August 3, 2008
As most of you know, I signed up for the first half of the
San Francisco Marathon and have been training for it for the last 12 weeks. Well, the weekend finally arrived, and I headed down to the
RunSFM Expo at Piers 30/32 on Saturday to pick up my race packet. It was a gorgeous Saturday, warm and sunny. Most of the folks I talked to were from out of town, very cool that this race is a travel destination race.
I spent the rest of Saturday taking it really easy, doing some errands, taking a nap, hydrating, eating a dinner, watching a movie, and then trying to get to bed early. As expected, I couldn't shut my brain off and before I knew it, the alarm was waking me up at stupid o'clock (4 AM).
Will was a sweetheart and woke up early to drive me down to the start line at the Embarcadero.
It was still dark out, and it was chilly. The full and half marathons were started in wave starts (to help with distribution of runners according to how fast they thought they would finish). I started with Wave 5, so I was off at 5:55 AM.
I brought along my handi digicam to snap pics along the route, so see below for a description (taken from the Run SFM website) accompanying my pics:
"The start line is located on the Embarcadero at Mission Street. Start the race by running along the Embarcadero and past the renovated Ferry Building and Food Mart. Within the first mile, you will see some San Francisco icons such as the Transamerica Building and Coit Tower. Continue along the Embarcadero and run past Pier 39. Listen closely to hear the sea lions cheer you on as you make your way towards Fisherman's Wharf."
"Running just feet from the San Francisco Bay, catch a whiff of the salt water in Aquatic Park. And as you pace yourself through Fort Mason and up McDowell Drive, take in one of the most the spectacular views the City by the Bay has to offer. Continue along the Marina, where the course takes you past private yachts and multi- million dollar homes. Entering the Presidio, you run past the restored wetlands and Crissy Field. From the top of Crissy Field Ave., you will overlook the beautiful San Francisco Bay and make your way towards the Golden Gate Bridge."
"As you cross the Golden Gate Bridge, look to the right and see the city's unforgettable skyline. On a clear day, you can look above and count the 600,000 rivets within each of the towers. As you enter Marin County, you loop around Vista Point to begin your return leg on the Golden Gate Bridge."
"Back in the Presidio, make your way to the crest of the hill and start cruising towards Sea Cliff. As you descend Lincoln Blvd., look to your right and take in the spectacular view of the Pacific Ocean entering into the San Francisco Bay."
"Make your way through the Richmond District and into Golden Gate Park. Escape from the urban atmosphere and see nature at its finest with waterfalls and beautiful gardens. Open your stride through the final stretch of the race and finish near the Rose Garden. The course ends on John F. Kennedy Drive at Park Presidio."
Overall, the race went really well for me. I was questioning my judgement for signing up for this thing during the first two miles, but then settled into a groove. I definitely had a stronger and faster first 6-7 miles than the second 6-7 miles, consistent with how I've been training. I had also been piecing together the race route during all my training runs, but had never done the whole thing in one time. It was a lot hillier than I had remembered, and I'm not just being a big wussy. If you don't believe me, check out the topography of the race here.
Before this race, the longest training run that I did was 11.5 miles, so once I got past that during the race, all I could think of was "hey, this is the longest I've ever run", followed by "now this is the longest I've ever run", and etc. Seriously, I don't know how marathoners do it, 13.1 miles is good enough for me, my mind would go nuts.
The last two miles were a bit of a battle, I was starting to fade. But once I saw the finish line, I found some reserve energy and kicked it up a notch. It was a sweet finish.
Will was at the finish to congratulate me and get my tired self home.
I was psyched to beat my goal finish and pace times. Here are my race stats:
- Finish time = 2:07:31 (goal = 2:10:00)
- Pace time = 9:44 min/mile (goal = 10:00 min/mile)
- 2352/6679 place overall for 1st Half Marathon
- 902/3696 place for women in 1st Half Marathon
- 320/1265 Age 30-39 women in 1st Half Marathon
I got home, took a shower and then a catnap before we went to meet up with some folks (Kat, Key, Wendy, Vicki and Kali) for brunch at Beach Chalet.
Kali ran the second half of the SF Marathon, so it was exciting to hear about her race as well. Congrats Kali!
I would consider doing 1-2 half marathons a year, and want to continue doing regular 10K (6.2 mile) races, they are good incentives for keeping me running.
Come run with me!
On Tuesday, we took it easy, did some touring around the island. We had lunch in Maple Bay at the Shipyard Restaurant, where I enjoyed some wonderfully battered halibut for late lunch.
From Maple Bay, we hopped over to Genoa Bay, and then onto Cowichan Bay. 
Cowichan Bay features a great little community with organic food vendors and lots of local artists.
Will and I stayed through Thursday at Mike & Susan's. Our visit featured fantastic meals with super fresh organic ingredients grown on the island, a game of tennis (my new fave sport!), lots of Olympics spectating, and a lively game of euchre. 
