Now that the LA Marathon training is in full swing, the runs have gotten increasingly longer and general overall feeling of bodily well being has… well changed. One of the things I usually struggle with when it comes for training for a full marathon is consistently doing my long runs on the weekend. My own personal fix for getting those weekend runs in is having some “side training” to rewards myself with – racing half marathons.

The half marathon (13.1 miles) is by far my favorite distance, not to push 26.2 aside (I can’t *not* want to run a marathon every once in a while). So, now with the training runs getting longer and a more challenging to do, I am still beyond excited for my upcoming race on Feb 7: Surf City USA in Huntington Beach. Part of the California Dreaming Series of races this is one of my favorite half marathons to date. This is my second year running this race and my one year anniversary of conquering the half marathon distance. I remember when I ran it for the very first time. The course was so *awesome* – great scenery, ocean breeze and phenomenal supporters cheering you along the way. It was a fast and flat race. The course also provided local bands and entertainment along every 5 miles or so playing their best rendition or homage to the Beach Boys. My favorite part of the race had to be between the 8-11th mile when you were out of the residential neighborhoods and out along PCH. The view of the ocean was majestic. It also made the arduous task of pushing out the last few miles as hard as possible bearable.

This year I’m hoping to feel accomplished but in a different way, I imagine powering across the finish line and if I’m tears (I was last year) it’s from how much *less* pain I’m in than I thought I might be. Wishful thinking. I’d settle for a PR.

Surf City is already sold out, but if you’d like to doing a cool training half marathon run next February in prep for the LA Marathon you check out races on Racevine.com – it’s a Yelp type of site for race reviews and a cool way to look up details and experiences from other racers.