Santa Barbara International Half Marathon

Did the Santa Barbara International Half Marathon last Saturday with my mother and sister. Almost no running specific training. Goal was to run it at a nice easy 10 min/mile pace. Didn't want to hurt myself, since I hadn't worked up to this.



Started near the back of the field. Was passing a lot of people and my HR shot up to low 170s. Everything felt good so I held it there. Nice easy 10min pace went right out the window.



Ended up finishing in 1 hr 49 min and 33 sec. Avg pace of 8:20 and avg HR of 173. 452th overall, out of 2816 people.

Last mile or two, I could feel my calves cramping. Within an hour of finishing, after a cooldown walk and some stretching, I could barely walk. My legs were so knotted up. Kept up the stretching in the following days though and it seems I managed to avoid injuring myself.

In other news, I've been doing a strength and conditioning program. Twice a week, three weeks in now. Lot of front squats, dead lifts and some short, 4 to 10 minute, CrossFit style workouts. Good stuff. Trying to build some core stretch, flexibility and work on muscle balance.