Long Beach Half Marathon

This is long overdue, and has been sitting in my drafts for a couple weeks now. I've been wanting to post it but have just been so busy to get all my thoughts about the Long Beach half marathon.

The Long Beach half marathon was a very memorable experience for many reasons:

- This would be my second half marathon.
- This was my goal race that I planned for after injuring myself during my first half marathon training.
- This would be my first real race while on Keto
- This was my first big race with my running club

I woke up around 4AM and headed to a nearby 24 hour Starbucks to pick up a Venti Americano with heavy cream. Headed back home to meet with my friend from my run club who was going to carpool with me. We headed off to Long Beach and after dealing with some traffic, arrived just in time to catch the full marathoners take off. Before we left the car, I took my "shot" of bouillon and coconut oil. (A little over an hour before my start time)
 
It was a brisk morning, but my club singlet, shorts, and arm sleeves kept me just warm enough.

It was about 30 minutes to our start, but I had yet to "clear my system". The coffee did not do it's job yet. I ended up "clearing" a little bit out of my system, but not as much as I would have liked and it made me a bit uncomfortable.

The half marathon started right at 7:30, but I was back in the 3rd wave so we took off about 10 mins after the gun. I ran with my friend from my run club, and started faster than I probably should have. (I think around 8:45-9:00 pace.) I felt great for most of it, until we reached around the 7 mile point. This was the beginning of the "boardwalk", a three mile cement path along the beach.

I originally planned on drinking my race drink during this stretch. The drink was a mixture of Vega sugar free natural electrolyte drink and coconut oil. Unfortunately, the cool weather caused the coconut oil to solidify. This made it very hard to get any liquid through the spout and also prevented me from getting any of the fat and MCT oil to give me the boost I was hoping for towards the end. This messed with me mentally a bit more than it probably affected me physically.

At this point I was starting to lose steam and my friend and a gap started to form between my friend and I Around mile 9, I had my first walk break. One of a couple. I noticed my posture was breaking down in my run and it was causing discomfort through out my body. I could feel some tightness in my inner left knee and my Achilles. I got a boost from seeing the leader of one of my other groups I run with. This made me straighten my back and fix my form a bit and instantly I felt relief. That only lasted for a little over a mile.

As soon as we finished the "boardwalk", the final stretch, I felt everything all over again. At this point, I was wish I had brought some sort of "backup" nutrition. I originally planned on bringing some Justin's hazelnut chocolate packs just in case I needed it, but ended up forgetting it in the car. I realized I would just have to do it without anything more. I passed by the Gu station, spectators with donuts, candy, and various fruit, and decided to push on as best I could. I did end up taking in half a cup of watered down Powerade at one of the stations.

I struggled through miles 10-12, having to walk a few times. Eventually, I can across the "1 more mile" sign. I knew I had to finish strong. I straightened my back and posture, and focused on running form and strides. The spectators started to build up as we got closer and closer to the finish line.

The last tenth of a mile was down hill so I came down flying. I crossed the finish line triumphantly.

In the end it, I completed my second half marathon with a time of 2:02:26. Just about a 13 minute improvement over my first half marathon. Granted, I was injured during that race and it was hilly. I still feel very happy with my time, and I'm looking towards that sub 2 hour half marathon.


Life and running is all about learning from prior experiences. My first half marathon I learned to not overtrain and follow a properly structured plan. This allowed me to come into this race healthy and ready. From this race I take away the importance of proper pacing. Especially when you are running Keto and not traditional carb heavy. This race also reminded me how important form is. I should know this considering my prior powerlifting experience, but when your body is fatigued it tends to slip away. Ironic, as I noticed as I focused on my form and posture, my fatigue, aches, and pains would seem to go away.

Overall, the experience itself was great. This was the first big race I ran with my running club, and it was great to get all the support from fellow club members throughout the race. After the race we had our own masseuses in our club canopy which worked out my calves and hamstrings a bit. Running with my friend was great, but I think it definitely hurt me pace wise. It was nice to celebrate with her at the finish line though knowing we both pushed ourselves.

I have confidence that with proper pacing, I can do much better, and I know first hand that you do not need carbs to run long distances. I look forward to the next race!