Pasadena Half Marathon Recap

This was race #2 in the first ever ConqurLA Challenge.  I signed up for all of the races at once, so let's skip over that portion.

Packet pickup: The expo was held on Friday and Saturday at the Pasadena Convention Center, I opted to go on Sat. It was very well organized and had some of the usual vendors. For comparisons sake, it was a little bigger than the Revel Canyon City expo, much smaller than LA Marathon. Parking was a little tricky due to other events going on in the area, but I got lucky with a metered spot on the street. It was extremely organized, which you would expect from a Conqur event.  I got in and got my bib, t-shirt, and check out a few vendors before leaving.  There were some issues with the incorrect names being on the bibs, but runners were assured that the correct names wee linked to the timing chips.  I really like the shirt for this since I wear a lot of black t-shirts as casual wear.

The Race: I was running late on race morning, which meant I ended up at the back of the massive live to enter the stadium parking lot. The other race ambassadors were planning a meetup around 6:15, but there no way I would make it.  I imagine that someone with the city of Pasadena dropped the ball here because stop lights were still functioning and police were nowhere to be seen directing traffic. Conqur group was very responsive on social media and communicated that the race would be delayed. I understand that some people were upset about waiting in the rain during the delay, but we were about to run a half in it anyway. I’m sure these issues are at the top of the priority list to improve on next year.  Check out the course maps below to get an idea where it took place.

On to the race itself, which started right around 0730. It was raining lightly and the wind wasn’t too bad, I estimate it was around 45-50 degrees. That’s cold for SoCal natives, but I thought it was perfect. I hate racing with the sun beating me down. The course went through a few neighborhoods before heading to Old Town Pasadena and surrounding area. Even though it was raining, there were still plenty of people out cheering us on. There were hills, but nothing too steep and there were plenty of downhill stretches as well.  This is a good training run for the LA Marathon, because that isn't exactly flat either. Around mile 9 the course crossed over the beautiful Colorado Street Bridge back down towards the Rose Bowl, where the half runners ran what doubled as the 5K course around the golf course. The finish chute started just outside of the stadium culminating with the finish at the 50-yard line.  As far as my performance, I took it easy for the most part.  My wife and I decided to have a date night on Saturday so I didn't get to bed until after midnight.  This could have been a PR day for me if I had decided to go that route early in the week, especially with the perfect weather (by my standards). 

Post Race: On the field they had signs for taking pictures, mylar blankets, and water/Gatorade.  I do wish they had a fixed camera of the finish with a live feed to the video board, perhaps weather factored in that not happening.  Snacks were available exiting the stadium which led to the finish festival. Not many people were sticking around since the rain was getting heavier and the wind was picking up. I decided to have my free beer courtesy of Ballast Point and then head home. Traffic leaving was a bit backed up due to the single entry/exit point. The volunteers were absolutely AMAZING for this event! They had to stand in the rain and did so with a smile on their faces and the aid stations were handled very well. Traffic and parking aside, this was a great race with a fun challenging course and a awesome medal. I’m positive the parking issue will be addressed and there isn’t anything they can do about the weather. Can’t wait to run again next year!

Swag:  The double sided medal is flat-out awesome.  It's almost as heavy as the medal from last year's LA Marathon.  I love how it carries a similar design to the Santa Monica Classic.  All of the medals in this challenge will look great next to each other!  As stated before, the t-shirt was also nice.  People were complaining that there was nothing in the bag, but they e-mailed the virtual bag a few days before the race.  Vendors at the expo had free samples of items.  Virtual bags are better in my opinion, less trash and better for the environment!  Race pictures were free and available 3 days after from Game Face Media.  More races should do photos like this as registration fees rise, find a sponsor that wants their logo on them and only charge people if they want a logo-free download.

See everyone at Dodger Stadium as we get ready to finish conquering LA!!

Mountains 2 Beach Marathon Fundraising

As most of you know, I will be running the Mountains 2 Beach Marathon on May 29th.  In addition to participating in the race, I am also an ambassador for the event.  As an ambassador, I set a fundraising goal of $500 that will go to three separate charities.  Anyone that donates can select the cause that they would like to contribute to.  They are the Ventura Education Partnership, Community Memorial Hospital, and the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy/Ventura Hillsides Conservancy.  These are all great charities that give a lot back to our community.  I appreciate any amount that you can donate.  Below is a link to my personal fundraising page or you can visit it here Fundraising Page.  Thanks everyone! 

Texas Wine Series - Becker Vineyards 1/2 Marathon Recap

This is my recap/review of the second event in the inaugural Texas Wine Series which was held at Becker Vineyards.  This was a Half Marathon/5K held at the Vineyard and coordinated by Carrera Races and IAAP.

