Yesterday I ran the OC Half Marathon. It was a really good race even though SkinnyRunner my long time partner in crime at this race was not there (this is me trying to make her feel guilty). I usually run the full marathon but since I haven’t been running long lately I decided to keep it half style this time.
Pre-race: The night before the half marathon I set out all the stuff I need for the race and after the race. I usually pack a bag with the basics like water, change of clothes, flip-flops…
Since Ben is here he offered to drop me off at the race. The OC marathon/half is a point to point course which means it starts at one place (Fashion Island) and ends somewhere else (the Fair grounds in Costa Mesa). You need to park at the finish and take a shuttle to the start which requires an extra early wake up call to get all that done.
I got to the start with just enough time to hit the bathroom and line up as the gun went off.
I was sporting my Surf City Marathon tee as my throw away, but didn’t need it. It wasn’t that cold and I could have been okay without it. I hate when I waste a throw away!
The race: I love the OC half (but I am partial to SoCal races). There are a few small hills, but it feels like a lot of downhill too in the beginning. There is one steep hill at mile 11. There is an aid station right on the hill to distract you, but it’s so steep it never distracts me. I felt really great the whole race until the top of that hill. I ran it (I walk a lot of hills lately) and at the top felt like my legs were super heavy and done. Luckily, I got it back and kept chugging away.
I am pretty happy with my finish time since I feel like I have been slower than usual lately – 1:46:56. With an average pace of 8:10 I’m super excited about that! I have been really just slogging along lately listening to audio books and thinking about life on my runs.
I grabbed a banana and hitched a ride home (Ben picked me up). Local races are the best, it’s just so much easier to coordinate.
Aaaaaand I signed up for a marathon at the expo that I’m super excited about! I am not even 100% sure I can do it since it’s out of town and I am not sure of what’s going on in my life over the next three months but I am still excited and going to plan for it to happen. Boom.
Next up: Tinkerbelle 10k and Half Marathon this weekend! I need to get my costumes ready!!
You are awesome!! I am so jealous of all of your running adventures! I miss it so much!
Congrats on your race!!! I want to do a Socal race! My husband and I are going to the Caymen Islands next week with some friends! can’t wait!
The hubs and I are traveling to the Mediterranean in less than two months!! Eek. We have about 1/2 of our trip planned out and we still need to finish planning what else we’re going to do 🙂 Yay for another marathon! I’m signing up for a fall marathon in my hometown; I’ve only ever done 1 so I am slightly freaking out, especially when I saw the turnoff for the marathon at OC and thought to myself “Oh, heck no!!” Haha.
Congratulations on a great finish! I think it’s hard to plan far in advance for travels too. It’s hard to know where you’ll be and how things will be going.
Really sweet of Ben to play taxi.
I don’t usually care about the race medals, but that one is really nice!
Glacier National Park!
Awesome time!! The only travel that I actually plan is a vacation every summer for my anniversary. Other than that, we just kind of go when we can!
Nice! That’s what I do, sign up for races then worry about how to work my life around the race.
Congrats on a strong finish! That is a beautiful medal – I love the palm trees in your photo and on the medal!
what a pretty medal? i’ve never done a point to point course the logistics seem a little hectic for me. i love to travel for races though, the beginning of this year we were only going to take 2 trips and now we are up to 6! whoops, i have the travel bug bad!
awesome! I ran a half yesterday too in the pouring rain.
I’m traveling to seattle, vancouver and the canadian rockies (to Banff National Park) in September. So far we only booked the hotel portion.
Congrats on another awesome race!
I love that bag!! Could you please tell me where it is from or what brand it is? Thank you!!
Nice, Monica!!! You did spectacularly! It is so much easier to do things locally, isn’t it? Tinkerbell 10K sounds like so much fun. Can’t wait to see your pictures. 🙂
Nicely done, Monica! Great time too for not running long 🙂 I would love to be in the 1:40’s – slowly but surely I will get there.