Running the San Diego Rock n' Roll Marathon

I went for a stroll through the Gaslamp district in San Diego yesterday evening in search of an Italian restaurant. I started this search very early because I didn’t feel much like staying in my “hostel” room as it reminded me too much of prison. The great part about being in the “free” world is I had the option to go outside when and where I wanted. This is something I had taken for granted prior to my incarceration but thankfully I am eternally grateful to be able to move about on my terms not someone else’s. It was indeed early much too early for dinner so I slowly walked around San Diego.

In the Gaslamp district there are many different types of restaurants and any cuisine could be found. It is a very nice part of San Diego but for some reason it seems this should be a great deal nicer. I could be spoiled from growing up so near New York City which is a city unto itself and often I make comparisons to other cities which just aren’t fair. My top three U.S. cities are New York, San Francisco and Boston; from there it seems to drop off considerably. Please don’t get me wrong San Diego is a very nice city but it seems to be lacking something.

As I walked around I sort of figured out what it was lacking which was character. There are all these very nice restaurants in basically one area of the city but it just didn’t seem to have any character like one may find in those three cities I previously mentioned. I used to have discussions with my former prison roommate regarding San Diego. He had lived there for over 17 years and was originally from the east coast. We both agreed San Diego wasn’t in the company of the great cities of the United States but does have its advantages. One advantage is the weather which barely varies year round with low clouds in the morning which turns to bright sunshine in the afternoon. The temperatures rarely make it over 70 degrees but there are days when it can reach into the 80’s. I have to admit having lived in the Western part of the United States I have been spoiled by the weather and I certainly don’t mind the 300 plus days of sunshine!!

I found a very nice Italian restaurant where I could order my vegetarian pasta. I sat outside on the patio and just watched the people walk on by as I ate. The service was very good and there did seem to be a buzz in the air with so many people preparing for the marathon. I talked with the waiter about the marathon and it was funny because I didn’t say that I was running but apparently the waiter took one look at me and knew I was running. It was great people watching and I had a very good dinner. There is no denying that I missed my family at times like these; heck I miss my family all the time!! I have learned to make the best of just about any situation and this is what I did this weekend.

My dinner was over and the restaurant was getting very crowded so it was a good thing I ate early. I walked back to my car and headed back to the hostel where I would call it a night. I had to wake up very early this morning so I thought the best course of action was going back to my room and keeping myself occupied for a few hours before going to sleep. This was my strategy in prison and it worked much better out here in the free world because I had my laptop and the small television along with a book to keep my occupied. I did feel that something was missing and that something was my old roommate. The old was so reminiscent of prison that I found myself looking across the room (which wasn’t very far) only to see a bare wall not my old roommate. Oh well; I did retire very early in hopes of getting some sleep before the marathon.

I found myself sleeping much like I did in prison which was in one hour intervals. The hostel didn’t have the best insulation and sounds did travel (again just like prison). Since I am still a light sleeper and probably will always be a light sleeper I kept waking up. Of course; because the bathroom was down the hall I kept waking up and “going”. This was a semi-ordeal because I had to dress complete with “shower shoes” to walk down to the bathroom. Making matters somewhat worse the hostel was located adjacent to the train/trolley station which wasn’t exactly quiet. I guess I got four or five hours of sleep but this didn’t matter because the adrenalin of race day would get me through.

I was up early; checked out and made my way over to the finish line parking lot. I had to park my car at the finish line and take a shuttle bus to the start in order for my car to be at the finish line when I completed the marathon. I must commend the organizers of the event because everything was very seamless with no glitches that I could discern. This was the 11th running of the San Diego Rock n’ Roll marathon and there were 20,000 participants the biggest field ever for the event. This really is an enormous undertaking coordinating all the various agencies throughout the city and everything as far as I am concerned went great. Also; a big “thank you” to the many volunteers who were out on the course doling out the waters, Accelerade, Vaseline and other items; the marathon couldn’t operate without these volunteers.

About an hour prior to the start time I took a seat on the grass. I looked around and had to smile because my life is indeed wonderful. Even with the absence of my family I am so blessed. Here I am three months removed from prison about to run in a marathon. Life is so much better in recovery and I had a whole new perspective as I watched all of my fellow runners. Everyone seemed genuinely excited prior to the race just like I felt. There were smiles from so many participants and the energy was very high. I moved into my “corral” (the start is broken into segments which are call corrals; the corrals are designed so the faster runners were closer to the start line then the slower runners) and had chills as the “Star Spangled Banner” was sung. The race was about to commence and I couldn’t help but to let out a big smile.

The wheelchair division went first and five minutes later the gun sounded and the 11th running of the San Diego Rock n’ Roll marathon was underway. I started running with my head held high and just taking everything in as I ran. As I was taking everything in I almost twisted my ankle in the first ten strides I took. I had tripped over one of those reflectors that were embedded in the street but thankfully I was fine but I had to pay closer attention to what was in front of me!!

I had some time goals set in my mind and when I got to mile one I was right on those time goals. The first ten miles of the race went by so quickly and I was feeling great. I had hit all of my time goals and I was running a little ahead of these time goals. I know from past marathons that running fast early is not a good equation so I had to hold back on going any faster. As strange as it sounds it is difficult for me to hold back and conserve but this is imperative when running 26.2 miles. I did my best but I think I was going too fast early because I felt it much later in the race.

I crossed the halfway point right on schedule and was well ahead of my projected time goal. This happened to me at the Los Angeles Marathon but I “crashed and burned” at mile 22 and I didn’t want a repeat. I continued on and the miles were adding up since I could feel it in my quadriceps. My shins felt great and my calves felt great as well. However; running this marathon does make the quadriceps very tight and the tightness was there as the miles piled up.

I made it to mile 23 well ahead of schedule and the sun had broken through much earlier then it normally does. The sun is an enemy when running marathons because it saps energy quite quickly but I forged on. My mile times were getting slower and slower as I neared the finish line but the positive side I was nearing the finish line. I reached down deep and applied the Gamblers Anonymous principles to my running stride taking one step at a time. I just had to keep putting one foot in front of the other and soon I would reach the finish line. This strategy worked very well and I crossed the finish line in 3 hours 25 minutes and 32 seconds a good 10 minutes ahead of my previous personal best time set at the Las Vegas Marathon.

I was very elated to complete the marathon much faster then I had imagined. My legs were indeed tight as I crossed the finish line and this is not uncommon as I watched my fellow runner struggle to bend over. I watch another runner take a few minutes to bend down and pick up their water bottle. I would have helped but it would have taken me longer!! The finish line had a different feeling then the start line but there was a sense of accomplishment which does come at a price in the soreness of the body. I was very fortunate because my soreness was limited to my legs but all in all I felt great.

It was bittersweet crossing the finish line because on one hand I accomplished my goal but my family was 3,000 miles away. I did call them when I got back to the car and it was very nice because I had three messages waiting for me; one from my wife, another from my daughter and the last from my mother. I called everyone on my drive back home and yes, it was a glorious day.