So, the Ventura Half Marathon, October 21, 2018.

I originally signed up for the full marathon shortly after running Mountains 2 Beach on Memorial Day, but I didn’t realize at the time how much I simply wanted to run for fun this last summer instead of training for yet another race (more on taking a mental break in a future post). Switching to the half marathon was an easy decision, and as a bonus it provided valuable insight into my current marathon fitness.

By the way, choosing to spend the night before the race at a motel in Ventura instead of arising at zero dark thirty and making the seventy mile schlep is one of the Great Decisions that have made my life worth living. It is right up there with contributing weekly to my 401k and not saying anything to offend my mother. There is a world of difference between getting up at 5:00 AM, which a reasonable person understands is morning (albeit a tad early) and an hour and a half earlier, which is quiet enough to make you wonder if civilization exists at all.

At five in the morning, I can find my way to the shuttle bus, talk about race strategy with anyone who will listen, and do a bit of warm up before the starting gun goes off. At three thirty, I can’t find my pants. A hundred and twenty dollars well spent. Trust me on this one.

The Ventura Half is almost all downhill (though the 600 foot drop is not, to abuse a brand name, Revel-ly). Oddly enough, that worked against me for the first few miles, as I wasn’t properly warmed up until I was about three miles in. But running down the Ojai bike path through the arboreal paradise of the Ojai valley is its own reward, and crossing the wooden San Antonio Creek bridge is, if I may say, a delight.

Of course, all good things come to an end at some point. The path flattens out and enters an oil soaked industrial wasteland, a reminder that the good ol’ USA doesn’t yet value alternative energy as much as other civilized countries do. Even then, the path winds its way through all that in a manner that makes you want to spread your arms out and yell “wheeee!” as you make every bend in the road. And all too soon, the bike path ends, and you turn a few corners and jump a few curbs as you enter Ventura proper and cross the finish line at Mission Park just a few blocks away from where I spent the night in not-getting-up-at-3:30 peace.

1:48:07. Not bad. Not my best, especially since I hadn’t run more than twice a week for the previous month, but it shows me where my marathon fitness is right now. I have a lot of road between today and a Boston Qualifier at the Mountains 2 Beach marathon next Memorial Day weekend.

But I know exactly where to start.