Ojai Half Marathon- Race #5 of 14

I am well on my way to the halfway point on this years goal of 14 half marathons. My halfway half will be in Mammoth in June and I am really excited that that race is going to be #7. Mammoth is a special place for me and I really cannot wait to run that race.

But, here we are at the end of April and my love for running and my excitement for my goal is growing. That's obviously a good thing because I still have 9 more races to go in the next 8 months.

I wasn't too sure about this race today. I knew that the course had a generous 4 hour time limit, however I got there this morning and found out there were only about 350 runners running the half marathon. My mom was with me and I looked at her and simply said, "I may finish last today.. But, finishing last is better than not finishing which is better than not starting."

Thankfully, there were pace groups and I stood in the corral with the 3 hour pacer. I wanted to try to finish before 3 hours (which is what I attempt at every half marathon) but I wasn't going out to PR. I just recently PR'd in February and I did that by increasing my intervals. I haven't been working on speed and I've been really comfortable in doing 30:1 intervals. Plus, this is a new course that states "no whiners or crybabies need apply" on their website due to the rolling hills.

I wish I could recap a race better than I do. I wish I could remember the things that I see, think about or do while out there. Unfortunately I think a lot while I'm out there, but never remember anything when I get in front of the computer. At least nothing interesting..

Here's what I remember:
1. My legs felt tight up until mile 2.5ish
2. I had a cramp on my right side up until mile 2ish
3. The scenery was amazing
4. The bike lanes were really small and I thought on more than one occasion that I was going to be clipped by a truck
5. A lot of runners use both headphones
6. I like it when runners sing out loud.. most of the time

7. I like taking pictures while running

8. Running in a new place with nice scenery makes a run go by fast
9. Running past the finish line down 1.5 mile and back 1.5 miles before finishing is torture

10. You can have a great run without hitting a wall and still get bored towards the end
11. Some days you feel like you're going to have a bad, hard run and it ends up being the opposite
12. Getting a cramp 2 miles before the finish line sucks
13. My mom is amazing and I'm so glad to have her. It helps running towards someone to celebrate with after you finish running for 13 miles

And with that, here are some pictures from the race.