The actual results aren’t too bad, it’s definitely faster than I had expected (then again, I’ve never raced those distances before…) But position-wise, it was pretty terrible. I thought it was going to be a bigger event, but considering it was $10 for 3 events, I shouldn’t have. It was basically a high school run event and a pretty low turnout; most of the runners were from the team with a few older runners here and there. But it was still nice participating in the event nonetheless. Boy, did I get whipped by those highschoolers! For the 1000 meters, we started in our own lanes but when the race started, we all fell into lanes 1 and 2. After 3-400 meters I started to fall back and eventually finished last, which is sad. I was breathing pretty hard during and after that race I was coughing a lot, which made me wonder if it was congestion in the air or maybe ran harder than I thought.

I was seriously considering passing on the 3000 meters just because I knew how tough it was going to be. They actually combined the men’s and women’s race which made me even more nervous. I only ran the 2 mile in high school track once and it was tough running 8 consecutive laps; it was pretty boring. Good thing this was only 7 and a ½ laps, right? But once I got over the fact that I wasn’t going to win the race and knew the kids were going to beat me, I just ran my own race. The laps passed by faster than I thought. The only sad part was when I started to slow down toward the end, I got passed a few times and actually got lapped by the leaders! But I survived with a decent time. I decided to pass on the 600 meter race and just call it a day. I’m still undecided as to whether or not I’ll run these races anymore, but I am literally the sorest I’ve ever been in quite some time, so that either means I ran really hard or am way too out of shape!

I think it’s safe to say that my average half time these days is about 1:35-1:38, which is not bad if you ask me. I ran a 1:38 the week before and I had a good feeling that I’d beat it that time; the question was by how much. I read my race report from 2 years ago and it’s amazing how similar I ran both races. I decided to run with the 1:35 pacer (which I did in 2010 as well). And similar to two years ago, I took off on my own after running with the pacer for a number of miles. I don’t recall when I split from the pacer before, it couldn’t have been any more than 5-7 miles, and this time I was with the pacer for about 9 miles before I ventured off on my own. And similar to last time, I felt good during the race and was able to surge to catch up to runners and even pass a few.

Even before the race started, I felt like 1:35 was too aggressive of a time to aim for and I would not be able to sustain such a fast past for the entire 13.1 miles. But I felt pretty good for most of the race although I did feel like I was running out of gas toward the end of the race, but obviously survived. There was one runner who was with the pacer but left the group around mile 7. I saw her up ahead for the next mile or so, while I stayed back with the pacer, to be on the safe side. But then at one of the water stations, I had a burst of energy and surged while people were slowing down to get their drinks. Once I got through that station, I realized the pacer wasn’t near me. Similar to last time, I didn’t slow down for him and just went off on my own.

I had a made a mini goal to try and catch that other runner who took off. So I worked on each runner around me either by running with them or surging and going on to the next runner. Whenever I have the energy to do something like that, I know I’m running a smart race. Although there were still some situations where I would not even put up a fight when someone comes up to me, so I just let them pass. I eventually did catch that other runner, but she either kept going at the pace or surged, because I was not able to hang on and actually fell back a bit. I don’t know how, but I caught her again but for the 2^nd time I fell back for the 2^nd time pretty discouraging, right?

We were coming to the last few miles of the race and I started to pick it up and caught the runner again. But this time I surged right past her and never looked back. The finish wasn’t particularly strong, but I didn’t let anyone pass me, so I was proud about that. The pacer did a great job and hit his goal pace, so if I had just stayed back with him, my overall time would only have been 1 minute slower. But I suppose it’s technically one minute over a 4 mile distance, which is a significantly faster pace.

I still haven’t decided yet, but I think I might hit up a track meet this weekend. I first thought about doing something like this a couple of months ago. Although competing in general back in high school was nerve racking no matter the distance, I always liked track and field more just because it was a shorter distance (even though the pace was significantly faster). I remember before I started competing, I ran an all-out mile and hit 6 minutes exactly. I highly doubt I can hit that right now. The track meet this weekend has some strange distances: 600, 1000, and 3000 meters. It’s only $10 for all 3 events and I’m hoping I don’t get last for any, but would still be happy if I hit a decent time. Other than that, I have a 10K in LA against my brother and his friends in February. There’s a pretty steep hill within the first mile of that course, so I’m also planning to do some hill/trail running at least once before that race. Other than that, hopefully I’ll get out and run more.

