My first race of 2022 was the San Diego Resolution Run. We’ve run this race a few times.
You can read my past recaps here, 2018 & 2019.
It’s a relatively low key race over at Mission Bay. Like I mentioned above we have run it a few times. I debated on it for this year but they had a really cool medal this year, with the San Diego skyline on it.
We picked up our packets on the Friday before the race at Road Runner Sports. It was super quick and easy & for once we didn’t even have to go into the store so it was perfect! They had packet pickup from 12 – 7 on Friday and then you could also pick up before the race.
I had a tough week & ended up taking a few days off mid-week so when I attempted my shake-out run on Friday, I was surprised when my right glutes/hamstring were acting very off. I used the Therabody Mini on it and stretched a bit and it seemed to feel better.
I wasn’t sure how it was going to go come race day so I didn’t really make a huge deal of the race and didn’t even pick out my clothes until right before bed.
Since the race was only about 20 minutes from us & started at 7:15a we didn’t have to get up too, too early. We set our alarms for 5:30 and got up around 5:45. We were out the door by 6:15 and at the start by 6:30ish.
For this race, there are a few lots to park in but we typically just park on the road because the close lots fill up fast.
It was really cold when we got there, 46 and it was that bone-chilling cold. We were going to just leave our drop bag in the car but ultimately decided to bring one with us so we could stay warm for longer.
It was a beautiful morning, blue skies, the moon was shining. It was really smelly though, like dead fish when we walked to the start.
We hit up the port a potties and then just chilled for a few minutes before going to get closer to the drop bag area.
There was a huge line to drop off your bag, it was pretty ridiculous, but I guess between, not having a drop bag given to us (we had to use our own bags), to runners not being prepared to the race not having enough volunteers there it was a little bit of a mess.
Fortunately we were completely prepared with our bag tagged and knotted so we were able to give it to them while still in line.
Then we headed over to the start with about 5 minutes to spare. This isn’t a huge deal as this is a pretty low key race, there isn’t any bottle neck spots until later in the race.
We got a few photos and then it was time for the National Anthem, they had a live vocalist, which is always nice, and then we were off.
The 10k & half started together and the 5k started after us.
Off we went, and the start line was really deceiving because it was in the shade, within a very short time, I was roasting in my long sleeve. I eventually took it off around the 5k mark. Such a rookie mistake, but it was really cold at the start.
I started the race and was hobbling just a little for the first 10-15 steps but it evened out and while not 100% it didn’t feel too bad.
Once we get started we immediately head out towards Fiesta Island to do a loop over there. It was really nice, sun was shining and you could see the city for a bit.
I felt ok during this section, I was listening to a Becs Gentry Caribbean Run on the Peloton App. She’s hilarious, she shared stories of running around a 5 mile island and was like I wasn’t fast then, but those island runs helped me to go sub 3hrs in the marathon for the first time (um, not fast? LOL).
Anyways, once we left Fiesta Island, I saw Sean as I was heading to the next section. From Fiesta Island, we take a little sidewalk type path over to a parking lot near SeaWorld. They had a little turn around over there.
At this point we were at the 10k mark and I did think about asking if I could drop to the 10k, but ultimately I continued on.
This next section of the course is on the sidewalk by the water. It’s 3 miles out and 3 miles back. It can be a challenging section because you are running around people who are out walking, 5k/10k finishers, etc. so you are weaving a bit.
Between mile 9 & 10 there was a little extra out and back before we headed out towards a bridge. Last time I ran this race the mileage was a bit short. Today we were good on mileage, at least I was.
By mile 11 I was definitely feeling the miles and was just strolling to the finish. I noticed this race that I spent a lot of time looking down when I was running, especially when I was tired. I recall one of the Peloton instructors saying that doing that made it hard to breath so I made an effort to try and not do than when I realized I was doing it.
By this time it was getting warm and I was really thirsty. I ended up getting 2 cups at the mile 12 aid station.
Just a note on the aid stations, they had Gatorade cups which were great but they had these plastic cups for the water. It was really hard to drink from them, before I started walking through the stations, I was dumping water down my chin. They also had a few stations where the trash cans were so close to the aid station that you couldn’t possibly drink that fast.
But back to the race. After this aid station, there is only about a 1/2 mile to go. I was so ready to be done LOL.
Finally I saw the mile 13 marker and it was almost time to make the final turn.
I made the turn and it was just me, I got close, saw the photographers and it was arms out as the announcer called my name!
Immediately after I finished, I grabbed my medal, got a quick selfie and then found Sean.
We got a few photos and I got a bottle of water. I felt ok considering, no calf cramps today.
I enjoy this race, it’s low-key but they do a good job. You can get some decent rates for the race too if you register early enough and they do free photos too.
Oh and the shirt was decent, kind of a cottony style this year with the 2022 and the cityscape on it. I got a medium and it fit pretty nicely.
