Rock'n'Roll San Jose Half Marathon Race Recap 10/8/17

I ran the Rock'n'Roll San Jose Half marathon last weekend and it went as great as a race can get for me. I ran this half marathon last year but I ran it as a training run before Chicago. You can check out last year's recap here. It's not often I can say that I actually am happy with my results. However for this one, I'm exceedingly happy with how it went. The last time I tried for a PR, I was disappointed because I knew I could have done better. This time I exceeded my expectations and finally got that PR I have been hoping to get for a while. 

PACKET PICKUP: The expo was at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center. We got there in the afternoon around 3pm and it wasn't crowded at all. Bib and shirt pickup were fast and easy. We browsed around for a bit. The boys enjoyed spinning the wheels for prizes. 

The shirt is ok this year. I really liked last year's design, so on this one I was a little disappointed. It's not bad, just thought it wasn't as creative as last year.

RACE DAY: Me and the fam stayed at the San Jose Marriot, one of the host hotels. It was a great deal and I loved that it was very close to the start line. I woke up race morning around 5:45am. As a Rock'n'Blogger I received complimentary VIP for the race. VIP was located at Mccormick and Schmick's restaurant. It was open to runners starting at 6:30am, so I made sure to be there at that time so I had enough time to digest a bit. There was a nice spread of breakfast food, however I just stuck with a bagel with peanut butter and also grabbed a bottle water. I didn't want to change anything up with my morning ritual since I knew I wanted to run this one fast. 

It was great to have their indoor restrooms available for use. There were even a couple of porta potties in case the ones inside had long lines. No trouble with lines when I used the facilities, so that was nice. I did happen to see Roger Craig (Former NFL player for the 49er's) while in VIP, so I had to get a pic. :)

There was a werunsocial meetup at 7:30am at the fountain, so I headed over there. It was great to see familiar faces and meet new ones.

Photo credit: @pavementrunner

I met these two gals in VIP. So awesome how friendly runners are. I didn't have sunscreen and one of them let me have some of hers. Thanks Kaem!

After the pic, I hurried to do a 10 minute warm-up. I then realized, I had to use the facilities again. It was really nice that there were some porta potties very close to my corral and I didn't have to wait too long. I was in corral 5 for this race.

I had probably less than 10 minutes before the race started but it worked out perfectly. It was a squeeze to get into my corral but I made my way to corral 5. The race started right on time and it was about 5 minutes past 8 when I crossed the start line.

It wasn't congested being in a faster corral. It was really nice that I did not have to weave behind slow runners. Coach Dawn wanted me to ease in a bit and go at 8:50-9 pace for about 1-1.5 miles then pick up the pace. I know that it's best to not got out too fast in the first mile, so I did what I could to slow my pace down. It was hard with my adrenaline making me want to go fast but I think I managed well going 8:45 that first mile.

I was feeling really good after the first mile, so I picked up the pace. 

The route is great. We start in downtown San Jose and make our way to Japantown. We go through some neighborhoods towards SAP Center.

Love the palm trees here! 

There was lots of great cheering along the way. I remember at least two cheer squads on the course.

Here's a pic of SAP center where the San Jose Sharks play (hockey team). 

I was feeling great even at the 10K mark. My goal since I was feeling good was to keep my pace below 8:30.

There was lots of great entertainment along the way. I enjoyed the bands. I really loved that the course was for the most part flat, only a couple of places that went down then up, but other than those parts it was fast and flat. 

I was feeling good up until the last couple of miles but I pushed myself knowing I could get a really good PR. It was really awesome seeing Hubby and the boys towards the end of the run. Seeing them always makes me run faster. 

I was so happy when I crossed the finish line. 

I finished with a time of 1:50:24. I PR'd over 3 minutes from my last PR of 1:53:33. I was so happy!! I need to thank Coach Dawn for helping me with this PR. A lot of it has to do with the training I've been doing for CIM and all of her guidance. :) Check out my split times from my Garmin. So happy I kept my paces below 8:30 except for mile 12 (where I started to feel tired) but I didn't give up and pushed through my last mile and to the finish.

Afterwards, I got to celebrate in VIP. I got a yummy breakfast. It was great because we can order what we wanted from a menu they provided. I ended up with eggs benedict and some fruit. I also had a couple of mimosas. :)

I did catch up with Ross and his friend at the finisher's festival and I also got a selfie with barefoot Elvis!

Overall it was an awesome run! I would definitely recommend this race especially because it is flat and fast. It's a great one for shooting to PR in. Thanks Rock'n'Roll for another great race! I'll leave you with my bling for the race and a video of the course.

Happy running!