Running on Empty
This past weekend, a few buddies and I ran a 1/2 marathon in downtown San Jose. It was the inaugural San Jose Rock And Roll 1/2 marathon ((http://www.rnrsj.com/home.html). I was excited about the race because I'm actually in pretty good shape after my recent dieting / exercise efforts. Also, my buddies and I had done a decent amount of training. So, early on Sunday Oct 8th, Larry, Kent, Steve, Heather and I drove downtown. We met Glenn and Ted at the Hilton downtown. After hanging around for a while, stretching, waiting for a while longer, and gabbing, we finally started the race and got going at 8am. Below are my observations, and then a few stolen snapshots of me on the course.
- The race was expensive! Reg fee was $75, and $85 if you register during the expo the day before the race (no race day reg!). Note that the reg fee does get you into a rock concert in the evening (Train was playing).
- The expo was pretty good. There was a lot of stuff for sale, etc. it was very annoying also that they make you go to expo to pick up the race packet.
- The race amenities before and after were well managed, i.e. port-a-potties, food, drinks, etc
- The race itself was nice. There were a couple of loops around downtown, including a great run through the Rose Garden area, which has a bunch of mansions that are fun to gawk at while running by.
- There were plenty of water stops, which had water as well as energy drinks. They also had water sprays at a few of them, and even had power gels at one of them.
- The course was flat and fast. There was just a couple of underpasses to deal with.
- This being the RnR 1/2 marathon, there was some great music, 11 bands I believe. There was a great mix of musical styles too. Also there were cheerleader groups and just a generally bigger crowd cheering. Really helps. I ended up with a pretty good time. Splits shown below:
7:33 (pretty crowded, still warming up, talking to Larry)
7:33 (more crowds, talking to Larry)
6:44 (Ok, I need to focus, hammer down)
6:50
7:01
7:05
6:58
7:02 (took a GU)
7:17
7:17
7:18 (took a GU)
7:18
7:12 (focus on not dropping pace)
0:53 Total time 1:34:06
Avg 7:14 per mile
Afterwards, we had a great breakfast at Denny's. I had chicken fried steak and eggs. Yummm.
Lessons Learned:
- For this race, and most races in downtown San Jose, the parking lot in front of the Hilton is a good bet.
- I should have gotten closer to start line, and been a little more aggressive after the start. I could have saved a minute or more.
- For this race, I needed to adjust estimated time in race reg application to start in a better grouping.
- I haven't used GU (power gel) in a while. I should have tried one or two on training runs.
- I should have done a little more training on asphalt to reduce pounding / pain on my feet during the race.
- Doing early morning training runs really helps get used to timing so that on race day it's not such a pain to get up and run.
- To watch the race, a good strategy is to pick a band location out on the course, park there, and walk between a couple of band sites, listening to great music and watching the runners. Here are some photos:
Ok, enough about me. It was a good time. Cheers,

Nice Run, bro!
Posted by: Brandon Fuller | August 02, 2007 at 09:38 PM