PV Half Marathon Race Report

This past Saturday I raced in the Palos Verdes Half Marathon. The PV Marathon is the 2nd longest continuously running Marathon in the United States, second only to the Boston Marathon. This years edition also served as the first race for yours truly at the half marathon distance. Going into the race, I was unsure whether I was prepared for this distance. I still think I wasn't fully prepared, but I ended up giving it my all and was happy with the results.

I might have jinxed the weather by posting pictures of the sunny PV coastline before the race. On race day the weather was cool and misty…ideal for the runners but not so much for the spectators. 

At the start I positioned myself near the front of the group. I didn’t know how fast people were going to take it out, but I wanted to try to pace off of some of the guys near the front. Can you see me in the picture below?  I’ll give you a hint…I am wearing a red shirt and white TriSports.com visor.

There were just over 1000 people racing the half and about 225 people racing the full marathon.  

Within the first mile, I settled in with a group of younger guys. They looked like they were high school age and one of them was wearing sandals and he was holding a pretty good pace. I'd imagine if I were to try running in those, my body would break. There were two runners ahead of the group I was in. I eventually broke away and caught up with one of those runners at mile 5. I thought I'd try to pace with him until I realized he was running the full marathon. While I was impressed with the pace he was holding, I decided I could try to push it a little more, so I broke away. I think he ended up placing 2nd in the full marathon

In the picture below I'm coming up to the mile 10 marker. At that point I was about a minute behind the leader and the rest of the pack was about 3 minutes behind me. I was pretty much all alone. I was feeling pretty good because I was reaching the bottom of a hill and the energy gel I had taken two miles earlier was starting to kick in. Running past the crowd at the starting line also provided some additional energy.

The course was an out-and-back for 10 miles with an additional 5K mini out-and-back tacked on to the end to complete the 13.1 miles.  The last part of the race was on the same course as the 5K race, so I had to do a lot of navigating through those runners.

I felt I had to post this photo from the professional photography website...sorry about the watermark. I wish all photos of me had me whipping out the shaka while middle age women were cheering in the background.  

Because this was the longest distance I have ever raced (previous max was 10K), I had no idea how I'd do. That being said, I'm pretty happy with my results.  This race was a critical step in preparing for my first Half Ironman in July.

2nd Overall, 1:15:15

Of course, I immediately went to get a post race massage.  I'd rank this as one of the best post race massages I have gotten...she worked me.

Then I went and had a post race pho recovery meal:

Special thanks to my good friend Chris for providing race support (cheering, holding my crap, and taking these pictures).  Next up is the local Redondo Beach Sprint Triathlon on June 12.