But first some background info on the 13.1 Half Marathon Series. I know Los Angeles is in the 3^rd annual, but I’m sure that it has been going on longer in the other 8 cities, which I can only assume is looking to expand to even more cities. They promoted all the other cities on the race shirts as well as on the medals. The official benefiting charity is Team World Vision and if you were at this race, I think you would have seen more of those race jerseys than the official race shirts, they were literally everywhere! And that’s a good thing, to see that many people supporting a charity. I heard the announcer say that the money raised for Team World Vision would provide water for a number of children and communities in Africa. Definitely a great cause..

The start and finish of this point-to-point course were at very scenic locations: Venice Beach and Playa del Rey. We actually ran down the boardwalk on Venice Beach where all of the local street vendors and artists are usually during the day. Of course, the boardwalk was emptied for this race. Most of the race ran along the beach with nice views of the ocean. But there was a point in the course where we ran through a sewage plant, which probably made people run just a little bit faster just to get away from the smell. Looking at the elevation profile of the course, I wasn’t expecting anything too daunting. But the most significant hill we ran into was this giant loop that took place in the latter part of the course, which made things even harder. According to the course map, we had to make a U-turn at one point in the 2^nd half of the race, but I didn’t bother to note exactly what mile it took place. Around mile 7-8, I saw the leader of the race coming back, so I was hoping I was near the U-turn. But the leader was just that much farther ahead than me because the turn didn’t take place until mile 9-10!

So for the race itself, I was definitely unprepared but was confident I would be able to run a decent time. Not counting trail races, this was actually my slowest performance at the half and actually matched the time I ran in my first half marathon. But considering how little I had been running, it’s really good. To put things into perspective, I was running 2-3 times a week ranging from 3-5 miles per day and at a very slow pace too. It still surprises me how I can run fast(er) in the races but never get anywhere near that pace during training runs. I was even happier about my splits. I felt like I started too fast, but kept looking back at my watch to make sure I hit a 7:30-7:40 pace throughout the race. And looking at my overall splits, I was able to maintain a consistent pace ranging between 7:03-7:39 (last two miles). I actually have another half marathon next week, which is a bigger race (it’s where I hit my 1:28 half marathon PR two years ago). I want to try and run with the 1:35 pacer, I know I would be pushing it if I attempted to go with the 1:30 pacer.

Final random things that I remembered that about this particular race: parking looked like a hassle (which is why I stayed at my cousin’s place in Marina del Rey and biked the 2 miles to the start), they actually ran out of safety pins (another runner kindly gave me two of his), they gave me a large shirt when I asked for medium, and there was a line for the bag check (only had a few trucks), but they were surprisingly efficient finding the bags at the end (there were probably less runners getting their bags when I got mine..)

Check out the full album on my Flickr.

For the geographically unaware (like myself), Taiwan is a tiny island off the coast of China, about 7,000 miles west of California. And for some odd reason, I thought that the island was similar in size to that of Japan. However, it is actually closer (in terms of sq ft) to that of Maryland, while Japan is more like the size of Montana, just a little bit smaller than California! This is your online education in geography for the day! The good thing about going to a smaller area is that we would have a better chance of going to all the main hot spots within the 11 days we were in Taiwan, which I think we did a pretty good job at.

I had a different perception of what Taiwan was really like. But when I got there, I realized it was a lot more developed and in some cases more technologically advanced than what we are used to in the states. But because of their limited space, high rises are common throughout the city.

Taiwan is known for what they call Night Markets, basically food stands and shops all centrally located in one area. There are night markets all around the city and are open late, it’s like the Asian version of Time Square!

Easy pre-meet run before tomorrow’s 13K at Taipei Zoo.

Most unorganized race packet pickup…EVER!

Taipei 101: former world’s tallest building (currently #3)

Busy MRT subway station, very New York-esque.

Photoshoot with the New Balance mascot before our race.

