2011: The Year I Became a Marathoner

Last Christmas, my brother, Michael, gave me a series of running shirts, all featuring inspirational sayings to get me out the door every day.  But one of them had something extra: "26.2" emblazoned across the front.  I thought, "I can't wear this; that would be fraud!"  After a couple of days, that thought turned into, "Hmmmm... maybe I could... should... will do a marathon!"

And, that's exactly what I did this year. Not once, but twice!  This is a report on my second marathon of 2011 -- the year I became a marathoner.

On December 3, Jim and I dropped Oscar off at his Oma and Opa's house (my mom and stepdad), where he would be spoiled for the duration of the weekend.  Then, we headed off to Sacramento - about a 90-minute drive from the city.  We arrived in the late afternoon and checked into our lovely room at the Hyatt Regency.

Once we got settled, it was off to the expo!  I had warned Jim that since expos are full of dorky/committed/obsessed/crazy runners, he was free to stay at the hotel, but he summoned his courage and went with me.  The first dorky runner he had to deal with was me, asking to have my photo taken with the "running reindeer":

Going through packet pick-up was an early indication of how well-organized this race is.  Everything was clearly laid out and the process went quickly and smoothly.  I still needed to purchase a bus ticket, so I waited in the appropriate line, only to be told that I had already purchased the ticket when I registered.  Guess I had been more "on the ball" than I thought!

With "business" taken care of, it was time to roam around the convention center.  In an amazing coincidence (that a friend had made me aware of ahead of time!), one of my favorite stores was having their annual blowout sale right next door to the marathon expo.  Score!  Jim was incredibly patient as I dug through boxes of Title-9 sale merchandise and scored some serious discounts.

After that, it was back to the hotel, a quick change, and then out to dinner at Dawson's Steak House.  What a treat! The food was incredible, the staff was delightful and the atmosphere was relaxing -- just what we needed after a long week. 

Saturday was a chilly but beautiful day.  I went for a short 2-mile run, just so I wouldn't feel stiff on race morning.  As I got into the elevator to go back to my room, another hotel guest warned, "You'd better not be doing too much of that today!"  He was obviously speaking from experience.  Yes, the marathoners had started to descend on Sacramento!

Jim and I then spent a wonderful afternoon with his family's good friend, Bishop Francis Quinn, a.k.a. "Monsy."  He treated us to lunch at his home, and we spent the rest of the afternoon talking and laughing.  My favorite story was the one about Monsy wanting to plant a tree in Golden Gate Park before he left San Francisco to become Bishop of Sacramento.  He and Jim went over to the park, clandestinely dug a hole, and put the tree in.  Since I run in the park all the time, I asked them to tell me where the tree was so that I could see how it was doing, but neither of them could remember the exact location!

He may not remember where he planted the tree, but Monsy clearly remembers everything else, right down to the last detail!  At 90 years old, he is amazing.

After saying our good-byes, Jim and I returned to the hotel and started to research possible restaurants for dinner.  We settled on an Italian place two blocks away, and were treated to some delicious pasta and plenty of vino.  I do not belong to the school of running that abstains from alcohol before a race, and as far as I could tell, neither do most of the other marathoners who were dining there that evening!

We returned to the hotel and I placed a wake-up call for 3:45 a.m.  The operator said, "Bless your heart!  I'll ring a second time at 3:50 just to be sure you're up!"  Of course, there was no need, since I didn't sleep a wink.  By 3:30 a.m., I was up.  By 4:00 a.m., I was dressed and ready to get caffeinated.  Thank goodness Starbuck's opened at 4:00 a.m. that morning to accommodate the marathoners.

As instructed, I was in front of the Sheraton Grand at 5:00 a.m. to get on the bus that would take us to the start.  Like clockwork, the buses showed up and we started piling in.  On the way, I ended up conversing with a guy from Vancouver BC, whose wife was doing the sane thing that morning -- sleeping!  It was fun to share stories about how our spouses deal with our running.  We both concluded that we are very lucky that we have partners to whom we can say, "Hey, I'm going out for a run -- should be back in about 3 hours" and have them respond, "O.K., see you later!"

The bus ride took about 40 minutes, and, since the CIM is a point-to-point race, our anxiety increased in direct proportion to the distance we were traveling.  Finally, we arrived at the start in Folsom.  Whew!

I got off the bus and was shocked by how cold it was.  It was in the mid-30s, and despite my layers, I couldn't get warm.  I did not take this as a good omen.

