Earlier this week I began to doubt whether or not the half marathon would happen for me today. I was hit with a nasty bug that was relentless. I finally conceded and went to a doctor Thursday afternoon. The lovely doctor gave me two prescriptions, some advise and promised I'd be running this morning. He was right!Carlsbad puts on a pretty nice little marathon and half marathon event. They are both out and back courses that begin inland at the mall, but make a beeline for the coast. The bulk of it is down and back up the Coast Hwy which is glorious in Carlsbad. You're as close to the ocean as you can be and the cooling breezes off the Pacific are wonderful.
Temperature this morning started around 55* and only warmed to 60* by the end of my race. The sun eventually came out but not until nearly all the participants had finished. It was a perfect morning for running!
Not my best time, but a good time for me. Garmin finish of 1:58. I'm very pleased with this race. I started out really strong and ran the first several around an 8:30 pace, sometimes faster but never slower. At the halfway point I began to tire (the route is like a roller coaster and the hills were beginning to wear me down), but managed to run the entire route at a slower pace. It was especially nice to see my husband and kids around the 12.85 mark. I was really tired at that point and to see them there really sparked up my running and pushed me to the finish.
Next up: "the world's fastest 5K" in April ~ the Carslbad 5000. I watched it last year and have been looking forward to participating all year long. My goal is to better my time at the Turkey Trot and run sub-8 minute miles.
