Suja Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon San Diego Recap
The images of dancing juices at the finish line must have worked, because after five years, I finally have a new PR for the half marathon <3
As you guys know, Suja invited me to participate in the half marathon here in San Diego and I was apprehensive about saying yes. After injuring myself and backing out of a contract last year, I felt nervous to partner with a company for another half. I didn’t want to 1) jinx myself and get injured again and/or 2) wear their brand on my shirt and get picked up by the slow wagon. I knew that it was an opportunity to give myself another chance and I’m glad I decided to go for it. (For the record, the juices at the finish line were totally worth it.)
Suja hosted a few additional events for the Suja bloggers (Meghann, Monica, Leta and myself) and they were all a blast. We stopped by the Expo Friday afternoon to pick up my bib and check out the vendors,
and later that night we were treated to a delicious dinner at Searsucker downtown. Annie Lawless, one of the co-founders of Suja was there, too! We’re friends on Instagram, and despite her huge success with the brand -it’s only been around for two years and has grown exponentially- she’s extremely humble and fun to talk to. It was a great girls’ night 🙂
For dinner, we shared a few appetizers:
(my favorite was the artichokes)
ordered entrees (I rolled with the salmon which was crisp, light and served atop creamy sauce and roasted parsnip), and then headed to The Headquarters for the Suja Cocktail party.
Word to the world: Suja is especially glorious when mixed with sparkling white wine.
At the cocktail party, we had the opportunity to speak briefly with Meb Keflezighi (aka the winner of the Boston Marathon, who is from San Diego) and listen to the speeches. The Team in Training representative got the eye prickles going; it was awe-inspiring to hear their stories and how the representatives raised their funds.
The next day, we had lunch at True Food kitchen, which is in my top five all-time favorite restaurants. We have one in Scottsdale, and I had NO CLUE there was one here in San Diego. (I shop at Fashion Valley fairly often, but never make it to the restaurant side haha)
The offerings at True Food are hearty while using whole ingredients. They have generous serving sizes, locally-sourced options, and also have a wide variety of gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan dishes. I got a chicken, veggie and egg scramble with a side of sweet potato hash.
(With Monica, Annie, Meghann and Leta!)
I came back home for a beach day with the crew -Kyle, Meg and Lindy had just arrived- and then we all called it an early night after dinner at OB Noodle House and watching Pitch Perfect. Never gets old 🙂
Then, it was race day morning! I have to take a moment of appreciation for the Pilot who woke up at 4:20am to drive me to the race site. True love.
(He also went home to wake up sleeping Livi and bring her to the finish line. Love these two so much.)
When I got to the race, I chilled at the VIP tent by the starting line.
It was my first time doing anything like this -usually I’m sitting in the grass chugging coffee and shivering somewhere, or dancing in the portapotty line- and MAN. It was amazing. They had coffee, juices, full breakfast (granola, yogurts, bagels, peanut butter, bananas), water, a PT tent to get stretched out before the race and bathrooms. Hallelujah.
Oh, and stamped oranges. I got a kick out of this special touch:
I had packed up some overnight oats to eat, but race morning, they seemed kind of heavy and I wasn’t in the mood. In the spirit of breaking all of the rules on race day, I had 3/4 bagel with peanut butter and half a banana instead.
Blogger friends!
(Pavement Runner, Monica, Kristin, Meghann, TSA and SR)
Meghann and I said good luck to our friends and watched the marathoners head through the starting line,
and got ready for our turn to start. Before I knew it, I had my music blasting and was enjoying the course and sites.
My playlist for this half, which I started around mile 3:
This was the first time in a long time that I’ve raced and felt GOOD. My knee didn’t hurt -thank goodness- and while I got tired towards the end, I didn’t feel like I was in pain. I felt excited the entire time, which was largely because I wasn’t in pain. After being roadkill for my last half, this race was entirely different. As I mentioned before, I broke the major “race rules” and it worked in my favor.
