2015 Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon

September 26-27

Last year, San Jose was my first non-San Diego Rock 'n' Roll race, and only my 2nd time as Elvis. This year, San Jose will be my 7th RnR this year. Elvis made his 11th (and 12th) appearance. Better prepared this year. No more debilitating injuries, and a fashion consciousness and city color coordinated Elvis. I arrived last year on Saturday, just early enough to see the 5K course still in place. This year, I did the Re-mix, so a 5K on Saturday with the Half on Sunday. So much more bling to bring home, yes, 5 total: 5K, Half, Remix (5k, Half), CaliCombo (SF, SAN, SJ), Stairway to Seven (AZ, DC, SF, SD, SEA, CHI, SJ).

Friday Fly

Normally I get the first flight out of San Diego, but earlier this year, I was caught off guard when the flight was canceled. This year, I booked the 2nd flight out, which would mean the the plane had to fly in from somewhere, instead of having to be stationed overnight in San Diego. I arrived at the airport early, and had a TSA Pre-check, so I arrived at the gate just after 6 am for my 7:50 flight. Southwest was just boarding a flight leaving at 6:35 at the same gate, and was able to change since the flight was not full. I had a busy day planned, so arriving earlier would be less stressful.

I used the VTA light rail last year to get to the airport from the hotel for just 2 bucks, one way. This year, I got the day pass for $6, so I could go anywhere the public transit would take me. First stop the Marriott which is adjacent to the Expo. The Convention Center stop is on a few hundred yards from the Hotel. Luckily I was able to check in early and had some time to unpack my bags before I met a friend in Mountain View for lunch. The Expo opened at 1 pm, but I was able to scope the site before hand, so that Elvis would not get lost heading to the Expo later in the afternoon. There was a large sign directing runners to the entrance, and I saw the Elvi Group photo from last year's San Diego Rock 'n' Roll race, my first time as Elvis. I never noticed this sign at previous races, so hopefully it will be used in future Expos.

The trip on the light rail took about an hour, and I was able to see parts of Silicon Valley and the companies along the route. A few workers would board on their lunch, since the termination at Mountain View contained lots of places to eat. I had plans for dinner with some different friends in Milpitas on the other side of San Jose. It would have been more efficient to just go from Mt. View to Milpitas directly, but I wanted to go to the Expo to get my bib on Friday. Headed back to the Hotel would be my 3rd time passing the Metro/Airport stop.

A quick change to the blue Elvis costume before I headed to the Expo for the bib pickup. Not many people at the Expo, since it was still Friday afternoon and lots of folks were still working. I didn't have much time, but I did stop the Toyota booth since they were offering a $10 gift certificate to the Brookes Merchandise store at the Expo. No time for a test drive today, but maybe tomorrow. Also noticed the Elvi picture used in other signage around the Expo. Back to the hotel room to change back to me. The trip to Milpitas would be over an hour, since I would have to transfer to a bus to complete the route. After dinner, I took the last bus at 8 pm to return back to the light rail station. Passed back through the Metro/Airport stop for the last time today, a total of 5. If I had paid for each travel individually it would have cost $10. Returning back to the Marriott around 10 pm, much later than I would have liked, but I didn't need to be well rested for a short 5K run.

Saturday 5k

The Saturday 5k started at a different location than the Half/10K on Sunday. When I looked up the location, it just happened to be a few hundred yards from the Marriott Lobby. That's too easy. I had my normal pre-race PowerBar breakfast, but I would hardly burn off the calories on such a short run. Race start time is 7:30 am, just a half hour after sunrise. Only about 2000 runners, so not a large crowd. I showed up at 7, and tried to find my running friends. I noticed the announcer, Ann Wessling, was at TriRock last weekend. I had seen her in Competitor Group races (RNR, TriRock) over the last few years, mainly in San Diego. I formally introduced myself, as she kind of knew me, mainly as the barefoot running guy. As we assembled for the start, Meb was headed to the start, and I was able to snag a picture with him.

The temperature was cool in the morning, around 60°F, which was great for me in my costume and wig. Since I was in a group, we all took off together at a faster pace then I would normally. From my training, I found that I can go hard the day before a Half, and still be OK. The first mile split at 10:47, which roughly what I did in my 5k race a few weeks ago. The course was mostly shaded, since there were lots of tall buildings and it was still early. I was having a conversation with another runner (a good sign that I wasn't going too hard), but at around mile 1.5, I could feel myself heating up, and decided to slow the pace down. Next split 11:12. With no one to talk/pace, I just took it easy to the finish, mile 3 split 11:42. Same finish line at the Half course, so a little preview of the final few hundred yards to the end. See the map above, only a mile of shared course between today's 5K and tomorrow's race. Official finish 34:52 (11:14 min/mile pace). Overall 940 of 1994, so I was faster than half the runners/walkers on this short 5K.

