Surf City Half Marathon 2009

On February 1st I did the Surf City Half Marathon in Huntington Beach, California. I have been a spectator at this race for the past few years but this year I got to run it. This race is gigantic with something like 12,000 runners in the half-marathon. There was also a full marathon and 5k which added several more thousand people. Getting to the start is a challenge with this race. However, one trick was found. It is possible to valet park at the host hotel for $12. That was a bargain for our car load of 8 runners. It put us right at the start and set us up with some nice bathroom facilities right before the race. At the starting line it was about 50 degrees with some cloud cover.

So here is how my race went. The start was bad. A bottle kept popping out of my fuel belt. It happened a total of three times in the first half mile. I had to go back and get it each time. After the third I just held it in my hand. I don't know what was happening as I have done many a long runs and one race with it and no problems. At mile three I was 25:14 at a 8:25 pace and feeling good. At about that part in the course is the only up hill section. It was easy and at mile 8.2 my time was 1:10:35 at a pace of 8:37. At that point I knew this race was going to be a big PR for me but how much? Past mile 10 and I was still feeling good. At about 11 I started to slow down and my time was yo-yo-ing in to the mid 9's. I just held it there and finished in 1:57:04. For me this was a PR for a half-marathon of 11:51! I think that I need to work on those finishing miles of 11 & 12. Over the last few months I have gained a tremendous amount of confidence in running. I attribute this as well as my time drops to training with the SoCalDayBreakers who are a fantastic group to run with. This being already my third event this year it is time to rest. I might do the Cal Tec Pentathalon Masters swim meet next month, but nothing big until 70.3 in Oceanside in April.