Half Crazy (Again)

I ran my second half marathon this weekend! It was the inaugural San Diego Half Marathon, which my coworkers Janeece and Sammy convinced me to run with them. Janeece has aspirations to run this race every year starting from its inception, so she'll get lots of recognition when she's 100 years old and still racing it. :) Anyway, they talked it up so much that it started to sound like fun to me, too. This is the 2nd race that the three of us have done, since they ran the Rock 'n' Roll last summer, too. It's becoming an annual tradition!

Dan knew that he couldn't run with me because of his bum knee, so he took his bike and rode the entire race. It was fun to have him there! Not only did I have my emergency contact available at all times, but he got to experience the race with me and encourage me when I looked close to death. And he took some videos (they're at the bottom), so if you want to experience a half marathon from the comfort of your chair, this is the time.

We kicked off the weekend with dinner together. Lots of pasta was consumed. From left around the table: Sammy, her parents Lynn and Bob, Rudy, Janeece, me, and Dan.

The "before" picture of the runners: Rudy, Janeece, me, and Sammy.

Dan and I spent the afternoon at Petco Park (the San Diego Padres baseball stadium) on Saturday so I could pick up my race number & other goodies. They had vendors giving out free samples & advertising their wares.

After we left, we took the race map and drove the course so we'd know what to expect the next day.

On Sunday morning, we woke up at 5:00 (it felt like 4:00 because of Daylight Savings...ugh!) and got to Petco Park by 6:00.

It was finally getting light outside by race time at 7:15. I was in the 5th wave of runners (out of 10 waves total).

From the start line we ran down the middle of the streets in the heart of downtown, which was a cool experience!

A nice photo along the harbor with downtown behind us. Dan cracks up because I'm the only one who looks like I'm having any fun. What can I say, I smile every moment of the race because it feels so awesome!

Okay, this is what I look like when I'm not posing for the camera - like I'm about to throw up. My first thought was "Aha! THAT'S why my shoulders were so sore the next day!" Second thought was "Yay - you can see Dan on his bike in the background!!"

BEST PHOTO EVER, kissing the guns. hahaha! I am not dorky at all!

During the last sprint, we entered the tunnel into Petco Park and ran on the field toward home plate to the finish line. They showed us finishing on the big screen and announced our names over the loudspeaker. It was the closest I'll probably ever come to feeling famous!

My finish time was 2:05 - over 5 minutes faster than my Rock 'n' Roll time! I was stoked about it since I blew my goal of 2:10 out of the water! The course was flat with only one soul-crushing hill at mile 9 and then a downhill slope for the last 2 miles, so it was conducive to a fast pace.

The medals were pretty. I wish it was acceptable to wear it in everyday settings. Maybe I can make it into a belt buckle or a very large earring.

Sammy and Janeece ran the whole race together and they beat their time goal, too! It was a good day for all three of us.

Half Marathon #2, done!

And here are those videos. The first two are right before my wave started running. My parents need to see this because otherwise they'll never believe I was excited to run at 7:15 a.m. Wonders never cease.

*Warning - you might want to turn your volume down.* It's exciting at the beginning of the race. And by exciting, I mean there are air horns.



We're happy because we don't feel any pain yet.



And they're off!!

Running along the harbor at mile 3 or 4. Okay, now just keep imagining that for about 2-3 more hours and you have experienced the magic of a half marathon. :)