Pictures from the SF Half Marathon

Here they are! Pics from the big race!

Before the race, with the Bay Bridge behind us

Starting line

Proof that I ran on the bridge!

2 medals for the big winner!

Irish coffee instead of beer 

The barefoot wonder finishing the marathon

I definitely look like an Olympian in this one!

 A tribute to fallen soldiers, very very moving.

Miles logged: 0

The San Francisco 1st Half Marathon Race Report

It was an early wake up call this morning, at 4:30, to be at the race by 6:02 when Wave 5 started. But I woke up just before the alarm and was excited for the start of the race.

The morning started out cold, windy and foggy. The sun was just rising when we started. The plan was for my husband and I to run together until we arrived at the Golden Gate Bridge, take a few pictures, then for him to run on his way to finish the full marathon (this would help him with negative splits since I'm such a slow runner). However, he was off ahead of me shortly after the race started.

The race began at the Embarcadero and ran along the bay. It was a flat and scenic run as we passed the tourist sites of Pier 39, Fisherman's Wharf, and Ghiardhelli Square. Just before we arrived in Crissy Field, there was a short but steep hill to scare us about what lay ahead.

The hills in the 1st half marathon were much more brutal than the ones in the 2nd half marathon (which I ran last year). These hills were long and steep and no amount of training in the flatlands of Dallas, Texas could have prepared me for them. I did not walk, but I did not scale them at a pace I would have liked.

The best part of the race was running across the Golden Gate Bridge. It was extremely foggy, so I couldn't see the other side, or really even very much of the bridge while crossing. The wind was whipping and it was quite cold up there. I jumped on the side several times and took photos of the top of my head and the bridge (longer arms would have been really helpful).

My one goal while crossing the bridge was to find my husband. I had packed a Clif bar to give him when we planned to split at the bridge, and didn't pass it off to him at the beginning of the race. He doesn't carry any food with him--and he was running the full 26.2 miles! I managed to spot him as he was coming back across the bridge and I handed off the snack to him.

The hills beat me up and made me burn a lot more energy than I had planned. So by mile 7, I was actually hungry. The race volunteers were passing out Gu, which I normally despise, but I grabbed me a packet, tore off the top with my teeth and gulped it down. And, it wasn't all that bad.

As I turned the corner off of the Golden Gate Bridge, I was surprised to see the 10 mile marker. It did not feel like I had been running for very long at that point, and I only had a 5k left! There was still another killer uphill and an almost unbearably steep and long downhill. The roads were wet from the fog and I was worried about slipping and falling.

It was at this point that my feet started hurting. Not hurting like I had injured them or anything, but aching from too much pounding. By the time I crossed the finish line, I almost couldn't stand the pain anymore. I'm not sure why my feet felt this way, but I think it might be due to all the walking we did in the city in the last 24 hours.

But I finished, not with a PR, but with a respectable time. And I got 2 medals-one for being a finisher, the other for the Half it All Challenge (running both half marathons in consecutive years). I drank my Irish Coffee, jumped on a bus, and was able to cheer my husband on to the marathon finish!

It was a great race, but grueling. I'll post photos later this week!

Miles logged: 13.1

The San Francisco Marathon Expo

One more sleep until the big race!! I am so excited!

We hit up the expo this morning and came out with quite a bit of loot! The SF Marathon came through again with great race shirts. And a big sale on merchandise from previous years. My husband and I each got a pair of compression sleeves from last Year's race for $5 each!

The expo was packed, but I think it was much better than last year. Mostly because I got to take a photo with this guy in the minotaur head! I was hoping to see Dean Karnazes, who will be running the full marathon, but he wasn't there. I found out this evening that he was at the expo yesterday! Darn it!

I downloaded the SF Marathon app to my phone. This allows me to track my friends from Dallas and my husband, plus my celebrity friends-Dean, Endorphin Dude, and Clyde Drexler. If I see any of them on the course I might just squeal with excitement!

The alarm is set for 4:30 and I'm off to bed!


Miles logged: 0

Countdown to SFO

It's almost here! Today we leave for San Francisco and the half marathon is on Sunday! I'm excited and nervous for the race. The weather should be great for running, lows in the mid 50s and highs in the mid 60s. It will be a nice break from the oppressive heat of Dallas. I hope I packed appropriate running clothes--I've forgotten what to wear in cooler temps!

In addition to traveling and race stress, I changed jobs, work locations, and gyms this week (well, I don't have a new gym yet, but I will). I didn't run as much as I should have, but I did at least get some cardio time in.

Miles logged: 0

One week until SFO Half Marathon

It is one week until the San Francisco Half Marathon and you know what that means, being lazy and pigging out! Otherwise known as tapering and carbo loading!

For some reason, I'm a little nervous. It has been 4 months since I last ran a half marathon and I've kept my mileage up the whole time. Maybe I'm a bit scared of the hills. I've been incorporating hills into my training, but there isn't a single hill in this area that rivals those of SFO. We trained on a hill for my last long run, running up and down it 4 times before heading home. I did have the pleasure of smoking another woman that was running the hill as well...always good for a self esteem boost!

