2010 San Diego Rock & Roll Marathon

Saturday I left for San Diego around noon and headed down to stay in a friend's condo. The drive was nice. I watched the thermometer in my car fall nearly 20 degrees as I made the trek south. These big race events require you to check in the day before at an Expo that has everything a runner could ever need....or not need. I enjoyed wondering around the Expo and treated myself to this little present:
The second charm says, "believe achieve 26.2". I also enjoyed a complimentary massage at the Expo...it was nice. Now that I had my race number and timing chip, I headed out to grab some dinner before turning in for an early night. Easier said than done....I had a flat tire in the parking garage. I'm thankful the Rav4 has a full size spare. I manage to change it with some help from a nice couple and considered this just a minor set back. I relaxed to a nice dinner at Cheesecake Factory and then went to the condo.
I like me some alone time...until it comes to going to bed. It just feels awkward not having my family around. A little lonely. I managed to lay down and fall asleep...my morning was starting at 3:30 and sleep was essential.
Of course I didn't sleep all that well. Waking up often to check the clock made for a long night. 3:30 came and out I went. Getting to these big races is always a task. This race had 30,000 runners. That's alot of people headed to the same spot! I'm happy to say, it went much smoother than LA. They had so many buses driving runners to Balboa Park.
The race went well....the first half was overcast and nice. The moisture and humidity took it's tole on me early. I could tell I was sweating a lot and loosing a lot of fluid. I drank every mile and had a really good pace for the first 14 miles. Then the sun came out and it warmed up fast. the last 8 miles got tough. The end of the race took you out and around Fiesta Island and I thought, "I lived in San Diego for a while and why had I never been to Fiesta Island?" Now I know why....there's nothing there! I mean just weeds and dirt for 6 miles. I didn't think I was ever going to get off that island...no shade, no spectators, and a strong head wind. I was hurting. I was so thirsty and just kept telling myself to keep going. My pace had slowed, but was still decent. I knew the end was coming and I was thankful. My feet were hurting! I didn't want to look at my time cause I knew I was close to finishing under 4 hours, but had nothing left in me to push it. Those last 6 miles were the ultimate test to overcoming an urge to quit or walk in my case. I ended up finishing at 4:03 minutes. 16 minutes faster than LA... I'll take that.
My body is hurting....moving around is a challenge. I have 6 blisters (most of which are on the bottoms of my toes). My quads feel bruised, my back is sore and it's time to let my body heal. Will I do it again? Probably so.