Yesterday morning as I pulled out of my driveway at 5:55 a.m. to head to the Spring Blast Half Marathon in Huntington Beach, I still had a major case of race jitters. Usually my race jitters flare up the day before a race and I manage to beat them back into submission by race day. Not so this time. I had to resort to an out-loud pep talk with myself in the car: “You will do your best and that’s all you can do. You are nervous because you’ve trained so hard and you want this to go well. You haven’t tapered for this race, and it’s ‘just’ a training run. I know you want it to go well because that will boost your confidence for the full marathon, but really your goal is to do your best, enjoy the race, and not push yourself to the point of injury.” The self-talk sort of worked to calm my nerves, but not completely, as evidenced by my need to thank the nice people of Carl’s Jr. for the use of the restroom at 6:20 on the way to the race. And my need to visit the beach bathroom when I got there. But once I was parked in the right parking lot and made my way to where the race started, I did finally pull myself together and get my game face on.
I feel like I’ve been running and racing for a long time, but in reality it’s only been two years since I challenged myself to run 30 miles in 30 days. In those two years since, I’ve come a long way. Just last month I ran 133 miles in 30 days, and the month before that, 141 miles in 31 days. Still, I haven’t run many races. I ran my first half marathon just over one year ago at the OC Half (race recap here), and my first full marathon last November at the Santa Barbara International Marathon (race recap here). So, this Spring Blast Half Marathon would only be my second half marathon.
The race is a small event put on by Rocket Racing Productions, which is headed up by two runners themselves, Michelle and Mark. They put on low-cost, timed fun runs in Southern California about 5-7 times per month. That’s what’s so great about it — when I searched for a local half marathon taking place on the day of my scheduled 13-mile run, I easily found a match! And you can’t beat the price at $31 for the half, $42 for the full marathon option, $23 for the 10K and $34 for the 30K.
Parking is free in the lot at Sunset Beach behind the Travelodge. The race starts at the Huntington Beach multi-use path.
The 12 racers checked in with Michelle at 7 a.m. and Mark started the race with a countdown promptly at 7:15. There were no bibs or timing chips (a stopwatch is used to time the race from the starting call). I made a point to check out some of the other racers so I would recognize them on the course and I could give them a thumbs-up or a “great job” to cheer them on the way. The lack of people cheering along the course is the one downside to the race (well, that and the occasional smell of lighter fluid from the beach campers). The beach path is open to everyone and you would never know a race was going on. I love a smaller race but I’ve come to appreciate the energy boost I get from random strangers along the way! Thank goodness a lovely young woman saw some of us booking it at mile 7 and she called out: “You guys are amazing!”
The half marathon course consists of two 6.55-mile out and back loops on the course (the full marathon is, you guessed it, four 6.55-mile loops). While that might sound a little dull it wasn’t at all and it really helped break up the race into manageable pieces. The run out was into the slightest of headwinds with a low bridge at mile 2.5 and a little uphill to the turnaround cones. That meant that on the way back it was payback time with a speedy run back to the bridge and the flat course back to the aid station at mile 6.55.
I’d left my own special bottle of Fluid (with a cute little bow on it to identify it as mine) but there was plenty of water and Gatorade along with gels, bananas and granola bars on the aid table. I took my own green apple PowerGel with caffeine at mile 6.
After starting the race out at about an 8-minute pace I quickly reined myself back in to 8:35, the targeted pace for the training run. I kept up with that pace pretty well most of the way and only started to struggle on the slight uphill from mile 9-10. Once I hit that second turnaround near mile 10, I got a little boost from the downhill but it got harder and harder to keep pace. That’s where the pep talk started again (this time in my head). “Don’t give up the pace now. Keep going. Only 3.1 miles left. Leave it all out on the course. You can do it. Push yourself!” For miles 10 and 11 I pushed to keep it between 8:35 (target) and 8:47 (my pace from my first half marathon). At mile 12 I gave it my all for a big push to the end. I tried not to even look at my Garmin and just go as fast as I could go. I wanted to come in overall somewhere between 1:52:36 (an 8:35 pace) and 1:55:10 (my time from my first half marathon). I ended up hitting 1:53:34 (an 8:40 pace) for a PR by a minute 36 seconds!
