Rock n Roll San Diego Half June 5, 2022

4 am alarm.  Sunday.  We stand outside the hotel waiting for a taxi until 5:45 which is a little stressful for a 6:15 race start.  Do not recommend.  It's too early for transit and there are no race shuttles.  Apparently the entire town is in gridlock (because race) and when our taxi does arrive, he doesn't want to take us there.  We get in anyway with another panicking runner and we get as close to the start as we can.  

I am channeling The Last of Us.  

The race starts while we are in the bathroom line (again) and I join whichever corral has space at the back - my start time ends up being about 7am.  There are so many people, almost 11,000 today.  Yay!  I thought I might be able to pull off a shamble run affair but I simply can't.  Finishing is my priority, I need to find a way to do that.  After yesterday I'm quite pleased to be able to walk without pain though it's a little discouraging when you have 13 miles ahead.  I have nothing but respect for walkers, it's a haul.

Luckily there's plenty to see.

The purple trees are beautiful, there's so much support through the neighborhoods on this race.  There's lots of alcohol and snacks too but I know I have to keep plugging forward.  I spend a lot of time staring at the road just in front of me.

Halfway in I find Mr Burgundy, he's got the voice and character down perfectly.  My day is made.  Thank you sir.

At some point during this ordeal, I think about 9 miles in, the sun comes out.  Oh good.  Despite a few things having run out on the course, the photographers are toughing it out to take simply awful pictures as we climb a bastard of a hill.  Thanks for that.

Look at these absolute beauties!  Bless them.  Pedro?

I get hotter and hotter over the last few miles until I give up hope of seeing the end.  At one point we are on an exposed highway and that is really something.  Have you read Stephen King's The Long Walk?

I really want to run the endy bit.  I can't run the endy bit.

I knew this was going to be hard and that running was likely off the table so finishing was really my only goal.  The last time I had to walk an entire Half it took 3 hrs 40 and today was about the same.  That's a really long time to be out doing a thing in the sun.  

I can't believe I have to keep going after the Finish.  I scoop some ice out of a drinks tub and put it in my mouth then someone hands me an iced towel (oh my god bliss).  After yet another long stretch of walking I find a cold fountain.  

While sitting down and exploring my abject misery in further detail, Matisyahu starts playing over the huge speaker system.  Suddenly I discover I am no longer miserable as sin and further walking to go and watch all this glorious sound he's making seems like the best idea ever. 

He good.  This is our first concert since before 2020.  It's kind of magic.

Icy magnificent penguin drinky thing.

This was a really lovely race weekend and a great excuse to visit San Diego.  I am not doing any more races until I can run pain free so Edm is out.  My sports chiro is doing wonderful things for me and suspects the problems are starting in my ankle.  Me and Sven (the treadmill, not the chiro) are going to hang out a bunch.

Here you go.  One Day (I will finish this race).