December has been a total whirlwind & I’m way behind on race reports.  As a result, I’m going to combine the Rock N Roll San Antonio 10K & Marathon report. 

Rock N Roll San Antonio was the first weekend of December.  The 10K was on Saturday & the 5K, 1/2 & full marathon were on Sunday.  Initially I thought I was going to be solo on this trip so I signed up for the 10K & Marathon so that I would have something to occupy my time.  I anticipated amazing weather and a bit of escape from the cold, ice & snow of the Midwest but I was pretty much wrong on every accord.  I left a land of ice & snow & entered a land of cool, cold rain.  Flood Warnings.  Thunderstorm Warnings.  Temps that were unseasonably cold in San Antonio.  It was hard to really see & do much because there was so much pouring rain.  Looked like a fun city, we were just pretty limited to our activities.  Fortunately, we had an amazing hotel that was steps from a huge shopping mall & I had company.  Huge win!  Meet my friend, Nicki.  She’s a big fan of RnR races & is always with me at RnR Chicago!  She made the trip to San Antonio to share the RnR fun!!

I’ve really come to love Rock N Roll races this year.  I’ve used my Tour Pass as much as my budget would allow, and maybe a little bit beyond that. 

Rock N Roll provides a series of events for everyone.  You can participate if you are a beginner or a serious athlete.  If you’ve been following me for a while, you know these multi-event weekend races are my favorite because I know people at all levels of fitness & ability.  I like it when we can ALL go to an event and each find something that is fun & challenging without excluding anyone.  Thanks, Rock N Roll Marathon Series!!

RNR San Antonio 10K – Saturday

The 10K was all about fun.  After I found out that Nicki was joining me, I decided to run with her.  Its always more fun running with a friend!  The 10K start was at Sunset Station.  Cool area!  Only a 5-10 minute walk from most of the downtown hotels.

Light Rain with a “feels like” 43 temp.  Everyone was freezing & I should have probably worn arm warmer cuz when the hard rain really started right before the start, I must admit, I was cold.  But we were ready to run!

Since the rain was light for the 10K, kinda off and on, I tried to take a lot of pics.  I knew the entire weekend was supposed to be rainy.  I took advantage of the light rain, the slow pace due to flooded streets and I took my sweet time, stopping for as many pics as I liked.  Course highlights:  Alamo City Music Hall, San Antonio Museum of Art (2nd pic below), Methodist Hospital (6th/last pic below), Crocket Park & so many beautiful churches.

I will say this must be the quietest race that I ever ran.  None of the buzz that is part of usual road races.  It was deadly quiet.  I tried to get the crowd going a couple times by signing, hooping/hollering but they all looked at me like I was crazy.  Solemn crowd.  I’m not sure if the weather dampened their spirits or there were a lot of new runners out on course, but its something I’ll always remember about the San Antonio 10K….. the quietness.…. except for Nicki & I.

More running.  Several passes over the Riverwalk. Tobin Center of Performing Arts.  More churches.  Majestic Theatre.  Buckhorn Museum of Texas.  Then the finish at The Alamo.

Loved the 10K.  Great race.  Very low key.  Good for beginners. Several water stops with port-o-potties.  Music, even with the rain!!  Lots of volunteer & police support.  Great route.  2,014 finishers. 

RNR San Antonio Marathon – Sunday

Sunday was the main day of events.  A lot more energy & a normal sized RnR crowd!  Rock N Roll ran the 5K with 1,484 finishers, the 1/2 marathon with 10,711 finishers & the marathon with 2,587 finishers.  It was cold & rainy.  Heavy rain with wind.  Lots of flooding.  If you are the person who doesn’t like to get your feet wet, I hope you stayed tucked in your bed at the hotel.  It was wet and I don’t mean maybe.  It rained hard for the first 12 miles.   So hard that I had trouble wrapping my brain around it.  I was numb & honestly had a hard time keeping my head in the game.  I couldn’t see much thru the pouring rain, so no pics were to be taken.  Some streets were so flooded that I stopped to walk thru not knowing how deep the water.  I thought I heard thunder several times but never saw lightening.  I honestly expected to get turned into the finish when I reached the half turnoff, but that didn’t happen.  Around mile 9, I finally accepted the weather that was given to me, put my head down and started to run.  I’m not sure what I was doing before that but I’m pretty sure it had more to do with feeling sorry for myself than running.  And I must say that normally the rain doesn’t bother me but I was cut to the core with coldness.  I had on a tank, shorts & arm warmers.  I was dressed appropriately.  I know I would have been miserable with more layers of wet clothes but that didn’t make me feel better. It was probably a “feels like 40” temp but I couldn’t keep warm. 

I’ll go thru the course highlights but honestly, I’d be remiss to say that I actually saw much of anything. I ran thru some areas that I knew would be really cool if I could see them but I really had to tuck my head and fight to keep moving.  The cold rain & wind was stiffening my joints up and rotating my legs was becoming a chore.

Course highlights:  Aztec Theatre, Commerce Street Shops/Restaurants, Milam Park, Historic Market Square, San Fernando Cathedral, Market Street, Crockett Street & Historic Crockett Hotel (where I stayed – Loved it!), The Alamo, First Baptist Church of San Antonio, San Antonio Museum of Art, Overtime Theater, The Grotto, Pearl Brewery, Josephine Theater, Paper Tiger Theater, St Sophia Greek Orthodox Church, Allison Park, San Antonio Zoo, The Doseum, Alamo City Music Hall, Blessed Sacrament Academy, Mission County Park, Mission San Jose, Steves Homestead Museum, Historical King William Neighborhood, & the King William Park.  

My favorite part of the run was at the end running thru the Historical King William Neighborhood.  Very cool, old, historic homes.  Loved it. 

This would be a flat & fast course, if the weather were good.  It seemed like a very level course and I didn’t strain with any big climbs that I recall.  Lots of scenic spots.  The music as always, was great.  I was surprised that even with the pouring rain, most of the acts were still out on course.  This isn’t always the case with entertainment on rainy courses.  Lots of port o potties, aid stations, medical stations.  Lots of volunteers & police support.  Course was very well marked.  We had several spots where the course went in both directions but never was it confusing.  Good course, I’d like to run it again under different circumstances.

Finish was in Alamo Park, like the previous day.  Easy to get my bearings and find my way back to the hotel.  Like all the RNR marathons, I received a finisher jacket.  I got a bigger one this time so that I could wear it for winter with my layers underneath.  This jacket has become a staple in my running closet.  Thin, reflective & water resistant.  I’m very happy to have several, even if they are all the same color.   SWAG below, with Remix medal for doing both the 10K & the marathon.  Cool medals.  Cool SWAG.

That’s the end of my Rock N Rolling this year!  Its been a great year and I traveled several places because of the Tour Pass.  I thoroughly enjoyed it and thank Rock N Blog for the opportunity to do this.  I know this was a really long report and if you made it this far, I’ll let you in on a little secret.  My favorite RnR race of the year was …… New Orleans.  RnR New Orleans is one of my favorite marathons of all times.  It’s a great race, you see all of New Orleans in one shot & the weather was perfect.  Check out RnR New Orleans or one of the other great RnR events!!

** Happy Rock N Rolling  ** Amanda – TooTall Fritz