Monday: 5.35 mi tempo run on rolling hills, avg pace 8:33. With cool down: 6.06 miles.

Tuesday: Arrived late to 3x 1 Mile repeats. So I got in .75 mi at a 7:40 pace, then a mile at 8:03 and a mile in 7:48. 2-3 minutes in between. Total: 4.74 miles.

Wednesday: 7.06 mi bike ride, avg 14.2 mph.

Friday: 1.94 mile “easy” run, +283’.

Saturday: 10.13 miles, avg pace 9:21, +395’.

Sunday: Rest. Retreated to the ocean where, at 85 degrees, it was 25 degrees cooler than home.

Week of July 1:
Monday AM: 4.25 mi at 8:47 avg pace on rolling hills. With cool down: 5.13 miles total. (+915’!?)
Monday PM: 2.05 flat, easy miles with Dan.

Thursday: 10k in 52:03.

Saturday: I ran down the hill to get donuts then brought them back home. Seriously. 1.58 miles and +321’.

Sunday: 10.02 miles, avg pace 9:34. + ~500’.

Race Report: City Impact Half Marathon

I’ll cut to the chase…official results: 1:57:13 or an 8:57 pace.  A new half marathon PR by 9:35!
Stats: 39/236 females. 13/75 in my age group. 113/401 half marathoners.


Fitted women’s tech tees – score!
(Note: race registration did not indicate there would be mens/womens sizing so I assumed it would be unisex and ordered a M for my husband, only to find a women’s medium in my bag.  They did let me swap for the right size after the race).
Now for the boring details.

This race was pretty small compared to some other races I’ve run (e.g. Rock n’ Roll halfs, Philadelphia half) which allowed the organizers to have race day packet pick up all the way until half an hour before the start of the half marathon.  Big plus since I live an hour away from the race and would prefer not to drive there and back 2 days in a row.

There was a staggered start for the half marathon, which was different… 7am if you anticipated running slower than 2:15; 8am if you expected to finish in less than 2:15.  I was skeptical of the 8am start in mid-June, but it turns out it is about 20 degrees cooler at the ocean than where I am, inland. It ended up being around 60F and overcast which is pretty perfect by my standards.  The 8am start also meant Dan and I could sleep in until 5:25 before getting out the door just before 6.

We parked in the (free) parking garage just after 7 and had a quick 3 blocks/.35 mile walk to the start line and packet pickup.

[source]  Check out that June Gloom.

This was a very family friendly event.  Not only was there the half marathon, there was also a 5k and a kids fun run.  Note the John Deere-powered wagon ride, a.k.a. “The Party Train” for kids.  They were even playing the 1980s funk song by the same name (Google “Gap Band Party Train” for a fun early 80s music video).

Before shot.  I don’t even know if there was an official race photographer for the finish line.

Dan brought my goodie bag back to the car and found a nearby bike path to ride his bike on while I ran.  They had coffee, bananas, water, and raspberries for people to snack on pre-race. I was all set with my banana and peanut butter + honey on toast that I ate in the car. There were a few real bathrooms at the pier plus some extra port-a-potties.  I jogged around a little to warm up before it was time to line up.

A little before 8, they explained that the 7am starters should have bib numbers under 210 and a red dot on their bib and not  to be concerned if they were ahead of us because they will have been running for an hour longer. (Despite emails warning against this, there were totally sub-2:15 people that started early. You know who you are.  And if you predicted >2:15 but surprised yourself with a 1:40-1:50, then you must be magical).  At 8:05 we were off.

That morning I decided I would start at a 9:00 pace, see how that felt, and go from there.  Tentatively I would  run the first 5 more conservatively, pick it up if I could for the next 5, then give it whatever I had left for the final 5k.

I would have been ok running the first mile even :30 slower than my goal pace,  but wow, I forgot what it’s like to not have corrals.  I started WAY too fast and even telling myself to slow down, I was “only” able to slow down that first mile to an 8:34 pace. BIG mistake. I knew that was stupid and tried to at least slow down more for the 2nd mile so I didn’t run out of steam early.


A 9:00 pace didn’t feel as easy as I would have liked, but I reminded myself that a 9:09 pace would still (just) put me under 2 hours.  I decided to try to stay in the 9:00-9:09 range up until mile 5.  For the first 1.5-2 miles when you looked out at the ocean it was FILLED with surfers, evenly spaced, a couple hundred feet from the beach. Just little black wetsuit dots waiting in the water.  Someone should take a picture of that sometime.

