Rose Bowl Inaugural Half-Marathon

EVENT: Rose Bowl Inaugural Half-Marathon
DATE: Saturday, December 8, 2007
LOCATION: Pasadena, CA
RACE BEGAN: 8:00 am
FINISH TIME: 02:05:04

The start time for this race was supposed to be 8 am, but I think they lingered and started at 8:03. The national anthem could barely be heard, even though there were maybe about 1000 people out there. This was the first of many things that made me wonder why I signed up for an inaugural run that pretty much cost $90!!

The course was definitely tough. Pretty tough incline between miles 2-3, then the trails began at around mile 6.5. Oh yeah, and I should probably mention that my speed-demon sister passed me shortly before mile 6. My 10k split was probably around 0:57, not bad for me. At mile 7 as we were about to turn a corner, a guide said, "If you see people walking, just run around them." I turned the corner and found myself at a rocky, VERY steep, VERY narrow trail, where falling would mean serious injury. I obviously walked there. Shortly after that, there was a similar, less narrow climb that was three times as long, which I also walked. At the top, some girls dressed in Ms. Clause and elf outfits congratulated us for reaching the top of the hill, only to be thrown into some tunnel that smelled of paint.

Another not-so-grand point of the race was miles 8-9 that were in a lonnnng parking lot. I got so bored that I walked, and I found out later on that my speed-demon sister had done the same. But basically the second half of the race was on a mix of trail (a bit wet from the recent rain we had) and asphalt. Mile 10 was partly downhill, which was nice, and 11-13.1 were relatively flat. I recall that at mile 10, I was clocking at around 1:37, so I knew I would not make my sub-2 goal. I wanted to throw up during the last .1 mile, so I couldn't sprint and almost forgot to get my chip collected.

Gun time was about 2:06, chip time around 2:05, a PR by more than 6 minutes. Considering everything (the course and my cough due to a week of working late, sleeping less than ideal, upcoming finals, etc.), I was pretty happy with my performance.

...But, the medal was beautiful, and I got to cheer my other sister and friend in since the crowd was small.

Overall, an interesting, challenging race. I am not so sure about competing in the Pasadena Marathon next year if it is going to be of that difficulty. I also am fearing the marathon. Hm.