San Diego Rock N Roll - June 6, 2010

My 10th half marathon is done!!! The course was a point-to-point race meaning the start & finish are in different areas. No parking at the start or finish, so you had to park at Qualcomm stadium and are at the mercy of the transportation they provide. A few weeks earlier I had seriously considered selling my bid and just skipping this race. I knew it would be horrid, and it was.

The alarm went off at 3:00 AM. I had everything ready so I ate a little, dressed, packed the car and left a little before 4:00 to head to the stadium. I walked to the shuttle area and boarded the bus. The bus took us to the start line at Balboa Park. Visited the potties, then sat down on the grass to try to eat some more (My tummy isn’t usually interested in bagels at 3:00-4:00 AM). A few minutes later Jay, Jill, Brandi & Casey arrived and we checked our bags. We decided we’d better hit the port-a-potties again since the lines were REALLY long! Good thing cuz we were still in line when the race started at 6:15. We all said good-bye at the potties and dispersed to our corrals. “Fortunately” I was in Corral 36 – haha! Yeah, they had over 40! I finally crossed the start line at about 7:00 AM. It was overcast & cool until the sun broke through around Mile 5. Amazing how 60-something can feel like 85 when the sun comes out! I saw Brandi about that time - Yay! There were times when the 1/2 and full course were together, then other times when we split then converged again. Mile 8 passed by Fashion Island where I saw “Coach Ron” & “Coach Cindy” from my TNT days. Cindy is still recovering from her 2nd knee surgery in a few months, but she was out there anyway to cheer us on. What a trooper! And Ron is a great supporter for all of us. Around Mile 10 I saw Jay & screamed to him. Haha :-) He was going in the same direction but the full runners were separated on the other side of the street. At about Mile 11 the runners on the other side of the street were going in the opposite direction. I assumed these were the full runners & hoped we weren’t headed for a turnaround. Unfortunately it was a turnaround & we had to go all the way back. It wouldn't matter, I mean it's still the same distance, but somehow the turnaround was discouraging. The bands on the course were a nice distraction and I would turn off my iPod when I passed them until it got quiet again, then I’d pop my music back on. Lots of costumes, Elvis, Elvis as Spongebob, the Flintstones, guys in Batman underwear...weird. After I passed Mile 12 I saw my friend Michele. It’s so fun seeing people you know on the course, especially when all you can think about is that finish line! At this point we were near Mission Bay and Sea World and even though the sun was still out, I could feel a nice breeze. My feet were really tired but other than that, I wasn’t having any pain. Usually my knees are killing me by Mile 10, especially the right one, but no pain. Yay! Crossed the finish line and got my medal. Ice cold wash cloths. Ahhhhhh.

I went through the snacks area & picked up my checked gear, then it got confusing. I couldn’t find any signs saying where the family reunion area was. Eventually found the “H” tent and waited a little while for my friends. But then I started to feel myself fading, & noticed the line for the shuttle. It looked long & I was afraid I might not last too long so I decided to head for the shuttles. That's when I saw the real line! It weaved back & forth about 10 times in this huge area! After about 30 mins. in line I started getting dizzy. I had refueled during the race and a little after...thought I was OK...but suddenly I felt like I was about to black out, so I got out of line & sat down on a little curb. After about 10 mins. I felt OK again & begged my way back into line (the people were nice & understood.) Almost 50 minutes later we got on the bus, only now we weren’t headed to the stadium where our cars were parked. Or so I THOUGHT we were going to the stadium. We were taken to the trolley stop where we got off the bus and into another line with thousands of runners shuffling down the street to get on trolleys, which would eventually take us to the stadium. The trolleys were also running for the public so that meant extra stops. (I felt a little sorry for the public who had to pack in there with all us smelly runners!) I wondered, why couldn’t the buses just take us to Qualcomm?!!! TWO hours after getting in the 1st line, I was at my car! I was thankful that my car was parked close to the trolley station at Qualcomm. Once on my way home I really wanted to find an In N Out burger. Between stopping here & there and asking for directions (got lost again!), I finally found one & stopped to eat. Got home at 4:00 PM, exhausted, and vowing to NEVER do a race that had a course/transportation like this again. At least the bling is nice.
I went to San Diego RNR 2 years ago as a support team for my friends, and it was also a horrid experience getting around. That year it ended in the secured Marine Corp. base. They changed it this year & I thought it might be better. Wrong. Nope, I'll never do this race again!

OH! Almost forgot! I did get to meet Ryan Hall at the expo and get his autograph!