Like I mentioned before, this was my 3rd time running the See Jane Run Half Marathon. It was my very first one, it was my 14th last year, and today it was my 19th!
What was different about this time is that I was going all by myself. I have done this before to races, but typically had someone I was for sure meeting there, this time I didn’t. It was a little strange but also nice to be on my own schedule.
Ready to go 
The alarm went off just before 5am and I dragged myself out of bed so I could do my standard hour long pre-race routine (coffee, eat, shower, dress) and be out the door by 6am. It’s only about a 30-45 minute drive over to Alameda, but last year there as a bunch of parking chaos so I wanted to make sure to be there with plenty of time.
I left my house at 6am and it was pouring. I wasn’t complaining because I love the rain, but I also just really wasn’t in the mood to race today. From the second I woke up I just wanted to go back to bed, seeing the rain made me want to sleep in longer and go for a rainy run later. I was a good girl though and made the drive over to Alameda, almost missing my exit because I was in a sleepy haze.
The parking situation was a bit chaotic again, but after driving around for 20 minutes I eventually found a spot. When I had left my house earlier I had bundled up in a bunch of clothes, but when I got out of my car it wasn’t cold at all, so I left everything there so I wouldn’t have to check anything (including my phone so no pics).
I walked a few blocks over to the start area in my shorts and short sleeve top and wasn’t cold at all which always makes me nervous. I always say if my teeth aren’t chattering before a race, it’s going to be too warm for my liking and this was true once again.
I made it to the start, got my chip (which was a strap for around the ankle) and headed over to the bathroom line. I then had a bunch of time to kill so I just stood there staring off into space. A reader (hi Mona!) came and said hello and then I stood there staring some more. I was getting hungry since I had only had a piece of toast and ate some GU Chomps, then got back into the bathroom line since it was getting closer to the start time.
I was waiting in the long line (which moved pretty fast) and found Katie and her husband Ari! I was so happy to have a friend there now and we hung out until the start of the race. Katie and I went over to the start line with about 10 minutes to go, and I spotted RoseRunner up front, so we went to introduce ourselves! As always it was great to meet her in person, but soon after they gave the “1 minute” signal so it was cut short. I wished them luck and moved back a little. I happened to run into some FMRC teammates when this happened which worked out great. We were chatting and then all of a sudden (literally no warning) the race started!
I had no time expectations for this race at all. I honestly wouldn’t have been shocked to see something really close to 2 hours the way I have been running lately. My legs have just not been wanting to move since Boston to Big Sur, which is very understandable, so I just figured it would be a supported training run. When I started running my legs weren’t feeling great, so I just settled in to where I felt comfortable and went with it. The timing chip was bugging my ankle from the get go, and I thought about stopping to adjust it, but just decided to deal with the repercussions after the race.
Mile 1 – 8:30
Mile 2 – 8:33
Mile 3 – 8:42
I was really warm from the get go and just not feeling fantastic. I remembered the course from the past couple years and just tried to zone out to what was around me. I love people watching and always have fun doing it in a race. I brought my iPod for the first time in a while and turned it on around mile 3 just to get some distraction. It’s a relatively flat course, but you can feel a slight incline or decline most of the time. I took a GU around mile 5 and noticed I felt a lot better.
Mile 4 – 8:31
Mile 5 – 8:32
Mile 6 – 8:38
I was just cruising along and the miles were going by a little faster now which made me happy. We were running in a boring business park section at this point, but I knew we would be along the bay soon. There was some cloud cover, but the sun was poking out too and there was no rain! Where was my beloved rain that was supposed to show up? It was over in further East Bay all morning… it would have felt really good! Finally around mile 8 or 9 we were greeted with a great view of San Francisco and the bay – I wished I had my camera then! It was a beautiful view of the city.
Mile 7 – 8:27
Mile 8 – 8:26
Mile 9 – 8:23
At this point I was just hot and cranky and wanting to be done running. I knew I only had a couple more miles to run so just kept plugging along. Honestly at this point I really had no idea what pace I was running, I was just running. I figured it would be a course PW (the first time I ran it I ran a 1:51:03), but didn’t really care today. I took another GU between mile 9 and 10 to get an extra boost for the last couple miles.
The last 2 miles are down the same road we ran the first 2 miles except they are at a slight incline this time. I could tell a lot of runners were fading, so I would just pick off someone to pass, pass them, then try to do it again to keep me going.
Mile 10 – 8:31
Mile 11 – 8:25
Mile 12 – 8:26
FINALLY we were at the last mile, I was so happy to almost be done. I could feel the salt caked on my face and was just ready to be done running. The last half mile winds on some bike path and we ran into a bunch of the 5k walkers which was slightly annoying. I made my way around then and finally saw the finish line ahead. Yipee!
Mile 13 – 8:05
Last .07 (per G) – :33 (7:26 avg) looks like I ran the tangents right at least!
Garmin: 13.07 miles/1:50:47/8:28 avg pace
Katie was right there when I crossed along with a couple other friends which was nice. I actually had no idea what my finish time was for a little while until I finally looked at my watch and saw it wasn’t a course PW! I got my medal and they took my timing chip off and sure enough, a bloody mess. I said bye to Katie and went to get my ankle cleaned up then found my friends again to chat for a while. I wasn’t in the mood for champagne today though.
Owie. 
Overall I am just fine with how I did today. It was far from my fastest half marathon, but I knew going into it I wasn’t going to be racing today, I was just out there to get a solid training run in and that I did. My splits are pretty consistent and I got a little faster in the later miles, so I was glad I held strong. My legs finally are starting to feel more normal again so I will probably start pushing it soon, but for today I am happy with how they did.
