Race recap: See Jane Run Half Marathon in Alameda, CA

I am pretty darn sore today, my friends.

But I feel pretty good. Considering how yesterday's race wasn't the one I was training for and I STILL met my (very conservative) goal, I'm pleased.

So my training run for this weekend was only supposed to be six miles. (Actually, my schedule shows me it was supposed to be five - whoops.) I suppose I could've easily just signed up for the 5k and added another two miles later that day, but who wants to do that? If I'm driving all that way for a race, I might as well get it ALL done, and make the gas worth it =P

My best friend Becca and I decided to do the half, but not race it - we were going to keep up our training interval for six miles, as if we were doing our normal weekend long run, and then take it easy for the rest of the race. With a walker-friendly four-hour course limit, I had no reason to worry. In fact, I was banking on finishing in 3:30.

So that's exactly what we did - we did a 2/1 interval for the first six miles. The course as a whole is flat and easy, aside from being in direct sunlight for most of it - that was pretty brutal, and because there was no sunscreen at any of the aid stations, we were both feeling pretty roasted by the end. (SJR - Please fix that for next time please! Sunscreen and Biofreeze at the aid stations!) If it had been overcast, it would've been PERFECT. It's a beautiful course, since we get to look out at the water for most of it. Parts of the course were the same as the Mermaid Du I just did two weeks ago, so that helped.

By that point, Becca was feeling pretty beat. We walked the next two miles, and then with her blessing, I took off on my own and mostly kept up the intervals until about mile 10, when I flip-flopped my interval, so I wasn't totally walking the last 5k. I came in at 3:29:57 (official) - not my best time, but not my worst, and considering how I haven't run a half since January, and I definitely haven't run anywhere near that much in my training for a very long time, I'm glad that I finished on my own two feet and that I wasn't in any pain. (Afterward when I got home? Totally different story. I had to stay off my feet entirely for most of the rest of the day because my bad knee was throbbing really horribly.)

The race was tons of fun - as always, it was high energy, friendly, and well-organized, and the finisher swag is spectacular. Also, I got to meet a couple of my fellow Ambassadors there at the race, which was awesome. (Special shout-out to Gaby who is not only a fellow Ambassador, but also a member of my running group on Ravelry, Running with Sharp Objects!)

It was a pleasure to represent this company and this event, and I hope I get to continue on as an Ambassador for next year!