-Race rule #1: Fuel the same way you do in your training. I had OB Noodle House the night before and ordered something totally different: grilled teriyaki chicken and rice, which came with salad. It was perfect! I loooooove their pho, but it seemed a little salty/greasy so I decided to get something more bland. Pre-race, I had the bagel meal above, and during the race, I took Meghann’s philosophy for fueling. She told me, “Whatever they have, I eat or drink.” So I had orange slices, Gatorade, lots of water, a Jolly Rancher someone handed to me and only 3 of the Shot Bloks I’d brought with me. Because I was fueling the entire time, I never bonked or hit the wall, but didn’t consume too much to the point that it slowed me down.
-Race rule #2: Don’t wear anything new on race day. Suja gave me the cute grey tank top and a tech tee so I could decide which one to wear. I prefer running in tanks, but the sports bra inside the tank top was cutting off my circulation. So, I cut the band on the inside of the tank on the sides of the built-in bra. It worked out well, and now the shirt actually fits my ribcage 😉 I also wore my beloved lululemon Turbo Run shorts, my Garmin and my Reebok ONE Cushions with the Superfeet inserts.
The course and race were extremely well-organized. The aid stations were frequent, the scenery was gorgeous, and I loved the live music. There was a group of African drummers which tempted me to Soli Beat and a reggae group I especially loved. Despite the fact that 30,000 runners were there, everything seemed to go smoothly. My only complaint was that the course was a little long. It was right on until the very end, but ended up being 13.17 miles instead of 13.1. NBD.
Here are some things I think helped me shave about 3 minutes off my PR:
-I practiced on the same terrain in the same environment. Living here definitely helped, and it also had combination of novelty from new sights + the convenience of knowing where we were running. I recognized quite a few spots but everything still feels very new and exciting here. When I was training in Tucson, I ran a lot of trails which was a mistake since many races are a mix of road and pavement. The ol’ knees were used to it this time.
–Orangetheory and Barre. For my long training runs, I viewed them as they’re supposed to be: easy runs. I kept my pace slow and focused on distance instead of time. At Orangetheory, it forced me to push my speed. I was able to maintain my “push pace” (about 8:35) for the entire race, and I know it’s from getting used to that feel at Orangetheory. We never hold that pace for very long, but we sprint up hills and focus on speed intervals, so the hilly portions of the race weren’t bad at all. For my training I did one long run each week and one Orangetheory class. It was enough to build up the distance and increase my speed. Most importantly, it taught me to keep running even when I was at an uncomfortable incline and pace.
Barre has increased my muscular endurance from the high repetitions of the workout. It’s also helped with my abductor (outer thigh) strength and stabilization, and glute strength. Since my muscles are stronger now, they were able to handle the motions of running without compensation from my other muscles and into knees.
For my training, I did 6 weeks of long runs building up to the race in addition to one Orangetheory class each week. My mileage each week was 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 6, race.
-Sleep! Usually I have a hard time sleeping a hotel the night before a race, so it was awesome to be here in our comfy bed. Also, two nights before I slept for 10 glorious hours and had banked up some awesome sleep.
-Pure determination. I thought about how badly I wanted to PR, especially since my first half marathon five years ago was also my best one. I really wanted to break the record since having a baby and prove to myself I could do it, so I kept that thought it my head during the race. I feel more fit and conditioned now that I did for my first half, was injury-free (wahoo!), and really wanted to make it happen.
My Garmin time was 1:53:48 and the official race time was 1:54:17. I’ll take it 🙂
Thank you again to Suja for the opportunity to participate this weekend <3
Any race victories or PRs lately? What’s something that has helped your running?
Shout it out in the comments below!
Have a wonderful morning <3
xoxo
Gina
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I love your teal/black/white tank where did you purchase it? Looks like u had fantastic weekend!!!
thank you! it’s from a stitch fix a few months ago 🙂
Woohoo! Congrats Gina 🙂 XOXO
Ahhhhh first of all, congratulation on your new PR, that is so amazing! I am like you and for whatever reason, I always surprise myself when I literally run happy (to steal the Brooks quote). When I enjoy a race and ride that runners high, I almost always blow myself away with my time!
Second of all, I am so insanely jealous that you met Meb, he is simple the best (not that I would know first hand :))
Congrats! I’ve been running for two years now and I’m still chasing the sub 2 hour half time.
Way to go Gina!! You rocked it! I’m glad it was a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Congrats on an amazing race!! And that is a super fast time!
