Long Beach Half Marathon Race Recap
| October 8, 2012 | Posted by Carrie under half marathon, Running |
Yesterday I ran the Long Beach Half with my running buddy. My plan for the race was to use it as a long training run in preparation for the LA Rock and Roll Half Marathon at the end of the month and to have a good time with my friend. Our last race together was the Surf City Half back in February. That was her first and wasn’t the best experience.
Yesterday started out great. We managed to avoid the gnarly traffic on the freeway and scored fantastic parking, hit up the bathrooms and made it to the start in time to watch a few waves go before jumping in to the final wave.
Our plan was 3:1 run walk intervals and to try and keep our pace similar to our long run pace. No going out fast like last time.
The first miles were fantastic! I thought we were doing great. The scenery was great, we even stopped to take a few pictures as fast as possible or hopefully timed on our 1 minute walk breaks.
I think things started to get challenging around mile 8. That’s about when my friend started to struggle with tired feet, legs getting tired, etc. I did my best job of cheerleading alternating with keeping quiet to not drive her batty or make her want to punch me.
The run down the bike path on the beach was beautiful. This was actually the same stretch of bike path that the Pajama 10K course followed back in June.
Mile 9 may have been the hardest mile for my friend. Stomach queasy, all that horrible stuff. At some point around that time, she tried to talk me in to going ahead. But, she didn’t look so hot, so I didn’t want to leave.
Just before mile 10, the course turned back around and with the sun off our faces, things started to improve. Our walk intervals were getting a little longer each time, but at least my friend was perking up. I could tell that she wasn’t feeling queasy anymore, just tired. Just before mile 11, she told me that since we’d been walking a little more, she didn’t think she’d be able to run again and wanted to finish walking. She told me to go on ahead and I finally agreed.
I hit the last 2 miles alone and have to say it was kind of fun to run and pass a ton of people. By then, we were really back with all the walkers, so it wasn’t too much effort to pass a ton of people. When I was looking online at the race results, they had this neat graphic about the last 5K and the number of people you passed – apparently, I passed 444 people in the final 5K and was passed by 3. That’s kind of a fun nerdy thing to know. Because I had my Garmin set for the 3:1 intervals, I’m not exactly sure what my pace was – but it was around 10:30.
our walk intervals clearly got longer towards the end
look at that last minute – 9:49! 
My friend finished about 15 minutes behind me. She did have a smile on her face, but it may have just been relief at finishing.
The only problem with my lovely sprint to the finish was that my ITB thought I was crazy and it started screaming at me after the first mile. I very impressively ignored it and continued on. Probably not smart. It was really really painful when I finished. With some rest, compression and foam rolling in the afternoon, it was feeling better. I’ve been doing a good amount of resistance training to prevent the problem, but I have been slacking on foam rolling. It doesn’t really hurt walking today, so I’ll give it a few days before I get back to working on my goals for the LA RnR race.
I did get a new magnet for my car
Great job!! Half -marathons are tough! The last 5 miles are so hard for me. I have so much pride in my 13.1 magnet on my car too!
Farrah @ Fairy Healthy Life recently posted..10 years
I love my magnet! I had one on my old car that I couldn’t get off, so I got the regular magnet style this time around. I love looking at it and smiling.
Great job on the race! Sounds like you’re on to something that works well for you with the walk run combo! I’m sure you’ll do great at RnR LA. Good luck!
Kerry HK recently posted..Hobble Creek Half – Race Recap
Thank you! Congrats on your race, too.
Yes! 13.1 miles is a looong way. So much harder than 10 in my opinion. I’m glad your friend finished smiling — it doesn’t matter why!
Coco recently posted..Five Saftey Tips For Running In The Dark
I do think about how you’ve talked about preferring the 10 miler to the half… that extra 5K is a huge difference.
Congrats!!! Loved reading your recap! Definitely roll that IT band! Mile 10 is where I hit a wall every time. If I can get through it I’m usually good till the end.
Mindy @ Road Runner Girl recently posted..The Weekly Chase…Another Half, Homework, and Tennis!
Thank you! Mile 10 is hard. Once you’re past that, it’s so much easier. I think you’re numb by then.
Congrats on your race, Carrie!! I don’t think I’ve ever run with a friend, it would definitely be challenging to find a pace that worked for both of you. That sprinting girl was crazy- what was she dong?!!
So sorry to hear your IT band is unhappy… fingers crossed that a few days of rest will do the trick!
Laura @ Mommy Run Fast recently posted..Blogging Tips from Fitbloggin 2012
The funniest part about the sprinting girl was that she was highly entertaining to me. I was kind of bummed when she dropped away.
Great job! Tummy troubles are no fun. Glad your friend started to feel better towards the end. I hope your ITB doesn’t bother you on your next run:) Yes, the sprinting girl sound funny. I have encountered people like that before and it is always entertaining:)
hikermom recently posted..Energy Boost
Thanks! Fingers crossed that all my foam rolling will make my ITB happy.
Hope your leg is better today! I ran that also and I thought it was hot and pretty crowded especially on the beach
Congratulations to you too! It was pretty crowded, but we were kind of in the back, so things had thinned out a bit.
Your friend is so lucky to have you around to cheer her on. I’d be doing a lot more running if I had someone to do it with.
I hope you “leg” plan works out or better yet it doesn’t give you any trouble at your next race.
Carli recently posted..Releasing Your Inner Athlete
Thank you! I really enjoy having a friend for long runs.
Great job! How does that program know how many people you passed!? That’s really cool!
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