San Francisco Marathon Conquered!!

San Francisco is such a fun city!  My first time to see it and we went with another married couple friends of ours and enjoyed the city before the run on Sunday.  We get there on Thursday and return on Monday the day after our race.  The weather is perfect for runners like me who love to run in cool weather.  I understand why this state is #3 of being the fittest state in the USA (according to Mens Health Magazine).  There is so many active people out there.  I saw so many runners, bikers and people walking their dogs.  I understand now why dad decided to live there 5 years before he got married. San Francisco is the first state he lived in from Mexico. He lived there a couple years to save up money for his/mom's wedding and to bring her to Texas (from Mexico). I'm very blessed he decided to give his wife and family the opportunity to live the American dream. When I signed up for the SF marathon, I had no idea it would land on Father's Day. This race will be a special dedication to him. I finally get a chance to visit SF and what better way to see it by running 26.2 miles of it!  He always told mom, he loved the big city but just couldn't see himself raising a family there because the cost of living was too high.  Now that I've been there, I have to agree with him :).

Night before race:
We decided to see some of the race route just to get a feel of what to expect.  For dinner we ate pizza and drank lots of water with lemon.  I get everything set out and make sure I don't forget anything.  I'm getting excited because tomorrow is not only race day, but Father's Day.  It's hard to believe it's been 7 years since he became my guardian angel and know he too will be running with me tomorrow.  It's going to be a special run wondering how many times Papi drove through the Golden Gate Bridge while running it.

Race Day:
Eddie and I wake up at 3:45 a.m. to make sure we had plenty of time to get ready and leave in time to find parking.  I drink my water and fill my 6oz. water bottle I purchased at the expo, pack two gu gels, and one pack of my magic jelly beans (sport beans) in my pouch. I eat my banana on the way there. We get there just in time for a quick potty break before we split up into our separate waves.  I kiss my hubby good luck and pray he makes it okay for it's his first marathon and worried about the hills.  In Texas, I trained on hills, but there is no hill there that will prepare me for San Francisco hills.  I also worry the hills are going to kick my booty, but there is no turning back now. We have trained hard for 18 weeks and everything is about to unfold in a few minutes.  I start at wave 5 which start race time for me is 6:02 and Eddie is in wave 8 (last wave) but is able to sneak in wave 7.

I eat my pack of sport jelly beans as I wait for our turn to come up.  I make sure my music is ready to go. 5-4-3-2-1and I'm off!  I start my music and make sure I start both my GPS time watch and Mapmyrun app. as I cross the start line.  I said a quick prayer and told myself, "remember this run is for Papi on Father's Day and to just listen your body and try and slow down the first half because everyone said it's the hardest part of the race."  Of course, my adrenaline is pumping and I can't help but start fast and try to pass up slow people in the first mile.  I then tell myself to take it easy and save my energy for that first crazy hill (which I rode on an electric bike tour ride on Friday).  I usually don't take pictures because I get in my zone and try to stay focused on time, but I couldn't help myself.  The scenery is just beautiful!  At mile 6 is the crazy steep hill before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and I look at my watch and my pace is 8:40.  I make it and running through the Golden Gate Bridge was awesome, but my only complaint is that I lost a lot of time because the half marathon runners ran with us and it got super crowded and it was hard to pass the slow pokes.  We ran though it and by mile 7 it's a downhill off the bride that inclines upon reaching the Vista Point (eat1st gu gel) and then it's time to turn around and run through the bridge again.  This is where I get a little emotional and feel my Papi's presence as I see the people running through the bridge and you can see the top of the entire bridge.  They say that usually you can't see the bridge due to fog and mist at this time of morning.  However, today it was a clear, sunny, cool morning and it was just a beautiful sight to see.  After the bridge, I was able to get some speed until about mile 12 and 13 I arrive to some rolling hills as we enter Golden Gate Park.  I was disappointed that the spectators and bands weren't that great. I mean, it wasn't like Dallas Marathon, Dallas Rock n' Roll Half or Cowtown Half Marathon I ran where there is tons of crowds cheering you on and playing music along the way.  Thank goodness for my music to keep me going!  I see some buffaloes at the park and keep good pace until I get to mile 16 and 17.  OH MY!  They are hard steep hills that go up and then down. I start to see runners pulling over because they are cramping up and it's starting to make me worry so, I try to drink water at every station from here on out.  At about mile 19 I start to exit the park and I pass the 4HR pacer group.  I get excited and think "I got this!".  I'm determined to keep them from passing me up and I gradually pick up some speed as I go downhill at mile 20.  I take my last gu gel and drink more of my energy drink that's in my water holder.  They rope some of us into a different path and I notice a lot of guys starting to pass me up and I'm running with guys and wonder, "where are the women?". I then realize the end is near!  At around mile 24 I  feel my right hamstring and toes wanting to cramp up.  I pray about it and try to slow down my pace in order to finish.  The last miles seem like FOREVER and I am just wondering when the finish line would appear.  I usually sprint in the end to finish, but this race took all my energy and I was just happy to cross the finish line at 4:11 something.  I am in tears at this point and I feel like a little girl crying because my GPS stop watch and mapmyrun app. show I finish at 3:40 something and if I'm not mistaken, that may qualify me for Boston Marathon!!  I know my guardian angel was smiling down at me and I know he was with me throughout the run.  It's hard to believe that I was able to get PR (from my first marathon, Dallas Marathon last year of 4:03) on this tough course!  I know my hill training totally help me on this run.  Regardless of how tough this course was, this is by far, the most beautiful run I have ever done due to the amazing scenery. Running through the Golden Gate Bridge is an experience I'll never forget!

Results:
Eddie's results posted and he did great for this being his first marathon.  He finished at 4:20 and I'm so proud of him.  His left knee is killing him due to bad form going down the crazy hills in the end, but hey, he finished!  As for me, well, my official results never posted due to my chip tag not working.  I had to fill out a form online in order for them to investigate.  I get an email 4 days later to tell me that my chip time was 3:39:00 and that results will be posted next week.  Of course that's the best news I have ever heard and super excited!   I'm also nervous and hope it gets posted correctly because the anticipation is killing me!  I just can't believe why this had to happen to me in the first place. I'm so glad I included hill training on all my long distance runs because that helped me out on this run. The18 weeks of hard work, I hope will pay off.  It will be a dream come true to qualify for Boston and actually run that marathon!!

To be continued........