It sounds like you had a perfect race! Congrats! I love your list of tips/lessons learned.
Awesome PR, that’s so awesome!!!
So proud of you!! Congratulations!!! 🙂
Just to clarify, your training as far as pure running for this race, was an OrangeTheroy class and a long run each week. That’s all for running? Any other cardio came in form of Zumba or some type of class? If that’s right, that’s amazing and gives me hope that you really can train on less days of running if you’re cross training as well. Did I read that right?
that’s all for running! i did strength, zumba or barre on the other days
Amazing! That’s great. Looks like you did awesome.
Congratulations on the PR! It always feels so great to get a new number! 🙂
Congrats! RnR SD was my first half I ever did. I didn’t love the course being mostly highway. My next race I will be power walking & usually counting the runners I pass!
Congratulations on the race! So exciting!
Yipeee congrats! Something that has helped with my running is actually running less, cross training more!
Way to go Gina! Congrats on an awesome race!
You go girl! Congrats on the PR!
You are AWESOME, Girl! Way to go on a PR – strong work! You must be thrilled. 🙂 So fun to see a bunch of running bloggers together!
Way to go! Looks like you are loving San Diego and all that it has to offer 🙂 I am truly obsessed with True Kitchen and whenever I go to SD I eat there at least two times and try for three, I think my friends think I am nuts 😉 That and the Acai Bowl place YUM!
How often do you suggest doing Orangetheory? I bought the unlimited month deal on Groupon, but don’t want to injure myself or get burnt out!
i would do it max 3x a week on non-consecutive days. 2 would be perfect too!
CONGRATS on the new PR!!!! Sounds like an awesome race!
So many good point about strength training, speed/interval work and taking the long runs super easy. Those 3 are the recipe for success in my book! I also split my runs between pavement and treadmill I find that helps save my legs.
I have a half PR from fall 2012 that I am DYING to break. I haven’t come anywhere near it in the past year so am hoping come fall I can knock it down. I want sub 1:50 so bad!
Way to go on the new PR. I’m someone that has always hated running but am working to do 5 5K’s this year and a warrior dash in August. I ran the neon 5K in Columbus this weekend and beat my PR by 8 minutes which is huge for me!! Now my goal set by my big brother is to get it under 30 minutes. Here’s to running twice a week with a friend who ran the 5K in 23 minutes!!!
Congratulations on the PR. However, don’t take your garmin time and distance too seriously. I could be running in a pack of twenty people and we all have different pace/times and distances on our garmin. The course is certified and not “long”.
that’s a great point! in the past, my garmin has lined up perfectly with race distances so maybe it was just a tech issue on my part
Congratulations on the run! I haven’t run in so long. I need to this week so I can run a… 5K! Haha. True Food is amazing too!
Way to Go!! So exciting 🙂
Amazing, congrats!!! I ran my first 10k last weekend and my goal was to run the whole way, no walking breaks! And I did it!!! Super proud of myself, andnow rumning 5k seems like a breeze haha
Congratulations! Just to clarify, you ran twice a week for training? I’ve always assumed 3-4x per week is what you’re “supposed” to do as a runner, which I have trouble maintaining – twice a week is inspiring news! I have a love/hate relationship with running and can never seem to be consistent with it. It’s free, convenient and I can do it with the stroller in tow, but I have bad knees and honestly I don’t really enjoy it…until it’s over, of course! Thanks for all of your posts and tips! Love your blog!
What a fun race! Congrats on your PR!!!
Congrats! That looks like such a fun race, especially with the VIP treatment. You look gorgeous in that first race photo and super fit!
Congratulations! It sounds like a wonderful experience. And I love Searsucker!!! We ate there last summer when we visited my brother. The food and the atmosphere are amazing.
Awesome! So glad to hear that it went well – injury free plus a PR! 🙂
You rocked it!!! It’s always so gratifying to confirm that cross training pays off!!
Congratulations on the PR! You must have been so happy not only to be able to do it, but to do so well! What a sense of accomplishment!
My running has been “meh” lately. My legs have felt like deadweight under me. I can’t figure out if it’s improper fueling or being slightly dehydrated or what. I’m fine cardio-wise, but it’s like running in sand legs-wise.
