Race Report - 2014 Rock 'n' Roll San Jose

Saturday Travel

Took an early (pre-sunrise) flight out of San Diego to maximize my time in San Jose. Everything fit in my backpack, which made travel easy as I only had just one bag to carry on the plane. Met up with several fellow runners at the gate doing the same run. The flight was nice and short, especially since the past airline flights I have taken over the years have been long international flights. I caught a ride with one of my fellow runners to the Marriott Hotel where I was staying. The Expo opened at 9:30 a.m. and I was able to check in the Hotel early which allowed me to comfortably change into my Elvis outfit and leave my stuff in the room.

Saturday Expo

San Jose McEnery Convention Center is adjacent to the Marriott, so a short indoor walk to the Expo. I wore my compression socks with some sandals, so it appeared I had shoes on. Elvis is popular, so in additional to all the comments, a few stops for photos to anyone that asked. Hamming it up for the camera ever chance I got. The last Rock 'n' Roll Expo was in San Diego, and it was crowded. With 22,000 runners (about 17000 Half, 5000 Marathon) that was to be expected. In San Jose, about half the participants (3172 finishers in the 10K, 8362 finishers in the Half). The rest of the day was spent with light sight seeing, and resting in the hotel room in preparation for the race the next day.

Sunday Half Marathon

Race started at 8 a.m. and I arrived at 6 a.m. in hopes to entertain the runners with a Elvis Photo Op. The distance to the start is about a half mile, but I noticed no other runners on the streets as I was walking over. There was no one I knew from the San Diego Elvi group (about 10 of us) who was going to San Jose besides me, so I expected to be the only Elvis. Not sure if it's a San Jose thing, but there were few runners in the morning until 7 a.m. with the bulk of the runners arriving at 7:30. I managed to work with the photographers for some Elvis shots as runners tricked in. As everyone assembled in the corrals for the race starts, I met one barefoot runner, then later on another Elvis. The first time Elvis was wearing a store bought costume, and I was selling him on my custom made running Elvis outfit. I worked my way to the back of the corral to get a better position for the start of the run. I am still recovering from my Achilles strain, and I was not going to start (or even race) fast. The corral was actually the 2 hours group, but I did not move back because I needed all the extra time I could get, given my past results running a Half, 4:00, 3:50. I wore my GPS watch, but only would use track my distance, not my pace.

I was totally unfamiliar with the course, all I really knew was it was pretty flat. As a barefoot runner, It's always nice to know what's ahead, but I did not have time to survey the course before the race. The 10K race also started with the Half Marathon runners, so the first 5 miles were shared. At the 10K turnaround, I saw some of the Half Marathon runners headed to the finish, and cheered them on. Still runners around me, so I don't feel so lonely. At the 10K point, I was holding a 14 minute pace, but I started to feel that I was getting tired. The sun was out since the start of the race, and most of the course was lined with large trees which provided much needed shade. The temperature was warm, but not hot, so even though I was wearing the Elvis wig, I was not overheating. I could feel myself slowing, and more runners (and walkers) started passing me, and there were fewer people around me as I got to the end. The surprising thing was that I was still running after mile 10. The last two half marathons, I had to walk towards the finish. Turning the last few corners into the last point one of the race, I picked up the pace with a strong finish, something I have not done in months.

My checkout time at the hotel was at 1 p.m. and I looked at my watch and the time was 11:45. Not much time to hang around, and there were not many people around anyway. Just a block away was my hotel, so I headed off to take a shower and enjoy the rest of the day.

Flight Home

Arrived at the airport several hours before my flight left. I had planned on meeting up with people after the race, but everyone was busy. I used the VTA (Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority) Light rail service, to get from the Hotel to the Airport. Best 2 bucks I spent in San Jose. The airport Wi-Fi is free and extremely fast. What would you expect at a hi-tech area known as Silicon Valley? There is no swelling on my left leg, so I decided not to wear my compression socks on the flight back. My left heel is a bit sore, but that normal after a long run, when I cannot maintain proper form. Sun was setting on the flight home, and I purposely sat on the right side with a window seat.