Bay Breeze (aka Bay Freeze) Half Marathon Race Report

Day 2 of my Four Day Weekend was spent completing Half Marathon #18 in the Bay Area.   We had rain all week and I also had a monster sinus infection that kept me from working out which would have been great reasons not to do this race.  But the hourly accuweather forecast predicted rain before and after the race but not during the race.  So I woke up super-early and made the long drive down to San Leandro to get there early, nab a prime parking spot, and squeeze in a pre-race nap.  So far, so good.  But during the hour before the race started, it was raining at a pretty good clip.  I thought about going home since I already had picked up my shirt but that's not really my style.  I had come this far, it seemed silly to turn around.  The weather cleared about ten minutes before the race started and the sun even came out momentarily.  It took it as a sign that I was meant to complete this race.  I suited up and lined up at the start.  About twenty minutes into the race the accuweather forecast was accu-WRONG.  It rained on and off  for the next three hours.  


The course runs out along a trail from the San Leandro Marina to the San Mateo Bridge and back.  Even though it was raining, the course drained nicely so there wasn't a lot of puddles and mud to run through.  Just lots and lots of bridges to cross, watching the tides roll away, and lots of different types of birds.  This weekend is the Great Backyard Bird Count and there were plenty to count!  But instead of counting I was determined to NOT go off course this time!  On the way out, I saw where I missed the turn during the Summer Breeze event so I stayed focused on the pink ribbons along the course.  I met my goal of staying on course!  Similar to the half I did in January, there were very few of us in the back of the pack which made for peaceful running.  I again loved the buffet-style aid stations with more things than I could even imagine eating during a race.  I stuck to the M&Ms and the gummy bears which suited me just fine.  Maybe someday I'll try Doritos after 11 miles.  Not exactly the first race food that comes to mind!

I wasn't feeling the best at the beginning (not surprising since I did not work out at all this week!) and then when the rain kicked in I made a pact not to obsess over my pace.  I am proud to say that I didn't even look at my watch until mile 4, when I was at 57 minutes.  I vowed to check my pace at 2 mile intervals.  This worked out well since my hands were inside my jacket almost the entire race.  I kept up the 2:1 intervals to the bitter end.  The last few miles I would have preferred not running but did it anyways.  Unlike previous races where I tanked and was forced to walk, I continued with my pace and finished.  Here I am close to the finish, drenched but still smiling.  My final time was 3:10.27.  This is my slowest of 2011 but clocks in as my 8th fastest time of the 18 half marathons completed since October 2009.  I can't complain.  I just hope another sub-3 hour time is coming soon.