Orange County, CA, Half Marathon Race Report
So I decided to do that Half Marathon out here in Southern California after all. I'm going back to DC tomorrow so I figured it was a good way to say 'so long for now' by pounding the Christmas legs on the asphalt road around Fashion Island and Jamoboree Road.
The gun went off at 7:30AM so I had to get up around 5AM to make sure I was all awake. Borrowed my sister-in-law's car. poored two cups of coffee down my neck and headed about 30 mins south to where the race was located (around Fashion Island for those of you who know So-Cal well). It is always impressive to see how well some of these races are organized. It was a relatively large race since the combined it with the OC Marathon. I think there were around 15,000 runners there this morning.
I was feeling quite indifferent at the start line (had to elbow my way through to about the 15th layer, which was ok by me) since I had no real expectations of this race (other than to finish and have a good time while working off some of the holiday 'fat'). The temperature was in the mid-60s I guess so no arm warmers or leggings necessary.
The first mile was a gradual uphill and I felt a little heavey in the 'bones.' I had promised myself to take it easy and 'listen' to my body - particularly that hip/groin injury I've been struggling with lately. I did my first mile in 6:35 and was quite surprised I seemingly had to expend that much energy at such a slow pace. Later, some runners mentioned it was a 'long' mile - something that always throws you off and makes it hard to run on 'feel.' Anyways, the 2nd mile seemd more accurately measured and I covered it in 6:03. I had set myself a 'goal' of running the full distance (13.1 miles or 22km) in about 1 hr 23 minutes.
The third mile was a flat to a gradually downward slope and I covered it in 5:50 with no real effort. I felt as if I was about to find my 'groove' and I was happy to be back around the 6-minute mile pace. The 4th mile was pretty flat (5:57) with mile 5 slithgly down-hill again (5:46). I knew this was a tad fast but felt good in my hip and otherwise. I did mile 6 (slightly up-hill) in 6:18 and crossed the 10k (6 mile) mark in 37:49.
I didn't bring any 'gu' or drinks and made sure to drink (water) at every station (about every other mile, I guess). Aid stations were not at every mile but given the weather that was ok. Mile 7 was 'more of the flat same' and I covered that in exactly the same time as mile 6, i.e. 6:18. Mile 8 was slightly flatter and I covered that in 6:11. At this point I was a little concerned with my hip/groin muscle strain at this point and tried to focus on not 'pounding' too much by reducing my stride length without losing too much speed.
I found a comfortable pace and did mile 9 in 6:19. Mile 10 was 'twisty' with a few up/down over-passes that took a toll on both energy and time. I did it in 6:39. Mile 11 was more of the same and I 'only' managed to squeeze out a 6:43 without pushing too much. Mile 12 was fairly flat in 6:13. From there to the 'finish' line (1.1 mile) took me 6:52 for a total finishing time of 1:22:24.
I was happy with that. Ended up 6th in the age group of 240 runners. My leg is aching a little bit and I've tried to gently stretch and massage it. Hoping it won't bo to sore for my flight back to DC tomorrow and that it improves from here. I'd like to do the Caeser Rodney Half in Delaware again this year and beat my time of 1:22:11.
That's it for now folks. Hope you are all well and that you're getting into the 2008'groove!'
NOTE: my good friend Mark Sommers (President and founder of DC Velo) was hit by a car on New Years Eve while biking in Key West, FL. Remarkably, he is doing well despite having broken his neck(!) and a few other minor issues with his arm and knee. We expect to see Mark back on the bike in a couple of months unless his condition worsens (we'll know more about his prognosis in the next few days). Please help send positive energy and prayers to Mark so he can make a full and healthy recover. And, make sure to please be careful when you go on your bike rides everyone!
In sports,
Espen
The gun went off at 7:30AM so I had to get up around 5AM to make sure I was all awake. Borrowed my sister-in-law's car. poored two cups of coffee down my neck and headed about 30 mins south to where the race was located (around Fashion Island for those of you who know So-Cal well). It is always impressive to see how well some of these races are organized. It was a relatively large race since the combined it with the OC Marathon. I think there were around 15,000 runners there this morning.
I was feeling quite indifferent at the start line (had to elbow my way through to about the 15th layer, which was ok by me) since I had no real expectations of this race (other than to finish and have a good time while working off some of the holiday 'fat'). The temperature was in the mid-60s I guess so no arm warmers or leggings necessary.
The first mile was a gradual uphill and I felt a little heavey in the 'bones.' I had promised myself to take it easy and 'listen' to my body - particularly that hip/groin injury I've been struggling with lately. I did my first mile in 6:35 and was quite surprised I seemingly had to expend that much energy at such a slow pace. Later, some runners mentioned it was a 'long' mile - something that always throws you off and makes it hard to run on 'feel.' Anyways, the 2nd mile seemd more accurately measured and I covered it in 6:03. I had set myself a 'goal' of running the full distance (13.1 miles or 22km) in about 1 hr 23 minutes.
The third mile was a flat to a gradually downward slope and I covered it in 5:50 with no real effort. I felt as if I was about to find my 'groove' and I was happy to be back around the 6-minute mile pace. The 4th mile was pretty flat (5:57) with mile 5 slithgly down-hill again (5:46). I knew this was a tad fast but felt good in my hip and otherwise. I did mile 6 (slightly up-hill) in 6:18 and crossed the 10k (6 mile) mark in 37:49.
I didn't bring any 'gu' or drinks and made sure to drink (water) at every station (about every other mile, I guess). Aid stations were not at every mile but given the weather that was ok. Mile 7 was 'more of the flat same' and I covered that in exactly the same time as mile 6, i.e. 6:18. Mile 8 was slightly flatter and I covered that in 6:11. At this point I was a little concerned with my hip/groin muscle strain at this point and tried to focus on not 'pounding' too much by reducing my stride length without losing too much speed.
I found a comfortable pace and did mile 9 in 6:19. Mile 10 was 'twisty' with a few up/down over-passes that took a toll on both energy and time. I did it in 6:39. Mile 11 was more of the same and I 'only' managed to squeeze out a 6:43 without pushing too much. Mile 12 was fairly flat in 6:13. From there to the 'finish' line (1.1 mile) took me 6:52 for a total finishing time of 1:22:24.
I was happy with that. Ended up 6th in the age group of 240 runners. My leg is aching a little bit and I've tried to gently stretch and massage it. Hoping it won't bo to sore for my flight back to DC tomorrow and that it improves from here. I'd like to do the Caeser Rodney Half in Delaware again this year and beat my time of 1:22:11.
That's it for now folks. Hope you are all well and that you're getting into the 2008'groove!'
NOTE: my good friend Mark Sommers (President and founder of DC Velo) was hit by a car on New Years Eve while biking in Key West, FL. Remarkably, he is doing well despite having broken his neck(!) and a few other minor issues with his arm and knee. We expect to see Mark back on the bike in a couple of months unless his condition worsens (we'll know more about his prognosis in the next few days). Please help send positive energy and prayers to Mark so he can make a full and healthy recover. And, make sure to please be careful when you go on your bike rides everyone!
In sports,
Espen
posted by ESPENUSA at
8:34 PM
1 Comments:
Nice report. I was there as well...the first mile seemed a bit long to me also!
Congrats on the finish and very cool website.
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