I thought I would chime in on the San Diego Rock and Roll experience as we are back home now after a long travel day on Monday. I have read some of the other comments and reports so I’ll try not to repeat a lot of what has already been said. Don has done a lot to give you the flavor of the marathon day with the great pictures.

I hoped for clouds but realized it could be sunny with the weather pattern that had been setting up. The sun started to come out at about mile 6 but by the time we were headed toward Mission Bay on Friars Rd. (mile 12 or so) it got cloudy and even somewhat foggy again.

To backtrack a bit, on our way to the start, we took the wrong exit and ended up heading back the other direction to find that there was a terrible traffic tie up off of I-5. Of course, we were not alone in this predicament and as the minutes went by it was apparent that we would not be there in time for the start. So I bid my wife and daughter goodbye and walked up a steep hill with dozens of other runners and probably added close to a mile of walking to the course before the start. When I got to the start the last corral (22) had moved up to about the corral 14 area. So I knew I would be attempting to pass runners and dodging around them for most of the race. At least there was a chip time. There was a 11:13 delay from clock to chip time as it turned out.

At about mile 10 I noticed a burning sensation in my under the 3rd and 4th metatarsals and realized I was developing a blister. I suppose due to spilling water in my shoes early on, the humidity and some of the slant to the road especially on 163 stretch is probably what precipitated this. It turned out to be about the size of a fifty cent piece, but oh well, what can you do at that point? There are worse things.

At mile 20 I started to feel the transition ie hitting the wall which slowed my pace about 30-45 sec per mile for the rest of the race. Those last miles are definitely mental for me to a large degree.

Was glad to see Dennis and Albert at mile 21. I’ve never met Albert in person, but hope to do so in the future. Thanks for ringing da bell!!! Did you go back to the airport when you were done and direct flights??? You certainly could have with those ear muff things!!! I can certainly understand why you wore them. I bet your arms hit the wall after about two or three hours of constant ringing.

Ended up with a 3:49 time, one minute slower than LVM and 8 minutes faster than Twin Cities last fall in which weather conditions and course difficulty were comparable IMO. My goal had been 3:45 so it wasn’t too far off. Perhaps with a smooth start and a flat course that could have been achieved. Who knows?? If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m one of those competitive male runners with no sense at all!!!

Did greatly enjoy the get togethers at the Cheescake Factory and the beach. Thanks Jerry for setting those up! Enjoyed meeting Dennis, Don, Matt, Jerry and his family, Bill and hope to meet Albert in person officially at some point. This board seems to have a lot of great people on it. Connie and Hannah seemed to enjoy it as well and as always, I can’t thank them enough for their supporting me in my running endeavors!!

Also, congratulations to all who competed and raced this weekend. Great job, all of you!!

Jon (Hannah's dad)

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