FitLifeSF

I came, I saw, I conquered the US Half Marathon (first half marathon, second race, and longest run to date) and I am positively over the moon with the experience! (Not to skip the substance of this RR for the happy ending.)

Crunch the numbers from my Garmin and see the GPS map here.

I went into the weekend nursing a pretty mighty hangover from one-tequila-too-many at Morris Day and the Time on Friday night, so was a little concerned. Took it easy Saturday, but was still feeling off by the time I hit the hay at about 10ish last night. Like with the last race, I was (surprisingly!) able to sleep the whole night, more or less. I was up before the alarm at about 4:15. Ate a banana, laid back down until 5AM. By the time I was up, I was a little concerned because I could tell the banana had hit a bit of a nervous belly, but I went ahead and had me a small bowl of cereal and some green tea with honey, stretched lightly, checked in with my folks over on the RunnersWorld.com California Forum, bugged Rob a little while he tried to sleep… etc.

It’s been pouring here in SF and the forecast as of this morning was still showing it might rain, but it wasn’t too chilly outside, so I put on a hat made for running in the rain, running skirt, sleeveless top and some disposable workout pants and a longsleeve tee that I’d ripped at the neck so that I could tear it off when I needed to, plus a No on Prop 8 bumper sticker which was, appropriately, on my “bumper.”

The cab came right at 6AM, and I had a nice chat with the cabbie as we rode to the start. With the sky starting to brighten, I could see it was still pretty grey, but not too bad. Got to the start at about 6:25 for a 7AM start, stretched some, hit the portapotty line, peed, got right back in line (it was much longer by this time), took off my long pants and left them on a bench for whomever might like them. (What kind of start area doesn’t have trashcans? I was joking with the girl in line behind me that I guessed I could stuff ‘em in the hole in the portapottie, but that seemed wasteful. Regardless, left-behind clothing is usually donated at these things.) I got out of the portapotty at about 6:55 and was just kind of standing on the sidewalk when the announcer called 2 minutes to start. I had thought we would be told where/how to line up, but apparently not. (In fact, I thought we started facing the opposite direction, hitting McDonnell Grade and into Fort Mason, vs heading out on Van Ness.) There was a countdown and then people started walking towards the mat. I have to say, the start wasn’t as dramatic as last time, but I did get a little choked up.

I crossed the start mat about a minute or so after the official “start” (the race is chip timed) and we headed into 2 miles or so of neighbourhood running. All downhill, so it was a speedy start. Despite my concerns about the weather, I tore off my longsleeved top Chip’n’Dales style about a half mile in. Meow! The weather was great for a run! The crowd support was pretty limited. OK, REALLY limited. But it was a pretty nice coast for the first 3.5 miles or so. I kept reminding myself to slow down, but was pleasantly surprised at how great I was feeling- a little stiff in the front of the ankles, but I was “breathing relaxation” into them as my mantra at this point.

A reminder of my goals going in: My “Best-Case” goal was to finish with 10:30 average miles, “B-Goal” was to finish with 10:45 average, and, otherwise, I just really wanted to finish without walking. But, the miles were coming off faster than expected, and I was feeling strong:

Mile 1: 10:05

Mile 2: 10:26

Mile 3: 10:23

At mile 4, we started the approach to the Bridge, where we were greeted with an AWESOME rainbow arcing the span (and, of course, that requires some rain.) The hills in this part were pretty formidable, with lots of switchbacks and more mileage than I expected, but I think I’ve decided I’m OK with hills. Still, though, this meant Mile 4 was slower at 11:05. But, “what goes up must come down,” right?

There was an awesome moment at this point, coming down off a pretty gnarly hill, when it was raining but the sun was shining (more rainbows) and “Umbrella” came on the one earbud I had in. Nobody was close behind, so I spread my arms and Titanic douched it all the way down the hill. Hee! I loved that this part and the Marin side actually felt like “nature.”

As we made the final approach to the bridge, a lone runner in orange shorts came TEARING down the hill in the opposite direction and I whooped and hollered after him, realizing that he’d already done the bridge both ways and was likely the frontrunner. Jeez, puts it all in perspective!

