Saddleback Memorial Half Marathon

Location: Laguna Hills, CA
Distance: 13.1 miles
Time: 1:52:01

The Saddleback Memorial Half Marathon was a race I signed up for on a whim when it became clear that my haphazard training since L.A. would not allow me to run the San Diego RNR Marathon in a respectable manner. Audrey had been pushing me to run this with her, and when my schedule opened up I signed up for it without really worrying about training. I ran 13 miles last weekend with FJ, the longest I've run in weeks, and managed to keep up with FJ who has gotten himself in incredible shape for San Diego. However, I didn't have any juice left when I tried to outsprint him to the finish. He beat me by 10 yards.

Half marathon has become an "easy" race for me. It's not that I disrespect the difficulty of running a half marathon, but I feel like I'm more confident about my abilities and health that I have no qualms about 13.1 miles. 13.1 miles is now, for me, a manageable distance. I'm amazed that I can say that. 13.1 miles is a long way, but half marathons have become my favorite distance. I don't have to sprint all out, I can get into a groove, and I'm not broken down by the end of it. It's just about perfect.

I didn't PR yesterday, but it was good enough for me. The course had rolling hills and the temperature got very warm. There was little to no shade in the course and the hills were saved until the end. I feel like I could have pushed myself harder, but I wanted to run a comfortable race. That I was only 2.5 minutes off my best half marathon time in a difficult course was a good thing in my book. Still, I wish I had pushed myself a little harder--two seconds harder--so my time read 1:51:59 instead of 1:52:01.

Next up for me is possibly a 10K in two weeks during Pride Weekend in West Hollywood. Otherwise it's the Mud Run in Camp Pendleton on June 17. I can't wait.