First Half Marathon. Complete. Thanks San Fran.

For months I had been planning on running the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco. For months I did not take the training nearly as seriously as I should have. Up until Sunday, I had not run more than a 10k (6.2 miles) and on Sunday I had to run 13.1. I had not even run half the distance. Almost. But not quite. Needless to say, I surprised myself and in my humble (and honest) opinion ... I rocked it. I ran and walked it in 2 hours and 54 minutes. About a 13 minute and some pace. And I placed 8,637 out of 20,000. I have no idea if that is a good time for a first half marathon, but I am just so happy that I finished and never thought I was going to die ... until I crossed the finish line and stopped moving.

The course was absolutely beautiful. San Fran is beautiful. I would love to go back and and sight see ... but not by foot. Those hills are just as killer as they look on TV and in movies, but thank the heavens above they kept us away from "cable car" hills. Overall the race was fairly organized. I was surprised about how many spectators were crossing the course, I got frustrated when I was "boxed" in by the walkers who did not know they needed to be on the right side of the course and forced me to walk as well, and I was kinda annoyed by the photographers (people kept cutting me off and then stopping right in front of me for a Kodak moment) but other than that I really enjoyed myself. The bananas and Luna bars were a much needed treat but I did avoid the chocolate mile. I stayed away from the Gatorade because it the first cup I had did not sit well with my stomach, but I honestly felt really good the whole time. There was never a point that I told myself that I couldn't do it or asked myself how I was gonna do it. I just did it. And it felt great!

Rumor has it that this course was the toughest to date and yes, it had it's moments of trials and pains. For me, it started off fairly easy... I was trucking along. I did stumble in a pot hole around mile 2 and laugh to myself that I would be the girl who fell at the beginning and could not finish. Actually, I was pretty klutzy the whole time. I kept tripping on the orange road reflectors too. Awkward. The first two hills were not that bad. You could tell who had and had not hill trained because a lot of people were walking up the hills. I managed to zip right up them (which was confidence booster) ... thinking OK we're going up, so at some point we have to go back down. After the 2nd hill they kinda looped us around and we got to go back down but honestly, the downs were rougher than the ups but I did run down them completely to make up for lost time. Mile 6 was in fact the killer (I posted the elevation map a week or so back) but I really do think I spent some time psyching myself out and telling myself I cannot do it, because when I saw it as I was coming down a hill and rounding a corner, I just keep thinking oh gosh that must be mile 6. I really did want to run up as much of it as I could; however, it was narrow and I got stuck behind a solid line of walkers so I had to admit defeat and walk it. Which sucked. I ended up walking all of mile 6 basically because I could not get the motivation to get moving. My favorite part was the long mile, downhill, by the Pacific Ocean. The view was spectacular and made me want to come back and see San Fran again. The weather was awesome - cold at the beginning, but once I started moving I warmed right up.

The race was just emotional for me as well. I was teary crossing the start because it was hitting me how real the whole thing was. I was teary a few times while running because the spectators were so so so supportive and at the end because well, in my opinion I kicked some San Fran booty. I ran in honor of my friend Beka who is currently battling leukemia and my friend Adele's grandma who is too battling the awful disease. I talked to a girl who was diagnosed with lymphoma and then it came back 2 more times. To have all the people on the sidelines cheering for me, giving me high fives, and motivating me a long the way was amazing. Around mile 10 I saw my team in training coach, Jo, and she ran up to me, held my hand, and said how proud she was of me. And that too, meant the world to me.

A few things that I learned from this experience...

1. Actually train. Don't take the training and preparation too lightly. I think if I had done more I could have run longer, taken less walk breaks, and finished faster.
2. Music really does make the run - but don't have it too loud. The crowd cheering for you really does push you and make you want to run. It boosts your attitude and drive to finish and succeed.
3. Find a good pair of socks. I didn't blister (thank god) but my feet did kill by mile 10. A little extra padding would have gone a long way!
4. Don't over analyze. The first few miles I spent a lot of time looking at my Garmin for pace, distance, etc. As soon as I stopped looking at it and enjoying the crowds it didn't matter that I was at mile 7 or mile 9. It was just a good time, with great sights, great people, and encouraging signs all around.
5. Start slow. You have 13.1 or 26.2 miles to complete. There is no point to blast off the start line. I got passed by so many people at first and then I passed them. Set your ipod to have music that will force you to move slow. That's what I did and then had faster music to get me moving faster.
6. Ice bath. It's cold. They're uncomfortable. But your body will thank you a million times over. I still semi hurt 2 days later, but I am no where near as bad as some of the other runners who ran and I talked to. I can walk ... many of them cannot. Suck it up and sit in in for 15. Throw in some Epsom Salt to. Oh the aches will love you.
7. When it comes to GU's ... try them before the run. I tried a new flavor and almost vomited on the course. Lesson.Learned.

Overall. It was an amazing experience that I cannot wait to do again ... just with more prep and a cheering section. I feel like I rocked it and that is all that matters. It is a total sense of accomplishment that no one can take away from me. To have my boyfriend, boss, run coach, and parents tell me they are so proud of me made my day. It truly was something I will never ever ever forget. And to everyone who supported me, encouraged me, gave me helpful hints and tricks, and donated - you truly do mean the world to me and I could not have done this without your love and support! Thank you so so so much! :o)

Next in line. A 5k on Halloween and I want to run the ING in March. I am just going to keep running.