I felt good at the turnaround and decided to try to up the pace a bit for the next 5 miles, but miles 7-9 were kinda lonely as the runners had really thinned out by that point.  The ocean was to my right but there wasn’t much else to look at. For the first half of the race, the  faster runners were coming back and it was kind of motivating for me.  I began counting the number of runners still heading out on the course to give me something to do besides focusing on each step I was taking.  This is where I really could have used some music.

I carried my 12 oz handheld water bottle, stopped for a swig of purple Powerade around miles 2.5 and 6.5, and I had 1 orange gu at about mile 8-8.5.

Around mile 9.5 or so there was a hill that lasted probably 1/3 of a mile. It’s nothing like the 12% incline I live at the top of, but it was big enough to be noticeable on an otherwise pretty flat course.  After running down that hill around mile 3.5 I didn’t let myself forget that it would be waiting for me on the way back.  I was pretty pleased that I finished the mile with that hill in just under a 9:00 pace.


I don’t think the course elevation map is very useful but I like graphics!  The course was generally pretty flat with the exception of the “big” hill around mile 3.5/9.5 – I don’t know why it looks so choppy. There were a few smaller little hills in the first/last two miles of the course too.

Once I was past the hill, I knew it would be pretty flat until the finish and could try to pick up the pace a little more. I wasn’t loving life for the last few miles. I remember looking at my watch around miles 10.1 and 11.1, telling myself I only had 27 and 18 minutes left to run. Once I got to 11.1 miles on my watch, I was just under 1:40 and realized I should be able to finish under 2 hours even if I slowed down. 

With a half mile to go I really pushed it. I told myself it was only two laps around the track and I could do it. I don’t remember much from this point other than that those two laps were feeling really long and I wanted to be done.

I have fantasies of finishing a race feeling like this:


However, as I approached the finish line I began to feel more and more certain that I was about to throw up and began to scan my field of vision for a trash can.  (I was of course still able to stop my Garmin as I crossed the finish line).  I tried to breathe deeply and focus on not throwing up on the woman putting a medal around my neck or the volunteer kneeling on the ground waiting to cut the timing chip off my shoe. 

Still trying to breathe deeply and not yak in front of innocent children, I walked past the finisher’s area until the feeling passed.  The finisher’s area was fantastic in that there weren’t people stopped right across the finish line, it wasn’t crowded and I was able to keep moving and get out of the way.  Once I felt a little better I went back for a bottle of cold water, Dan found me, and I thought about picking up food, except trays of roast beef and ahi tuna wraps did nothing for my nausea.

I think I could have verified my results at the scoring tent but after giving my roast beef wrap to Dan we got out of there so I could keep walking and drinking water and not yak.  We made our way to the farmer’s market and picked up a loaf of bread and some cherries, and eventually stopped at a bakery for a pastry and coffee once I felt a little better.  We again picked up a ridiculous amount of strawberries at a roadside stand on our way home.


This was a well organized race and $50 (early bird) isn’t so bad for a chip-timed half marathon.  Even if you register after the price increase, the race is held to benefit City Impact, an outreach organization that helps at-risk adolescents and families in Ventura.  I worked for a similar organization in NY during and right after college so I was happy to support that cause.  Last year they gave out stainless steel water bottles which I would have been happy with, but I guess they opted to switch to finisher’s medals this year.

Aid stations had water and Powerade beginning around mile 2.5 and every 2ish miles after that.  The race was entirely on a paved path along the beach and the shoulder/bike path along a road that hugged the coastline.  There were police along the way to slow down cars as the road wasn’t entirely closed and they were possibly more enthusiastic in their cheering than some of the volunteers along the course.  While I didn’t need them, there were port-a-potties along the race course.

Based on my criteria of:

• Cost of registration
• Ease of Packet Pick up
• Shirt that fits
• Cost/Location of Parking
• Bathrooms
• Punctual Start
• Plentiful Aid Stations/Helpful Volunteers
• Finish Line

I would recommend this race and would consider running it again next year.  But maybe with some back-up music for those middle miles.  I opted to run without music because I haven’t run with music in a few months, but I can’t help but wonder if the 8th and 9th miles would have been a little faster with some upbeat music to distract me and keep me going.

it fits, hooray!