Rock 'N' Roll San Jose - Race Recap

It is no secret that I am a big fan of the Rock 'N' Roll race series! In fact, I have had the chance to rock six cities in three different states over the past 16 months! I have found that these races are pretty much well organized, and full of some amazing fun energy. This past Sunday's San Jose half marathon was no exception.

So, on Saturday morning I got up bright and early and headed out on my five hour drive to San Jose. Seemed like a good idea at the time. Then I realized something...I actually don't care for road trips. In fact, I am alone on the 5 and there is nothing to look at except for dust and what I think were fruit trees. Needless to say, the drive was a little boring. But I had my coffee and some great tunes so I had my own little jam session in the car. In case you were wondering, I was totally listening to some throwback 90's jams.

On the road

Once I arrived in San Jose, I eventually made my way to the expo. I took care of the usual activities, bib pick up...lime green. T-Shirt pick up, loved the design. That is another thing to note and I just gotta put it out there...Rock 'N' Roll always has the best shirt designs! Just sayin'. The expo was well organized and pretty easy to navigate. Something I noticed was they had lots of vendors selling or promoting products that were actually practical! Not a lot of excess vendors just to take up space, so I appreciated that. I made my way to the Rock 'N' Roll booth at the expo where I ran into some familiar faces and even met some new folks!

After the expo, I grabbed some Philz Coffee, some dinner, and made my way to my hotel for some much needed rest. I knew I had a big day in the morning. Running 13.1 miles is never easy so I wanted to make sure I was mentally ready for the day...I mean what a commute right?

I woke up bright and squirrely on Sunday ready to race. I got dressed, checked out of my hotel, grabbed some much needed coffee (which is usually a pre-race no no for me but a guy needed some coffee) and headed to Downtown San Jose. The traffic was easy and the street closures were pretty well managed. For someone who has never driven in San Jose before, I found my way around pretty easily...and the traffic enforcement was really helpful. I parked and made my way to McCormick and Schmick's for the InTune pre-race VIP treatment. It is always nice to have private gear check and early morning hydration available. Then I made my way to the start line. I decided to rock my new INKnBURN Robot kit this weekend, matching it with my Lust shorts. My outfit was a HIT! Lots of interested folks wondering why this six foot 2 tall robot was walking up and down the street.

Before I knew it, it was time to rock the town! I lined up in my corral and got my playlist all set up. I noticed the two hour pacer was further forward than I anticipated...I shouldn't have let this discourage me but it did. Once I realized where the pace team was I instantly went into internal panic mode and when it was our turn to head out....all my pacing lessons...out the window. Whoops. Running across the start line is always such a rush...that may explain my new mile PR at mile 1. Once I saw what my pace was, I knew I was in trouble. Bring on the severe cramp at mile 2. Luckily, I was able to get it to pass and release rather quickly. After that, my pacing lessons came rushing back and I locked into a solid 9:45 comfortable pace for the remainder of the race. It was awesome running into some familiar faces on route, such as Francis who was rocking his 8/1 intervals!

The race was really fun! The route is flat and fast! So if you are looking for a PR course, this is seriously it! It runs through some beautiful neighborhoods and scenic parts of town! Another great perk about this race is there is plenty of shade when you are in the neighborhoods. The streets are lined with trees, which helps on days that can be a little warm. San Jose also takes the prize for the most creative costume for a spectator! I found Kevin from Disney/Pixar's Up! This made me LAUGH!

All in all, I finished in under 2:20 so it was an average time for me. I am still in search of that sub 2, and again, I am not that far off. Focus at the beginning is what will make that happen. Can't jump the gun the way I did...just made for a crazy morning haha! But I have zero complains about this race! Course support was great, logistically it was laid out rather nicely, and of course the bling was beautiful! Way to go San Jose!