Rose Bowl Half Marathon 1:36.58

I didn’t really know how the Rose Bowl Half Marathon would go. I hadn’t done many races since October (i.e., 2), and while I knew I had endurance, I also knew I didn’t have sharp speed. Plus, I recently went to the doctor because breathing felt hard and I sleep an abnormal amount. I’m talking, I don’t feel rested until I have 11 hours of sleep and if I “only” get 8 or 9, I feel tired. I was happy I had a doctor who did not dismiss me. I got some tests done (waiting for a couple more) and realized I likely had COVID two months ago.

It’s starting to feel repetitive talking about it, but roughly 2 months ago, during my hip injury, I likely had COVID. I woke up one day congested, and that congestion just never went away. Then slowly, I started to feel more and more tired. I was never “super sick,” just congested, unlike when I had the flu. I wasn’t running at the time due to my hip injury. I am glad to have answers, but it didn’t bode well for the Rose Bowl Half Marathon. It feels like I’ve been climbing an uphill battle with Los Angeles Marathon training that I can’t seem to get to any sort of peak or turn a corner. But I am positive it will happen.

I like the Rose Bowl Half Marathon for a few reasons:

• It’s fast. The last mile is downhill
• There are so many cheer stations
• Plenty of parking and bathrooms at the start
• The weather usually mimics Los Angeles Marathon so it’s great preparation

Before the Rose Bowl Half Marathon:

I got to Pasadena around 3, picked up my bib, and relaxed. I do appreciate that Rose Bowl Half Marathon packet pickup is super easy and fast, and they have a few locations to choose from. We got dinner with our friends who were also running. Race morning came quickly. The Rose Bowl Half Marathon starts at 7 am, but there is a lot of traffic, and I wanted to be there by 5:30. (I would say get there at least 90 minutes early). We pretty much were at that time and still waited in a good amount of traffic. I only got about 0.8 miles of warmup, and then it was time to race. (I would have liked 2). I had a pretty nasty blister on the back of my heel and made the last-minute decision to race in Nike Tempo Next. They weren’t my first choice, but they didn’t rub my heel, and it would have been pretty gruesome because that blister has not been healing fast.

My A goal for the Rose Bowl Half Marathon was a sub 7:30 pace. My super A goal was to run faster per mile than the week before’s 8.2-mile race.

Rose Bowl Half Marathon:

I wanted to take the Rose Bowl Half Marathon easyish and at my goal marathon pace (for me, it’s hopefully around 7:30). I wanted to feel comfortable and not like I was above my means. That was exactly how the first couple of miles felt. We ran uphill, and I hit the first mile in 7:28 and the second mile in 7:35. I was fairly satisfied because that was around the pace I wanted, and the course was uphill. Mile 3 of the Rose Bowl Half Marathon had some hills, and I ran a 7:26.

The next few miles of the Rose Bowl Half Marathon had some downhill, and I told myself to push the downhills. I ran 7:14, 7:11, and 7:16. There were some hairpin turns that I’ve found the Nike Tempo Next to not be the best at, and I definitely lost a few seconds here and there. I thought maybe I would have to use the bathroom, but it seemed to go away around mile 6.5. I took my first Maurten 100 gel between miles 6-7. I waited for electrolytes which I grabbed and took part of my gel. I tried a new method where I took my gel over the course of a mile, and I liked that better than just chugging a gel in 50 meters.

Mile 7 of the Rose Bowl Half Marathon has some serious climbs, and it feels like it never ends. I ran a 7:33, and I was happy to have some downhill in mile 8. We went across the bridge back towards the Rose Bowl, and mile 9, and I ran 7:32. Mile 10 drops about 80 feet back down to the Rose Bowl, and I ran a 7:16. I probably could have run that faster, but I knew the last few miles around the Rose Bowl have a gradual uphill that I did not expect last year. I also took a second gel between miles 9-10.

Miles 10-11 of the Rose Bowl Half Marathon are two of the hardest. You are running up a gradual uphill. It’s not steep, but it’s basically 2 miles long, and you don’t really realize it other than the race feels hard. I kept telling myself it’s all downhill at mile 12, and I was going to send it then. I ran a 7:32 and 7:25. By the time I knew it, it was mile 12 and time to send it. Which is exactly what I did. I ran as hard as I could and ran a 6:42 final mile and a 6:21 pace for the last 400. I finished the Rose Bowl Half Marathon in 1:36.58. I was super pleased.

Rose Bowl Half Marathon Thoughts:

While the Rose Bowl Half Marathon is definitely not my fastest half marathon, I’m happy with the effort, especially after the last few months. I’m looking forward to building even more speed and hopefully running faster at the next few half marathons before Los Angeles. If you are looking for the best half marathon in Los Angeles, it’s truly the Rose Bowl Half Marathon. It’s hilly, but you can’t beat the crowds.

You can see Strava here and more race recaps here.

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Questions for you:

Have you run the Rose Bowl Half?

What is your favorite race?