Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Rock 'N' Roll San Diego Half Marathon Race Recap

How's everyone doing today?! I'm still over here trying not to cry as I foam roll my sore quads, but hey, this past weekend was ABSOLUTELY WORTH IT! If you haven't caught up on Leg #1 of my #Fontana2SD Challenge, check it out HERE because there is some great stuff in there {Spoiler Alert: We went to a live taping of Fuller House AND I finally clocked a new half marathon PR}.

Now that everyone is on the same page, let's just right on into it. When I left off, I grabbed my bib in San Diego for Sunday's Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon. After the expo shenanigans a few of us walked over and got our grub on at BASIC. Um, it was AWESOME! The vibe was great, the pizza was yummy and the company was amazing!

Of course the hubby orders a pizza too large for the
table and needs a stool of its own... 

Although I would have loved to hang out all night with the crew, I was fading fast due to the early wake-up call, lack of sleep the night before, and, oh yeah, half marathon I ran and PR'ed that morning. Ryan and I made the drive back to Oceanside and I quickly crashed in bed shortly after coming through the front door.

#FlatCarlee is ready to ROCK 'N' ROLL! A #WeRunSocial tank, Sparkle Athletic
skirt, PRO Compression socks, Handful sports bra, Brooks shoes,
Garmin Forerunner 220, QALO Wedding Bands, Road ID,
Momentum wraps and a Sparkly Soul headband!

I love that the Coaster works with the Rock 'N' Roll series and has an early morning train set up for all of us North County folks. Not having to deal with driving, parking, etc is well worth the $5.50 cost of a ticket. The only rough part is that the train leaves out of the Oceanside station at 4:10am to be able to get us to the race by the 6:15am start time...

I've taken the train each of the three times I've run RnRSD

Which meant another EARLY morning wake-up call. And you know I HAD to be tired when I actually slept until my alarm went off (normally I am tossing and turning all night, but I was whipped and seemed to have gotten somewhat steady sleep, even if I was still exhausted when I woke up).


After quietly getting ready (didn't want to wake up the pup or hubby) and grabbing my gear, I left and made my way down to the train station. Although Oceanside is the first stop, which makes it the earliest, I do appreciate that the cars are empty when we get on. The train seems to be quite the popular mode of transportation for us North County Coastal residents and the later stops are greeted with a pretty full train and sparse empty seats.

Hey, I don't look too tired for it being before 4am, right?! 

Race morning necessities! 

Love the marketing for Rock 'N' Roll on the trains!

Once we get off the train at Old Town, we jump on shuttles ready to take us over to the starting area. The shuttles this year were nice greyhound buses. (You never know what you are going to get with shuttles... Once, for another San Diego race, we actually had party buses complete with stripper poles!) The ride on both the train and bus were super comfortable, fast and convenient. If you live by or are staying near one of the stops, I would highly recommend it!

Low light selfies are NEVER a good idea... 

When I got down to the starting area there was already a decent sized crowd (we got off the shuttle around 5:30am or so and the race was scheduled to start at 6:15am). I decided to jump in line for one of the port-o-potties before heading over to find the #WeRunSocial crew. The lines for the port-o-potties were incredibly long, but with 35,000+ runners you can imagine that even with thousands of potties there is still going to be a wait.

Finding my friend Dave in the gear check line was JUST the way
to start off this amazing day!

The PRO Compression Ambassadors running this race were planning to rock the June Sock of the Month. We decided to try and meet up near Corral 2 by 6am so we could grab a couple pictures (because if you don't have photo proof then it didn't happen, right?!).

San Diego shows up STRONG! 

Who knew having TOO MANY SOCKS was a problem?!
NEVER a problem... But hard to photograph ;)




What can I say?! I'm pretty good at photo bombing ;)
Source: @RunningWithSD Instagram

Oh, another photo bomb?! Sure, why not?! 
Photo Credit: @blingwhore 

On your marks, get set....
PS Isn't Linzie AMAZING in this shot?!

With tired legs and high humidity, most of us decided we were going to make the race a fun run. Brian, Katie, Kaella and I were running around the same speed so we decided to make a go of it. We also decided that we were going to make as many "character stops" as we could. FYI: Most of the "character stops" were unofficial, but we still made them count!

This lady... SHE ROCKS MY SOCKS! If you don't know Kristin (aka StuftMama)
then you are missing out! And her selfie skills make for fun memories ;)
Source

Kristin decided her selfie skills might need a little work so ran ahead and stopped to take this picture of the crew -
I LOVE IT! Although she wasn't "racing", she still left us in the dust within the first mile or so ;)
Source

A GIANT Mother Goose in a yard?! PHOTO PLEASE!

What's a pirates favorite letter?! You'd think it's the arrrrrrrrg (R), but it's the sea (C)!

Cookie Monster AND milk?! You know we GOTTA stop!

