San Francisco Marathon 7/25/10

After signing up for the SF Marathon I had to find where I was going to stay. I called every hotel that was near the start line and they were all booked. I didn't want to have to drive down the morning of the race.....so I kept doing my research. Few days later I remembered that I was part of the RATPack and found out that they were traveling to the race together. They already had a hotel booked at the Le Meridien, so I split the cost with two other gals.

I decided to take the Amtrak from Sacramento to SF the day before the race. Saturday morning I got on the Amtrak and took off. Let me say it was fairly early in the morning and I fell asleep instantly...p.s. with no ear plugs! After arriving in SF I took a bus that I thought was going to take me close to my hotel; however, I ended up having to take the local transit to get near my hotel. After I found the hotel and checked in I headed straight to the Expo. Picked up my race bib and signed up to be part of the 3:40 pace group. From the Expo I took a shuttle to Sport Basement, which if you have never been you should make it a must! I went there to pick up Rock Tape since that is one of the only places that carry it. If your not sure what Rock Tape is click on the name and it will take you to there website. There tape works wonders.

Not too long after getting back to the hotel it was about time for dinner. I brought my own chicken and Quinoa for dinner, but really wanted more food than that. I walked down the street looking for somewhere to get some grub. Along the sidewalk there was a sign that said organic something or another....lol and the first thing I thought of that's where I am having dinner. I walked down this ally way to this restaurant. I ordered some Greek salad with bread. All I really wanted was the bread! Not the norm, but need the carbs for the race. After dinner I headed back to the hotel to eat the rest of the food I brought. Yum yum... I was stuffed!

Finally, around 8 I met the two other gals I was rooming with. We chatted for a few and started to prepare for the race. We were checking one another just to make sure we had everything....lol it seemed like I was the one with the least amount of stuff and doing the most miles. After setting everything up it was time to get my rest. We lay down to go to bed and one of the gals shouts out " now if your phone goes off I'm going to kill the person who called". To me it was so funny because I knew that it was going to be mine.

I actually slept great the night before the race. Woke up about 2.5 hours before my race. The first thing I did when I woke up was made my oatmeal and coffee. Then I started to put my clothes on and make sure that I was all set and ready to go.

Off to the race!! I had two friends who came out to support me. I met up with them before the race started. It was about 5:20am and I started to make my way to the start line. I started to get a little nervous, so I started to talk to those around me. The horn goes off and it was time to go. I started my I-Pod and Garmin GPS.

Live Update:
crossed the Bridge 7.6 Mile at 6:46 AM
Course time: 01:03:39
Pace: 08:23 min/mi
Live Update:

crossed the Half

Course time: 01:50:36

Pace: 08:27 min/mi

Live Update:
Crossed the 20 Mile at 08:31 AM

Course time: 02:48:49

Pace: 08:27 min/mi

At this point in the race is where I slowed down. My IT Band started to give me pain into my knee.

Live Update:

Crossed the finish line 26.2 Mile

Course Time: 3:44:56

Pace: 08:35 min/mi
Overall:
1004 out of 0
Women:
146 out of 0
F 20-24:
13 out of 0
Age/Grade:
60.21% Place: 928

The entire race I felt strong and focused. I mentally was prepared and stuck to my training. I had the best race so far especially considering the hills. My goal was to qualify for the Boston Marathon, but was shy of 4:56. I will accomplish this in the CIM marathon in December. Good luck to you runners out there!