Next, I went to find the porta-potties.  From past races, I figured that I would be standing in line right up until the starting gun, but here is where the CIM set itself apart from the pack again:

This photo doesn't even do the "fleet" justice!  This was the first race I have ever participated in in which there were actually MORE THAN ENOUGH porta-potties. There were no long lines, and the toilets were actually clean!

At 7:00, the gun went off, and although I had lined up in the back (as I always do), I was through the  gate within 3 minutes.

It was a tough start for me on the emotional level.  I was freezing (literally), and the thought that there was no way I could run 26.2 miles under these conditions ran through my head incessantly.  After reaching the first mile marker, I decided to keep my focus on only the current mile.  By mile 3, I was feeling a lot more confident, and thankfully, it was getting warmer!  That helped tremendously.

Despite the frequent pit stops I had to make during the first half of the race (damned coffee!), I was actually feeling really strong.  My mental strategy went something like this:  "If I can make it to mile 16, there are only 10 miles to go.  That's about the length of an average Saturday long run.  No sweat!" I wasn't totally convinced by this line of thinking, but it seemed to work.  I hit mile 16 feeling great and from this point on, I will let my photos do most of the explaining for me.

The 17-Mile Marker - Feeling strong, but still holding back on my pace, just in case!  I kept expecting to "hit the wall," but I never did.  One of the things that may have made a difference was that I decided to take a little bit of GU after every mile (rather than every/other mile), from miles 18-22.  It seemed to work, but then again, it may just have been the way the stars were aligned that day!

 

22 Miles - At this point, I sent the following text message to Jim:  "@ mile 22 and feeling great. WTF?!?!?  See you in about 45 minutes!"

After mile 22, I decided that it just might be O.K. to pick up the pace.  I glanced down at my Garmin from time to time and saw that I was averaging about a 10:00/min./mi. pace.  Again, WTF?!?!  I could not believe that I was able to hold that pace at 22+ miles into the race. 

At mile 25, we turned onto "L" Street to run the final stretch to the Capitol.  I decided to kick it and ran that last mile in about 9:40.  As I approached the finish line, the clock said 5:14.xx, and I was determined to cross before it hit 5:15:00.

My expression coming across the finish line pretty much says it all:

I couldn't believe it!  I mean, I was ready to have the race over with, but I felt incredible!  I went through the finishing chute in a haze:  Got my medal, wrapped myself up in my "blanket," grabbed a few goodies to eat later, and started to re-hydrate.  Jim and I finally found each other and exchanged a very sweaty hug.  He said, "I saw you running down the main street and you looked like you could have just kept going!"

Well, maybe I looked that way, but believe me, I was glad to be done.  Final results:
Gun time:  5:14:44
Chip time: 5:11:54
And -- a 36-minute PR!

We had arranged late checkout at the hotel, so we went back to the room and I cleaned up.  After that, we headed back to the city, where Oscar was eagerly waiting for us.  Being reunited with our pupper was probably the REAL highlight of the weekend; he was so, so happy to see us!

The CIM is the best race I have ever run, and I will definitely be back next year.  Every aspect of the marathon was well-organized; the participants and volunteers were great; the course was beautiful and just challenging enough.  And the medal is pretty cool, too.

 

2012 is just around the corner and I plan to continue my journey as a marathoner.  Next race?  Possibly the San Luis Obispo Marathon in April. Definitely the SFM in July and the CIM in December!

And, hey, Michael!  Thanks again for giving me that "26.2" tee shirt last Christmas.  But this year, please, stay away any that say "50K" or "Ultra-Marathoner" because those will be staying in the dresser drawer!

A Brand-New PR!

After a grueling week of work, during which I only managed two days of running (a 7 miler on Monday and a 6 miler on Wednesday), I wasn't feeling too confident about my scheduled long run yesterday.  The different plans I looked at had anywhere from 12 to 16 on the books, so I decided I would just get out there and see how it went.  The result:

I'm still in a state of shock over this new "PR."  (That's short for "personal record" for the non-runners reading this!)  My fastest official half marathon was the Kaiser Half a couple of years back (2:32. xx) , and my fastest training half marathon was last summer (2:30.xx).  To have actually broken 2:30 is thrilling for a back-of-the-packer like me!

At least some of the credit goes to my new running shoes, Newton Running's Lady Issaac Stability Guidance Trainer.

I read about Newton running shoes over the summer and was intrigued.  And skeptical.  But, I was curious enough to actually shell out the $149 to try them.  After dealing with the usual aches and pains during marathon training (shin splints, plantar fasciitis, hamstring issues), I was anxious to find out if these shoes could possibly work for me.