From #1 to #19!
Nice work despite the ankle issues! I was there today, you ran right by our tent about a quarter mile from the finish.
We were trying to herd the 5K walkers to the right side of the path, but that didn’t work out so well. =/
Good job Aron! I hate the hot salt-cakey runs
I hope that bloody sick and shoe look way worse than what your ankle looks like!
Ummm ouch! And congrats
I’m looking forward to see jane run austin
great job aron!
19 halves is a huge accomplishment! You’ll have to do a big celebration for #20! Your paces were really consistent, and despite the stress of the weather and parking it sounds like you really handled everything well. I find going to races alone really stressful – more for the logistics (like driving) than anything else. Great job today, Aron! I hope that blister gets better soon!
Great job on your half marathon, sounds like it was a very tough course.
Can’t believe that timing chip made your ankle bleed, that is SO ridiculous….they need to get a better timing system.
Congrats on #19! I have never seen an ankle chip used outside of triathlons. Seems an odd choice when there are so many other options out there.
nice race! that seems silly to have an ankle chip for a road race. like tonia, above, i’ve only ever seen them used for triathlons. weird. hope it heals quickly!
Way to go! I’ve never used an ankle chip, but it seems like the worst idea ever!
nice job, but OUCH. hope the ankle isn’t too bad.
Can’t believe that timing chip made you bleed. They should look into another type.
Good job on finishing another race! I think u did really well.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who had issues with the chips!! They were awful and uncomfortable. I thought I had seen you walking across the start area when we were driving in and I was right! Glad you had a good race, the heat part was not my fav either.
OWWW! i cannot run through a blister. esp when it’s open and still rubbing. the WORST! (welll a cramp is right up there, too). CONGRATS on your NINETEENTH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! wow. i love that this race was your first (and fourteenth) and now nineteenth! i have one 10k here in boston that i’ve done for 5 consecutive years (all women’s tufts 10k) and they sent me a letter after this year’s race with a certificate to congratulate me and commemorate 5 years!!!!! soo cool! i wonder if it has to be consecutive or if when you hit 5 they send it. i’m gonna see how many i can do in a row of course until life gets in the way. KNOCK ON WOOD
congrats on #19!!!!!
Way to go, sounds like you were able to conquer some unpleasant factors and complete another great race. Congrats on 19!
Congrats on a great run
that bloody mess sure looks painful!
Also a bay area runner
Aron, meeting you for 15 seconds today was truly a highlight. Did you know it was my VERY FIRST meet-someone-through-a-blog experience? Despite your claim that you were in a haze, you seemed way more together than I was at the point. I always juusssst barely arrive on time, so am always a caffeinated barely-functioning spaz.
Anyway, among the many things wrong with this race, the ankle chip takes the cake — because no matter how annoying all the other things were, actually physically INJURING you is not cool for the sake of being cheap/disorganized/whatever it was that made them choose those horrible textured anklets. You were definitely not the only one who left today with ankle pain…
Your 19th half!!?? that’s truly incredible. I’m going to pick your brain for recommendations, you probably know all the bay area courses!
Congratulations on another successful race.
Your ankle made me cringe, though. Heh.
congrats on another one under your belt! sounds like a great way to get in a long run to me : )
Hey Aaron – hope I didn’t come across as a stalker:) Your blog was one of the first ones I came across when I ventured into this running business a couple of years ago – and not only am I extremely impressed by what an amazing runner you are, but I’ve also learned so much about gear, nutrition etc. from your blog.
Mona
Congrats Aron! You had a very strong run and negative split- very impressive. Sounds like it wasn’t perfect conditions, but you still rocked it. Yay!
geesh, did they put a knife around your ankle. that looks sucky! congrats on #19!! it’s another big accomplishment!
nice! and ankle time chips are the WORST!!! ouch!
Ohmigosh, that ankle chip chewed you up! I am not a fan of those. I like it on my bib or shoe where I don’t even notice it. Grr!
Congrats on running such a strong and consistent race on a warm day when you didn’t really feel like it!
Owww your poor ankle! Way to go on the race though, and that glass/medal is great!
19 halves?? That’s crazy! Congrats on another one….definitely a great way to get in a training run.
So sorry about your ankle! Yikes!! That is awful. I would be so mad that I’d probably complain to someone in charge…
Anyway, a HUGE congratulations despite all the issues. It’s tough when a race doesn’t feel good right from the start, but you pushed through, which is pretty awesome. And you’ve completed 19 half marathons which is so incredibly impressive!!
congratulations on another successful race despite the ankle disaster! ouch! it’s so impressive that you were able to run such great race with the bloody mess!
Nice job!! I think you held a great pace over a half marathon for a training run. Sucks about the ankle chafing. Eww. I wonder why they don’t just get with the D-tag program already? And I think I officially like the medal more than the old necklaces. I never wear the necklace and the medal is more fun to hang up.
Congrats on your 19th half marathon finish! You inspire us. Way to push through and finish with a respectable time! Thank you for the thoughtful race report — We take all of them to heart!
Going back through and trying to make comments on posts I read on my phone and wasn’t able to comment on! If someone can invent an app that makes commenting on the iPhone easy I will be the first to download it!
Seems like this race is the race for humid weather!! Nice job on #19 – that is such an accomplishment!
i ran see jane run in boise a few weeks ago – it was such an awesome vibe
and those ankle chips were horribly annoying!!! sorry your ankle was cut up so terribly 