Registration: Sign up was on the race website and was supported by local race company Carrera Races.  This was my first time running an event they hosted.

  

Packet Pickup:  There were a few packet pick-up options, in person at a local running store, mail, or race morning.  Mail and race morning carried fees of $20 and $10 respectively.  We opted for our packets to be mailed since we live an hour and a half from the Vineyard and didn't want to deal with downtown traffic near the running store.  The packet arrived on the Wednesday before the race and had to be picked up from the post office due to signature requirements.  

"Swag" Bag: Packet came with a nice tech t-shirt, drawstring bag, personalized bib, and reusable chip timer (ugh).  I noticed they were also giving out wine totes at the race day packet pickup, which was not in the mailed packet.  I was able to get ours just by asking though. 

Event Organization:  The race site was laid out pretty well.  They had coffee near the registration area, but I couldn't seem to find water or other snack items anywhere.  My first main issue was the number of porta-potties.  They only had 5 at the start area and it wasn't nearly enough, they easily need to double that in the future.  There were also restrooms inside of one of the vineyard buildings, but that line was ridiculous too.

  

The Race:  Issue #2 was the start time.  The 1/2 started at 0800 and the 5K at 0815.  It was already light out at 0630 and this is Texas.  Once the 1/2 started the sun was already beating down and the heat was rising, no reason this couldn't have started at 0700.  It was pushing 80° an hour in to the race and the humidity wasn't helping.  The course itself was a double loop through the Vineyard.  The terrain varied between asphalt, gravel, and dirt.  It was mostly flat with a 1.5 mile stretch that was gradually uphill and back downhill after the turnaround.  It was scenic and well planned out, even with half marathoners merging with the 5K’ers around mile 6.  I only had to swerve a little bit when crossing through the halfway point due to the 5K’ers stopping, no big deal though.  Luckily there were a few porta-potties on the course for those of us that were unable to use one before the race started.  They had water/nuun stops every mile and half or so and great support from the volunteers.  They were also making sure people were aware of tripping hazards on the rockier areas of the course.

  

Post-race:  Once I crossed the finish I had to stop in my tracks to get the timing chip removed from my shoe.  I will always have an issue with these chips now that the technology is there for disposable chips.  Almost every race organizer in the San Antonio area uses them now.  After the chip was removed I got a bottle of water and an awesome medal, complete with corkscrew.  I wasn't able to find any sort of recovery drink/food.  Just past the finish is where I got my finisher wine glass and wristband for the wine tasting.  My wife slightly re-injured her leg on the course, but still finished with a very good time.  I was waiting on her to get something to eat.  Unfortunately, they were out of food already.  She was also unable to get a medal because they ran out.  She already received an email and they are more than making up for it, kudos to them.  I feel bad for the people that finished even later because the course had a 5 hour limit and the food was advertised to last until 1:00.  I suspect some people that didn't run the race were helping themselves to some free food.  The wine tastings were good, which is expected from Becker.  They were kind of stingy with the samples though considering the fee for this race.  They have to know people are going to spend money and leave with a few bottles of wine, don’t be so cheap with the samples.

  

Results and Photos:  The results were online within a couple of hours on the IAAP website.  Free pictures were available on their Facebook page and they turned out pretty good. 

Final Thoughts:  They need to make a few tweaks and this will be a great race.  The main things they need to fix is the porta-pottie situation, the start time, and making sure they have enough food for the fastest person down to the slowest person.  There isn't much they can do about the wine pours.  Aside from those things, this was a really fun race.  It was a nice course and the volunteer support was outstanding.  We will definitely do this again next year if the start time is earlier.

Course Details

Some pics for your viewing pleasure...

Army 1/2 Marathon Review

This is my quick review of the Army Half Marathon, the event also included a full marathon and "5klicks" 5K.  My wife and I originally signed up for the full, but a full month of being sick caused us to switch to the half.  The full went from Killeen, TX to Temple, TX.  The half started at the full finish line and was a near out and back, with the turnaround just inside the city of Belton at the Belton Lake Dam.

Registration:  This was done through active.com a few months ago.  When we decided to switch to the half we paid a small transfer fee.  Our names got messed up on the new registration (hers on both), but that was an issue with active, not the race.  I was in touch with race staff and they were very responsive.  The issue was corrected when we picked up our packet.

Packet Pickup:  Packet pickup was held at a Courtyard Marriott in Killeen, TX.  The Marathon was to begin close to here.  It was a small expo in the hotel ballroom.  There were a few local vendors as well as a few sponsors, mainly USAA and Navy Federal.  We walked out of there with a lot of bags and water bottles.  