At this point, I am reserving final judgment, simply because I've only been using the Lady Isaacs for a few weeks.  It's going to take a while to determine if they are really the right shoes for me, especially given the fact that they cost $50 more than the shoes I have run in for the past 11 years (Adidas Trail Response).  Then again, I don't belong to a gym, so I don't shell out monthly dues.  Instead, I spend a lot of time out on the roads and trails, so investing in quality equipment is important.

Hopefully, the training I do in these new shoes over the next 3 weeks leading up to the Nike Women's Half Marathon and the 11 weeks leading up to the California International Marathon will render a final verdict!

The countdown continues...

Thirteen Weeks and Counting...

While I was training for the San Francisco Marathon, I was cognizant of the fact that it was summer vacation.  This meant that I had time to devote to those 18, 20 and 22 milers.  I remember thinking, "There's no way I could do this during the school year!"  But then, the school year started, and along with it came the stress that defines every teacher's life from August until May (approximately, depending on where one teaches).

With the Nike Women's Half Marathon looming in October, I will still logging the miles, but it didn't feel quite the same.  Training for a half is a lot of work, no question about it, but I wasn't enjoying the cutback long runs of "only" 10-12 miles.  (Did I actually just write that?!??!)

The next thing I knew, I found myself scouring the web for winter/spring marathons.  I was "just looking," I told myself.  Several races looked interesting, but were already sold out.  The Napa Valley Marathon caught my eye, but it isn't until March, and they don't allow headphones on the course.  Running 26.2 miles without my trusty iPod and Mike Malloy Show podcasts?  Impossible!

I was just about to put the idea on hold when I received an e-mail about the California International Marathon.  This race takes place in Sacramento on December 4th.  I started to mull it over:  December 4th is doable as far as my school schedule.  My stepdad, a recent immigrant from Germany, has never been to Sacramento, so maybe we could make a weekend of it and take him to see the State Capitol, Old Town, etc.  It would also be fun to see my husband's family friend, "Monsy," who has retired in Sacramento, and to hopefully catch up with my old friend, Mo, at the race festivities (her daughter runs the race every year).

Anyone who knows me also knows that the holidays are not my favorite time of year (to put it mildly).  I'm thinking that 20-mile training runs could drown out the obnoxious side of the Christmas season for me.  If my marathon finish in July is any indication, I will likely be on a "high" for several weeks after the race, which could get me through to the new year without the usual holiday blues!

Within a few hours, I had made my decision:  Just do it!  

So the marathon books are off the shelf and back on the nightstand.  My training plan called for a 14 miler this past Saturday, and finishing it felt great!

When I told them I that I was going to do another marathon, my running friends said, "You've definitely caught the bug."  I'm pretty sure that's true, and I hope it's a good thing.

Thirteen weeks and counting...

Memories...

Just back from a ten-mile run during which I couldn't help thinking of my dad.  During one of our last conversations, Dad asked me, "So, do you have any races coming up?"  That really touched my heart, because it showed that contrary to thinking I was crazy for doing all that running, Dad was actually proud of my athletic pursuits.

Dad, I miss you every day.

Now What?

So it's been two weeks since I finished my first marathon.  What an experience!  What a sense of accomplishment!  What a journey!  What a LONG two days of needing to use grab bars to stand up from any seated position, including the toilet!

The SF Marathon's slogan is right on:  It hurt, but it was "worth the hurt." And it didn't last long. It took about four days before I was walking normally again and by that weekend, I was more or less back to my regular running schedule.  Minus the 20-milers, of course!  Riding my stationary bike and doing some weight work was great cross training during those early days of recovery.  Like a geek, I wore my medal everywhere.  I might even wear it on the first day of school!

Speaking of school we start back tomorrow, which can only mean one thing:  I've been thinking about fall races. I don't think I'm ready for another marathon yet, but I am planning on doing the following:

August 28: Bay Area Title-9K
October 16: Nike Women's Half Marathon
November 6: The US Half Marathon

Then, of course, I'll run the annual Turkey Trail Trot (the first race I ever ran back in 2006!), and the annual Christimas Classic 5-K.

For those who wondered if this marathon nonsense was going to be a one-shot deal or an ongoing pursuit, here's your answer:  I signed up for next year's San Francisco Marathon using early registration!  And yes, I plan on doing the full again! 