Towards the end of the race things get a little kooky... 

And you aren't sure which way to go...

The people of San Diego are AMAZING (minus the ones who riot and act like idiots when Trump comes to town). There are so many unofficial aid stops and cheering stations along the way that this race is one of my FAVES! People set up bars, offer donuts and candy, and give high-fives a plenty! No wonder San Diego is considered America's Finest City!

It's not National Donut Day, but you should NEVER turn down free donuts!

Champagne and fresh fruit?! BEST WAY TO HYDRATE!

Cheers!

How do YOU eat YOUR free candy from strangers?!

The temps were mild (especially compared to the hot hot heat we dealt during the Fontana Days Run), but the humidity was high and we were awfully sticky and sweaty. And now that I think about it, I think each of the three years I have run RnRSD it has been overcast and misty... (#JuneGloom is NOT my jam... I would much prefer the low 70s and sunshine that San Diego is known for. And with the high sunshine tax we pay we should be able to demand it, right?!)

I'll take the 25 degree COOLER weather, but would LOVE
some reprieve from the sticky humidity!

The course was changed this year and although it was touted as an "easier, more downhill" course, it didn't seem that way. Maybe it was due to the fact that we had ran hard the day before, but man we felt every bit of incline. Downhill our quads were screaming, uphill our legs were led and on the flats there wasn't enough tequila ;)

Source

Source

With all the fun we were having we were all a little sad to see the miles tick away so quickly. I'd be lying if I said our legs weren't tired, but the closer we got to the finish line the more reality set in that everyone would be parting ways and heading home soon. But there was no time to be bummed, we were having a blast and the memories will last a lifetime!

WE DID IT! And we even found Stacey after crossing the finish line!

It was an HONOR to get to spend 13.1 miles alongside these lovely ladies!

We ended up finishing the San Diego Rock 'N' Roll Half Marathon in 2:25 and change. But not every race is about the finishing time, some are about the time spent ON the course! And RnRSD continues to be a race that holds a special place in my heart due to the people (and OF COURSE the shenanigans).


#GarminRocks... DUH!

After grabbing our stuff from the UPS trucks (aka gear check) we found friends and decided on a game plan. Brian, Michael, Andrea and I grabbed brunch by the water before cleaning up and heading to the #WeRunSocial after-party.

Tots! Always tots!


PRO Compression and #WeRunSocial teamed up to host an awesome get-together (did you see the tees that were given to the first 75 people who showed up in PRO gear?!). Suja, the title sponsors of the race, even supplied some of their yummy juices so we could become our own mixologists and make delicious cocktails. The crew definitely showed up and a good great time was had by all!


More champagne?! YES SIR EE BOB!

These folks MADE the weekend EPIC! And I am forever grateful for them!

Oh yeah, and before I forget, a BIG THANKS to everyone who introduced themselves, cheered me on, said "hi", snapped a selfie or followed along via social media on another one of my crazy adventures! YOU ALL LEGIT ROCK MY SOCKS! And just in case I don't say it enough, THANKS!

Like I mentioned at the beginning of my Fontana Days Run post, this was one FAN-FREAKIN'-TASTIC weekend that I won't soon be forgetting (well, with my fibro fog I may very well forget some of the details, but that's why I take pictures and write my blog - to jog my memory when it all starts to get a little fuzzy ;)). So to everyone who was a part of this weekend - YOU ARE AMAZING! And I am BEYOND BLESSED to have each and every one of you in my life. Honestly, I am better because of knowing you - so thanks for being you!

[PS I should mention that because I #RockNBlog I receive free registration to Rock 'N' Roll races. Even still, you cannot fake this much fun so you know I'd totally recommend rockin' out with us at RnRSD even if I didn't get a comped entry!]

Do you run races with the intent of having as many "character stops" as possible?

9 comments:

Unknown said...

Your race looked so fun! This is definitely a great course to have some fun on, and if I wasn't trying to race I would have loved to join you guys.
Congrats again on your PR in Fontana, you are a true rockstar!

Nicole @ Fitful Focus said...

It looks like you had such a blast!!! And what a great We Run Social crew! I have my first RNR race in the fall and I can't wait. I hope it's as fun as this one.

Unknown said...

Loved getting to see you this weekend - more soon in Seattle!! :D

Janelle @ Run With No Regrets said...

It looks like you had such a great time! I would have loved to run San Diego this year, but getting there from Philly is so expensive!

Elizabeth said...

Glad to see you again, and mad props on the PR!!! Onward to Seattle :)

Annmarie said...

Looks like such a blast!

Bree at Clarity Defined said...

I have been dancing back and forth on signing up for this race next year for at least a month now...

But no, I've never character stopped (and I mostly rundisney! Haha).

Abby said...

Sounds amazing. I was totally having FOMO with all the cool Pro meetups.

Unknown said...

Looks like tons of fun!