Wednesday, April 10, 2013

SF RNR Half Marathon #19

As I said in my previous post, this was hands down my favorite Rock N' Roll race I've done!  Normally I would not recommend doing a race in it's first year because you want to give them time to work out all the kinks.  However, I think this race will be the exact opposite.

Because RNR purchased this race at a later date, it used to be the "Other Half," they didn't have time to change the course and get the required permits etc...  So instead of their normal 15K-30K runners, they only had 5000 runners which was the perfect size.  It had all the perks of an RNR race but without the overcrowding.  The course was also not very RNR like.  Obviously I am a fan of RNR but they tend to run in city centers on major roads that can handle a large amount of runners.  This run on the other hand had us going on dirt trails, sand trails, over the Golden Gate and finishing in front of Ghirardeli Square right on the Bay.  It was awesome.  Since apparently I couldn't be bothered to take pictures - here are some I stole:

Mile 10

My brother on the trail going under Golden Gate
This is the exact spot where I saw Monica from Run Eat Repeat and tried to introduce myself forgetting that I had lost my voice and sounded like an 80 year old smoker.  Sorry Monica - thanks for saying hi.

Finish Line
The only annoying portion was going over Golden Gate because they only had the pedestrian areas closed so it was narrow and if you got stuck behind someone slower then you, there was not a lot you could do.  It didn't bother me too much because I wasn't gunning for a PR but otherwise it would have.  I am worried that next year RNR will get the required permits to close the vehicle portion of the bridge as well.  Although that would be great, I think it's going to lead to changing the entire course and taking out all the trail portions so they can get 15K runners registered.  And if they do that, there is no way you're going to get the views like this again!

Either way, I am glad I decided to get off my deathbed and participate in the inaugural year because it really was a beautiful race. We'll see next year if they can repeat the same - of course I already signed up because it was only $65 at the expo.  The expo was at the Moscone Center and was pretty similar to all RNR expos but on a smaller scale. Nothing new to report besides me stalking the Nuun booth and advertising myself for the HTC team and trying not to cry when they said they didn't have any Cherry Limeade left.  The medal and shirt were both pretty rad.  Might even beat out Vegas.

Love the GG theme to everything!
Obviously I would have enjoyed it even more had I been feeling and running better but I had great time regardless.  I started out too fast per usual and the hills killed me (walked most of them) because my throat was so swollen.  I bonked at mile 11 and had to dig really deep to keep the momentum.  Looking back I really wish I had posted a goal time on the blog because I think that was a great mental push for Surf City.  Even though I was sick I think going into a race with no expectations wasn't good for me.  Had I said I wanted to beat my Surf City time, I could have pushed to shave off another minute or two easy.  In the end I never expected under a 2:10.  I honestly thought when I was up coughing the entire night before that I would be happy with a 2:30; so I'll take that 2:08.  I had a great time running my first race in my new city and experiencing it with my family and friends.  Did I mention MFR also ran it even though he hasn't run more then 6 miles in at least 6 months.  He still  finished in 1:54 (which included a bathroom break).  So basically we hate him!  I mean I love him, but you know:)  Here are my all over the place splits:

Mile 1 - 9:16
Mile 2 - 9:02
Mile 3 - 9:09
Mile 4 - 10:37 (hills)
Mile 5 - 10:21 (hills)
Mile 6 - 9:27
Mile 7 - 10:41 (hills)
Mile 8 - 10:40 (hills)
Mile 9 - 9:10
Mile 10 - 8:55 (what?)
Mile 11 - 10:00 (starting to hit the wall)
Mile 12 - 9:41
Mile 13 - 10:12

1 comment:

  1. Awesome Re-cap!! I loved this race too! It will be interesting to see what happens next year!
    I want to compare my splits with yours since we were so close in time!!
    Nice Job digging deep...even when you were sick! This was way HARDER than Surf City...so don't look at the time!! :)

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