The 2011 Taipei Zoo 13K Run

I’m the one in the back. I can summarize this race in a few words: challenging, humid, and an experience. I definitely didn’t prepare for this race, I didn’t even know there were going to be hills and honestly, who has ever trained for a 13K?! But it was fun to be across the world to find other dedicated runners working their butt off to get to the finish line!

Most likely the finishing stretch of the race..

Post race pic with our finishing ‘cards’. I actually placed 81st, but flipped my card around to have it say 18; I wish!

Relaxing while pedal boating at the lake.

Trying to stay active with some one-on-one basketball with a local. Unfortunately, his mom made him leave to get to school..

I’m looking surprisingly happy even though I’m standing over a river on a pretty shaky bridge!

A random hot spring that we found while hiking at Taroko Gorge. And when I say hot spring, I mean HOT! Everyone else is smiling, but I’m cringing, trying not to move..

And just a couple of hours later we get to the peak of the mountain which was pretty cold according to the sign (7.3 C, 45.2 F)

We did our best to smile and keep our eyes open while shivering to death!

But it was worth it, this is probably the best shot I took during my trip. Such a beautiful sunset!

We took a gondola to the top of another mountain and had tea while enjoying the view of the city.

The engagement brunch took place on the 2nd to last day we were there, it’s the main reason we traveled 7,000 from California. Definitely worth it though!

Everyone dressed up and ready to go before lunch.

Final group pic outside our hotel before heading straight to the airport, 10 hours on a plane and back to the states.

You actually made it to the end! I’m so glad I took the time off to take this trip, it was the most memorable and enjoyable vacation I’ve had in a very long time. Every day was an adventure; although we had some idea of what we wanted to do, there was always something new to enjoy and laugh at. A question I had been asked since then is would I go back again? The short answer is yes, but I’d definitely want to explore a few other countries before, but I would not mind a 2nd trip here again.

I ran the inaugural RnR LA Half last year which turned out to be a very well organized and successful race. I ran it again this year mostly because I got an entry from the Brooks ID team and it gave me another reason to visit the family back home. I knew I wouldn’t have been able to push the pace too much considering I went into the race with about a 1.5 mile week (I blame work, travel & laziness for that). So when I saw the results, I was very pleasantly surprised: 13.1 miles (Garmin said 13.54, but I think it lost its signal going in and out of a tunnel.. Time: 1:35:12, AG: 31/548, Overall: 207/7738. I’m adding this race to my ‘correct way to pace’ section; I made a conscious effort to maintain a specific pace (7:15/7:20) at the beginning to give more energy for the rest of the race. This strategy has been proven successful time and time again; I don’t know why I’m always surprised to see that it works..

They changed the course this year, not sure if people complained or if it just cost too much to close so many parts of downtown LA for an extended period of time. This course was straightforward, but pretty boring: start at LA Live/Staples Center, go West for a mile or two, U-turn back to the start area, then East for 3-4 miles and another U-turn back to the start/finish. You do hit a few landmarks: USC, LA Colosseum (only place that hosted the Olympics twice!) and the Natural History Museum. It’s better because we got more spectator support and like all other RnR races, bands along the course. Almost forgot to mention: since it was Halloween weekend, there were quite a few interesting costumes during this race, which is a nice distraction

The start for the half was at 7:30, which in runners’ eyes is a late start to a race. I was able to sleep in a little bit longer and still made it without hitting any traffic, which was awesome. Even better was not having to wait in line for a porta potty. I was able to just relax before the race, lace up and get to my corral (#1). It’s always intimidating to start a race with a bunch of elite runners, but also difficult because I want to try and hang with some of the faster runners, which is a recipe for disaster. But the race started, I weaved my way around some slower starters and then settled on the pace I wanted to run for a while. It would have been nice to be able to run with a pacer for at least a couple of miles, but I never saw one for the time I wanted to run, so I was basically on my own. My pace for the first couple of miles didn’t feel very consistent: I would be too slow, so I sped up, but sped up too much etc.

There is a running quote I read somewhere that went like this: “Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart.” I think this is why I don’t like to look at my watch during the later part of races; I don’t want to get caught up trying to hit a certain pace. I’d rather just go with how I’m feeling and hope that my body can endure for the rest of the race. Of course, there’s always the part of me that thinks that whatever pace I’m going at is way slower than I actually want to run, but for the most part, I’m able to resist looking.

