Pasadena 1/2 Review

After hitting the expo on Saturday afternoon at the Santa Anita Race Track for the Pasadena 1/2 me and my race support crew friends headed to the hotel so I could shower and put my compression socks on the wrong feet. Once I hit the bed it was over there was no way I was going back out. The Palos Verdes 1/2 wore me out and I was a little worried about running the next day another 13.1.

Wait the R is on the left foot....something seems off

 Luckily J & B were understanding and just let me hang out in the room and stuff my face full of pizza.

 After some more HGTV it was sleepy time at 9p.m. The alarm went off at 4:30 on Sunday (May 20th) after laying there for a bit cursing myself and gingerly moving my limbs I got up and changed for the race. The hotel we stayed at (Rodeway Inn) was only about a 5 minute drive from the start. I got there around 5a.m. for the 6:30 start. I wanted to get coffee but there was nothing on the way so I was forced to run without my normal coffee fuel up. THE HORROR.

Pasadena City Hall at the start

 This race had a bike race that started at 6a.m. so I watched them get going, hit the porto potties and then stood around trying to stretch a little before the marathon and 1/2 start. As time got close people filed into the street. There were no pace groups or designated sections so I just jumped in and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't get trampled. There were an estimated 7000 runners for the marathon, half, 10k and 5k.

Race Start

 I felt pretty good once I got going. I knew it was gonna be tough. I was tired, my legs were tight and my hip was pretty sore (still am not sure what is up with that- fix yourself already hip). But the course was really beautiful and I am glad I had the crazy idea to sign up for both races. The course took us through a cute main street, past some beautiful buildings, across a beautiful bridge, through cute neighborhoods, and by the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Sweaty beast- apparently CA has humidity. Bleh gross

 Every hill I came upon I walked. After the Saturday hilly hell I was in no mood to run up anymore hills, nor was my hip. It was warm and sweaty but not rainy which apparently has been a problem in the past. I slowed down to take pictures and wrestled with a gu for five minutes (hands too sweaty to get it open, eventually had to just stop, wipe off my hands, and use my teeth, ridiculous).
So how did it go
1 9:54

2 9:45
3 10:44
4 10:22
5 10:50
6 10:09
7 10:25
8 11:44
9 13:20 (curse you gu, curse you)
10 11:51
11 11:23
12 9:55
13 10:04
14 9:10

Official Time: 2:24:36  Garmin Time: 2:23:46 Distance: 13.37 (seriously what is with these super long races?)

 There were some issues at the finish. They ran out of cups for water and people were just grabbing jugs of water. Not my proudest moment but I grabbed one too. I was so thirsty and sweaty. J came to meet me at the finish and I saw her as I was running across the finish line and was so excited to see someone I knew at the finish.

I grabbed a banana and a granola cliff bar and then J and I headed through the expo and stopped on the grass for a moment so I could stretch a little. Then we moved it along back to the car so I could shower and we could check out of the hotel and get on the road to head back to Tucson (7 hour drive). 

After checking out we headed to breakfast at

I wore my fancy clothes to b-fast, compression socks and shorts, dress flats and regular shorts and a t-shirt. B & J tried to stand apart from me but I made sure everyone knew they were with me. The crazy in compression shorts out in public. After stuffing my face it was into the car. J&B let me lay in the backseat and B drove the whole way because he is my hero. So I napped and elevated which I think enabled me to get out of the car when we got back to Tucson.

 Overall this race was awesome. I enjoyed the course it was a good mix of flat, downhill and uphill and I think it is a course I could definitely run faster but had a great time taking it easy and soaking it all in. Except for the lack of cups at the finish and the lack of pace lining up in the beginning the race was well organized with plenty of supplies otherwise. The tech shirt is nice and the medal is cute. I would run it again.

1/2s number 16 & 17 in the bag!