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Surf City Half Marathon – Run Report

IMG_6473
Pre-Race Corral Selfie

I hesitate to call this a “race report” as it was certainly more of a training run than a race. And it was a blast! It was so nice to not worry about any of the pre-race logistics or deal with nerves. Instead,  Mike and I ran together without timing chips and enjoyed the scenery!

There were a few reasons why I ran this race at all – first, it’s one of my favorites since it takes place in my hometown and second, my dad and step mom (who live near Yosemite full time now that they rent out their OC home) came down for the race and it was a great way to spend time with them. There are more reasons why I didn’t “race” this race. 1) I need a racing break after a year of BQ searching 2) I have not done any speed-work or hard runs of any kind to prepare 3) I just finished running 31 days in a row, right after barely running for 3 weeks in a row on vacation 4) I didn’t feel like it!

With my Dad at the expo - awesome new grocery bags to take home!
With my Dad at the expo – awesome new grocery bags to take home!

The half marathon starts at 7:45 but we planned to start with my parents and their wave didn’t start til after 8 a.m., so we planned to meet them near the expo tent at 7:30. That meant that Mike and I had the pleasure of sleeping in until 5:45 and arriving around 6:45. We parked about 2 miles from the start and instead of waiting for the bus (which had a huge line), we jogged/walked to the start just in time to make our 7:30 meet-up time.

Time to Run!
Time to Run!
The start is so far away!
The start is so far away!

We started with the 2:45 pace group which was wave 8 or 9. I typically start in the first or second wave, so it was definitely a change to wait so long after the gun went off to go! We weren’t even in our corral for the National Anthem and I ran back to the bathroom after we waited in the corral for 10 or so minutes and yet still were pretty far away from the start. Once we did cross the start line, we ran a few yards with my parents and then started to make our way up. Our mistake was that the 2:45 group has a lot of run-walkers, so we would often get cut off mid stride by someone who suddenly decided to walk! Although we weren’t going super fast, we were going significantly faster than the 2:45 group so needless to say there was quite a bit of weaving.

And we're off!
And we’re off!

There’s not much to really write about the actual race. We stopped for the bathroom (and even waited in a line) which I never do in races (because I usually just hold it or am too dehydrated to have to go!), fully stopped 3 times to fill up our water bottles (one time I just took the jug from the table and filled it right up – I saved countless paper cups!), and took our time. Without a timing chip there wasn’t even a real need to prove anything or get a decent time. It was warm, but I didn’t really care. I don’t even know how long it took us to finish this race, but it was fun running side by side along a beautiful coastline with my husband for 13.1 miles of a race for the first time.

IMG_6481
Running on PCH

Because we started so far back, unfortunately I didn’t see any Oiselle teammates except for when I saw Emily who was racing the full marathon coming back on the other side of the road around mile 2 for me (guessing 15 or so for her). I ran over to the median and screamed her name and cheered her on. She’s a rock star and pulled out another BQ that day despite the warm weather!

After Mike and I finished we put our legs up for a while and then headed back to cheer on my Dad and Denice as they crossed the finish line. Then we walked the 2 miles back to a car for a total of 17.1 miles of running/walking for the day. I am so proud of my parents for running yet another half marathon, even though they weren’t able to train as much for this one due to my Dad’s international travel schedule for work. They are inspiring!

We all did it!
We all did it!

As I’ve always said, I highly recommend Surf City Marathon for anyone – beginner or someone looking for a PR. It’s a well organized race with a pretty fast course. And bonus points for burning off your Super Bowl feast in advance.

What have you learned from running a race differently than you normally do? Would you want to run a race on Super Bowl Sunday? 

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February 8, 2015 By fitnessfatale 11 Comments

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leslie @ Triathlete Treats

    February 9, 2015 at 6:27 pm

    Great run!! Sometimes it is fun just to have a fun race and no pressure. No prep/worrying about splits/getting mad at the runners who suddenly stop in front of you! 🙂
    I did Surf City a few years ago and would love to go back. I think being on Super Bowl Sunday makes it unique!

    Reply
  2. Sun

    February 10, 2015 at 8:28 pm

    I love that you ran this race as a family! Your dad and stepmom are too cute – definitely inspiring and shows that running is a sport that can be enjoyed at every age 🙂

    Reply
  3. The Padre

    February 10, 2015 at 11:10 pm

    Thanx so much for all the photos!! Cheers

    Reply
  4. erin

    February 11, 2015 at 10:13 pm

    What a beautiful race! What I wouldn’t give for a sunshiny run like that today 🙂 And, so fun to run with your husband and so cool that your parents ran, too!

    Reply
  5. Abby

    February 12, 2015 at 5:57 pm

    Congrats on a fun race day with Mike and your parents. I think it’s sooo great your Dad and Stepmom are runners now 🙂
    I always wanted to run Surf City, and even more so now after visiting their last year. One day… Perhaps we could run it together?

    Reply
    • FitnessFatale

      February 13, 2015 at 2:04 am

      Yes I’d love to run it with you!!! 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Zion Half Marathon Race Report – 12 weeks pregnant | Fitness Fatale says:
    March 30, 2015 at 2:44 am

    […] but this will be my first honest race report (which is why I waited 2 weeks to post it)! I ran the Surf City Marathon at 6 weeks pregnant, a time when it was too soon to talk about my pregnancy and therefore my race […]

    Reply
  2. My Experiences in the First Trimester | Fitness Fatale says:
    April 1, 2015 at 4:28 am

    […] family. Sunday we ran the Surf City Half Marathon. Mike ran with me and we ran without chips (see here for my race report). What I didn’t mention in my race report (besides being pregnant) was […]

    Reply
  3. Running & Working Out in the First Trimester | Fitness Fatale says:
    April 10, 2015 at 3:18 pm

    […] though my pace is not very comfortable for him (his PR is 1:30 in the half)! During our first race, Surf City, I didn’t wear a timing chip. I was too worried that someone would look up my time and know I […]

    Reply
  4. Lessons Learned Training for Half Marathons While Pregnant | Fitness Fatale says:
    May 13, 2015 at 3:56 am

    […] be 23 weeks pregnant on race day. I’ve already run 2 half marathons while pregnant (week 6 and week 12) so I’ve learned a bit about what to expect when training for a long distance […]

    Reply
  5. Running During The 2nd Trimester | Fitness Fatale says:
    July 22, 2015 at 3:54 am

    […] the 2nd trimester still feeling pretty good while running. I had run a half marathon at both 6 weeks and 12 weeks and then started to train to run the Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon (which I planned […]

    Reply

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