October Race San Jose

Well, we finally did San Jose! It seems like it was a long time coming but now it is over. I would have to say that I feel like it was an Epic Fail on my part. When, tell me, when am I going to learn from my past mistakes?? Why do I continue to make the same mistake??

This is why I no longer play golf. I make the same mistakes over and over and get mad at myself. The problem with golf is that I get mad enough to throw my club or bang it into the ground Happy Gilmore style and then get kicked out of the country club or driving range. Yes, this has happened two times. There are two places in Tennessee that I cannot return to based on throwing my club and banging my golf instructor's club into the ground then chunking it down the driving range. My husband tries to get me to play with him because he finds it amusing but I know it is not a good look for me!!

So, back to San Jose, and the making of the same mistake again. Yes, I started too fast and just about blew up near the end. Instead of having a negative split I had a positive split. Luckily, not by much, but still. I knew I was starting too fast and just let myself do it. Now, abandoning my training plan 5 weeks before my race did not help my cause either but I still thought I would do better. I should have at least ran better than I did at Colfax when I wasn't even trying for a goal time. I mean, come on, I was at sea level, the weather was perfect and the course was flat. What was my problem??? Oh yeah, I didn't finish my training. Ok, I will stop venting now.

The San Jose Half Marathon is a great race. It is smaller than some of the other Rock N Roll races and you will notice this when you go to the expo. They do have a 10k that starts at the same time and there are a lot of people who run the 10k. They do put them in the same corrals as the half marathon runners and no one checks that you are in the right corral. The walkers were in some of the first corrals. I don't like that idea, but I guess no real harm if the walkers stay out of the way. Some walkers definitely did not stay out of the way and in fact I heard three women who were walking three-wide say that the runners should just run around them. They were in the middle of the course rather than off to the side. That is something I don't agree with. If you are going to walk, please move to the right, give the walk signal holding your arm up and then walk. This lets people know and it keeps them out of runners' way and keeps you from running right into the back of them. Despite this, the race is a great race. I am going to have to go back and beat this course sometime. You run through downtown and some really nice neighborhoods. The course has maybe 2 very small hills but otherwise is flat. The weather is almost always great and the start and finish are fairly close to each other. There are people along the course the whole way and lots of cheerleaders. If I hadn't run such a slow and pathetic time then I would have really loved this race. Like I said, I am going to return to this race at some point. I am stating right now to all of you that my next half marathon I will not start too fast!! Ok, it is out there and everyone can hold me accountable. Oh, and I won't abandon my training 5 weeks before a goal race!! I did have a lot going on with my job and my parents but still, I should have kept up better.

So, if you are looking for a nice flat course with good weather (if there aren't any fires in the area) and good course support then I would recommend this race. They also have a 5k the day before so you can do both. Michelle and I went to the 5k to cheer on runners. That was a nice event as well. The kids 1 mile was super cute also. I don't know how many of you have heard but Ironman has bought the Rock N Roll series. So, I guess we will see what is to come for the Rock N Roll races. I made a new friend at the hotel from Arizona who Chris and I may do the Rock N Roll in January with. We haven't signed up yet but will be figuring out if we want to go soon. I am putting a couple of pictures down below of the race. The one that looks like a proof is just that since I just got them in email yesterday to look at. That is me at the finish and the other one is me and Michelle at the 5k the day before.

So, there you have it, my epic fail. I am mad at myself but this time, I am going to learn. Seriously!! I hope you are all having a great week.

Happy Running!

Kristi