Pasadena Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

I am very pleased that my 10k split time was 9:53. To break a 10 minute mile is a great achievement for me given that I run so slow. The first 6-7 miles felt really strong and I really enjoyed the coolness of the weather.

I had one goo before the race and then another at 6.7 miles. I probably should have had one at 5 and then 10 miles. I know I didn't drink enough water and found it hard to drink from the stations as I end up with more on my face/clothes than in my mouth.

I think it all comes down to the training and preparation. I needed more training runs under my belt (especially outside runs with mid-distance duration - like 7-8 miles). Given my current schedule I'm doing a lot of 3-4 mile runs on treadmills during my lunch breaks.

I should have gotten my feet properly fitted for running shoes and the top I had on got annoying and I found I kept pulling it around which then pulled the strings on my ipod.

I was really cold after my run so I immediately put on my warm-up top that I had previously tied around my waist. I walked around for a little bit and then went to the car, changed immediately and sat in the car to warm up while I waited for Daniel to finish his marathon. I ate my orange/banana, coffee and drank water. I also did as much stretching as I could while sitting in the car.


My hips cramped up a bit and Daniel said that I slouch (or bend) when I run. I'm not sure how to fix this bad habit but I know if I can then I'll be a stronger runner. I had also wanted to get to my weight goal before this race and I haven't quite gotten there yet. I know if I can get 15-20 lbs lighter the race would have felt much stronger.

Oh, and while I had been given advice to pace people I found that really difficult. It seemed like everyone was either passing me or me them. Maybe my pace changed too much or I wasn't focused on it enough but I know if I could have done this I might have been able to run a bit faster.

I was also aware of the wet pavement and kept trying to avoid the lines and reflectors in the road. That probably meant I was looking down at the road too much. lol- and I was aware that the road was a bit slick. I wasn't worried about falling down so much but I don't think I had enough tread in my shoes.


There are a few things that I think could have been better about the race itself. First, there was poor communication about whether we had to pay for parking. The info sheet in our packets said we had to pay $2 but the email said it was free.

I noticed that some of the port-o-potty lines were long during the mid-part of the race. I felt sorry for some folks that waited with 4-5 people in front of them to go. I also thought it was unfair that so many men ran off course to pee. It gives them an unfair advantage over the women. LOL

Also, the half-marathoners were treated pretty well when we finished. There were lots of vendor tents set up and I snagged some great chocolate milk. By the time my husband finished his marathon at 4 hours 30 minutes almost all of the vendors were gone and there was no chocolate milk. I ended up giving him mine.

The only food at the end of the race were bananas, oranges, dried plums, apples and powder for water. But, the only water available was in dixi cups. There was no juice, gatorade, chocolate milk, energy bars,etc. The recovery food looked weak.

Oh, and even though we registered really early and marked the size of the shirts we wanted, when we went to the expo my husband said they were out of size XL already. They should have made sure that if you ordered a size that you actually got that size.

There weren't many people cheering us on. I had expected more people out - maybe it was because the weather was iffy.