On Sunday, October 18th, I was in San Francisco. I was surrounded by friends and family. The weather was perfect. My sneakers were set.
And I was NERVOUS.
We arrived on Friday around noon. Our hotel was the St Francis at Union Square, which was right where the race started. Nike had TAKEN OVER Union Square for the expo and I knew that I wouldn't be comfortable until I went to get my bib number. After checking into the hotel, my parents, sister and brother-in-law went with me to get the goods.
The expo was...chaotic. They didn't assign you a number based on your time and they actually were letting people pick their corrals. Bad. Idea. As much as it hurts your self-esteem to be in the lower corrals, they work for a reason. The start line is crazy enough without people running in front of you at a madly slow pace. The rest of the expo had smoothies from Safeway, manicures from JetBlue (I declined), and some samples of Kashi, Ghiradelli, and Luna moons. However...there was no where to buy GU. No where to pick up last minute supplies. I couldn't believe that a destination marathon, with people coming from all over, wouldn't have more amenities. We went to the nearby Nike store (my name was on the wall!!!) but they didn't have any either. They didn't even know what it was!!
We went on to do some touristy things in San Fran...my dad took us all out to a really nice restaurant on Friday night and we watched the sun set over Alcatraz. On Saturday, I got to see a very good friend of mine who moved out there! She and her boyfriend took my bf and me around and even took me to a sporting goods store to get my GU. RELIEF! No GU = bad racing for me.
That night, I was all nerves. I made my boyfriend turn down a fancy dinner that my dad (and the rest of my family) got invited to, and he stayed in the hotel room with me and ordered room service. Meal of choice? Spaghetti of course. Still, I felt extremely nervous, almost like it was my first race. My parents stopped by and gave me a new arm band for my ipod, which cheered me up a little. Mostly, I was just ready to run.
Sunday morning came quickly and I was up at 5am. By 6, I was dressed, ready, and waiting! I had my race day Clif bar and went over to my parents' room. they were also ready and a little nervous about finding me. We went down to meet my friend who had braved the nerves and decided to do this feat with me.
The starting line was SO disorganized. Hoards of insane women hungry for Ghiradelli and Tiffany's crowded Union Square. My friend pulled me close to the start and we awaited the starting gun. My boyfriend, who was not there, said that he heard every word of the announcer, he was so loud, and with a burst of Beyonce's "Single Ladies," we were sent forth into San Francisco.
The race, of course, is something of a blur by now. The weather was insanely perfect and the views were absolutely amazing! I was impressed by how many people were out to cheer us on. We went through several neighborhoods where people had come outside to cheer. Nike had set up some pretty cool signs along the course to remind us to have fun.
The hills were brutal. I can't lie and say they weren't. The uphill was ok, especially since I had practiced it. But the downhill was treacherous and by mile 16, I could feel it in my ankles. It was an intense pain, something I hadn't ever really felt before. I also hadn't found my family yet. I didn't find them until mile 19 - after running by the beach, the Golden Gate Park, and the piers. My parents suddenly appeared and my mom ran out to run a mile with me! She carried the sign she made for me with her and got everyone to cheer for me! That was definitely the high point of my race! :)
But at this point, my ankles in severe pain. They felt like they were grinding. Several times I felt like I was going to cry and I could only remember my mother's words, "only 6 miles to go! you're going to finish it!" as I moved forward. Each step was painful and I had to stop to try to stretch them out. Nothing helped. I passed the Ghiradelli stop and couldn't even eat the chocolate. The view stopped being so beautiful...all I wanted was to finish.
And then...I did. In a blur, I was done. I hardly remember it. I passed the firefighters, who looked dapper in their tuxedos. They handed me a Tiffany's box. I took my timing chip off my shoe and turned it in. I found my sister and her husband at the finish line, where they hugged me in spite of my stinkiness.
All I wanted to do was sit down.
Slowly, everyone found us. My parents, my boyfriend, my friend who had braved the roads to come see me. I opened my Tiffany's box to reveal an adorable necklace that says, Run like a Girl. And then my boyfriend and my mother walked with me behind everyone else as I tried to make it to my friend's car. My ankles and the arches of my feet screamed every time I put pressure down on them.
Now, a week later, they still hurt. I'm not really sure why, I think it's because of the downhills. They hurt less now, more of an ache than a grinding pain...but in general I was still pretty happy. I finish in 4 hours and 42 minutes...about 20 minutes more than the Marine Corps. With the hills, I'm happy I finished in under 5 hours! I reached the half point in just over 2 hours. This one is not a good one to try to hit Boston for!!
Yesterday was the Marine Corps here in DC...I went to watch and cheered my brains out! It is really fun to cheer, especially when you know what people need to hear. But it's also really hard to watch and not be able to participate. I wanted to be one of the runners so badly! The looks of agony, the grins at a good cheer, the limping, the bloody spots on shirts where nipple rub had gone too far....oh man, I was jealous.
Somewhere in my race on the 18th, I thought to myself, "I need a new hobby." And at the time...yeah. I thought I did. But this is really what I love to do. I really love running. And I can't wait for the next one!
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