Holly Jolly Half Marathon - Run


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Camarillo, California
United States
50F / 10C
Sunny
Total Time = 2h 07m 30s
Overall Rank = /
Age Group =
Age Group Rank = 0/
Pre-race routine:

Drove down to Camarillo the day before the race and picked up the race packet. My hotel was near a large retail outlet shopping center so we went there to pick up some gifts for family. Not knowing just how big the shopping center was, we parked at one end and figured we could walk to the store we wanted to shop at. Turns out the center spanned 3 parking lots and the store we wanted was on the exact opposite side so we got a quite a good walk in (about 2 miles round trip) and called it excercise for the day.

After the shopping adventure was complete it was time for my usual pre-race sushi dinner. Fortunately there was one very close to the hotel with good reviews. After dinner we called it an early night.
Event warmup:

Drove over to the event start area nice and early to get a decent parking spot and have time to warm up. The sun was not quite up and the temperature was a brisk 38* so I stayed in my car for a few minutes. As the sun came up it warmed up a bit despite gusty winds. As more runners showed up I ran into a friend who was running the 5k. She was excited to see me as my pictures from races (especially the finisher medals) helped inspire her to start running and earlier this year she finished her first half-marathon! The start time neared so I ran a bit to warm up my legs then gathered at the start line.
Run
  • 2h 07m 30s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

When I signed up for this event I didn't realize it was a "2 lap" course as I tend to not enjoy running laps. I was committed due to it being part of a series I had been running all year and this was a "medal" race where the end-of year medals were handed out. The start of the run left the parking lot of the sports field and connected to the creek side bike/run trail and turned upstream. The terrain was mostly flat with a gently incline until reaching the first turn-around at around 2.5 miles.

Heading back downstream I picked up a little speed with the gentle decline of elevation. After 3 miles the course turned around again to head back upstream towards the park with the start/finish line. The gusty wind could not make up it's mind what direction it was coming from: sometimes head on, other times a tail wind, moments of calm, and blasts from the side. Completing the first lap at the start/finish line I was feeling pretty good and set out to do it all over again.

The second lap was much like the first, albeit a bit slower as my legs tired. As I finished the course and the finish line came into view I kicked in and finished strong.
What would you do differently?:

Solid run, could have pushed harder if I wanted a faster time.
Post race
Warm down:

Stretched my legs and walked around to cool down. Collected my finisher and series medals to finish off a long year of running.

Event comments:

Fun little race to finish off the year. Downside is the course being two laps.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2016-12-19 12:00 AM
Running
02:07:30 | 13.1 miles | 09m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 0/
Overall: 0/
Performance: Average
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1488925011
Course: Two laps on a bike/run trail following a creek bed.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 3
Physical exertion [1-5] 3
Good race? Ok
Evaluation
Course challenge Too easy
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Below average
Race evaluation [1-5] 3