Race Review: Carlsbad Half Marathon

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If I had looked at the asterisks in my rudimentary running calendar/log, I would have seen that this time of the month was also that time of the month. Thus, I made my way through the 13.1-mile Carlsbad Half Marathon course handicapped by hormones. That said, I still managed a decent finish on an absolutely perfect morning along one of San Diego County’s most scenic routes.

Before I give you the rundown, a brief history is in order. The marathon/half used to be known as the San Diego Marathon/Half Marathon, and in recent years it’s had to compete with the much more glamorous Rock ‘n’ Roll marathons. Locals spoiled by the June mega-race sometimes find the expo, smaller field of runners and quieter course a letdown. And the race took a hit when Elite Racing decided the Arizona RnR version should fall on the same day as Carlsbad each year. But I’ve gotta tip my hat to In Motion, the event organizers. What this one lacks in numbers it makes up for in organization, personal attention and heart. I got goose bumps hearing about some of the “heros of the marathon” who donated organs to strangers, individually raised as much as $50,000 for charity and assumed a fallen Marine’s running bib to honor him and the race he’d been training for.

One more piece of history: This half marathon marked my first race in San Diego and my last before becoming a master’s runner. Ironically, last time I ran this in 2002, I was on my period too. I remember because I had to wait in line at a beach restroom to, um, take care of some business. It occurred at Mile 5 and it ate up almost 4 minutes of time. I finished in 2:06.

This morning, I arrived an hour and 15 minutes early, which gave me plenty of time to periodically hit the port-a-potties and then stay warm in my car parked nearby. It was in the high 40s at the start and warmed to the high 50s by the time I finished. It began to lightly shower just prior to the start, but by the time everyone had lined up to hear the national anthem, it was blue skies ahead. Interestingly, the send-off music was Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose” and the anthem singer provided us with an operatic sing-a-long as we crossed the start. The woman was a riot.

We’d been told there was a movie crew on the course to shoot part of an upcoming film called “Blind Ambition” and, thus, there were some Hollywood stars among us. If I saw them I never knew; then again, I ran by Brad Pitt once and thought he was just another scruffy beach bum. (Girls, he is not at all attractive in real life -- believe me.)

The course winds through some neighborhoods and a marshy area before hitting picturesque Carlsbad Village and, just beyond, the oceanfront beginning around Mile 3. Surf was up, allowing the breakers to provide us an incredible backdrop and soundtrack. I took Stefano’s advice and didn’t bring the MP3 player since I’d never run a race with it. And Donna’s comment also had an impact since, like Canada, headphones are normally banned in U.S. races. It’s just one of those safety rules that some recreational runners choose to ignore.

We ran a bulk of the course along the 101 historic highway at Carlsbad State Beach, with some inclines and declines to keep it interesting. I didn’t track my mile splits; instead, I memorized the times I needed to hit at miles 4, 8 and 12 to finish in 2 hours. I was a little more than a minute behind pace at Mile 4 but had somehow surpassed that pace by 30 seconds by Mile 8. At some point, I slowed as we headed back through the village, and the group surrounding me most of the way began moving ahead. I still felt great physically, except aerobically I’d started to strain. At Mile 12, back in the residential neighborhoods, I was 2 minutes off pace. I tried to make up for it on the last mile, which included several downhills, but I just didn’t have enough juice. I hadn’t bothered with any Ultima and maybe that was a mistake. I’d had flashbacks to that liquid’s impact at the disastrous Long Beach Marathon and didn’t want a repeat.

In the end, I finished in 2:02:34. It’s my best half marathon time in several years. And it’s pretty darn near what I would have done four years ago if I hadn’t stopped for a tampon emergency. So, the Carlsbad course again was good to me. Not only did I set a master’s PR. But, in a way, I got to be 39 again.

[Image courtesy of the Carlsbad Marathon Web site.]

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