This was my first time using the Blue Elvis costume and I'll have to admit it's quite a nice color. I was able to match the Guitar with the bib which is always a nice touch. There is a problem with bleeding of the color, which I can hopefully correct. The hotel bath tub was a bit stained (sorry Marriott) after I rinsed off the costume before I packed it. Normally I would just pack the costume, but since I had an extra day I knew that it would dry before I packed up. As I was doing my social media post race stuff, I noticed that runRocknRoll put up a promotion clip in Instagram, wait, that's me. Click on the picture to open the link to the video on Instagram. The short clip would also be used for the combined race weekend composite promotion video at 0:16.

Saturday Expo

With all the travel visits with friends complete, my Saturday was less hectic. I had one more meeting with another running friend for lunch, but she met me at the Expo, so no travel required today. She would also be on the race course tomorrow (not running) cheering everyone on. I wasn't very hungry after the short 5K race, and since I was going out to lunch anyway, I just ate some of the race goodies for breakfast. 3 miles doesn't burn off much anyway, and I normally have a light breakfast.

With the blue costume drying, I used my white costume for the Expo. Way more people than yesterday, like a normal RnR race expo. Lots of Elvis picture requests, and as usual I did promotional shots for booths as requested. Even ran on a treadmill for a few minutes. A few hours at the Expo is way more than required to see everything. I had some extra time before lunch and decided to participate in the Toyota Ride & Drive event since there were few participates and the wait was short. I got a nice $10 gift certificate to the Brooks Official Merchandise Store at the expo. I didn't find anything I wanted, but the coupon is good until the end of the year, so maybe I'll use it in Las Vegas. I could also get another certificate at Denver when I'm there.

Light lunch, since I don't really eat much now days anyway. I happened to end up on the other side of the convention center, and to get to my hotel room, I would have to pass the Expo anyway. Very different going to the Expo as a normal (not Elvis) person. Bumped into Ann Wessling (race announcer) and talked for a bit. Light walk around town to find an early dinner, and relaxed before retiring for the night.

Sunday Half

There's a large group of runners that tour the country, so we try to group together at the start. The plan was to meet at Corral 3 at 7:30 am. The start was about a half mile from the Hotel, so I decided to wear my flip flops on my way there and use the Gear Check to hold them until the end of the race. Always easier (use less energy) to walk when you don't have to be careful of every step. Last year, I left too early (6 am), and nobody was there. I left the hotel about 6:45 am, hoping to arrive around the start before 7 am. There were already lots of people walking to the start (from the Light Rail stop), so flip flop Elvis just kind of blended in. I had difficulty getting a GPS signal lock, and must have wasted 10 minutes as I moved to different spots. I got to the start line around 7:15, and as usual many Elvis picture request. The girl I asked to take my picture got creative with the tilt, and it actually came out nice.

Saw a few other Elvi, on the way to higher corrals, one a first timer, and another I met before (and took a picture with) in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Both were women. I'm sure there were other various Elvi, but none from the San Diego 2014 group since I know all of them. As it got close to our group meeting time of 7:30, I worked my way back to corral 3, and noticed a news crew from KTVU channel 2. As usual, Elvis is always trying to photo bomb shots, as most people do not mind. As I approached them, the reporter Christien Kafton saw me, and was impressed with my outfit and no shoes. His plans was to interview a lady who was running her first Half (and race), and asked if he could interview me as well. My fellow group runners were just outside the corral, and I was waving to them that I was going to be on the news, live. The station recorded the live broadcast, and the Facebook link is below.

There were lot of runners for the Sunday event. About 3200 for the 10K, 8300 for the Half, all started together. Our group assembled into the corral, and we got our group selfie. As we headed towards the start line, I waved my yellow guitar at the announcer area, and Ann Wessling (on the mike) spotted me called out my real name (now that she know who I really am). Cool morning temperature (60°F) like yesterday morning, but a little cooler high temperature, so it was a good day for a race. The first 5 miles of the course are shared with the 10k runners, so it's more crowded during the start. Since I was in corral 3 (actual bib put me in corral 14, 2:30 finish) which is the 1:45 Half finish, the group spread out quickly. I actually felt no effects from yesterday's run, and had a good feeling about the race, especially since I was on injury recovery last year, and was in slight pain the entire run but managed a first and fastest mile at 12:44. As usual, a bit tight at the start, but I knew once I was warmed up I would feel better. Within a quarter mile, I switched my watch into distance mode, and ran by feel, pace information does not help me in the beginning of a run, better I know nothing. Actual splits were 10:46, 11:32, 11:54, 12:20, 13:16, 11:40, 11:02, 11:10, 11:46, 11:48, 12:08, 12:14, 11:34.

