Carlsbad Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

The first mile was quite a bit slower than Julie and I would have liked. We could only pass so much on the crowded narrow street, and wondered if our 2:00 goal might be sunk at that point. Turns out it was probably for the best to keep us from going out too fast. Worked hard to make up time after that, and then settled in.

I think it was around mile 6 that we caught the 2:00 pacers (who started a wave ahead of us). So we tucked in behind them for the next few miles and were able to coast mentally knowing we were a little ahead of schedule time wise. Slapped hands with a few characters dressed like the blue man group around mile 9ish.

My CGM appeared to be in sync, though I was definitely running high, and bolused a couple of times along the way with encouragement from Julie. So nice to be able to talk those decisions through instead of just in my head. But that meant I didn't have to test, or eat any shot blocks. NICE! Only thing I took in was a few sips of powerade and a little water...probably not enough to be ideal, but the air was cool and damp, and it got me through. Blood sugar at the end of the race had come down to 165, so I got to enjoy a post-race latte. Julie and I joked about coming in under 2:00 and under 200 BG.

It was truly a beautiful thing that Julie and I turned out to be the perfect running partners. She lagged a bit in the early and middle portions, so I led to set us up to have a chance at our goal, and then she really pulled me through the last few miles when I was ready to be DONE. We both felt that we had given it our all, and the day could not have gone better. First time for both of us under 2:00, so big PR's all around!

Start one corral ahead of where we did. When we signed up for the race, neither of us knew we would be targeting 2:00, so put down something slower.

Went back to the InsulINdependence tent and visited with a few other team members about their races. Milled around a bit, and then went to wait for the hotel van....which did not come....for a long time. So gave up, and called Kerry to see if he could make it through to come get me. Invited another gal and a couple from our hotel to share the ride and had a nice chat on the way back to the hotel. Closest we've ever come to picking up hitchhikers :).


Possibly starting one corral too far back as mentioned above. Pre race blood sugar routine still needs work. Being 200+ for most of it does not help performance.


Beautiful course, and well done race! Did not seem crowded at all before the race, and the most port-o-johns per capita I've ever seen. The first mile was pretty crowded, so I see why the limit the racers to 10K total. Friendly and plentiful volunteers, and lots of bands out on the course.