And by holding back the first few miles, I was able to run strategically, which I love doing! It’s discouraging when you’re so tired that you don’t bother putting up a fight when someone comes up to you and you just let them pass. I found runners around me to partner up with, either going at their pace or setting the pace myself and make them try to hang with me. I was also able to surge sporadically (around corners or right after getting water), which I think is a great way to get some space from others.

There was one runner that I caught up to around the halfway point and she was going at a decent pace, so I surged to run next to her. We went back and forth for the next couple of miles, I actually extended my lead on her on one downhill, but she was able to catch up not too long after, so I’m not sure if she surged to catch me after the hill, or if I slowed down enough for her to get me. But it was nice to have someone to consistently run with or around.

The course was for the most part, flat with a gradual incline for 3-4 miles and then an uphill to a bridge, which reminded me of the SF Half that took us across the Golden Gate Bridge, but this one was definitely not as scenic! We made the U-turn right after the bridge, so it the downhill was shortly after. I’m sure I’m lucky by not having any knee problems (yet), so I always let gravity take over and pick up the pace significantly (not sure if the pace chart is accurate).

I think it was around mile 11-12 where I started to pick up the pace, it may not have even big that much faster. But my theory is that most people are so tired by the end of the race, their pace drops significantly, if not, they’re just working to try and maintain the pace they ran throughout. So it’s always nice to be able to pick it up, even if it’s just the last mile to be able to finish strong. I was hoping the other runner would be able to hang on (although a part of me didn’t since I didn’t want to risk getting chicked!) I was coming close to the straight-away, but still couldn’t see the finish when this young kid came out of nowhere and passed me. But I think he mis-calculated how much energy he actually had because I was able to maintain and then start my kick later and pass him before the finish. Races are always better if you can have a good finish, and of course, it looks better.

Check out some race photos below as well as the finishing video.

The thing I hate about registering for races early is that when I finally realize that I have that race coming up, I’m always surprised and feel unprepared. I think I registered for the Long Beach Half Marathon in June at another race expo. I did occasionally received emails about the race, so it wasn’t a complete surprise. But when the day finally came, I was still pretty excited to run this course, since it’s another beach city, so hopefully I’d have an advantage there? I was able to run once while in New York the week before and managed one more run the Friday before this half and biked to work once or twice. So if anything, I was well rested for this race. The time is now becoming my average half time and probably won’t get any faster unless I dedicate more time to build (any) quality miles. Results: 13.22 mi, 1:36:55 (7:20 min/mile). Placing: 33/564 AG, 289/10715 Overall. It was relatively flat course which is a welcome considering most of my previous races had at least one hill present. And unlike most of the SD races I’ve ran, the majority of the course took place along the beach, which was a nice distraction from the pain from all that running!

The course for the Long Beach Half wasn’t too bad, although there were quite a few turns at random streets, so trying to memorize the course was definitely out of the question. But it was basically a big loop: run along the beach boardwalk and halfway through, make a U-turn and run along another main street that runs parallel with the boardwalk. The boardwalk views were nice, you could easily glance to the right for views of the ocean (supposedly, 80% of the course is on or within view of the ocean). Technically, there’s one hill but it was about a 45 feet elevation, which is a speed bump compared to other hills I’ve ran. And the weather cooperated, some sun but running along the ocean definitely helped.

One of the things I do to prepare for a race is look at this random postcard I got from a race expo goodie bag. I think it’s an ad for a race, but on the back of it, it has this table of goal finish times for various race distances and what your average pace should be to hit it. It gives me an easy way to determine a goal pace to aim for while running, although in most cases I’m way off. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hit anything under 1:35 considering my training (or lack thereof). I felt a 7:20ish pace wouldn’t be too hard to hit and if it really was too easy, I’d had more gas at the end to pick it up (which I sort of did, but it only made up for a slower mile before that..) You can see the pace chart below, it’s pretty consistent if you ask me, I was very surprised about that. I think because there were no hills, it kept me from being thrown off pace. But what definitely helped was not starting off too fast, which I have the Clif Pace team to thank for that.

