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.

Pacing Success!

Sunday I was tasked with pacing the 2:10 group for our local half marathon.  My running group provided pacers for the half from 1:30-2:10 and for the full from 3:30-4:20. 

My duties included running close to-- but not over-- a 2:10 half marathon based on my chip time, and carrying this sign:

Since my PR from last year is a 1:54, I think the 2:10 was a good choice.  I probably could have done 2:05 if we offered it, but 2:00 was too close to my PR that if I had been feeling off on race day it could have been tough, especially since I was pacing alone.  On the plus side, pacing the 2:10 left me with enough energy to spectate at the finish line for a while then run back out on the course to find a friend running the marathon.

For being my first time pacing, I'm glad I was familiar with the course from running this race last year, running parts of the course in my daily running and when we featured a "preview run" of the course a few weeks ago.

Prior to the race, I played around with this pace calculator.  If I ran the course exactly and my Garmin read 13.1 miles, my pace on my Garmin should read 9:50-9:54 to finish in 2:09-2:10.

Looking at my Garmin data from running this race last year, I had about 13.19 miles.  To run that slightly longer distance between a 2:09 and 2:10 would mean more like a 9:46-9:51 average pace.

I decided to go with 9:50, right in the middle, so that I'd still be under 2:10 with a slightly long course.  I printed up a pace band from the pace calculator site, made it sweat/Gatorade-proof with clear packing tape, and pinned it behind my bib for backup.

I very much worried about running the "right" pace. I remembered hearing Kari's horror story with a pace group for her first marathon where the pacer ran :20+ below goal pace and last month a friend started a half with a 2 hour pace group (9:01) but found they ran the first mile in 7:45.  I did not want to be that kind of pacer!

I placed myself at the starting line-up based on the other pacers, but I think I could have started a little further up because it took me 1 minute and 40 seconds after the gun to cross the timing mats and there were people ahead of me who were walking by the quarter mile mark.  Maybe if the race continues to grow, there should be mini corrals to guide the line up.  Regardless, I planned to be slower on the first mile since there's a bit of an uphill and I knew it would be crowded.

It was difficult not to pick up the pace during the second mile while we were heading downhill.  Still, the first two miles averaged out to my goal pace.  After that point, I was able to keep my pace fairly steady for the rest of the race.

The other challenge was having people I knew in my group.  A couple friends started with me and it was hard to not slow down or speed up with them because that's what I'd typically do when running with them.  I just had to remind myself to keep my pace.

Here are my splits and the course elevation:

While I am used to running with a handheld water bottle, running with a sign for 2 hours was a first.  I had been advised by previous pacers not to grip the thin dowel too tightly to prevent fatigue.  If I had more time, I might have wrapped tape around the part of the stick I would carry to allow a more comfortable grip.  I just switched hands often so that I wasn't tensing up, sometimes carrying it with the same hand that was holding my water bottle which prevented a tight grip. 

Also, it turns out there's more wind two feet above my head.  The sign whipped around less if I kept it closer to my head.

I didn't so much have a solid group the entire time as I had people who came and went.  People would check in on my pace then say they would try to keep up with me or tell me they wanted to try to stay ahead of me.  A couple people approached me at the finish and thanked me and I didn't realize they had been running with me.

My chip time was 2:09:16.  In the end, my watch showed 13.15 miles, and since I was relying on my Garmin, I'm glad I did use a slightly faster average pace to be sure I erred on the faster side of 2:10.

I really enjoyed pacing and would do it again.  It was a different kind of challenge and hopefully I helped some people along the way.

PS, While googling tips for pacing, I found this wiki helpful.

Have you ever paced a race?
Ever run a race with a pace group?

Chesebro Half Marathon Recap

Last Saturday I ran the Chesebro Half Marathon.  It’s one of several races on the same day that make up the Great Race of Agoura Hills and it was my first race in California last year.  It is not a PR kind of course, but it is a scenic course and a well-organized race, so I decided to run it again with the goal of beating last year’s time.

They offer race-day packet pick-up as well as an expo on Thursday & Friday. I was able to get to the expo Thursday afternoon, which was worth it, to allow me to sleep in for an extra 30 minutes and save that extra little bit of running around on race morning. 

Road Runner Sports also had a booth there with barely worn shoes for $50.  I do not at all need new shoes right now, but it’s worth a look. Lucky for me, there weren’t many shoes in my size to tempt me. I did, however, come home with a stick to torture my calves and quads.  I had been eyeing one since last summer when I worked at the running store.

The morning of the race I found parking quickly and easily. The race organizers provide you with a long list of parking options, noting which lots are best for people running the half marathon vs. the 10k or 5k - and the times various streets will be closed. Very helpful. I parked in a Vons parking lot a little over a half mile from the starting line.