"Swag" Bag:  The race packet itself was a drawstring camouflage bag with a nice tech t-shirt, bib, disposable timing chip, clif builders bar, quench gum, and the usual flyer's/coupons.

Event Organization:  There was the option to take a shuttle from our hotel (Hilton Garden Inn) or park a mile from the start and catch a shuttle, we chose to drive.  It was around 68° when we boarded the bus to the start area.  Upon getting off the bus the cold front that was due later in the day had arrived, temperature dropped to 45° in 15 minutes along with heavy winds and a quick downpour.  This pretty much had everyone scrambling to find shelter.  The race director had the awesome idea to hand out the recovery jackets prior to the race, pretty much saving us since we had no cold weather gear.  Almost everyone had one on during the race.  It looked like a nice start area, but I really didn't get a chance to check it out.

The Race:  Weather conditions aside, this was a really good race.  It started a few minutes late so they could be sure lighting wasn't going to be an issue.  It wasn't the most scenic course, but everyone was making the most of a bad situation and enjoying every mile of it.  Water stops were about every mile and a half, they also had sports drinks.  I didn't stop much since I carried my handheld.  The terrain was all asphalt with moderately rolling hills, none steep enough to alter pace.  The wind played a small factor, but the headwinds and tailwinds cancelled each other out.  The best part was near the halfway point at Belton Lake where runners ran around the dam.  There was even a boat on the lake full of supporters cheering us on, props to them for braving that weather!  The last 1/2 mile was directly in to the wind, but I knew it was going to happen so I left just enough in the tank to charge through it plus there were Army soldiers cheering people to the finish.

Post-race:  A volunteer was there immediately to hand me my medal and another handing out bottled water.  There was also a guy handing out a "recovery box" with some pretty good snacks in it.  Finally, chocolate milk, every race should do this.  I didn't stick around after that, the temp had dropped to 35° and I was starting to go numb.  I took the shuttle back to the car, warmed up, and drove to a spot near mile 12 so I could see Amy.  I decided to make a quick sign, toss her the hoodie out of the car, and warn her about that final 1/2 mile.

Results and Photos:  The results were online at http://mychiptime.com/ within hours of the race.  They had a photographer and pictures are still being processed.  I honestly don't know how many they got since most bibs were hidden by the recovery jackets.  I'm sure they'll have finish line pics since they are usually tied in with the timing chip.

Final Thoughts:  I would definitely run this race again.  I would even consider the full just to run the point to point course from Killeen to Temple.  I could tell they put on a hell of an event, just hate that the weather played a huge factor.  Check it out at http://www.thearmymarathon.com.  2 thumbs up!

USA Fit 1/2 Marathon review

I was going to do this recap in 2 sections, recapping the race and venting about the Houston metro.  I have decided against that for this recap.  I have plenty of other social media outlets to do that on.

        We left San Antonio Saturday morning after dropping the dog off.  Packet pick-up was done during the 4 days prior to the event at 4 different location.  The Saturday pick-up had the shortest hours, 10-4.  I could tell right then that this wasn't a race with a lot of out of towners.  Our pick up spot was in the lobby of the title sponsor's hospital.   The race bag was a tiny reusable drawstring sack that had a bunch of flyers for local events, safety pins, bib, and one of those horrible timings chips that has to be attached with twist ties.  The tech t-shirt was to be picked up after completing the race.  Shortly after that, we headed over to our Hotel in Houston to get settled.  We had the typical pre-race night but didn't fall asleep until after midnight.

        The alarms went off at 0400 and it was time to drive over to the University of Houston at Sugar Land.  They wanted everyone in the parking lot by 0530 so we made sure that happened.  The race didn't start until 0630 so we just sat in the car relaxing until 6.  The temperature was almost perfect, 45 with barely any wind.  The humidity was high but hardly noticeable.  The start area was a little cramped, but it had all of the necessities.  It was around 0615 when a lady started shouting and yelling at people to get to the start line, repeatedly.  Look lady, the people who are serious are going to be at the line on time.  The race is chip timed, no need to run around yelling at people and stressing them out.  Once the national anthem and their "prayer", the horn sounded and we were off.

