After running it in 2008 (1:36:59), 2009 (1:36:53), 2010 (1:29:53), and 2013 (1:38:44), today I ran the San Jose Rock ’n’ Roll Half Marathon for the 5th time

I like this race because it is very close to home and the course is flat and fast. The first goal was to erase last year’s time when I ran with a sore throat. My second goal was to beat my half marathon’s PR I set earlier this year in Santa Cruz.

The weather was beautiful, a bit hot for the season and for running with temperatures in the high 60s, low 70s. Once I had parked my car and was getting ready, I realized my GPS watch had drained overnight and was now out of battery! I had no other choice but run without a watch and HRM.

It made for a somewhat anxious run as I was missing the data I use to set and stick with a pace and effort. Not knowing my splits, I ended up mostly running ahead of the 1:30 pacer for 7 miles without being able to distance him. It was clear by then that I would not be able to PR today.

The pacer finally overtook me at mile 8 so I decided to stick with the group since that would then solve the pace issue. In hindsight, maybe it would have been good to just stick with the group from the start. Anyway, I stayed with the pacer until mile 12 where I accelerated to complete the last mile in around 6:30.

My final time is indeed not a PR, but it is still my second fastest half marathon ever and the fastest of the five San Jose half marathons I have run so far: 1:29:26.

After running a marathon PR in Napa Valley in March and half marathon PR in Santa Cruz in April, I have not been resting on my laurels and I have been training very hard in the last few months in the hope of breaking the 3:10 mark (a Boston Qualifier, a.k.a. BQ for me).

The Santa Rosa marathon is very well organized. Bib pickup was a breeze and the technical t-shirt is great. The course is nice and flat with a beautiful stretch alongside the Santa Rosa Creek.

My Sunday started a bit early at 3AM as I could not sleep anymore so I was awake when the 6.0 earthquake hit nearby South Napa and got to experience it all! Still, It had no to little impact on us or the race. Some runners mentioned they lost power in neighboring cities but I guess we got lucky and had no such issues.

The weather at 6AM when we started the race was perfect for running and stayed this way for my whole run. I had a good race as I completed the marathon finishing 62nd in a new PR of 3:07:28.

This is also a BQ by 2 minutes and 32 seconds and should allow me to run the mythical Boston Marathon in 2015. Fingers crossed!

Today, I ran the Water to Wine half marathon in Healdsburg, Sonoma County as a last test before running the Santa Rosa Marathon in 2 weeks.

The course was changed since last year transitioning from a point to point race from Sonoma Lake to Healdsburg into a less thrilling race starting and ending in Healdsburg. I hope the course is reverted back next year.

I did not push too much because of the upcoming marathon but felt very strong the whole race and even pushed a bit harder in the last mile. The result: 23rd in 1:30:46.