Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon

I ran the Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon yesterday. By far the best half marathon I've ran! I set a new PR (Personal Record) even though I didn't train nearly as hard as the one where the previous PR was set. It was only by about a minute which means I'll have plenty of room to set another one. :-) 

There was a live band at every mile, lots of spectator support and cheerleading squads from local schools. There were plenty of water stations and volunteers handing them out. The roads were wide enough to handle the participants so I was able to run fairly freely most of the time. There was a noticeable curve to the surface of the roads that I opted to run close to the middle instead of to the far left where I usually ran. Other than that and the ugly slimy green tech Ts which I will never ever wear, it was a really well-organized and fun race.

I felt really good during most of the race that I was convinced that I could set a PR. The crowd at water stations slowed me down which probably cost me total of a minute. But the part that worried me came during the last mile when I started to feel dizzy. I had been hydrating and eating so I knew that wasn't the issue. My body, though getting tired, definitely still got juice. I knew that it was most likely due to lack of Iron which I have a history of deficiency and which I had not taken care of before the race. I was worried that I would black out and need paramedics so I slowed down to a walk, even though I was literally 200 meters away from the Finish Line. That alone probably cost me a few minutes. I was determined to set a PR so I pushed on in the end, but it was still short of what I had hoped for earlier in the race, which was to beat my time by four minutes.

After the race I quickly gobbled down oranges, banana, bagel, energy bar, chips and drinks so I felt human again. The lines for photos were really long so I skipped it.

Russ picked me up and took a photo of me wearing my medal. It's a big hunk of metal with room for engraving in the back. It now hangs next to my San Francisco Half Marathon medal. There will surely be more to come.