On June 4, 2017 I ran my fourth half marathon! It took place in San Diego, as part of the Rock’N Roll marathon series. This was my second RNR half, and I am a big fan of this race series! Mike and I might run RNR Vegas (I’m still working on my friend Britney) and we joked about the “razzle dazzle” of these races. I completely see where he is coming from, but I love the razzle dazzle! Training is long and challenging, racing is exciting but difficult, so I like these races are like one big party! Plus they’ve been hosting them for 20 years now, so the organization is top notch! I’m interested in getting in shape for trail runs and ultra-marathons, which may change my thinking towards the razzle dazzle, but I am a big fan of parties, so I doubt it. Only time will tell!

Even though San Diego is only about two and half hours away from LA, traveling for races comes with obstacles and stresses that are very different from racing on your home turf. Mike and I got thrown for a loop when on Friday night, he fell off his skateboard, hard, while skating from a parking spot about a half mile from my apartment. I live in a very congested area in Los Angeles and this is our life when he comes to visit (which is why I prefer going to Santa Monica to see him, and train, but that’s a whole different post). Mike had bruised his ribs, which he knew had probably happened because my thrill-seeking boyfriend had done it before. Me, I’m scared of everything and so my harshest injury has been like, a sprain 15 years ago.

I had a travel itinerary in mind, so that I could eat, drink water, stretch, go to the Expo, check into our motel and eat dinner at San Diego vegan restaurant, Donna Jean. I thought I finally had this travel thing down after running the Vegas RNR half! I could take everything I learned from that race and apply it to this one. I wasn’t expecting my boyfriend to get injured, that running might not be a possibility, and I didn’t deal very well. I told you I might need a personality transplant.

After a trip to urgent care, a wake-up call that people you love are more important than races, anxiety and traffic, we made it to the Expo with 30 minutes to spare. I got my bib, so I could run. And then the dog-friendly motel didn’t have our reservation, which normally would be a slight hiccup except the tension in the air, the panic from almost missing Expo, and hurt feelings. An hour later (most of that on hold with the booking company) we got our room, talked, and made it to dinner. A couple reasons I love Mike have to do with his patience and dedication to do whatever it takes to make things happen. Now if I can be that person for him, we’ll be set!

We had dinner, and it was delicious! If you live in San Diego, or are visiting, vegan or not, go to Donna Jean! It also happened to be across the street from the starting line, so that was serendipitous! I reveiwed the race course map, and got a motel accordingly, but I don’t know San Diego that well. IT WAS SO COOL TO SEE THE STARTING LINE THE NIGHT BEFORE! It made getting there in the morning 1000% easier.

The race itself was fun! I hate getting up at 5am for anything other than races and getting to the airport (my dad is a pilot, and when you spend your childhood flying standby, what is a 3pm flight time? Morning flights everytime! As an adult it has stuck. Although afternoon flights sure are luxurious!). I wanted a sub-2 this time, but during training I could feel my body wasn’t there. I’m not as fast as I was last fall, which is fine because I ran a freaking marathon! I was hoping that the sheer excitement race day would get me that sub-2, but that course was hilly. I train on hills, but I’ve never done “hill work”. This race was a learning experience, because I need to do hill work. I have stamina and endurance, but not in terms of hilly courses. I got a 2:09:45. 9 minutes and 46 seconds over my goal. Pasadena half I got a 2:15, and Vegas I got 2:06. MAN I WANTED TO BEAT VEGAS. But, oh well. Because what matters is that I finished, and it was a challenging course! Plus, there are personal records and course personal records! Next year I can get a course PR because I’ll know how to train and I’ll know what to expect! That’s what I love about running – there are all sorts of ways to get stronger, better and faster, so many different ways to set goals.

The moral of the story is that you should totally plan for travel races, and then also know all that planning may get thrown out the window at the last minute, so have like 17 back up plans, but most importantly, just have fun with it all. Also don’t be selfish when your significant other is hurt