Being a lifelong New Englander I'm an early riser so waking at 3:00am in San Diego to run the Rock-n-Roll Marathon was easy for me. Looking around before the race there were not many smiles at dawn.
Race day is the end result of many training miles. Most participants at the race ran 500 miles or more during the proceeding 4 or 5 months so they'd be ready to undertake the 26.2 Mile event.
The Course started out on the West Side of Balboa Park and we looped around going through parts of the San Diego Zoo on our way Downtown. The city streets were a little rougher than I expected so there were plenty of cracks and pot holes to dodge. Nothing worse then hitting a hole the wrong way and twisting your ankle during an event of this magnitude.
After the first hour I was slightly ahead of my theoretical target time so I pulled out my camera for some photos along the way. As you can see in the photo below the running crowd was still pretty thick. I lost some time over the next several miles due to the congested streets and constantly stopping to take pictures. Suppose serious runners would never think of actually enjoying their time on the course but I typically run races with a camera.
Once we left the Downtown Streets it was time to head out on that highway. At that point I needed to refuel the camera. Anticipating many photo opportunities I did pack spare batteries in my running shorts so I pulled over for a pit stop. Yes... I carry way to much junk!
I did have some technical difficulty and the camera flash starting going off everytime I took a picture. After wasting a few minutes fiddling with settings I decided I better get back to running
As I rounded the bend I saw the second ambulance of the day loading a runner. We were still a few miles from the halfway point. My wife and I had prearranged a meeting spot where the course came closest to our hotel so I snapped a few final photos as I came through the water stop before leaving the camera with her.
My intension was to make up lost time in the second half but things don't always go as planned. Once the cloud cover known as June Gloom in San Diego burned off the sun warmed it up. I could feel the heat on the ball of my right foot. The only other time I'd felt that sensation was during our longest training run of 20 miles. Willpower and determination is not a problem for me so not crossing the finish line was never a concern. I did do a bit of walking durning the later miles so I finished at just before noon with a chip time of 5:15.
Recovery time was very fast. By 2:00pm I was making my way to the hotel's outdoor cafe for a burger and beers... One of my team mates from the Leukemia Society's Team in Training was there with his parents and we discussed the race and events of the weekend.
Simon's father, Peter, was so inspired by the TNT organization and the huge amount of money raised ( $12.5 Million at this one event ) that he is planning to run a half marathon as a participant this fall.
I still have a few more miles left in me so I will be running the Fairfield Half in two weeks and start up again in late September at the Philadelphia Distance Run.
In my spare time I'm available to sell houses. To arrange a private showing of any home listed on the Connecticut MLS that is in my territory of New Haven County just contact me, Dan Cummings, The Running Realtor via email at Dan@CummingsTeam.com or call my 24 hour access line : 203-672-2455