Here’s the deal:

In terms of elevation, it’s no easy course, but I’ve definitely run worse. Like here. Or here. Oh, and I didn’t review this one yet.

The Chesebro Half had a 7am start; we were off by 7:05. The race starts downhill (you had to walk up that hill to get to the start), then through a neighborhood around a park where you will eventually finish. I started with a friend from my running group, we said we’d start conservatively then it turned out we ran an 8:20 for the first mile. Whoops.

   

I don’t know what happened, but I look so twisted. Note to self: work on stride.

It was roads up until mile 3, then we entered a park and started running on a wide path/fire road. We passed some park rangers on horses, a couple aid stations, and a few groups of teenagers who were unenthusiastically cheering us on. I’m sure they gained much from those 2 hours of required community service. Somewhere in there the wide path turned into single track; the dirt surface became more sandy and rocky; and the grass and trees turned into desert-scrub and sage plants.

The anticipation of the big hill was killing me, though when I actually got to it, it wasn’t as bad as I remembered last year, thanks to getting a year of mountain trail running under my belt.  After mile 8, it was glorious downhill on a fire road for 2 miles.  Unlike last year, I was prepared for the hill that came around mile 10 so I didn’t totally destroy my legs on the downhill stretch leading up to it.

^View from the Top; Pictures from event’s facebook page.

Around mile 10.5 we were back on roads with one more mini hill then gradual downhill until the finish line in the park, where runners from all races were finishing.  On that note, there were two women shoulder to shoulder, happily walking their way to a 10k finish in front of me, less than a quarter mile from the finish line, just before a sharp right turn in the course with a curb to not trip over. I turned on my race rage and got around them, then picked off a few runners who had been maintaining their distance in front of me.

I finished in 2:02:58, shaving 11 minutes and 30 seconds off of last year’s time. 
Stats: 339/913 Overall, 96/435 Females, 15/41 in my Age Group.

My split paces in table form and a graph for the visually inclined:

    

Finish Line:

     

Griffith Park Trail Half Recap

Better a late recap than never, right?  On November 17th I ran the Griffith Park Trail half marathon and it was fantastic.  I got a little nervous when I woke up and it was pouring. And it continued to pour for most of my drive down to Burbank. In 2 and a half years of running in the northeast, I never had a rainy race day…and my first was after moving to Southern California.

Plugging in the address of the Greek Theater…

…got me there with no problems and, as promised, there were plenty of volunteers directing us where to park.  Free parking, and plenty of it, even arriving only 40 minutes before the start.  Real flushable toilets near the parking lots, too.

I jogged the half mile from my car to the starting line/packet pickup in the drizzle, jogged back to my car to drop off the goods, ditch my rain jacket, pin on my bib, etc., then another half mile back to the start. 1.5 miles in the bank before the race. The temperature was in the low 50s, so not too cold – and I knew I would warm up on that first giant hill.

Yes, there was a bag drop that I could have utilized which would have allowed me to leave everything at the start/finish line, but I have never used a race’s bag drop, and even though there was a tarp to keep everything dry, I had visions of a wet sweatshirt awaiting me at the end of the race.

The race started perfectly on time, just like this race director’s last amazingly well-organized race. 

Another thing it had in common with the last race? It starts with a climb! A big one.

It was so foggy/cloudy that you couldn’t see anything from the top at the beginning. Just the trail a few feet in front of you and fog.  I need to go back on a clear day to check out the view.  The race included a couple well-stocked aid stations featuring everything from traditional energy gels to fruit to cookies and chocolate covered espresso beans.  There were even a couple cheering sections along the course—kudos to them for getting up there. Volunteers were at every turn off to direct you where to go. 

A couple miles in to the race I heard a familiar voice approaching me, and it was Naomi, who I met and finished the race with at September’s Leona Valley trail half.  We passed eachother several times throughout this race.  I came to this race alone and did not know of anyone else doing it, so I had not expected to see anyone I knew there.  It was nice to see a familiar face on the course!

Highlights of the course included views of downtown LA, the Hollywood sign, the observatory, and the bat caves.  The course featured three out-and-backs (four if you count going back down to the finish).  It made the small race feel bigger since you were seeing people more often.

Another perk of this race? Race director Keira made race photos available for download for FREE.  Which provided me with the following keepsakes:

Running past a dog party in front of the Hollywood sign

Running uphill, mouth agape, in front of the Observatory.

Great shot of the Griffith Park Observatory

Somewhere in the last mile or so of the race.

The course was pretty tough with a total of about 2300’ in elevation gain. I finished in 2:14:21.

The stats:
3/21 females 25-29
21/180 females
92/349 overall

Super healthy food at the finish line: Sandwiches, two pasta dishes, an orzo dish, and some kind of kale salad. Naked coconut water and samples of Naked protein drinks.