The race website said that runners finishing in my time should be in wave 2, but when I got into the corral to look for my pacer, there were much slower finish times around. So I actually moved up to the 1^st wave, which wasn’t that big of a deal, just meant I would start the race 5 minutes earlier than expected. So the race started and I didn’t have much room to maneuver as usual, but the course eventually opened up and the pacer wasn’t too far away. So I ran with him and the crowd around him for a couple of miles. I remember in another race, there was a group of runners and I was wondering why they were all so clustered. But as I got closer, I realized they were trying to run with the pacer, which makes sense if you’re trying to hit a goal time and pace. The problem that I have with running with other runners is that they almost never utilize the downhill. I’ve always been told to lean forward just let gravity help with the effort. Because you’re not exerting as much energy as you would on flat and definitely not uphill, it won’t make that much of a difference. So in the few situations where there were downhills, I would end up getting a few meters ahead of the pacer. The first few times I would gradually slow down and get caught up, but around mile 5 or 6, I decided to just keep going on my own.

Because I was trying to hit a specific pace, I was constantly looking at my watch, which varied from sub-7, to 7:30-7:40. Whenever I was off, I would do my best to pick it up just a little or ease up if needed. I also used other runners around me to either help keep my pace or hang onto their pace; that definitely worked to pass some of the miles. I also think that’s a good sign for me since if I’m too tired in a race, I will not care about people passing me or even think about trying to run with someone or catching up to another runner. So by running with the pacer for the first few miles, I was able to have a more comfortable rest of the race and even be strategic in reaching my race goals.

There’s this interactive page that is available that shows random facts, like how you finished compared to everyone else in the race and the % of runners that finished before you. But the coolest numbers they have is the actual # of people that you passed and passed you in the second half of the race. It said that over the second half of the race, I passed 66 runners while only 8 runners passed me. And that’s a # that really shows the benefit of not starting off too fast, which I know is one of my (many) weaknesses. I’m assuming they have a sensor at the half way point and compare it with the order everyone finished at the end. But yeah, I’m almost positive that if I had started off at my usually pace (sub to low-7 min) for the first few miles, this number would not be the same. Now my overall finish time may be very similar, but because I felt so much more comfortable throughout most of the race, it just made racing that much more fun.

Now I’m not technically registered for my next race (Rock ‘n’ Roll Los Angeles Half) yet, but as part of the Brooks ID team, I should be able to get an entry into this race since they are one of the major sponsors for the Rock ‘n’ Roll races. I don’t know how much running I will get done from now ‘til then (in 2 weeks), so if anything I’ll try and run that race like I did today and should still be in good shape.

There were no real goals for this race other than showing up, considering how rare I have been running lately. It’s sad that the only way to force myself to run these days is not wanting to waste x dollars. But it was for a good cause, so it wouldn’t have been that big of a deal if I missed it since I had already registered. And for the most part, that’s how participants were treating this race, a fun time with their kids helping out a good cause. And since there weren’t many people competing, the chances of placing were a lot higher. And the story of how I came at the outcome is a good one, but first the results: 29:41, 4.54 miles (~6:30 min/mile). Placing: 1^st AG and 3^rd overall. This is by far the best placing I have ever had in any race, of course the asterisk is that it was a very small race (120) with even fewer real runners to compete against. But it was a hard fought award which I’ll go into detail below.

There were a lot of events going on for the kids before and after the race: face painting, paper airplanes, free lemonade, Ronald McDonald, you name it. So it was a pretty upbeat and fun atmosphere at the start. Because I live so close to the course (where I do my long runs, whenever I do rarely have them), I was able to wake up and head over within the hour. No one wanted to get to the front at the start, except for this youngster probably 8 or 9. He actually hung around within the first hundred meters or so! I got off to a fast start and immediately found myself in 2^nd. But that pace was way too fast (low 6’s?) and I started to slow down while others caught up. There are actually only 4 characters to this story and I’ll identify them as 1^st and 2^nd place runners, guy in orange shorts, and old(er) guy.