While the race course was relatively easy, the race for me was tough. I pushed myself hard to hit the pace and it took all I had physically and emotionally. Of course I felt terrific emotionally when I finished, and even felt pretty good physically too. No injuries and just the usual hobbling soreness, part of which I fended off with an ice bath in this:
I hit up the aid station for a banana and a granola bar and I chatted with Michelle and Mark, who both happen to be racing at the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon too! Good luck guys and thanks for a great race!
Happy Sunday everyone (and a Happy Mother’s Day to all the mother runners and triathletes out there!)
Happy Mother’s Day and a big WTG on your PR!
LikeLike
Thanks! I am basking in the post-race glow and in Mother’s Day today!
LikeLike
Wow, we’ll done!
Double loop courses are tough for me. The Hippie Chicks half I ran three years ago had kind of a figure 8 course with the start/finish at the node of the 8. That meant that I passed the finish at mile 3.25, 6.55, and 9.8. That wasn’t easy…
And like you said yesterday: I’m next! Rock’n’roll is next Sunday. The course goes over two bridges. For some reason that always makes me happy 🙂 When we lived in Pensacola and in San Dieg I routinely signed up for bridge runs 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks Geli and Happy Mother’s Day to you! That Hippie Chicks half does sound tough. There will be a point at my next marathon where I pass the finish line at mile 20 and have 6.2 more miles to go. Other people who have reviewed the race have said that’s very tough mentally.
I’m glad to hear you’re so excited about your upcoming race. I hope it’s a great day for you!
LikeLike
Happy Mother’s Day and congratulations, again!!
I think a small race like that would be sort-of fun – definitely more relaxed than the bigger ones. Love the natural ice bath!!!
LikeLike
Happy Mother’s Day to you too Kim!
The race was definitely more relaxed but as I said, that didn’t stop me from being a nervous wreck LOL! I think now that I know more about the location and setup, I wouldn’t have that same level of nervousness.
LikeLike
It was interesting to read about your mental challenges and how you chose to handle them. You are a smart runner. What a sense of accomplishment you must have for coming this far in only two years of running and a significant number of races you have met and overcome successfully. You are a great mom!
LikeLike
Thanks Mom! I love you! Happy Mother’s Day! XOXO
LikeLike
[…] Should you throw in a half marathon or a shorter race in your training for a full marathon? Or a 10K in your training for a half? The authors of Run Less, Run Faster do not recommend it, because runners often get swept up in the excitement of the race and end up running it faster than the targeted training pace, or running farther than planned for the scheduled training distance. I, however, have a 13-mile training run on the calendar for Saturday, and the targeted training pace would leave me with a PR in the half marathon (I ran my one-and-only half at the OC Marathon last year in 1:55:10). I am not worried about running faster than the targeted training pace of 8:35; in fact I am hoping the adrenaline of the race and the fun of running somewhere new will push me to hit the pace. [Edited to add: I ended up running the Spring Blast Half Marathon at an 8:40 pace in 1:53:34 for a PR of 1 minute 36 seconds! You can read the race recap and review here.] […]
LikeLike
Ahhh!! What a great feeling that must’ve been. 🙂
Congratulations on a new PR!! I hope that gives you a ton of extra confidence to add to your solid training for the Full. Great job keeping yourself mentally strong at the end. so happy for you!!
LikeLike
[…] « Spring Blast Half Marathon Recap and Review […]
LikeLike
[…] just realized I left out the best part of my Spring Blast Half Marathon race recap! Mike and my three girls often cheer me on at races and act as my support crew by handing me […]
LikeLike
[…] wore my Garmin Forerunner 110 GPS watch for the Spring Blast Half Marathon on May 11 (race recap here). I had fun uploading the data to Garmin Connect online and analyzing the race splits. As you might […]
LikeLike