Rock & Roll San Jose 1/2 Marathon - RunHalf Marathon

My wife and I started together on this race, expecting to run 3-4 miles at about an 8:20 pace, walk 30 seconds, then go again. Our first mile was 8:10 or so, and I never looked back after that. I left Lucie at mile 4 as the pace was too fast for her, and I surprised myself completely by running the entire half marathon with no breaks whatsoever. I kept the 1:45 pace group just ahead of me until about mile 10 when I passed them, shocking myself. I asked the pace group lead if he was on pace (I figured they must be running slow), but he said he thought they might be a couple of seconds fast! So I passed them and kept going. My last mile was a hoot: I kicked in the burners and was moving like I should be doing speed work not just completing 13 miles. I did it in somewhare around 6:40 or so and finished with a very strong kick the last quarter mile. Fun! This was by far a PR for me, and my wife wasn't that far behind, finishing in 1:49:52 (48/699 division).

Nothing. The race was a blast and I was thoroughly pleased with my run.

The whole business model of the Elite Racing Rock and Roll series I believe is flawed. While the bands on the course are a nice distraction, you go by them so fast and they are so far apart (approx. a mile) that you really don't get much from them. And their plan of having a "headliner" concert after the race is fine...except that they don't start it until 7:00 PM the night of the race--long after everyone who got up at 4:40 AM, and then ran 13 miles, wants to hang around.