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
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