Race goodies included an INKnBURN tech tee, a sturdy drawstring backpack with reflective strips, a blingy medal, and a keychain whistle (to be used to ward off mountain lions and to annoy my dog).

I received this race entry for free from a contest on pavementrunner.com in the Spring sponsored by INKnBURN.  I would recommend this race as it was challenging, yet fun – and very well organized… however I probably would not have run it if not for winning an entry because the registration price was a bit steep ($120).  The tech tees provided will set you back about $50-60 if you buy them on your own, so I’m not sure how much of the entry fee went toward the permit for using/closing off a portion of Griffith Park, and how much went to the cost of the shirt.

Day of Disappointment

Sunday.
Let’s start with some things that went right:

• Got to the race on time.
• Nearly perfect weather (it rained the last 2 years)
• Found friends before race.
• Didn’t start too fast!
• Had an amazing first 7-8 miles.
• Found friends after the race.
• Got to cheer in a lot of running group friends!

I was sure to hydrate in the days leading up to the half. I had a nice little pasta dinner Saturday night.  I was a ball of nerves and I (needlessly), obsessively looked at the pace ranges within my goal range.
Sunday I woke at 5:45am (old-6:45, thanks Daylight Savings Time). I got all my stuff together and got out the door by 6:15. I parked by 6:35 (it’s amazing how fast you can get around early in the morning when there’s no traffic) and was texted with a meeting place to find some friends I would be running with.
7am start.


First goal: Don’t start off too fast. Goal accomplished. A congested start (no corrals) and an uphill first mile will help keep your pace in check.




Mini hill out of the way, time to pick up the pace and get closer to goal pace.  During the second mile I felt great! Like I could definitely sustain the pace. I enjoyed the following several miles of the race. There were some good cheering sections and some familiar faces in the crowds from the running group.  I have two Honey Stinger Chews at about mile 4.25.

                                                  

Hooray! Running is fun!

                                                         

Random Timing mat at 5.5 miles had me at 47:11 or an 8:35 pace. Perfect!! On target for a 1:53-ish.

Next came the beginning of slight discomfort, also the beginning of a slight incline which lasts for about 2 miles.  I start to slip back from a few friends, but another running buddy felt more comfortable at my pace.  I hadn’t given up though, and said I was still going to try to keep up.
 


Had 1 more energy chew around mile 6.2 and another at mile 7.2

Enter side stitch. Something I have rarely had before, and never for more than a minute or two.  I decided I would grab some Gatorade at the next aid station, which was a little after mile 8.

Mile 9. This is where it’s supposed to get easy, as the course becomes a slight downhill from this point for the next 3 miles.  Hoping side stitch issue resolves itself.  Side stitch feels no better. I walk a little around 9.5.  I begin thinking about running the tangents of the course along the curvy bike path because I need something to think about other than my left side and my non-relaxed breathing.



Mile 10.2 ish. I’m walking again, trying to breathe deeply and I get a pat on the back and a “come on, Amanda” from a running club friend leading the 4 hour marathon pace group. Bummed… I’m supposed to be ahead of them.  Happy for the encouragement, though; I feel like crap. He asks if I drank too much water; I say I don’t think so (only had a few ounces from my handheld plus a few sips of Gatorade).  I start running again with him, he tries to coach me how to relax my breathing. I focus on my diaphragm but still can’t relax my breathing.  Below my rib cage feels like a giant knot.  He asks me if I’m feeling better and I abruptly find myself stepping to the right and stop myself from yakking. I realize everyone and their brother behind me will see it. I am beyond the point of “I hope I don’t have to” and I am instead trying to find a spot where I can do this where it will be slightly less obvious.

Mile 10.6 Found a spot to the left where there was a cut out in some grass. Blech. I swish some water in my mouth and I begin running again.

Mile 11-12: Amazingly I’m running a sub-9 pace again! Maybe I can turn this around a little!

Mile 12-13:  I came up from an underpass to see some familiar faces cheering me on from the running store where I worked but despite the pleasant surprise, I felt like butt. They were yelling things like “looking strong” (They were lying).



I took a couple quick walk breaks only after I was out of sight trying to feel better.

I heard my 4-hour pace group friends just ahead, directing the 2-hour half people where to branch off, and I really want to catch up to see them again but I wasn’t quite fast enough.

The half marathon splits off and it’s a slight uphill that I was not prepared for. I walk a little more so I have some energy left for the final stretch. Once I could hear cheering from the finish area I picked up the pace until the finish line (last nubbin is .19 miles...clearly I did not run the tangents).







Chip Time: 2:00:09

I know 2 hours would have been a glorious half marathon time back in June, and it wasn’t that awful of a time considering how the last five miles went, but: meh.  95% of my training runs felt better than this race; it just wasn’t my day for a PR.