Thanks for the race tips and congrats again on your new PR! That’s so awesome that you decided to do this race. I think I would’ve been nervous to represent a brand while doing a race and be labeled as the slow runner. However, you pushed through and did an amazing job! That’s such a great motivation! Thanks for sharing your experience with us!
I found you! Subscribing now…
Thanks for the shout out! Was awesome meeting you. I don’t forget a face. Next time I run into you, I’m gonna say something like, “hey, you’re famous”… Congrats on the PR.
Congrats!! I am getting so inspired to really start increasing my distance longer than a 5K. I feel like a marathon is just never in my future but a half…that could be a real possibility. What a great accomplishment for you!
I am finally getting into a much better running space after totally hitting a wall for a while. I think just trying to not put so much pressure on myself when I get out there that I “should” be running this or that distance or time has helped. The more I enjoy these shorter runs makes me want to keep doing them vs getting frustrated and giving up for a while. Eventually my mileage and time will get better. Again, congrats!!
You did awesome! PRing is the best feeling.
Great job, so happy for you!! Woot woot! A fantastic post. Hope you’re enjoying some R&R and patting yourself on the back.
AWESOME job, congrats on the PR!! I would love to do a half, I think it’d be such a sweet accomplishment, but I’m simply not a runner. I can do most things, but running isnt one of those.
That’s an awesome time! I just did a 10k and finished it in my PR of 51 minutes 🙂 My next half goal is sub 1:50! Looks like that was a super fun race. I would love to do a race in a another city that’s new to me. Maybe that will be my next goal!
Congrats Gina!!! So happy for you, if I was there I would be giving you a high five. 🙂
Love that blue striped maxi dress, would you mind saying where you bought it. I am on a maxi dress kick!!
Congrats on the PR! I did a half in March and missed my goal pace (2:05) by 2 minutes, but it was a 3 min PR for me nonetheless 🙂 The course was SUPER hilly so I realize it wasn’t my time to blow my PR out of the water… planning to do a flatter half this fall! 🙂
Awesome job!! I have only ran 3 half marathons, and it was the same one each time (the Go! St. Louis half marathon) so I think for my next one I’m more than ready for something different! Maybe I’ll do the Rock & Roll this Fall:-)
Congrats! What an amazing experience! I’m especially impressed with how your training worked so well…makes me think that I might be able to do a half, too, someday.
I just ran my first ever 5K on Memorial Day, and it was a doozy because the temp was already about 90F when the race started at 9:30 AND the course was so poorly marked (not to mention barely shaded) that we wound up on the 10K course. It wouldn’t have been a big deal except for the heat, the sun, and the fact that I’d not really trained for it haha. But then this weekend I ran 7 miles on my own and set a personal distance PR, so that made up for it! Plus, I did it at 6am, so I got to skip the whole getting-heatstroke thing. 😉
First of all, congrats on the PR! Just wanted to chime in that when I saw not one, but TWO Metallica songs on your running playlist a big ‘ol smile came across my face! 🙂 You’re a Rock Star my friend – glad to see all the good things coming your way in SD!
i thought of you when metallica played! 🙂 miss you and hope all is going well! maybe i’ll see you in tucson when i’m there next month
xoxo
Congrats! Do you have a training schedule/planner posted anywhere on your blog?
i don’t, because i had to change things up each week based on what i was teaching
Congratulations on the PR! I ran the Pasadena RnR half a year and a half ago and I LOVED the live music. I am ITCHING to start running again. Home stretch!
Wow! What a great PR!! I hope you recover well this week. And, I love your Summer Bucket List! I want to do one with my kids.
Awesome job on your half marathon!! I ran the rock n roll providence 1/2 a couple years ago and I think that was enough for me!! Must feel great to have a new PR! Love the lulu tank they gave you 🙂
thank you! 🙂
it’s actually hurley! i’d never worn anything hurley before and i really liked it
Holy moly!!! GREAT JOB!! I went down and cheered on my 3 sisters running the half in San Diego. Such a fun place to run!!
Congrats on the PR! Thanks for sharing tips on how to PR!