Miles logged: 8

Aches and Pains

I am still reeling from the effects of the 11 miles this weekend. I have a very tight right calf and a very sore left hip. I thought I would be able to work out the stiffness in my calf when I started running, but I wasn't that lucky. Instead, I lumbered along for 1.5 miles cursing each step. I couldn't get my stride right and galloped along, limping on both sides of my body. I couldn't see myself, but I know it wasn't pretty!

I opted to hop on a stationary bike for the rest of my workout to prevent injury this close to the SFO half marathon. And I'm laying in bed with a heating pad on my calf and hip, hoping to loosen them up a bit.

Miles logged: 6 (1.5 running and 4.5 biking)

Breathing

When I started training for my first half marathon, a friend told me that the only thing I needed to worry about was my breathing. Once I had my breathing down, he said, everything else would come easily. I, of course, thought this was a load of crap.

But he was actually right. If you can control your breathing, you can run forever (or until your body breaks down, whichever comes first). I don't think you have to be able to hold a conversation like you've read elsewhere, but keeping your breathing steady is important. In through the nose and out through the mouth--it even helps prevent that stitch in your side.

And to prove it, the Zen-master of breathing advice was in town visiting this weekend and joined us for an 11 mile run. Normally a runner that averages 6 miles at a time, he was able to run further than he had ever run before!

The next time you are running and start to get out of breath, just slow down a bit until you recover. The heavy panting is just a symptom of running too hard. Slow down and enjoy yourself!

Miles logged: 11

The SF Half Marathon is almost here!

Just about 2 weeks left until the San Francisco Half Marathon. I have my longest training run this weekend, 11miles, before I start to taper.

I received my bib number today, lucky 52941! That seems like a much faster number than I had last year, 36240. Let's hope it is since I signed up with an expected 2:20 finish time!

Miles logged: 3.5

Bad Day for a Run

Today was not a good running day for me. I had to get in a 10-miler this weekend in order to be ready for San Francisco. When I awoke this morning to cloudy skies, I thought I had hit the jackpot. Unfortunately, it was already 80 degrees with absolutely no breeze. It was awful.

I struggled the whole run (even had to stop due to a strange pain running down the left aide of my neck and shoulder). The nature preserve smelled of smoke-forest fire smoke, not cigarettes. The one bright spot was a snack I bought to eat mid run.

I'm still committed to my pseudo-juice fast, and I normally eat sport beans or some other candy-ish snack while on a long run. But I found this packet of Princess puréed fruit at the store and though, why not? And it was DELICIOUS! The texture will take a little getting used to, but it was so tasty and all natural! I will be eating it again!

Miles logged: 10

Run #2 on Juice Fast

I ran my second run today while doing the psuedo-juice fast and it went much better than I expected. I expected that I wouldn't have enough energy to make it through a couple of miles. But I did just fine, except for feeling like I was going to throw up the banana I ate just as I left for the gym.

I was distracted for the whole run though... I was on a treadmill that was situated between 2 treadmills that weren't working. I got tickled by all the gym-rats that stepped on the treadmill on the right of me punched the buttons several times (to be fair, this treadmill showed that it wasn't working on the display), then jump off and climb on the one to my left. It became very funny to me. Especially the guy that punched all the buttons on both treadmills, jumped off, then 30 seconds later jumped back on the treadmill, as if it would work then!

Miles logged: 3.4

Happy 4th of July

I hope everyone is having a wonderful 4th of July. I'm laying low and drinking lots of juice. I just made beet, apple, celery juice and it was delicious!

Lunch

Miles logged: 0

First run while on a juice fast

OK, a pseudo-juice fast. Really a no processed foods, fruit and veggies only diet in which most of the calories I consume are from juice. It started as a real juice fast this weekend (after my run on Saturday morning), with tomatoes being the only exception. We have a surplus of tomatoes from our garden and don't particularly like their texture in juice, which is pretty thick...so the deal was that we could eat those whole.

Well, I didn't even make it through day 1 without caving. I was so hungry and cranky that I wasn't very pleasant to be around, so I broke down and had a small plate of leftover poblano chile stuffing. It was amazing!

I had the same experience on day 2, cranky, thinking only about food, and a dull headache. I ate the rest of the leftovers on the evening of Day 2.

Day 3 wasn't as tough, but it was my first day back at work, and I was worried about temptations. I work for Hostess Brands, and we make Twinkies for goodness sake! I work in HR, but still! My husband made juice for breakfast and a salad for me to eat at lunch. I must have packed 3 lbs of fruits and veggies to snack on during the day and I ate all of it!

Today was day 4 and my first day of running since I started this pseudo-fast. It went surprisingly well. I ate about 1/2 cup of orzo salad before I left for the gym and was still jamming slices of turnip in my mouth as I walked in the door. I had enough energy to get though my run, though it wasn't very far. I also made it home without stopping at a drive-thru or gnawing off my own arm. Successful in my mind!

Miles logged: 3.5

Derailed

My long training run this week was derailed by a train, quite literally. My husband and I ran a different route than normal, so we could get in some good hill training, and had to wait several minutes for a long and slow moving train to pass. This definitely killed my MPH average, but it gave me plenty of time to stop and reflect on how badly I had to go to the bathroom!

This also ended up being one of the shortest weekend training runs I've done in a long time. Hills count for double the mileage, right?

Miles logged: 7.25