Today was the much anticipated Rock N Roll Los Angeles Half Marathon. This is the first race from the Rock N Roll series that Rachel and I have participated in, and I will say it was very well organized and a good race all around.
The course was relatively flat for the most part. At least until mile 9 when the elevation spiked. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't pretty either. Plus, whatever goes up must come down.
It's at races that I always miss having a small camera. There is no way that I would be able to run with the camera I currently have. I used to borrow Patrick's camera, but it was dropped one too many times and no longer works. I've used Rachel's phone before, but that means she can't listen to music. I think it may be time to budget some money for a small camera to bring with me to races. Thankfully Rachel took a few pictures so this post won't be completely boring..
There were a lot of costumes today too. Some cute, some creative and some that made me wonder if these people had ever run in a race before. I'm sure at some point they regretted the decision to wear full get ups in 80+ degree weather and while running a half marathon. Live and learn.
I was lucky enough to find my costume online and it was fairly easy to run in. I was not as lucky to find spandex shorts that were in the right price range and I mistakenly picked a pair of shorts that ended up riding up the entire race. Instead of pulling them down every walking interval I decided to just leave it be. My thighs hate me now. Vaseline will be my new best friend for the next few days.
Rachel and I did really well time wise from the beginning. We hit our stride and stuck with it for a really long time. I had a difficult first two miles, as always, but ended up feeling better between mile two and three. For some reason my shins, knees and thighs were irritating me and my feet were really heavy. Not sure if it's mental or if I just take a while to warm up. It's annoying, but at least it goes away.
We started incorporating extra walk breaks around mile 8. The heat was getting to us and it was nice to cool down by walking a little longer. Shortly after walking up the hill Rachel felt like she was going to slow me down. She told me to go on and I told her no. We're both stubborn like that. I'm not 100% sure, but I think she feels bad, like she's holding me back or something, but to be honest I'd rather walk the entire distance with her than leave her 3 miles out to finish alone. It's not a pride thing, it's a I started this with you I'm finishing it with you feeling.
At mile 12 she told me again to go on and I did. I decided to go from 45:1 intervals to 1:30 intervals. Our goal, as with all half marathons, is to finish in under 3 hours. I crossed the finish line with a time of 2:54:39. Rachel quickly followed, finishing in 2:58:20.
It felt good that both of us were able to reach our goal. We both also discussed getting more serious about our training. We have Santa to the Sea coming up in December. My goal is to start November 1st. I'm not going to go crazy or anything the next few days, but I'm not going to be super strict either. I'm going to do a little research and find a few options for breakfasts and lunches that are easy to make, healthy and filling. I'm also going to sit down and think about a workout schedule in order to get my weekday runs in as well as a few strength training days.
Race results:
Time- 2:54:39
Distance- 13.39
Mile 1- 12:34
Mile 2- 12:44
Mile 3- 13:07
Mile 4- 12:29
Mile 5- 12:41
Mile 6- 12:49
Mile 7- 12:26
Mile 8- 12:55
Mile 9- 13:31
Mile 10- 14:10
Mile 11- 14:45
Mile 12- 15:27
Mile 13- 10:44
Mile 0.39- 4:10
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