The Fro Fro Blog: Race Report: See Jane Run Half Marathon (Alameda, CA)

I know what you're saying. "Fro Fro, I thought you weren't going to do the race-a-month thing this year." Or perhaps, "Aren't you doing a triathlon next weekend?" Or more simply, "Are you crazy?" All of these are appropriate questions to ask.

This time around, my excuse is that I'd read the course was flat. At long last I might be able to achieve the personal best I'd been (literally) chasing since my 2:15:35 time in the U.S. Half over a year and a half ago. I became convinced that the U.S. Half course had been mis-measured, I had been mis-timed, or some other mistake had occurred. If there were any time to prove that wrong, it was yesterday. So I laced up my Asics once more and headed over the Bay Bridge to Alameda.

Thanks to the wonder of microclimates, the East Bay is normally more than a bit warmer than the city of San Francisco. Unfortunately, when I arrived at the starting line in Crown Memorial State Beach at 7:15 am, it was c-c-c-cold and at one point even started to drizzle a bit. This didn't seem to dampen anyone's spirits. The all-female race was organized by See Jane Run, the athletic gear store that's all about girl power. At 7:40 there was an '80s-music dance warmup -- and before long the cold around me and inside me began to thaw a little.

At 8:02 am we were off. As promised, the course was flat as a pancake. It also helped that the race was well-organized and well-supported but not too well-attended. With 1,900 participants, it felt like a big event but not so big that you got held up at water stops or had to deal with too much crowding.

In most races I try to pace myself in order to reach the finish line at my desired time. Unfortunately as can be the case with even the best laid plans, I just can't seem to get there when I want to. But yesterday, even by mile 8 I was still on my desired pace. My internal monologue shifted from, "I think I can do it" to "This could actually happen" to "Wow, I'm really gonna do this!" Around mile 10 we hit some serious headwind that didn't let up for the final 3 miles. But by then I knew I had this thing licked and I couldn't have been happier.

I crossed the finish line and was handed a little bag that contained a silver-y pendant on a black silk cord. Nice, but whether or not it was a nod to the Nike, it ain't no Tiffany necklace. The 5K finishers got more traditional-style race medals and I think some of the half-marathoners were jealous.

Great snacks 'n' schwag bags at the post-race partay. There were the usual bagels, peanut butter and yogurt, plus Smart Water, LightFull Smoothies, CLIF Luna Bars, champagne and Schoggi imported Swiss chocolates. It was still pretty overcast and cold, so I headed to the See Jane Run booth and bought a cute pink hoodie, just so I could stay warm while I waited for the race results to be posted. I had to see it in writing.

I've always felt that most of your ability to achieve a goal lies in believing that you can, and yesterday, I finally did. 2:07:21. (That's right, a birthday present a little bit early!)

UPDATE: Received an email from the head of the company that timed the race, saying there was a technical glitch -- they'd set their timing device to GUN time, not CHIP time. My heart sank. But I checked the updated results and lo and behold - my personal record remains in tact at 2:10:13.

True to form, and for those of you here for the food, there was a bacon cheeseburger and fries in my future later that evening at Polkers Gourmet Burgers. Though Perry's is still my current fave, decided to stay away from the Union Street Fair mayhem. The Polkers folks are a nice bunch, and they made a nice burger. It was a bit more done than my requested medium rare, but the curly fries -- which came with ranch dressing on the side without having to request it -- made amends.

UPDATE: A few photos...