So after the first half mile or so, it’s #1 and 2 who are so far ahead, they couldn’t really be touched. They finished at least a minute or two before any of us. Then there’s guy in orange shorts who passed me and older guy within the first mile. We passed each other a few times until then he caught up to me one last time. At that point he said something, but I had my music on. He said that if we worked together, we could catch the guy in orange. I agreed and hoped that he didn’t push the pace too much, because I was already starting to get tired. So we ran together for the rest of the race; there were times where I was leading and he would draft me (and accidentally kick the back of my foot every now and then). We eventually catch the guy in orange around mile 2-3 and briefly sandwiched him before passing him. The 3 of us talked after the race and the guy in orange said that he wasn’t really in shape and started off way too fast; he didn’t even have a watch to time himself.

I knew the frontrunners were out of reach, so the rest of the race was simply to maintain our pace and make sure the guy in orange didn’t get a second wind and catch us. Looking at our splits (6:08, 6:29, 6:39, 6:44, 3:40), you can see that we obviously did slow down and it can be a combination of us being tired and that fact that we were all alone, with no one else to try to catch. But there were moments near the end of the race where the older guy would fall back and I would skip a step or two to slow down. And so we finally arrived at the straight-away and saw the finish line up ahead. Now I know we had just met during the race, but I thought there was some sort of unspoken rule: if you work together and help each other out in a race, you’d keep that solidarity and finish together…Nope! The older guy just bolted! I was pretty surprised at that, but I still had some energy left and turned on my afterburners. I caught up to him just before the finish, but he barely edged me to the line.

But the race was over and I was just happy about being done, so didn’t really thinking about what just happened. We shook hands, waited for the guy in orange, who was about 45 seconds to a minute behind. I’m sure it must have been hard for him to run those last few miles alone.

I walked over to the awards table to find out that they were giving out AG winner medals, but not top 3, which makes sense in such a small race. I knew the older guy was definitely out of my AG, but I wasn’t sure about #1 and 2, so there was the chance I didn’t win anything. But once the results were posted, I found out a few things. The first and second place runners were not in my age group AND I had actually beat the older runner! Apparently he had a 3 second head start, so my net time beat his. It’s pretty hard to believe because I’m pretty sure I crossed the start line with everyone else, but I’ll take it. So I won my age group and placed 3^rd overall, the best I’ve ever placed at any race. I’m sure the only way that’ll happen again is if it’s another small race like this one and/or I start training like I used to!

But it was a fun race and even more exciting finish. When the announcer called my name up, he was telling everyone how I was throwing elbows with the older runner (obviously not true!) But yeah, the finish was very picture worthy, so I’m glad the photographer got these action shots. Not sure if I’ve ever worked that hard at the end of a race..

There are a few things I can say about this course and the race itself. It’s an out an back course, which I’m never too fond of. You can see the elevation profile below, it was pretty tough, and when I hit the downhills at the very beginning of the course, I thought to myself, ‘this is not going to be fun to run at the end of the race!’ It’s up there on the list of hardest courses I’ve run, but definitely doesn’t beat Sidewinder Trail 10K or Dirt Devil 15K Trail Race (featured the Widow Maker!)

It wasn’t too hot out, but warm enough to make me take a drink at every water station. And even worse, after the race, I literally ate 4-5 WHOLE oranges in a row (they were sliced in halves). And I don’t even like oranges; I grew up with an orange tree, so I rarely eat them anymore. But it just shows how dehydrated I was during the race, definitely my fault for not drinking enough the day before and morning of. The splits are funny to look at, start off fast and strong, maintain a decent 7ish minute page for the next few miles and then 8+, you see fatigue set in and then energy stores depleted at mile 13. I didn’t even bother to sprint to the finish, kind of reminds me of my first half marathon, slower but not as big of a meltdown. But this is my typical race strategy, so it’s nothing new here; my fault for starting off too fast.

There are a few race pics I’ll post, the last one is interesting; in addition to looking like death, apparently I stop looking straight and am facing more upward, definitely not a good look! But that’s sort of how the girl behind me is running too so I’m thinking it’s normal for other runners too.

