San Diego Beach & Bay Half Marathon 2026

Race Result

• Official results
• Race photos
• Strava activity

Why This Race

The San Diego Beach & Bay Half Marathon took place on April 11, 2026, the same day as Masaki’s birthday.

We have been running together since high school. He was one of the people who pushed me to take running seriously early on, and over the years we have continued to motivate and inspire one another through training, racing, and life transitions. When we realized that a half marathon fell exactly on his birthday, it felt like the perfect excuse to reconnect in the most familiar way possible: by going for a run together.

The race became a rust-buster, a diagnostic effort, and a birthday celebration. It was not peak fitness, and it was not race-specific fitness. With very minimal and sporadic training beforehand, the point was to show up honestly, see where I was, and have fun.

Running 1:18:59 for 14th overall was a good outcome, not because it proved anything dramatic, but because it showed that the aerobic foundation is still there. The bigger lesson is that consistency is the main limiter right now.

Media

Post-Race Reflection

This race ended up being exactly what it needed to be.

Earlier in the block, I had to let go of the idea that this half marathon was supposed to prove something about who I used to be as a runner. A faster goal, like 1:08, was not aligned with the reality of my life or training at the time. Finals, travel, work, mental bandwidth, and inconsistent running made it clear that the healthier goal was not to force a performance. The goal was to show up honestly.

So this became a rust-buster, a diagnostic, and a birthday celebration with Masaki.

I barely trained in the way I would normally define “training.” The build was sporadic. I was not in peak fitness. I was not in race-specific fitness. But I still got to the line, competed, and ran 1:18:59 for 14th overall. More importantly, I had fun.

That matters.

The biggest breakthrough from this race was not the time. It was remembering that running needs to support my life, not become another source of guilt. This race was a good reminder that I do not need to pretend I am somewhere I am not. I can be honest about where I am, enjoy the process, and still find out that a lot of the runner I have built over the years is still there.

Running 1:18:59 off inconsistent training is not evidence that I should immediately train harder. It is evidence that my aerobic base and racing instincts have not disappeared. The limiting factor right now is not talent. It is consistency.

That is the lesson I want to carry into summer training: stack days, rebuild rhythm, and let fitness return through patience rather than pressure.

Takeaways

• The race was a successful rust-buster.
• 1:18:59 off inconsistent training shows that the aerobic foundation is still present.
• The main limiter right now is consistency, not talent.
• The next block should prioritize rhythm, durability, and repeatable training weeks.
• Summer training should begin with consistency before intensity.

Training Log

You can see the training context for this block in my Spring 2026 Training Log.