Happy 37th Birthday to me

Today I ran my third half marathon. It was the San Diego Rock N Roll Marathon and it was so much fun! I think it was my favorite of the three because my dear friends Amy, Paula and Shelly ran it with me. We made a weekend of it and had such a great time. We left school on Friday and enjoyed and evening in Cali. Our hotel was a very short walk to Pacific Ave where Anthony's Fish Grotto is located. It was a delicious meal with friends.

Saturday we walked along Harbor Blvd to the convention center to pick up our swag bags. There was so much to see and buy. The best part of the expo was the yummy MGD 64 beers we consumed for only a dollar each. After hours of shopping and drinking at the expo we decided we should find some place to each lunch. A stroll through the Gas Lamp District brought us to Fridays fora healthy salad outside in the beautiful weather. Shelly took us to a little shop she loved and we all found something new for summer. I scored a super cute dress for only 20 bucks! It was nearing dinnertime and we needed to find some carbs for our race in the morning. We started walking toward our hotel in hopes of catching a cab to Little Italy for pasta. Instead of a cab we grabbed a bicycle taxi and choose a fantastic Italian eatery. While waiting for our table we met some very nice people who were also running the race. The whole city was consumed with 13, 000 people all there to run 13.1 miles. It was such a neat atmosphere, reminded me of huge sporting event like Superbowl or World Series. Everyone we talked to asked if we were running in the race and my girls often answered yes, for her birthday!

Race time came very early in the morning. We dressed, ate breakfast downstairs in the hotel and caught a shuttle to the starting gate at Balboa Park. I was so excited to be running a race with my friends. Shelly and I planned on staying together while Paula and Amy trailed behind us but only by 5 mins. Shelly ran ahead of me for several miles of the race, but with her in my sights I was able to push myself to catch up to her. I really enjoyed the bands, music and all the people who cheered us on. The course of the race was along a bunch a roads I have driven on every year during Sea Camp weekends. I walked through all the water stations making sure I didn't slip and stayed hydrated. At mile 11, my knees were screaming at me. Sea World was insight and I just had to ouch through 2 more miles. While looping back toward the overpass into the Sea World parking lot I passed Amy and Paula on the other side of the road. It was the motivation I needed to run harder and faster and finish this thing. I caught up to Shelly and then passed her to sprint through the finish line. The announcer even said that is one way to finish a race. After I heard that I thought I should have run in with Shell. I found a garbage can full of water bottles downed and few and then grabbed some ice to put on my knees. After a few minutes I hobbled over to the finish line to cheer Amy & Paula, but they had already crossed and double backed to find us. We all took a seat so I could finish icing me knees.