Stretching in heels

For a long time I’ve been thinking about what it would feel like to run my 10th marathon.  On July 31 I made that happen, and through the pain I still enjoyed the experience.

Race weekend began on Friday this year with a train/bus trip to SF to work the Expo that afternoon.  I got in around noon, unpacked all my clothes, laid out my race clothes, grabbed some lunch and then headed to the Expo.  I got my bib and shirt first (love the shirts by the way!) and then headed to the Tech Center where I would spend much of the next two days.  I met up with Lucie, Sarah, Joe (pictured) and Andrew when I got there and immediately started tweeting, talking with runners and taking photos.

It was SO fun to spend time with the runners and answer their questions.  As someone who had run the race twice (three times now), it was fun to be able to give them my take on the race and the ins and outs of conquering the hills.

After we finished working at the Expo, all the Ambassadors and some of the SFM Staff and guests (Bart Yasso) went to Mars Bar for dinner.  Meeting up was fun since we’ve all only really talked via e-mail over the past year.  Getting to hear what everyone does, where they live and their running history was really fun.  I found some great new running friends.

Ambassador dinner

Hangin with Joe

After dinner I headed back to the hotel and Sarah and I got a good night sleep before a long day to come Saturday back at the Expo.

On Saturday I slept in until 8:30 after going to bed at 11 p.m. which was AWESOME! I love it when I get a good night sleep two nights before a race.  I took that as a good sign for what was to come.  We slowly got up, watched some TV, Sarah read the paper and then we got ready and headed to the Expo.  I headed over just in time to meet up with Megan and wish her luck on the marathon. (She ended up having a 29 minute PR in her race, YAY MEGAN!)

Then I headed in and got back to hanging with the Ambassadors, answering questions and helping people with the APP.  Working the Expo the second day was a bit more fun because it was hoppin all day.  There were TONS of people in and out of that place all day.  And I got to see Aron (Ambassador), Page (Ambassador), Kristin, Amy and Libby, along with the other Ambassadors I’d been with the day before.

At 3 p.m. the Sacramento runners I’d been training came to the Expo to meet up for a team picture.  I was so excited to see all of them!  They were pumped and ready for race day and I was so proud of them already for what they had accomplished.

After finishing working the Expo, I hopped on the bus back to the Hyatt and waited for Will to arrive.  It’s so nice to have loved ones at races, and with this being my 10th I really wanted to have him there.

We got ready to go to the Pasta Party and headed out.  On our way over we ran into Dave from my Sacramento group and decided to go grab dinner with him and catch up before the race.  We went over to Fuzio at the Embarcadero Center and had yummy pasta for dinner before heading back to the hotel to sleep.  When we got back, I got all my race stuff set up, Gu’s in place, Timing Chip on my shoe, and got to sleep.

The morning came quick at 3:30.  My alarm was set for 4:30 but I was so excited that I couldn’t sleep so I stayed in bed until the alarm went off and finally got up and got dressed.  I had my usual bagel with peanut butter, grabbed my stuff and headed out.  I met up with Joe and Sarah downstairs in the hotel and we headed over to the VIP party.

On our way I stopped at Noah’s Bagels to meet up with Jason, Keith, Julie, Dave, Whitney and Gavin before they started the race.  I wished them luck and went off to the VIP party to see the other Ambassadors.  I got to chat with Ambassadors Joe and Libby (she was running her FIRST marathon!) before I headed back to Noah’s to meet my group.

I met up with Kristin, and then Tracy.  Melody and Holly were running late to the start so we hopped into Wave 7 and got ready to take off.  Kristin and Tracy were super excited to run their first marathon and after taking a team pic,

we took off!  The first part of the race was actually great.  The past two years when I’ve run the wave has taken off SO fast that we’ve had to really hold back to save our energy.  This time the whole group held back and we were able to keep our nice easy pace as the crowd thinned out over the first few miles.  Tracy and Kristin were commenting on all the things I had before (the bridge, crowds, fans).  It was really interesting to see the race through their eyes as newbie marathon runners.

We took the first hill pretty easy, but ran through the whole thing (Fort Mason) and enjoyed the downhill on the other side.  Then we could really see how far the bridge was from us and started to get really excited.  We took the next hill (up onto GGB) easy and walked part of it to save our legs.  At the top, just before we went on the bridge, we stopped for a quick photo op.

Then we took off over the Golden Gate.  As in past years, the bridge was packed, but right when we got on it we saw Jason and Keith, then Dave, then Whitney and Gavin.  I was so excited to see them coming back across the bridge and looking especially strong.  We moved along through the crowds, taking our walk breaks, snapping some pics and I even ran into Ambassador Monika (in the tutu).

We made it to the other side then turned around and headed back.  The bridge is always one of my favorite parts of the race.  It’s early enough in the race that you don’t feel exhausted from the gradual hill of the bridge and it’s such a cool view of the city that you can’t enjoy any other time from the actual road bed of the bridge.

We came over the bridge and hit the next big hill.  That one is always tough, but we made our way up walking and running, then took the long down hill easy.  Running through the streets to Golden Gate Park took a lot of energy, but we pushed through and got into the park.  The toughest part getting in there was when all the half marathoners broke off from the marathoners.  That’s the point where you realize that there aren’t so many of you out there running.

Tracy, Kristin and I were clipping along at a good pace until we came over a hill and Tracy’s knee almost gave out.  We stopped and stretched for a bit and then took off again.  After a bit when we rounded a corner the same thing happened again.  I sent Kristin on ahead and stayed with Tracy helping to push her through the next few miles.  We walked a good portion and soon enough her knee was feeling good enough to run.  Unfortunately my right IT band started acting up again (ugh) so we had to take it easy on the uphills.  When we were almost out of the park we ran into Holly and Melody and found out they were having a pretty good race.  We ran with them through mile 20 then pulled back a bit and they took off.  The next several miles seemed to drag on forever.  Heading down Haight Street and the surrounding areas was so hard with the hills and we kept having to walk.  But in the end, Tracy and I were together and kept pushing each other to the finish.  At about a half mile out, I told Tracy to take off and run in as fast as she could and she did, coming in about 20 seconds before me.  I was SOOOOO proud of her for pushing through!!  She was so down when her knee gave out the second time that she wanted to quit the race, but after some tough love from me, she stuck it out and she killed her first marathon.  YAY!  :)

I was SO excited when I came across the finish.  Not only did I see Will on my left smiling and waving at me (so excited to see him!!), but I had Bart Yasso and Joe on the right cheering me through a strong finish (thanks guys!).  That’s Bart in white and Joe in blue.

My overall chip time was a 5:37 and my garmin was a 5:30 (from the bathroom breaks).  Not my best, but certainly not my worst and another great experience despite how sore my knees are now.

I wouldn’t trade anything about this weekend for anything.  Meeting new people, running my 10th marathon, finishing to smiling faces I love and care about… it was all in all a GREAT run, GREAT experience as an Ambassador and a race I will definitely run again.

I know how much I love running.  I keep going out over and over again to hit the trail because of the serenity, because of my friends, because of how much I like pounding the pavement, because of how much I love running and the freedom, mental stability, strength and fitness it’s put into my life.  I LOVE running.  Can’t wait for the next race!!