SoCal Diva
1/2 Marathon
December 8,
2013
I signed up for this race in
February, the second month into my twelve half marathons for my 2013 race goal
year. You see, I was going to be turning 40 in 2013 and I decided this was
going to be my big year. I began calling it my midlife crisis year. I recruited
a not so happy husband, Jason, to come along with me on my journey.
The exact location was not set yet,
the only thing we knew was that the race was going to be in Southern California.
The only other thing I knew was, I had to have this medal. The bling was
awesome!! Plus, as a bonus, we received a tiara, boa, and glass of bubbly at
the finish line. Who wouldn't want those things? Oh yea, my husband!! He signed up with me
anyways! That's true love!!
California is my home state and I'm
pretty familiar with where to stay, however, this race ended up being in
Ontario. I'm not too familiar with Ontario. I usually map out where the hotel
is in reference to the start line. I do this because who wants to mess with
driving and finding a parking place early in the morning on race day? Not me! It's
bad enough some of these races start at 0500. I pretty much waited until the
last minute to book our hotel for this race and I never mapped it out. I
couldn't have planned this any better. Our hotel was literally across the
street from the start line!! We could walk out the front and cross at the light
and bam, we were there! Not only did this mean, no hassling with parking, but
we could also sleep in a little longer!
Race morning was a freezing 40
degrees in beautiful sunny California. The first thing out of my daughter's
mouth that morning was, "Can we go home?" She was going to be doing
the 5K that morning just a half an hour after we started the half marathon. I
told her "No, I already paid for this race! Don't worry, you'll warm up
once you get going!" She looked at me with this I don't buy it face!
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I knew a fellow #run3rd-er, Tracy,
would be at this race. I was hoping to see her!! And just before the race
started, I saw her out of all these women dressed in pink. I yelled her name
out and we hung out until the race started and snapped a quick picture. Later,
my hubby saw her at the finish line. I had forgotten my #run3rd patch, but I
proudly displayed #run3rd on my arm and carried my dedications with me as
always!
This was a pretty boring race route
with nothing exciting to look at and several repeat loops. It was a mostly flat
course with a couple little hills over freeways, nothing terrible. There were a
few places where there was course entertainment, but not too many. There was
one man, who I noticed throughout the whole race that would move his chair up
farther and farther. I learned he was there to cheer on his girlfriend and the
rest of us strangers. What a great guy!
I have to say, I wasn't ready for
this race and I really didn't want to do it. I was tired! I just wanted to stay
in my warm bed the morning we were leaving. But, I have something inside me
that won't let me quit! So, we did it! I actually felt pretty darn good during
this race and pushed myself a little more than usual. I got my second best time
with this race for 2013. I was pretty happy to approach the finish line and see
my family cheering me on at the corner. It's always a great feeling to see
someone especially family cheering me on! My daughter, Gillian, even ran with
me to the finish line, something my husband usually does. It was awesome and
when I saw the clock time, I decided to sprint. 3:17:42