        The first half a mile was spent doing the usual bobbing and weaving to get around walkers that started near the front and lack etiquette.  The course was nothing spectacular, it ran through a few neighborhoods, cul-de-sacs, and a long stretch of the University Drive.  There were a few spectators out and most were encouraging, but quite a few had signs that weren't funny and bordering on crude.  No, I didn't just fart and no I don't think I will crap my shorts, but thanks for taking interest in my bodily functions.  As far as pace goes, I was partially using this as a training run for the next half on March 2.  The plan called for a 1:45 (3/1) run today and since I knew my time would likely be higher, I just took the first 10 miles at around the same pace and then picked it up for the final 3.1.  As you can see by the splits below, I was pretty consistent for the first 10 and the only reason mile 1 was over 9:00 was because of the logjam start and waiting for the crowd to separate.  The course was almost completely flat, the only elevation changes being a couple of small bridges.  The final 1.5 miles were on a jogging path parallel to the road which made sense when it was time to turn towards the finish.  Racers doing the full did a turnaround prior to the finish timing mat and ran the course a second time.  I crossed the line in 1:55:25, finally under the 2 hour mark!  After receiving what is a really nice medal, I had to stop dead in my tracks so this poor volunteer could try to cut the twist ties off of my shoe to get the timing chip.  This is the my only major gripe about this event.  It's 2014, a race of this distance should not be using these chips when there are so many disposable chip options available.

        The finish area was really nice and that is where finisher shirt pickup was.  They also had bottled water, coffee, kolaches, BurgerFi, Muscle Milk, and a My Fit Foods stand,.  They didn't have beer, but I wasn't surprised considering the town we were in.  After grabbing a coffee I walked back towards the turn at mile 13 to give Amy a final push to the finish.  Once she got her medal and shirt we went to check out the food vendors, but most had run out.  We ended up with a smoked sausage in a tortilla, it is Texas after all.  The results were finalized today and I was 134 of 750 overall and 34 of 76 in my age group .  It was a decent race and a good training run for the next race in a month where I hope to finish in 1:45.  If it was in any other city we would consider doing it again, but our personal experience with the attitude and arrogance of the locals will keep us from returning. 

       

This 1/2 Marathon was not like the others

Today marked the first ever Air Force ½ Marathon and 10K shadow event held at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, Africa.  We were unable to meet the deadline to become a sanctioned deployed event, but the pieces are in place for it to be one next year.  Since it was held entirely on a deployed base, registration was limited to military members, government civilians, and government contractors.  We had amazing volunteer support from all over camp as well as the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) office, so registration was free! 

                I volunteered to come up with the course map, which was a pain in the butt since this base isn’t very big and we couldn’t shut down all of the roads or use the runway, it is shared with the local airport.  Therefore, the bulk of the race was limited to the 2 mile stretch of running trail as you can see below.  I was able to run the route last month to check it out and to give everyone an interactive look at the turnarounds, so it was only natural that road construction would cause us to move our start line.  Luckily it didn’t affect the total distance for the ½ and barely affected the 10K. 

                Packet pickup was held at the camp MWR center on Thursday and Friday.   They handed out Sports Authority bags with random items in them that were donated.  The shirts are a dri-fit material and were paid for by MWR.  Race volunteers received a yellow cotton shirt.  I didn't get my volunteer shirt since I was running, hoping they have some left over so I can take it home to my wife.  The race start time was scheduled for 0400 due to the extreme weather conditions here, so I attempted to get to bed early last night.  Bad idea, I may have slept 3 hours total.  I think my brain was worried I would sleep through the alarm since it was going off so early.

                I finally crawled out of bed around 0310 and got dressed, everything was already laid out and ready to go like always.  I jogged a little bit to get warmed up and made the short walk over to the start area and did my dynamic stretching and put down some Gatorade chews.  The weather at this point is already 88 degrees and 75% humidity, miserable as usual.  Our race director made a few comments, gave the safety brief, national anthem was played, and we were on our way.  There really isn’t much to say about the course, it’s a military base in the middle of Africa.  There is no scenery, there were no spectators, and it was still dark outside.  The ½ and 10K course were the same right up until the 5.8 mile mark, that’s when the 10K runners exited the running trail and headed to the finish line.   The ½ runners stayed on the trail for 6 more miles and exited the running trail on the opposite end and did another 1.1 mi around the area of camp where we all live.  My pace was pretty consistent the entire race, the only real hiccup was at the mile 8 turnaround when I stopped to use my GU and gather myself and make some clothing adjustments, I think I walked for about a minute.  The only other issue was my first ever bloody nipple and the other one almost joined in, which didn't surprise me due to the humidity.  I missed the email yesterday stating that the medics had Vaseline.  I once again barely missed hitting that elusive sub 2 hour finish, but it was a PR and in these conditions, I’ll take it.  It was awesome to be a part of the first event like this on the camp.  Hopefully next year they get to put on a sanctioned event.

This also doubled as a virtual 1/2 marathon I signed up for about a month ago, that is what the bib and medal in the last picture are for.

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