I am so very far behind on my race recaps, so here comes a recap blitz… I am determined to get all these recaps up before the end of the year starting with Revel Canyon City.
Sean & I ran this race for the first time last year. I had the opportunity to run the whole race with my friend Kat, you can read that recap here.
We signed up for this year in the week following the race because they give you an extra discount. Like last year, we signed up as a part of the SoCal MRTT team, I know I’m not a mom, but I am good friends with Smitha ;).
Originally the race was scheduled for the same weekend as the NYC Marathon and then a bit after we registered they sent out an email saying that the date was changed to the following week, which worked well for us since we were trying to get into NYC.
Revel is a fun race & it’s close to home and also a BQ course. Sean came really close to a BQ last year and wanted to try again. I decided to run the half again.
Again, we drove up the night before, we got lucky because it was Veteran’s Day and there was very light traffic so we made it to packet pick-up with 30 minutes to go.
We grabbed our packets, got our shirts, I paid an extra $4.95 to have a fitted cotton T instead of the normal shirt and they gave us a beanie. Again there were gloves and a heat sheet in the bag.
We took a few photos and then off to dinner we went. We ate at one of those pizza places where you can make your own pizza and it’s done in about 5 minutes.
After dinner, I took a flat Jenny photo and time for bed.
The race is about a half hour or more from the start so we got to the finish line area around 4:00am. I walked over with Sean to the marathon buses, wished him well and then headed over to the half marathon buses.
Interestingly once I got to the buses, they had a few school buses and then a bunch of nicer buses. I waited a few minutes until the school buses were full and then boarded a bus lol. It’s a bit of a ride to the start and I really wanted to take a short nap, I got a bit car sick on the way up last year so I wanted to be able to lean my head on the seat.
I got up to the start line, where it didn’t seem nearly as cold as last year. I waited for Smitha to get to the start and chatted with some other runners while I waited.
Once she got there we took a few photos and then before long I was starting to shed clothes to put into my gear check bag. Like last year they had a ton of port-a-potties at the start and there were virtually no lines.
And again, the start was very casual, it was pretty much, and go! very similar to an ultra. I wasn’t sure how my ankle was going to do since I had had some issues at NYC the week before, so I just decided to take it easy. Also because the first few miles have some decent hills.
I felt ok, but had some calf tightness going up the hills, big surprise there, that’s a common thing for me. I walked a few of the hills and eventually the tightness dissipated. I just kept moving, step by step until before I knew it I was at the bottom of the mountain.
I hit up a port-a-pottie around mile 10ish and then ran all but the a small hill at the end of the race. I felt a 100x better in this last flatter section than last year. I’m not sure if it was because the weather was a bit more overcast than last year or if it was I am just stronger than last year. Either way, it was nice to feel strong at the end of the race.
I finished strong, passing a few people at the end and finished in a respectable time for me 2:06 or so, I don’t really remember exactly.
They do however give you a nice print-out with your time at the end of the race. It tells you your time, pace, place in age group, overall, etc. It’s a nice benefit.
This year there were tags on the bottom of our bibs for pizza, an aloe gloe drink & a piece of pie. I got a bottle of aloe gloe and a piece of apple pie (they had apple, pumpkin & lemon meringue from Marie Callenders). I got my clothes, got changed and headed to the finish line to wait for Sean.
I checked the tracking and he was on pace for a 3:05 finish so I was really excited for him. I saw Smitha come in, took a few finish photos for her and then kept waiting for Sean. 3:05 came and went and I was starting to get worried. He was doing great and then it was like, uh, what’s going on.
Eventually I saw him pushing it to the finish and I knew he was devastated. He missed it by a little over a minute. By the time I got to him after he finished he was beside himself and so upset. He had forgotten his watch so he had no idea what time he was at and his body was starting to shut down. He literally could not run any faster.
I have no doubt that he can definitely BQ, in the 3 weeks prior to this race, he ran the Venice Marathon, a sub-23hr 100 at Javelina and NYC and that’s all with no specific speed work. With a bit more rest and a few speed work sessions I know he can get it, maybe even go sub 3. 🙂
We have already signed up for 2017, this time I too will be running the marathon and who knows, maybe I’ll go for a BQ too, I will be in a new age bracket so I’ll have an extra 5 minutes lol.
In any case, we really like this race, it’s fast, downhill, has great swag, free photos and a super nice medal. I look forward to running it again next year!