Before long, we were on the Bridge. I started using mantras to tell myself the Bridge was “Active Recovery” and seeing if I could get my HR down towards 165, a nice cruising HR for me. Sure, it was tough to pass folks, and some folks had some seriously interesting gaits that, apparently, require taking up ¾ of the sidewalk, but I was trying to just take it for what it was… straight, easy, recover. I really enjoyed the trail jaunt on the Marin side of the bridge, again, more hills and a switchback coming back up onto the bridge southbound, but when I got to the top, I knew the worst of the hills were over!

A little note on hydration and fuel- I brought a 12oz Amphipod handheld and tucked a little 8 oz bottle of water in the pocket of my running skirt (was going to toss it after sipping on it before the start, but decided to haul it along, since it wasn’t bugging me too much.) I had Clif electrolyte dilute solution (Crisp Apple) in the Amphipod and was taking half a GU Roctane every 2 miles. I mention this because it wasn’t until the halfway point water stop that I needed to refill my Amphipod. The water stops at this race were a hot mess, and I’m REALLY glad I got to bypass them for the most part.

Just before getting back on the bridge back to SF, we cross the halfway mat!

Mile 5: 10:12

Mile 6: 9:57

Mile 7: 10:02

7 Mile Chip Time: 1:14:47

I’m pretty excited to realize at the halfway that I still feeling GREAT. My goal is well in sight, and maybe a little more. We get back across the Bridge, hit the downhill portions of the uphills that were so tough on the way back.

Before long, we’re about to hit the long dirt path in Chrissy Field, greeted by a woman holding a “finish strong” sign. Finish? What? I was tracking distance by how many Gus I’d eaten, and was sure that I was coming up on 8 heading down the hill. Turns out, we were almost at 10! I’ve never been so thrilled to have missed a GU in my life. J

Mile 8: 10:31

Mile 9: 9:23

Mile 10: 8:48

Mile 11: 9:31

Jody (RocketGirl, who is an occasional FitLifeSF contributor and who planted the seed for this whole “Marathon” thing with me, but, sadly, had to sit the race out due to knee issues) and Laine Fast were at the end of the long dirt path (which I realized today that I hate with a passion.) I started shouting at them. They had to real-quick dig in their bags and pull out their signs. I like to think that this is because I am a speedy mo-fo and they weren’t expecting me so soon. Ha! But I got to see Jody in all her Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure pink running outfit finery. They tell me I only have about a mile left.

I know that I have one last bad mammajamma of a hill before the finish, so, again, I go to thoughts of “active recovery,” but I am starting to feel the strain cardiovasculary (my legs are fine). I know that I am beating my goal significantly, I am mathing in my head, thinking it would be REALLY nice to get under 10:00/mile and that under 2:10 would be rad as well. The unfortunate thing is that I told Rob that I’d be finishing in 2:15-2:30. Oh well, I power on.

Soon, I’m at the hill leading into Fort Mason! I have some issues with my breathing coming up this hill and have to take 3 or 4 walking steps to really deep breathe and lose the chest constriction (yes, I am kicking myself for those steps. Bah!) Then, there I am at the top of McDonnell hill! It literally is all downhill from here. Maybe I can make sub-2:10!!

I pick it up for a nice sprint to the finish. The announcer yells out “SMURF!” I cross the mat when the big clock reads 2:11-something. And then… I totally forget to turn off my Garmin, so I had no idea of my actual time until just a few minutes ago.

Mile 12: 9:31

Mile 13: 9:39

Mile 13.1? No clue, but less than 1:54. lol

Official Chip Time: 2:10:09

Div Pl: 191/477

Sex Pl: 526/1329

Pace: 9:57!!!!!!

Obviously, I am really kicking myself because there were SO MANY places I could have made up that 10 seconds to hit sub-2:10, but… I am just really stoked that everything came together so well for a really inspiring run. I can see now that I have room to push myself more, and look forward to taking this race as a “test run” to inform my ongoing training.

Sadly, Rob missed my “big finish” (again), and the finish line “festival” was really lackluster. The medal is awesome, though! I’ve had an ice bath and a Gardenburer with cheddar and bacon, and now am having Nature’s Recovery Drink (aka BEER!)

Woo!

I even (think) I managed to smile for the course photographers, so will post pics when I get them.