This is 8th marathon this year and 64th overall
I have ran Rock n Roll San Diego since 2005 and this year happened to be the most differcult one I've ran in San Diego, mostly because of the new course change and everything involve within. But I also had a great time in San Diego, such as the expo and the pasta dinner with fellow Maniacs.
Friday - 6-4-10
9am - Picked up rental car, then drove 80+ miles to San Diego for the expo just to meet Kara Coucher
10:30am - arrived outside the expo, there was a long line of people waiting for the expo to open at 11am
11am - 1pm - got my bib, tech shirt, and a so-called "goodie bag" cuz there arent anything good in the bag. But most importantly, I got to meet Kara Coucher, she is currently 6 months pregnant and she said the baby boy is due by September.
Kara Goucher and I at the expo
1pm - 2:30pm - drove 80+ miles back home so I could get to work by 3pm
Saturday 6-5-10
8am- 12pm - working
1pm - 3pm - drove down to San Diego again to see if I could meet Ryan Hall, his appearance was at 3pm, then at 4pm he will sign autographs and take pictures. After I checked in the Motel 6 in Chula Vista, I decided to skip the expo and rested for a little bit before the dinner party with my fellow Maniacs.
Pasta Dinner
I met up with my fellow Maniacs at this little authentic Italian restaurant in Hillcrest at 5:30pm, there were 12 of us, thanks for my new Maniac friend Dana who helped organized the dinner, I met her from my other Maniac friend Sherry, too bad Sherry couldnt join us cuz she was having dinner with her TNT group. The food there was amazing, I ordered the Fettucine Cleopatra, which got beans, mushrooms in it, the pasta was perfectly cooked, very delicious. Mostly all the people who works there are Italians.
After the dinner us Maniacs decided to have a group picture taken before we say goodbye to each other
I drove back to my motel and decided to call it a night, went to bed like around 11pm
Race Day
Before I left my motel around 2:45am, I found out that I couldnt find my D-Tag for my shoe, I had my bib, but not D-Tag!! I looked through EVERYWHERE and no luck!! So I figure that I totally left it at home since I went back home after the expo on Friday. I just knew my day would be ruined and my time wont be recorded. So I drove to the Qualcomm Stadium to take the shuttle to the start, I wanted to get to the start early so maybe I could get a replacement D-Tag from the volunteers.
So as soon as I got off the shuttle bus, I quickly walked my way to their solution tent just to see if I could get a replacement. Fortunately, they were able to get me a new one for additional $5, and fortunately I brought my $20 with me so the problem was solved. I was very relief and cant wait to start the race!!
Originally I was assigned in Corral 9 with my old bib, but with my NEW bib, I was assigned in Corral 3, which was perfect for me since I was going to sneak it that corral had I not lost my D-tag. I hung around in Corral 3 with my Maniacs until the race starts.
me, James, Marcia and Howard before the start
The race started at 6:15am, it only took a few mins for me to cross the start line. I was starting at a 8:14min/mile, which was way too fast for me if I want to finish under 4 hours. I knew I was going too fast but for some reason I cant slow down my pace, below are my split times:
Mile 1 - 8:14
Mile 2 - 8:17
Mile 3 - 8:21
Mile 4 - 8:16
Mile 5 - 8:13 (got the chance to run thru Petco Park, tons of cheerleaders, awesome band playing while runners run thru)
Mile 6 - 8:38
Mile 7- 8:46
Mile 8 - 8:53
Mile 9 - 9:08 (started to run on the 163 Freeway, very crowded with the half marathoners)
Mile 10 - 9:40
Mile 11 - 10:41
Mile 12 - 8:48
Mile 13 - 10:15
Mile 14 - 11:47 (started to slow down as the day gets warmer, walked a lot from this point on.
Mile 15- 10:24
Mile 16 - 12:12
Mile 17 - 12:32 (started to run on this narrow bike path at Mission Bay Park for 4 miles, way too crowded!!)
Mile 18 - 13:08
Mile 19 - 13:22
Mile 20 - 14:09
Mile 21 - 10:52
Mile 22 - 13:24
Mile 23 - 9:18 (started to picked up my pace but only lasted for a mile)
Mile 24 - 12:26
Mile 25 - 11:41 (could see the Finish Line ACROSS the bay, although it look more than a mile.)
Mile 26 - 10:48 (when they said the finish line was around the corner, I still didnt see it, the path was too narrow, it could barely fit 3 people)
I normally dont start to sprint until I could see the finish line ahead of me, so with around .1 mile to go, I sprinted as fast as I can and crossed the finish line at 4:35.52. I wasnt too happy with my time, probably because of the warm weather and the humidity. They did offer us wet towel at the end, which was a life saver.
After I picked up my gear from the UPS truck, I tried to find the shuttle line, but when I saw the line of the shuttle, I was shocked how LONG was it, it happened that the shuttles are for EVERYBODY, not just for runners only, which they should have done. So I was in line for like half an hour or so before I got on the bus, I lost track of time, it seems like forever though.
Once the shuttle dropped us off at the nearby Trolley Station, we STILL have to wait in line for God knows how long to get on the Trolley to get to the Qualcomm Stadium, where we park our car. I just felt like I was stuck there forever and forever. So I finally got onto the Trolley and 15 mins or so later I FINALLY got to the parking lot and to my rental car. I made a trip to the port a john before I head home, I was planning to stay for the Lakers Game but I know I could make it back home and watch it there.
I dont think I will ever run RNR San Diego again until they change the course setting and better organize the shuttle situations. The Finish Line wasn't as exciting as before when they finished at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
This pic was taken from the San Diego's website :
http://www.signonsandiego.com/photos/galleries/2010/jun/06/rock-n-roll-marathon-2010/10897/#photo
Next Race.................Running with the Devils- 6/26/2010
