Carlsbad Half Race Report (Read 470 times)

Here’s my race report from the lovely Carlsbad Half Marathon in Carlsbad, California this January. My husband and I signed up for this race together as a goal for me to complete my first half and so we could do some training runs together. I’m not sure if it's because we're newlyweds or what, but there were soon plans for the in-laws to join us. My husband's brother, mother, aunt, and sister all flew or drove in for the weekend. After a weekend of catching up and a big Italian meal the night before, we were ready for the big event that brought us all together. The race started at 7:30, and we arrived just after 7. That’s kind of how we roll. While at a stop light, we were also were fortunate enough to witness a girl jump out of her car, run behind an electrical box, and pee for all of us to see. Early morning entertainment! The gun went off and I had just stepped into a porta-jon, so a minute or two later we got into the slow-moving start line. We didn't miss a thing. My husband, his brother and sister and I got going. At the beginning of the race, there was a drum circle that was very excited to be there. What a great kickoff. We briefly saw my mother-in-law and her sister, who were walking it. The four of us kept talking and laughing and having a surprisingly good time. The course started out near a shopping center in Carlsbad, then continued through a little downtown area until it reached the ocean for an out-and-back course. The course was beautiful. When we got closer to the water it was hard to look straight ahead. At about mile 4, the guys took off to more their pace, and my sister-in-law and I continued at our steady pace. My sister-in-law didn't train much at all, yet she is a long-time runner, and I trained very hard, so together we were a great running pair. We passed a couple of bands and saw one that was still getting set up. Damn. There weren’t enough bands, and I, little-miss-I-need-my-hip-hop, had forgotten my ipod. About mile 6, my body started to feel a little tired. Then there was another hill. The race advertised a flat and fast course, and these hills, although not big, were not expected. Time for a Gu, and I also popped a Jolly Rancher, which stuck with me for the next couple of miles. On the other side of the road, we saw the guys pass and we hooted and hollered at them. Success! They were thoroughly embarrassed. We made the U-turn, appreciated one of the best bands on the course, and headed back to rock the second half. Sometime after this we started seeing the marathon leaders looping through on the other side of the road. One of the women looked like as if she was just having a casual stroll, so I prompted my sister-in-law to look. All of a sudden, my running buddy was no longer next to me—she was on the ground. She tripped as she ran over a grate and turned to look. But, she was okay, laughed it off, and we began keeping our eyes on the road, not the ocean, not the other runners, and certainly not on each other. By this point, I was fairly tired and felt I was running faster to keep up with her. We managed to pour some of that terrible juice stuff down our faces and partly in our mouths and continued on. I heard people offering salt, then I quickly popped in jolly rancher #3. I was not really feeling talkative any more, so I asked confessed this to my sister-in-law. She began telling me her 5-year-old’s favorite jokes. By the way, these do not make it easier to run, as I was half laughing and half just making that weird “what a bad joke” face. About this time my husband came trotting against the crowd toward us. He finished well, and he came to run the last mile or two with us. We passed the Armenian restaurant that I wanted to try, and at that point I knew that we were near the Village and I was going to make it. We passed the drummers again, the happiest bunch of people I have ever seen, and we finished the last bit strong. Besides an ache on my left arch from about mile 8 on, it was a pain-free event and I was shocked when we came around the corner to see the clock on 2:09. My goal was 2:20, if I had a goal. I had never run 13 miles before, and that was my accomplishment. Around mile 11 or so, I swore I’d never do it again. Then after my beer at lunch, I knew I had been a liar in that moment.

congrats! sounds like a great first half marathon for you. I ran it too and was sorta wimping out over the flat course that really wasn't flat. LOL! Oddly enough it was my fastest hm yet ... I think the AFC is much easier. Are you doing the Triple Crown series? or have I already talked to you about this, I can't keep up...

Woot! WTG Deb AND Jennifer! 2:09 is an awesome time! My first HM was just shy of 2:15 and I had already done a couple of runs of at least 13.1 miles beforehand. You should be very proud of that accomplishment! k

Great job, runchic! The Carlsbad was my first full marathon, and like you I was surprised by their definition of "flat"! I'm from the prairies - that's flat! I'm glad you had such a positive first experience, and that your buddy didn't get hurt when she tripped! Ouch. Sounds like you're hooked!

Nice job RunChic. I'll let you know how my marathon goes in SD, in June.