San Jose Rock & Roll Half Marathon - DONE!!

Well I better write about this now or I'll forget or I won't end up doing it. I've never done any of the Rock and Roll races and after having a great race in San Francisco I got super excited and decided to sign up for San Jose Rock & Roll to try to PR again since it was a flat fast course. Oh boy, did the race gods have something else in store for me. I know that every race is not going to be a great race but it's so hard not to beat myself up. I finished in 2:28:16 which is not a bad time for me but I was still a little sad to not beat my 2:18 PR time. There is always next time :)


My original strategy was to start out with the 2:20 pace group and stay with them and then speed up after the half way mark but that pace group was in the corral behind me in 10 and I was in corral 9 :( so I lined up in my appropriate corral and figured I'd just keep a 10:30 pace and speed it up later on. So I did and I actually was able to keep that pace until mile 8 and I was happy because things were looking good in the time department and if I kept the pace I would finish in 2:17.


In the meantime though the weather had gotten pretty muggy. In fact I had started to sprinkle at the start of the race which was a bit odd but that didn't last too long. It just got muggy and I started sweating like a piggy. At the San Francisco Half I had decided not to carry water and I would just use the race water and gatorade because it was spaced out perfectly that I didn't need to carry my own and San Jose was the same. I got the first water stop which I think was either right before or right after the 2 mile marker and at that point I was already pretty hot so I needed the water. I took a cup, I took a sip and OMG it tasted so gross :( I looked over at where the water was being poured, it was water from a HOSE and it tasted like hose water. I spit it out and went for the Cytomax, blech!!! that was nasty also. I think I could have tolerated the Cytomax but if that stuff was mixed with the hose water than it's probably why it tasted so bad. Well there goes my drinking water from the race and I'm in trouble because I'm not carrying any. Most races have bottled water especially because some water company sponsors them. I have no idea what happened at San Jose but you'd think with the amount of money they charge and make off these races they'd provide decent water for the runners.


Rocky, Olivia and Lindsay were going to be at the right side of mile 4 so I knew I'd be seeing them and I knew that Rocky had brought some gatorade for himself so I thought I'd just drink that and tell him to pick up some water for me and I'd just get it from him when I saw him again That never happened. I guess they couldn't get to the right side and they were on the left so I never saw them. I would not see them again until mile 12 :( plan b wasn't gonna pan out for me. **Update 3pm - I just looked up the water sponser and it was Arrowhead, where did the arrowhead bottled water go? cause it sure wasn't out on the course**


Okay, I guess I'll just have to suck it up and drink the nasty water. I took a Power Gel around mile 6 and drank some water with it at the next water stop, probably not enough though. At mile 8 I was starting to feel a bit icky. I knew I was dehydrated, I was sweating quite a bit and I could feel my belly rumbling from the icky water so I took two packets of salt. That seemed to help me a little but by this point I couldn't keep the 10:30 pace so I slowed it down a bit. Around this time the 2:20 pace group finally came up behind me and I was going to try to stay with them but I couldn't. I just got slower. I was starting to get a little anxiouse and worried about being dehydrated so I decided to take off my shirt and just run in my sports bra which I NEVER do but I needed to cool off. I took off my shirt and that seemed to help.


At mile 12 I saw Rocky, Olivia, Lindsay and Leslie and I smiled a very forced smile at them and kept on going, I didn't stop. I was grumpy and since I was so close I just wanted to keep on going. I didn't realize it but Rocky was running to catch me and when he finally did and I saw he had his gatorade I guzzled quite a bit of it down like I hadn't had water in years! It tasted so good and it really seemed to help out. I walked a little, ran a little, walked a little and then ran it in at the finish line! Hubby right next to me :) thank god he caught up to me because I needed that push and that gatorade :)


I feel super sore today and I think a lot of it was that I pushed myself pretty hard in those first 8 miles and then afterwards I think I was tense so my upper body is pretty sore too.


I've learned my lesson on not carrying my own water or at least in finding out before the race what type of water a race will have. Phil said RNR is known for using hose water. Wish I had known that before :( next time I'll investigate more. This race though is probably not one I'll do again. If I'm paying $100 for a race I expect better. The expo was very small. The race gear sponsor was Brooks but the stuff fit funny and they didn't even have the logos on straight. I'm not paying $50 for a shirt that fits funny and has a crooked logo. I was not impressed with the gear. The race shirt they gave us was also Brooks and it was HUGE!! a shirt I will never wear, I think it fits Rocky so maybe he'll use it and of course the hose water. Boo!!


On a good note. This is a race that a lot of TNT people do so it was fun being out there with a lot of our friends. Quite a few people were also out there just to cheer and it's always nice to have that at a race. It gives you and extra boost to see your friends/family cheering.


2010 brought me 3 new half marathon's I'd never done before and 1 PR :) I've had a great year and a lot of that is thanks to my personal trainer who's gotten me in great shape. Losing the extra weight and having a stronger body has made me love running again and being faster is just an extra bonus :) I am also glad with my decision to stick to doin half marathons and not full marathons. My body appreciates it and I just enjoy it so much more. I don't miss running those 18 and 20 milers. I'm happy with how this year turned out. I'm already looking at races for next year and I'm hoping to throw in 3 more new ones. My races will also depend on hubby's schedule for Ironteam 2011. I'll keep you posted on where me and my running shoes will be next year :)