Race Report: Summer Bliss Half Marathon

In the midst of moving, saying goodbye to Bella, having Mom visit for a few days, and everything else that was going on, I was still attempting to train for the Long Beach Marathon, which is held in October.  As part of training for a full marathon, I normally try to run a half marathon (an actual race - I run a half marathon every Saturday or Sunday in training) or 10K about 6-8 weeks before the full, to get race experience and practice my pacing.  A few months back, before all of this craziness began, Chris and I both signed up for the Summer Bliss Half Marathon, to be run on the Long Beach running path, starting and ending near Belmont Shores.

Although I didn't run for a solid two weeks due to everything mentioned above, I was able to start squeezing in some workouts the Tuesday before the Saturday race, and given that my previous training runs had taken me up to the half marathon distance, I felt I could at least finish the race.  Chris, for his part, decided to bail completely and instead take up spectating and transportation duties.  Thankfully, the race registration was only $35.99 (ludicrously low for a running event - even a lot of 5Ks cost more than this), and when we mentioned that he wouldn't be participating, the lady at check-in told us we could apply the fee toward a future run!  Score!  These folks at a Better World Running were turning out to be awesome (further proof of that coming later).

Before the race.
Getting ready to run!

The weather was outstanding for the run - around 68 degrees and overcast, with just a few light sprinkles from time to time but no real rain per se.  The race itself was small; the field was around 100 people, and that included the 5K, 10K, 15K, and half marathon participants.  All of the courses were loops on the running trail, and since it was public use, it was a good idea to keep the race small in scale, as there were points where we were weaving around all sorts of other folks strolling the trail (the path is actually separate from the Long Beach bike path, so at least bikers and runners didn't have to attempt to play nicely together - this doesn't always work well).

One of the major advantages of the looping course was that I got to see Chris three times during the race, as I headed back to the start/finish line more than once.  There were two photographers for the race; one was positioned on the trail itself, about .3 miles from the finish, and one at the finish line itself (sitting on a rock, actually).  The looping course and photographer positions also allowed a hysterical look at the way a half marathon progresses.  In the interest of full disclosure for anyone who wants to run a half marathon in the future, I humbly present: Amy's Recent Half Marathon, as Told Through Photos.

Lap 1

Here's one right after the start, taken by Chris.  Don't I look happy to be running?

And here's one from the photographer about .3 miles out.  Again, still happy:

All of us headed out on the course, and as indicated in our pre-racing briefing, those of us doing the half went past the turn around point for the K'ers.  We hit our turnaround at 2.18 miles or so, then headed back to the start/finish.  A picture from the race photog at the .3 mile mark still seems to show me holding things together well:

The smile is starting to look a little strained
from oxygen deprivation,
but otherwise,

all seems to be well.

The pictures from the start/finish line camera, however, tell a slightly different tale.

"Whew!  Okay, glad I got that picture out of the way.
Time to eat my gu."

"Wait a minute...
there's a camera here, too?
Dangit." 

"Hey there, camera guy.
Doing great, as you can clearly see.
Thanks, okay bye."

Lap 2 

After a quick turn around at the start/finish line, it was back out onto the course for another 4.36 miles.  My overall pace for the first lap had been steady around 8:40 minutes per mile; this was slower than I'd like to be, particularly to PR, but it wasn't too bad particularly given my lack of running lately.  My second lap showed me slowing down a bit but not too much, averaging 8:45s or so instead.  Still okay, but I was starting to feel the effects of the distance.  The .3 mile photog captured this:

Note the strained looking smile,
and the slight hunching over to one side.
We're starting to get tired, folks.

I was ready for the start/finish line guy this time:

Wooh, Lap 2!

I like this photo.

Serious runner face going on there, people.

Lap 3

Another quick turn around, then it was back on the course for my third and final lap.  My pace really slowed down on this lap, and I found myself taking 30-60 second walk breaks every now and then due to some side cramping.  Lame.  By the time I saw the .3 guy again, I was just happy to be almost done.

"Hey buddy.
Yeah, I know.
We've been through a lot together today.
This is all I got right now."

By the time I crossed the line a few moments later, I was ready to call it a day.

Huzzah!

I snagged my race medal (yeah, for $35.99, we got race medals!  No shirts, but medals.  Not bad), and headed back to the truck to clean up a bit and change.  Chris and I then headed a mile down the road to Belmont Brewing Company for some breakfast and brews.  Here's mine - it's a half and half mix of their Marathon golden ale and their Crude stout.  I dubbed it a Crude Half Marathon, which was certainly what I ran that day.

Noms!

The food was also delicious.

Overall, I'm glad I ran the race, even if I didn't do particularly well by my scale.  My times ended up being more like a training day long run rather than a race, but again, given the handicaps of everything that had been going on, seemed appropriate for the day.  The team that ran the race - A Better World Running - were super, and I highly recommend their events for anyone in the area.  Overall, a good day for a run!

Later!

Amy