nice job, su-lyn!  2:22 has a nice ring to it – you should be very proud of yourself!  and i agree with you, after doing an event, it is just horrible to be cold – takes away all the fun you just had.  so keep on doing these great events.  see you soon!

Wow!  Detailed report!  Loved reading it and reliving our experiences…So as Mel says, what's next?  I'm not sure, but I have plenty of time to think about it, one marathon a year is plenty for me.  Thanks for navigating to SD and encouraging me and being such a great friend who's always there for me and keeping me on track!

It is hard to believe that just one week ago I ran the Ran Rock n Roll Half Marathon!   I remember the day I signed up for the race it was November 11^th 2011.  I just finished running the 10k in Catalina Island when my friend Donna called and said I did it!! I signed up for Rock N Roll Marathon in San Diego next June.  If you sign up now you will get the club discount.  So I signed up.    I really enjoy running in San Diego so this gave me something to look forward to.  I keep up my training all year.  Once I finish a race I start right back into training mode and follow Hal Higdon’s training programs.  His programs work for me, my weight and my work schedule.   Saturday June 2^nd arrived before I knew it.  Butch, my husband was sitting this trip out; he had a hip replacement March 14^th of this year. So for the first time I was able to go with my friend Donna. I was ready to Rock n Roll. The last few weeks of training seemed a little more difficult than usual.  I live in Southern California and maintain a home in Havasu.  My husband and I try to drive out every two weeks.  So a few of my long runs were in Havasu.  The last two long training runs did not go as I had planned.  One the heat got to me even though I was out the door at 5:30am by 7:30 it was really 90 and I was out of water and out of GU.  Good thing I ran to my Dad’s house.  As soon as I arrived He offered me coffee I choose to jump in his pool instead.  I swear I heard the water hiss as I dove in.  I swam 10 laps then had coffee and visit with my dad.  I tried running with Donna, she is always so kind to ask me, she runs at a much faster pace.  My training runs usually average between 10:30 and 12:00 minute miles.  I pooped out after 4 miles walked a bit then we split up and I continued to run another 3 miles.  It took me a few weeks to recover fully from pushing too hard and I ended up with some soreness in my calf and hamstring.   I set a goal of 2:15 to finish the RNR half.  My finish time in the Havasu Half this year was 2:16:30 compared to my first half of 3:05 5 years ago. The drive from Laguna Niguel was fairly light for a Saturday to San Diego.  Donna and I arrived to the Holiday Inn Bayside, one of the host hotels for the RNR, and were able to check in and signed up for 4:30 am shuttle bus to the start the next morning.    Once settled we decide to head over the convention center to pick up our packets.  Well that was a nightmare, traffic was HORRIBLE.  We ended up parking on one of the side streets and walking to the convention center.   The packet pickup went very smoothly and expo was fun to walk through and pick up a few things.  While we were walking back I wondered if we were near my friend Jeri’s condo, later I found out we walked right by her place!!!   It was really fun to have our friends staying at the same hotel, so we met up with Richard, Karen, and Gracie for dinner and a few other friends from Havasu stopped by to say hello and wished us all the best on our run.  We sure were thinking about those that did not make it because of injury or family issues. 3:30 am comes fast; I slept pretty good but kept getting up to look at the clock during the night.  The shuttle bus was all prompt and we, Donna, Karen and I were duly shuttled to the start line. The one hitch here is that there was a $12 charge for the shuttle.  We were not told about this and I think it all hit us the wrong way.  It would have been nice to know there was a charge and it made sense to take the shuttle and we would have paid anyway.  I am so happy we had coffee in our room and if I had known there would be No coffee at the start line, I would have got another cup for the road!  We met up with Lisa, and then separated to our prospective corrals.  I was assigned to coral 25. I think Donna. Karen and Lisa were in corral number 6.  I decided to go to the porta potties one more time before the race, the lines were LONG. I waited for over half an hour but it did not matter my corral was full.  I heard the start while in the porta potty and I can truly say for the first time I was not anxious.  It took almost 47 minutes for corral 25 to go across the start line.  I had a good strong start.  My body was off a bit I think I ate too much pasta the night before and I had a bit of a stomach ache but I was still running strong.   I stared out in the 2:30 corral I passed one of the 2:30 pacers then I passed one of the 2:15 pacers, having a blast running, looking at the sights, listening to the other runners, looking for the next  band or groups out there entertaining us.  I always like running through Balboa park, love the organ playing with the sun rising.    Around the 12 mile my left baby toe start doing some funky thing so slowed down a bit to try and stretch it out.  The last mile felt longer than it should have and I proudly finished with a 2:22 time.   I knew I had some time before Donna, Karen and Lisa finished, I looked for them on the course just in case I could see any one of them, I wanted to be at the finish line, I hung out as long as I could but I started getting really cold so I went to pick up my dry clothes at gear check.  I learned it is No fun to be cold and I was there to enjoy myself. Once nice warm and dry, I bought a HUGE cup of coffee and tried to wiggle my way back through the crowds at the finish line.   I would say the crowds were 12 people deep and I could not get back into the finish area.  I still had over an hour to wait so I headed over to the meeting area where we all agreed to meet at the H section.  Soon I saw Donna and Karen headed my way.   Shortly after that Richard and Gracie arrived then Lisa stopped by.  The weather had turned very cold and windy so we all agreed to go back to our hotel and enjoy a beer there rather than stand in another long line for the festivities.  We met up later for a celebration dinner and more beer!!   Good run & good friends.    THANK You to all our supporters!!