I didn't turn in a personal best at the Los Angeles Rock n Roll Half Marathon, but I'm happy with my performance nonetheless. I hadn't trained enough, and the course was tougher than I remembered. There were a couple of demanding hills including a cruel one at mile 10 that had me feeling lightheaded as I ran up it. So for all that, it was a good race. It's the fastest half marathon in a couple of years and my third or fourth fastest ever.
With the downhill start I took off at a fast clip, running the first two miles around 7:50/mile. The fast start also prevented my legs from fully warming up and soon my calves were feeling stiff and seemed to not want to loosen up. I feared that it would remain stiff and even cramp up before I even reach mile 10. Thankfully, after 7 miles the calves loosened up. By then, though, I had settled on my 8:00/mile pace and stuck to it.
Apart from the tight calves I had no other issues the rest of the race. I did feel the lack of training as my attack of the hills had less vigor and I was huffing and puffing most of the run. It would have been great to finish under 1:45, but I'm just happy that I finished.
The race itself was very well organized. The Rock n Roll organizers really know what they're doing. I hope the LA Marathon folks took some notes. The shuttles were fast and efficient, and the gear check station, with the aid of UPS, were quick and easy. I will definitely do this again. I can' believe I haven't done CIty of Angels the last few years. Hopefully this will be the start of a streak.
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