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The San Francisco Marathon
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The San Francisco Marathon - RunMarathon
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Comments: My IT band and both knees actually started acting up around mile 8 but the pain subsided for a while during the middle of the race only to come back with a vengeance. I've never been in so much pain my whole life.It wasn't just the spots I was having pain in- it started to become my whole body. Add in the mental anxiety of getting close to mile 20 knowing I've never ran further than that before and I was in a different world. Honestly I kept trying to think of things I had been through that have hurt more- things I won't list on here-and nothing really compared. I got into this weird state and I just kept thinking I trained so hard for this, I just need to keep going. There was no way I could pick up the pace- I knew if I did for even just a little bit I would suffer later from it. The last 10k was the hardest part of the race. I guess I knew it would be but holy shit this was something else! I'm so glad Doug ran with me, I was having an internal struggle and he was sort of my silent support alongside me. I know I would have made it without him there at all but it was really nice. Almost annoyed by how fit he is though- my all out pace for the race was like a walk for him! He took pictures the whole time which was fun. Once it was almost over I started feeling okay again. All the pain was still there but just mentally knowing you're almost done makes it all okay. Everything I pictured about finishing a marathon was different than how it actually happened. I crossed the finish line with a bunch of other people and it's like I was so out of it that it all felt so surreal anyways. The second I stopped running I started to fall over and according to Doug I looked like I was dying. I started crying- a mix of overwhelming happiness and pain and relief all at the same time. When they put a medal over my head I started to really lose it and once I got the mylar I absolutely lost it. I was so fucking happy and couldn't believe what an insanely difficult and painful thing I had just been through. I really just couldn't believe it. I knew I would finish the race but how can you anticipate how you will feel when you finish your first marathon? I want to cry even just typing this right now. It's something only another marathon finisher can understand and something you can't really figure out exactly how to explain to anyone else. What would you do differently?: I think I had too much cytomax- I swallowed some down at every aid station along with water. I kept feeling like I needed a kick. It never came, I was just all hopped up on electrolytes. I also had 5 gels throughout the 4 1/2 hours which would normally be fine but I really think I shouldn't have combined it all together. As for the actual running, I don't think I would have done anything differently. I can honestly say I left it all on the course, and then some.  Post race
Warm down: I literally couldn't walk. My legs were so tight even though I had tried to keep moving. Doug has a really funny video of me trying to step down a curb with a mylar on my lower half and upper half. We had the post race jamba juice and snacks, they had these amazing cookies!Took the official post race pictures. The beer garden was and will always be my favorite part of a race. There was a guy in the beer garden with a finisher's medal from doing the full and he was smoking a cigarette. That was really really weird. He really didn't give a fuck. We hung out for a while- It was so nice to soak it all in even though I felt so out of it and weak. Walked the mile back to the hotel which is the longest mile I've ever walked. EVER. I actually don't even think it was a full mile but still. Got back to the hotel and did things like sit on the floor doing nothing all hopped up on endorphins, texted all my friends and family. Took a nice long shower and went out for sushi that I could barely even walk to. I couldn't bend my left leg without excruciating pain so I was Doug's crippled girlfriend walking around San Francisco. The rest of the day was spent in bed. I had all these things I wanted to do after the race but that all went out the window. I wasn't up for anything except food. My body kept trying to cool itself down again everytime I wasn't still and I would end up chattering my teeth and shivering. What limited your ability to perform faster: HILLS HILLS HILLS HILLS HILLS Event comments: This was an amazing course. So beautiful and perfect running weather, it was just pretty ambitious to choose for my first marathon. Last updated: 2010-05-25 12:00 AM
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 2010-07-27 1:03 PM |
Veteran  155   So Cal |  Subject: The San Francisco Marathon |
| 2010-07-28 12:49 AM in reply to: #3007740 |
Member 41 Orange, CA | Subject: RE: The San Francisco Marathon Great job finishing the marathon! What an awesome time as well. I am jealous.  |
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It's funny in restrospect to think about my feelings leading up to race weekend. Since my 20 miler went so well and I felt fine, I kind of felt like the marathon would be only a little bit harder than that. Well more than a little bit but I viewed the weekend as a vacation and I also happened to be doing a race while I was there. I was so interested in the trip planning with the flight and hotel and restaurants and transportation. I think I was so nervous about my first marathon that I tried to zero in on every single detail of the trip and make it perfect- like it would somehow make the race perfect.
Doug and I flew to SF on Saturday morning. I hadn't been back to San Francisco in quite a while. My life has dramatically changed since I was last there. That city has haunted me and I was a little unsure of how I would feel being back to it. It was more than just going to a place for me. In my mind going to San Francisco is submerging myself in it. I don't know any other way I can be there- I feel like it almost has control over me in a way. Running the marathon there was going to change it into a place that I wanted to be submerged in- swimming instead of drowning in it.
I felt a little weird when we were taking the BART into the city from the airport but once we arrived in Union Square I was actually nice to be there! I realized what haunted me wasn't the actual city, it's who I was when I lived there. The city is amazing and I was so happy to be there again, especially with Doug.
We went to the expo before anything else. I've only been to somewhat small expos for 5ks and 10ks and Doug's races. The LA marathon expo was awesome but that was for Doug. In a way this was my first real expo so I was super excited! I bought a bunch of merchandise and was really pleased with what they had to offer. Tried some snacks, took official SF marathon photobooth pics. It was like everything was meant to be- my first marathon and there's a photobooth?! Hell yes. Being at the expo actually calmed my nerves since it was filled with other people that think it's totally normal to run 26.2 miles.
Went to the hotel, went out for the classic clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl and an Anchor Steam in Fisherman's wharf, then went out for a 2 mile run after getting back to the hotel. That was by far the best run of my life. I was so insanely happy thinking of how far I had come especially since the city was the backdrop I was gaging my progress against. It wasn't only about how far I had come with my training but how far I had come with my life. My body felt so good and strong. I felt incredibly ready to tackle on what the morning would bring. I ran to the start of the race and back to practice for the morning. Perfect hotel choice- it was a little less than a mile away. Relaxed more, got my clothes and nutrition ready for the big day, and then went to the market and out to dinner for CARBS! I was pretty excited but I managed to fall asleep alright after a hot shower.
The alarm went off and my first thought was "I'm tired" then I realized where we were and what day it was and I started hypervenilating! I don't even think I needed coffee but I had some anyways and Doug put on my music which instantly got me pumped up. I love having Doug around for these important unforgettable moments- he manages to pump me up but still keep me relaxed and calm my nerves. Had some peanut butter on bread and cliff blocks. Pretty soon we were off with what seemed like everyone else in the hotel. We were there for the official start at 5:30 and the minutes between then and our wave 4 start at 5:52 were the fastest minutes ever!!!!!!!