So going into the race this year, I was hoping for a similar outcome. Problem was I am a lot slower than I was when I first started running. But what I really wanted to do was just improve on my time from 2 years ago, which I did. Race results: 3.13 miles, 19:13 (6:08 min/mile), splits: 6:06, 6:01, 6:28, :36. Placing: 5/78 AG, 18/463 sex, 22/1209 overall. I was quite satisfied with the results, I improved my time, placed well (although it stings that I was so closed to placing again, but runners 1-3 and 4 were much too fast for me..)

The course is pretty boring for a 5K, you cross a bridge away from the park, make a right, loop, pass the bridge, make another loop and then turn right back across the bridge and to the finish. I’m pretty sure that at certain parts of the course, we hit some downhills which accounts for the faster first two miles. But the splits follow my usual MO: start too fast and run out of energy for the end. I just noticed that my eyes were closed in almost all of my pictures from this race; I must have been very sleepy! But there are a few that are OK, I posted below.

This was the first race that I traveled for since high school, which ironically took place near San Francisco (Half Moon Bay). I still remember that race and the trip. It was only for the Varsity team and we got to skip (at least) a day of school and it was my first time flying too! A couple years back, they had one of the runners jump in the JV race and he won it by minutes (only a 2 mile trail race). So when I heard that they wanted me to run the JV race that year, for some reason I felt pressured to win it as well. I was actually in the top 5 for a while, but ended up finishing 7th, which is still good. We tried doing some sightseeing stuff that night after the race, but I remember all the shops were either closed or closing. We tried walking the Golden Gate Bridge, but that was also closed? But despite all of that, I still remember having a great time with my teammates. But that’s all in the past..

Flash forward 8-9 years to this past weekend. I remember the days leading up to this weekend, I was also looking forward to the trip up because I got to take off a few days of work (not school). Driving up to SF was a pain since I had never driven that many miles and hours before (and this is coming from someone who gets sleepy within the first 20 minutes of a 2 hour drive!) Anyways, we survived the drive and had 2 days to do everything there is to do in SF before the race (and it sure felt like we did everything). We tried as much of the highly reviewed foods we could get our hands on. Did the typical touristy things like: Fisherman’s Wharf, boat tour of Alcatraz and Golden Gate Bridge, walk through Golden Gate Park and much more. The race expo was very uneventful. Fortunately, there was no line to get my race bib or shirt, but none of the booths really interested me and I didn’t want to pay more for parking than I had to.

I was lucky enough to find a hotel about 1 mile away from the start of the race which was awesome. I was planning to jog to the start from my hotel as a warmup. But my brother was about a block away and said that he would stop by my hotel and we’d walk together. A little background with my brother. He ran in high school and was a lot faster than me. But we both stopped running after high school. I had started running a few years ago and so did my brother (sort of). His friends picked it up recently and have wanted to race me ever since. I beat all of them at a 10K in February and they told me about this race in SF, so I decided to join them. Back to race morning..

I ended up waiting for them for about half an hour in my hotel lobby and we got to the start line at about 5:30 AM. My wave (2) started at 5:32AM, I didn’t have time to use the restroom (felt OK during the race) or double knot my shoes or start my Garmin. I was pretty much scrambling to get into my wave which had already started. I dropped off my race gear and got into the wave entrance. It was NOT a good start though. My shoelaces untied within the first 400 meters and I was fumbling to retie them. My watch was still set at cycling mode so I couldn’t tell what my pace was throughout the whole race! (kept saying 7/8 mph, was that good?) I was hoping to find some water somewhere since I had a few sips at my hotel and didn’t eat anything. All this sounds like the beginning of a terrible race, right?

I started the wave with one of my brother’s friends, but passed him at the very beginning with a thumbs up send off. The good thing about starting at the end of your wave is that you don’t have to worry about bobbing and weaving around people. I was more worried about catching up to people. I caught up to a crowd of runners which usually meant a pacer was nearby, so I ran with him for a while. His sign said 3:30 Marathon and for some reason I thought that equated to 1:30 half marathon pace. I kept thinking, ‘I feel good for running at 1:30 pace!’ It wasn’t until a few miles in that I realized that he was actually the 1:45 half pacer. Even though I started later, I didn’t want to run a 1:40ish half, that’s too slow. I eventually passed the group up at a downhill and went on my own for a while.

