Napa to Sonoma Half Marathon Race Report

What a beautiful race course!

I started out a little late from the house, but got there in plenty of time to get my bib number and stretch out a bit before starting. The starting line was right beside a nice pond with some ducks at the Cuvaison Carneros Estate vineyard.

So, I started off blowing my whole race plan right out of the gate. I dropped the 4:1 split from mile zero. Couldn't get myself to stop and walk. So I kept it up.

First mile, I tried to control to 11 min per mile. I came in 10:30. That was pretty good considering the first half of it was a nice hill. Too good considering the first half was a nice hill.

The next three miles were pretty consistant - in the 9:20 range. I was feeling some tightness in my shin, but nothing that would really stop me. I really don't know why it was going so smoothly, but maybe it was the slight downhill.

Between miles 5 and 6, there started a slow steady incline. I started to feel it in my side with a little cramp. I took a little hit during mile 5, but progressed pretty well through 7 and 8. Sometime during that, this lady passed me.. her shirt read "Not Far to Pinot Noir." I giggled.

Somewhere near mile 8 I started to feel something in my hip. I was worried until I realized that it was the opposite hip from the one that was hurting last week. From that, I determined that it is probably an excuse. I told myself that I wasn't stopping, no matter how much it hurt.

We were asked to stop to let traffic pass at Napa Road, so I took a little hit (it was the only mile that I was not under 11) and then I did a Gu (Vanilla Bean, wow!) right at mile 9.

I started kicking it up at mile 10, and progressed to my fastest mile at mile 13. By the time I finished, all the little aches and pains went away.

I finished in 2:08:30! That's 15 minutes faster than I was shooting for. I was amazed and excited. Theoretically, that means I could conceivably do a 4:30 marathon. I am not so sure, but it would be nice.