Race Report: Carlsbad Half Marathon

Wow what a weekend! It almost didn't happen for me since my plane was cancelled on Friday due to what else? Snow.
But I did get out on Saturday so I was late to the party but better late than never right?

It was 15 degrees in Chi-town when I left and we were delayed considerably while they de-iced the aircraft. It was maybe 60 degrees when I landed in San Diego. The lady at the rental car place was bundled in a parka as I stood there coatless, with legs sweating from under my jeans. We headed out to dinner immediately after I finally got there:

Clockwise from left: Irene's hubby Michael, Jill, Meg's hubby BS, Meg, Tara, me, Irene

Fast forward to race day the next morning. Jill and Meg, the full marathoners of the group, got up and out early for the 6am start. Tara and I were next. I'd be lying if I said we didn't think about pulling into the La Costa Spa lot as we passed it in the darkness on the way to the race.

Traffic into the mall parking lot was a cluster. Gear check was an even bigger one so Tara and I hoofed it back to the car at the other end of the mall to stow our stuff. By that time, corrals were going off and we ended up going off well toward the back of the pack instead of our assigned corral 3.

I ran this as a virtual race in honor of Gabby, whose picture you'll see over at the top right.

Here's Tara and I goofing off in the potty line.

Goals for this race: Just see how the hamstring holds up.
I've done no hillwork or speed training since last summer and my mileage has been minimal at best so the plan was to just have fun, not swear at the hills too much and enjoy the weekend.

So we were off. Holy hemmed-in Batman. I had to be careful not to trip. Needless to say I could not unleash the power (read go out too fast) that is usual for me at the start of a race. We started up a
corkscrewy, winding hill that I didn't even notice.

The weather was perfect: mostly overcast with a couple of peeks of sun, gentle breeze. I wore a tank and arms sleeves but took down the sleeves after a couple of miles. The course was beautiful with stunning coastal views.  Pretty much all rolling hills, punctuated by a few big mothers too.  Hills and I are not friends. I've tried to be cordial but to no avail. I enjoyed the ocean views and found my zen, thinking of Gabby and Sherry and ran strong for them.

By mile 6 I could feel the hills wearing on me.
I feel like I ran the first 8 or so miles well. Not blistering fast by any means, but I felt good. By mile 9 though, someone in my proximity reeked of very bad deli meat, my legs were lead and I wanted to be done. I think the deli meat smell did me in. I found Tara and we took our sweet time getting in. This is supposed to be fun right? So we made it fun. Ok there may have been some cussing. Cussing can be fun too. With just a couple of miles to go, Tara whiffed her pit and I knew the bad deli meat person was in hot pursuit. I assured her it was not she who stunk and we pressed on to the finish.

So decent first half, pathetic-but-fun back half, and our race was complete.

Meg, Irene, Jill, Tara, me

Me and the awesome and hilarious Green Girl, who came to spectate!

We enjoyed recovery Slurpees on the beach followed by Mexican food.

Weekend Highlights:

Seeing Meg, Tara, and Jill again

Meeting Irene and the Green Girl

Hamstring was completely pain free

The Caveman and the kids survived, maybe even had a good time without me!

Thank you Heather for the virtual race. I'm bummed I did not get to meet you.

What are your weekend highlights?

Do you enjoy hills?