Race Recap, San Jose Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon

Hillary W. and I drove down yesterday, checked in to our wonderful, super-close-to-the-start hotel, and walked to the Expo. Very fun, bought some stuff, got some free stuff, met some Marathon Bar people. Once Chris got there, he and I went to the expo so he could pick up his gear, then we all left to Heidi T.'s sister's house a short drive away for a home-cooked pre-race dinner. Better than a restaurant for sure, and great company too!

I woke about 6:20, had some crappy coffee and ate, and headed out the door to meet Chris to make our way to the start. Our hotel was perfect as we only had to walk about 3 blocks to get to the corral aisle. We waited for Heidi to arrive to say hello and wish her luck, then continued to our assigned corral.

Coming into this race, I prepared well, trained hard, and made sure I was sufficiently rested in the days leading up to today's race. My feet have been feeling good, minimal blister issues, and I really felt good, not even any nerves this morning. More excitement than anything. I was starting to feel that sub-1:40 goal was attainable today.

After the National Anthem, we got started. The waved start didn't really work out, because everyone pressed forward once the gun went off, so Chris and I just made do and went with the crowd. It was probably a blessing because it slowed us down so we couldn't go out too fast. Chris and I settled into a nice pace that felt comfortable and the first couple miles clicked by quickly (7:33, 7:31). Chris told me he was going to back off a bit, and wished me luck.

The next 3 miles ticked by quick also, and I was feeling good. I wrote 3 splits on my forearm so I could check at miles 3, 7 and 11 to make sure I was staying on time. I decided I'd consume my Pineapple Roctane GU sometime around mile 6 or 6.5. I was still feeling good, noticed some tenderness in the ball of my right foot, but nothing too bad at this point.

Mile 7 was where I started to slow down. That pain in the right foot was getting more painful. Chriscaught me, tried to encourage me by telling me to block it out. I was able to run alongside him for an additional mile (through 8) but at that point, the pain was more than at the ball, I could feel it in the area where the big toe meets the foot in the fleshy area. I haven't had a blister there before, but it was getting more painful with each right foot step. Chris pulled away. I kept trying to get back to him, keeping him within 50 feet for about a half mile, but then it became too much.

At this point, my bubble was deflating. I was realizing with a 7:55 mile 9 that my sub-1:40 was slipping away. I kept trying to push through, but I kept getting slower and slower. Miles 10-13 were rough. At this point it was just damage control, and DON'T WALK like others were doing.

Coming into the final stretch, I knew what I had to do. I had to kick, and kick hard in order to just be done with this race. I turned it on and closed the final tenth of a mile from 6:09 to the end maxed out at 4:35 pace.

I'm super happy for Chris. He ran a great race and had a huge PR. I'm super happy for Heidi, who ran her first half and beat her goal time by over a minute. I'm also happy for Jessica W. who also had a HUGE PR, and we got to meet after the race. I'm appreciative of my wife for her encouraging and empathetic words after the race and during our LOOOOONG drive home.

I am pleased that I PR'd. My last half was 2 years ago (US Half 11/1/09 1:53:54). So I officially PR'd by 8 min 23 sec. I say officially because I ran a training half 3 weeks ago and ran 1:46:28, unofficially, LOL.

Race splits texted to Hillary's phone during the race:
3.1 - 23:32
6.2 - 47:13
10 - 1:17:26 (Faster than my 10 mile race in March)

First 9 - 1:08:39 (7:37, on target for goal)
Last 4.26 - 36:52 (8:39, blowing goal of the radar)

Overall finisher 1045/9831
Age group 177/777
865/4415 males

Oh, and I'm going to get my money back guarantee from my purchase of the Wright Socks. They're guaranteed to not allow blisters. Guaranteed!