The beginning part of the course had less shade than the last half. I felt some of the heat in the beginning, and slowed my pace as necessary. Around mile 2, I felt a bit like using the Porta-Potti, but with wait lines, I hoped to hold it until after the 10k split. It's always nice to repeat run a course, I knew the course surfaced varied, but nothing extreme. The first 4 miles are also just my warm up as I determine how much effort I can deliver given all conditions. Just before the split, there were a group potties with no lines, that was my stop as reflected in my slower split of 13:16. No other potty stops necessary after that, since most of the input liquid came out as sweat. Felt much better not having to "hold it", and may have picked up the pace a bit because I felt more comfortable. Just before the split I spotted my friend across the street cheering, but was too far away (street was wide) to get her attention, besides I'd see her on the way back. There are two spots along the course where you can see other runner on the opposite sides. Around mile 4.5 to 6.2, but there is a concrete median separating the lanes, so no high fives. I was watching the lead runners of the Half, and finishers of the 10k. This was the 10th annual event, so there were about 150 legacy runners who wore silver bibs. Of course I didn't actually see a silver bib, since I was looking at the backs of runners up to this point. First silver bib I saw was Number 400, a 43 year old man (1:20 finish, 6:07 pace). Wow, I've sure in the past 10 years he may have won his age group at this race (placed 4 today). At mile 7.2, the route converged but only about 100 yards. I remember Chicago, where you could high five runners on the other side for a half mile. Still lots of runners on the course, and sections of the course surface were smooth and shaded. I felt that I moved faster, and checked my mile splits as the came up. The 11 minute miles were impressive, but I was not sure if I could maintain the pace given the change in shade and surface conditions.

Still some runners on the other side as I approach 9.1 (7.2 going in). As I headed to the final stretch after mile 11.2, only a few walkers on the other side of the course. My legs started to hurt a bit, mainly my quads, but I knew was near the finish, so I continue to push. A quick stop to say Hi to my friend and grab a pretzel. I knew I was going to break 3 hours, but did not know by how much. The last 0.1 mile was lined with spectators, and I could hear all the ELvis shout outs. Despite the excitement, I used up all my energy during the race, and could not get into sprint mode. Race clock was 2:3x something, so I knew I had run my fastest Half this year. Official time 2:36:12 (11:55 pace), much improved from last year's 3:30:21 (16:02 pace), so a new personal course record for me.

After a few selfie pictures at the finish line, both my own, and others who requested Elvis, off to find the Heavy Medal Booth. I brought my 5k medal from yesterday, so that I would have my weekend take at one time. I looked for the Gear check area, but did not see it close. Didn't matter, my feet were fine. The line was very long, mainly because this was a Re-mix weekend. The Stairway to Seven medal is huge. The Cali Combo is nice, too. But the #7 medal is really, really huge compared to the others. With 5 medals around my neck, it was difficult to not make a lot of noise. I finished early enough to meet with some of the other finishers of our Rock 'n' Roll Tour group. A few more group shots, congratulations, and well wishes. Some got their #15 Hall of Fame, and #10 Gold Record. Most of our group had the same number of medals as I did, so we were a pretty noisy group.

I still needed to get my flip flops, and discovered the Gear Check was in the same place where I dropped off, but that was a block away from the finish. I was actually closer to my hotel than to the Gear check area. No problem, my feet were still fine, maybe next year I won't bother with the gear check.

Sunday return

No panic trying to check out of the hotel in time, like last year. I checked my bags in at the lobby, so that I would not have to carry them around before going to the airport. Went out to lunch with some of the other runners, and then off to the airport via light rail to return home. Security extremely high due to the Prime Minster of India, who stayed at the Fairmont Hotel which is just a block from the Convention Center light rail stop. Bomb sniffing dogs before departure, then security in every car watching people. Of course they were checking for tickets, but I had purchased one. With all the visible police presence one would be foolish to test the honor system.

Total lunar eclipse tonight, so I made sure to sit on the left side window to get a glimpse. The event had already started when the place took off, and I saw the eclipsed moon, but not totality. Pictures using my iPhone didn't produce anything spectacular.