San Diego Beach & Bay Half Marathon Recap!

I would like to start out by saying this race was AWESOME!  Oh my gosh, I have always dreamed of running a race along the ocean and the beach and I did just that on Saturday!  I wasn't actually planning on running this race, but at the last minute someone in my MRTT group could not go and I was able to do a bib transfer into my name! So kudos to the race director for having that option available for me!  And since my husband had a friend visiting from Minnesota, I was not able to go the the packet pick up the day before the race. Once again I relied on my MRTT group and someone was able to pick up my race packet for me. She just needed a signed waiver and a copy of my ID from me. So another kudos to the race director for allowing others to pick up someone else's race packet. Woohoo!  

My day started at 3:30am because my ride down was picking me up at 4:15am. I made my self some coffee, peanut butter toast and grabbed a banana for the car ride.  We also picked up two other ladies on our way down.
We arrived to the sun runner parking lot around 6am. It was a quick 5 minute walk to the starting line where our friends were waiting for us.  I quickly pinned my bib on and then dropped by backpack off at the gear check.  I had to pack a bag because I was going to stay at the beach after the race.  After that I had enough time to use the bathroom twice and then I got in line. I was in wave #2. They placed us in waves according to our pace.

Here I am all ready to run!!  As far as my shoes go, this was the last race I wore them for. They will now just be my short distance running shoes. 

Once we took off we ran along the road right behind sea world and around mile 2.5 I started to see the bay again. Isn't is so pretty with those tall trees? There were just a few boats out in this part of the bay that morning.

Around mile 3 we crossed over this bridge with more beautiful views!

And finally around mile 4.5 we turned the corner to see the ocean!  And I could smell it right away! Oh it was so awesome!  And around mile 5 I ate my first GU.  I really think GU helps me during my runs. It gives me the little boost that I need.

We ran up Mission Beach until we hit mile 6.5 then we had to run just a little on city streets and trails before we were back next to the bay again. 

I was actually doing great running, I had kept the 2 hour pacer in my sight for a long time. I think it wasn't until mile 8 that I lost sight of her.  That is also when I had to tell my legs to shut up because they started to get heavy.

Around mile 8.5 we came down around a point and I swear I could see the finish line. Of course I still had almost 5 miles to go so I thought that was just cruel.  

Around mile 10 I felt the urge to pee, so I stopped at a bathroom and not a single drop came out. I couldn't believe it, I swear I could have went. This is when the 2:10 pacer passed me. I couldn't believe that I was ahead of her the entire race.  My PR for a half marathon is 2:14. However, one more potty break with no result set me back even more. I finally finished at 2:21. It is not more worst time for a half, but surely I wished I could have done a little better. I try to not be too hard on myself considering I took three full months off running and just started running again in the end of March when we moved out here.

This race was so beautiful and flat! I will totally do it again next year! I would highly recommend it to anyone! They had a post race party with beer and of course there were lots of vendors there too with samples and information. Not to mention we did get a really nice tech tee and I love the finishers medal!

This was the actual course and I loved it!

After the race Mike and his friend Mark came down and met me at the beach. They did some SUP at the bay and then we spent the rest of the afternoon at Pacific Beach. It was a great day!

I am running a Memorial day 5k next monday and will recap that next week!

Jessica 

Races I have planned for 2017 so far...

As soon as I knew I was moving to California I started looking for a running group. I loved my Moms on the Run group and I knew that if I could find a group like that out here then I would have no problem getting my running groove back.

So thankfully facebook pulled through for me and I found a chapter of Moms Run This Town right here in my new home town.  I joined them on facebook right away so I could figure out how they do things.  I think I lived here all of three weeks when I first joined them for a group run.  And of course what do you talk about during a run? Well races of course.  Most of them had just run Ragnar So Cal and were still talking about it, and some of them were planning future races. So naturally I wanted to get in on some races too.  Well, since I technically don't have a paying job at this moment (start an online job next week) I can't just spend money I don't have. So I have to be careful and not sign up for every race that I see.

However, since there are a few local races that were not too bad in price I did sign up for some. And I was lucky enough to get a bib transfer for a race this coming weekend.

Here are the races I am planning on doing so far!

1. San Diego Beach & Bay inaugural Half Marathon at Mission Beach in San Diego on May 20th 
2. Memorial day 5k at Diamond Valley Lake in Hemet on May 29th
3. SoCal Wine Country Women's Half Marathon in Temecula on June 3rd
4. Aloha 10K in San Diego on September 10th
5. Ragnar Los Coyotes in Warner Springs on November 10th & 11th 

Here are some virtual races I also have done/will do:
1. Ragnar Chase the Moon Challange May 11th
2. TC Red, White and Boom Half Marathon July 4th

There are lots of other races that I am looking at doing, but have not committed to them yet.
I am just excited about running races out here in California because they are new for me and I feel like back in Minnesota I ran some of the same races year after year and it will be nice to try new ones. 

I will take lots of pictures and do a race recap for each race I do this year!

As for today, I am going to run a smooth and easy 5k just to keep my legs loose and hopefully my stubbed toe will not give me too much grief!

Jessica 

Slacker..but for good reason!

Yes! I am a major slacker, but I promise that will end now!  I have not blogged here since October and I have good reasons why!

1. I have ran only 1 race since I last blogged. The Night Crawler run at Essex Park on November 14th.

2. I had a major surgery on December 16th and was out of running for three months.

3. I also moved across country from southeastern Minnesota to Southern California in March.

4. I am just now getting my groove of running back.

So here are some things I will be blogging about soon!

1. Recap of Ragnar Trail NW Wisconsin

2. My surgery and how it has changed my running life

3. Moving across country and trying to get my running groove back.

4. New races I will be running this year

That is all for now. Check back soon!

Jessica