The course went by pretty fast. It was still pretty dark out and the first few miles of the race which ran along the Embarcadero and into Fisherman’s Wharf. I remember reading another runner’s race report about how you smell something rancid and right after, you smell bread and chocolate (Ghiradelli Square)! I think you hit like one hill before going on the Golden Gate Bridge. I think the bridge was about 1.5-1.7 miles each way, so I knew once you completed the bridge, you only had a few miles to Golden Gate Park and the finish. And because the bridge is so prominent, you can see it for a few miles back. The bridge is actually lit up at night so it was very pretty to look at and as we were approaching it, and a runner actually stopped to take pictures.

The Golden Gate Bridge is slightly uphill on certain parts of the bridge so you had some up and downhills on both ways. I felt good going up the bridge and passed a few runners. You do feel special to be able to say that you ran across the Golden Gate Bridge. On the way back was even better. I passed the time by people watching, I was looking for anyone I recognized. I saw one of my brother’s friends (the one I started the race with), and was lucky enough to find my brother too. I gave him a weird two-handed wave and he gave me this look like, ‘what the heck are you doing up there already?!’ When we were hanging out after the race, my brother’s friend was like, ‘yeah i was at the 6 mile mark while you were already on the 8!’

Once I got off the bridge, I did catch up to the 1:40 half pacer, but didn’t even bother staying with them and just passed them on another downhill. They actually split up the runners for about a mile before the finish at the park (although it was the same distance). For some reason, I thought we were going to have a choice between what street we wanted to run down, not that I knew one was better than the other or anything. But they were just splitting them up in bunches. I remember I was maybe 8-10th from the first person in my group, but by the end of that stretch was up to 3-4, which was cool. And as we crossed each intersection, I would look to the left and see runners on their street. I think I was trying to tell if I was keeping up with the runners on their side or not.

There was maybe another mile or so once we got into the park, but once we got there, I was still feeling pretty good. I do remember right after the bridge, just before mile 10, you hit this hill, which I was not expecting. It wasn’t too bad, but definitely slowed me down. After that, I kept thinking, ‘they wouldn’t throw in another hill right before the finish, would they?!’ And I think they did. Looking at the elevation chart, it looks like there were about 3 small, gradual uphills before the downhill finish.

I knew I had my brother and all but one of his friends beat. It wasn’t until we met up for dinner later that night that I found out that I had officially beat him, by 3 minutes! Another friend told me, so when I saw him that night the first thing I said was, ‘are you mad??’ He shoved me jokingly, I’m sure he really wanted to beat me. He started at wave 2 as well, but with the group. So I must have passed him early on and didn’t even notice. If I would have saw him, I probably would have tried to run with him (for a couple of miles at least). If we stayed together til the very end, it would have definitely been an interesting finish. Although mine wasn’t too boring. There was a kid that was going pretty fast toward the end, but I passed him up on a downhill. As I approach the straightaway I see the same kid just zoom by me. The race video shows how fast he finished, and the announcer noted it too. It was cool because I heard the announcer call my name and city right before I finished.

As much as I wanted to just go back to my hotel and sleep, my little sister and cousin said they were coming down to visit, so I barely had enough time to go back to my room, shower and have a snack before meeting them for lunch. We did some more touristy stuff that day and some shopping (more walking!). We then all met up that night for some tapas and sangria, probably some of the best food we had in SF. It was good that I decided to take Monday off too because it would have been way too hard to drive back to SD the same day of the race! It was still a tiring drive, but again we made it. I definitely felt it at work the next day and was struggling to get through the day. I took a nap right when I got off work on Tuesday and did so again today, which gave me the time and energy to write this race report.

I have a few tentative races set for August. I’m going to be travelling again (for work) next week and thought I was going again a few weeks later, but has been pushed to September. So I may be interested in doing at least one race mid-August, if not late. The one I ran last year around this time is a trail race, which is now called the Stairway to Heaven which features a hill called the Widowmaker! I want to try running/hiking that race again, but I believe it’s the weekend I come back from my business trip to Cleveland, so I might be too jeglagged.

All in all, this was a great race weekend and mini-vacation. I would definitely recommend this race to other and might have to make this an annual trip (but may consider flying next time!)