Temecula Half Marathon Recap Part Deux

After the paparazzi and running groupies gave Chris B. a moment of rest following his top 13 finish in the Temecula Half Marathon (1:33:37, 7th in the 40-49 age group), which took place on October 20, 2013, we sat down in his kitchen for an interview.  Chris described the race as follows:

I decided to run this race as a rust buster of sorts as it has been a year since my last race. I've been having problems over that time with a chronic ankle issue that will continue to bother me until I elect to have surgery.

My training lately has been decent but not as consistent as I would like. I’ll get in a couple decent weeks and then need to cut back to let the inflammation in the ankle settle down. This may not be such a bad thing though, as in the past I've had a tendency to over train…Recently moving to SE Hills has been a good way to get back in shape, I've always liked running hills and there sure isn't a shortage here! It is definitely good training ground for the endless and steep rolling hills in the Temecula Half Marathon.  

It’s a tough course, 3/4 on gravely and rutted dirt roads that made me wish I didn't wear flats because my feet got sore from rocks poking them, and the rest on pavement. Strava says the gain in elevation was 1282 ft. 

My legs were fried at the turnaround (halfway) and I was in 15th place at that time. I felt like I was slowing drastically but moved up 2 places on the way back to the finish. I guess the people in close proximity to me were hurting too. 

Around mile 9, I could hear people right behind me cheering for the first woman; she was good motivation to keep giving a strong effort so I wouldn't get passed. I think she ended up finishing about a minute behind. It was cool to not be running a time trial but to be racing, due to the out and back nature of the course I knew what place I was in the whole time. 

I didn't look at my watch on the way back; I didn't want to get discouraged if I was drastically slowing, which it felt like. I just focused on running as hard as I could. I was surprised I wasn't getting passed by a lot of people. Overall I'm pretty happy with this race. I think it indicated I've got a good shot at PR'ing on a flat road half marathon course in December. Running hills every day has me pretty fit. 

Chris B.
Victory Pose

Chris B. for San Elijo Hills Running Club