Not only does the transition back to school have me thinking about upcoming races, but it's forcing me to focus on a big decision regarding whether to sell our house and purchase a slightly larger one not far from here, or stay in the little house that we purchased in 1995.  You wouldn't think that this would require months of anxiety and agonizing, but in these economic times, there's no way around it.  It's abundantly clear that the middle class is no longer welcome in San Francisco.  (Well, not just in San Francisco; the middle class is under siege in this country, period.  It's just particularly bad here due to the insane cost of housing.)

Training for the marathon, and now, getting back to my regular running routine, has kept me as sane as possible through these stressful weeks.  I am sure that training will steady me through the weeks ahead. Although I started running 30 years ago because of the physical benefits, it has become both a physical AND mental outlet for me.  To be out in the fresh air and enjoying the beauty of Golden Gate Park, or the beach, or my neighborhood, helps clear my head and lift my spirits.  For that, I am very grateful.

Here's to a fall filled with teaching, learning, good times, and, of course, many, many miles!

Mission Accomplished!

At 4:00 this morning, I woke up to use the bathroom.  There was nothing odd about this, so I simply rolled over onto my side and prepared to stand up.  That’s when the endeavor became most unusual, as I couldn’t move my legs without excruciating pain.  My first thought was, “WTF?!?” followed immediately by, “Oh, wait a minute …”

In my deep sleep, I had forgotten that a few hours earlier, I had finished my first marathon.  26.2 miles!  After over thirty years of running and months of the toughest training I have ever done, I crossed the finish line of The San Francisco Marathon with an enormous smile on my face:

Flash back to the pre-dawn hours of July 31st:  I woke up when my alarm rang at 4:00 a.m. (Another “WTF??!?” moment.)  I dragged myself out of bed, fumbled my way over to the kitchen for my first cup of coffee and slowly began to realize that today was THE day.

While Jim and Oscar continued to sleep, I checked e-mail, looked to see if any of my east-coast running peeps (a.k.a. "imaginary friends") were posting on the forum yet, and then, slowly, started to get dressed. That endeavor took me at least 30 minutes.  When Jim woke up, he thought it was funny to see me in my full regalia, looking like a camel.  He promptly whipped out the camera:

At 5:15 a.m., we were off!  My incredibly patient and supportive husband drove me down to the starting line at the Embarcadero.  On the way, he was the best coach a girl could have, reminding me of all the training I had done and telling me I would finish this race.  Those words kept me going, especially when I was ready to throw in the towel out of pure frustration (details to follow). As I hopped out of the car, I kissed Jim and told him to go home and back to bed, where any sane person would be at 5:30 on a Sunday morning!

After dropping my bag at the sweats check, I immediately got in the porta potty line.  It was still about 30 minutes until my (last) wave start at 6:32, so I figured “no problem.”  But, of course, there WAS a problem because several of the toilets were locked.  WTF?!?!?!  (I am beginning to see a theme here.)

Long story short, I was still in line when my wave started, which meant I was toward the back of the group right from the start.  The wonderful invention known as chip timing allowed me to not get too upset, and to enjoy the fact that, unlike many of the half marathons I have run, there was plenty of space.  Not once did I have to weave around blocks of people four- or five-across, walking on the far-left side of the course!  A miracle!

The first two-thirds of the marathon covered familiar territory for me:  along the Embarcadero (waterfront), past Fort Mason, onto Marina Blvd., Crissy Field, up into the Presidio (and I do mean “up”!), across the Golden Gate Bridge and back, down Lincoln (and I do mean "down"!), out through the Richmond District and into Golden Gate Park at 25th Avenue.  This is where the first half marathon ended, while the full marathoners turned right down JFK Drive.

And this is where things became unsettling.  The course had really thinned out since the half-ers were gone, but it looked like both the entertainment and volunteers were thinning out, too.  Not cool, SFM!  We ran to the end of JFK Drive, then took the turn back up MLK Drive.  This led to a little jaunt around Stow Lake.  Ironically for me, this is where things got really confusing.  You could say that I got lost in my own backyard.

We came around Stow Lake and back down onto MLK Drive.  There were probably about 15 of us running closely together at this point.  Finally, one of the guys said, “Where are the markers?  Cops?  Volunteers? WTF?!??”  (I definitely see a theme here.) We whipped out our smart phones to use the SFM app, which turned out to be nearly useless.  One of ladies said, "I am so pissed off right now, I'm ready to call a cab!"

But just then, a woman wearing a bib from the first half marathon came walking toward us, and told us that we had somehow gotten off course.  I politely informed her we didn’t “somehow” get lost; it was because there had been no markers or directors to get us out of the Stow Lake loop correctly.  She listened to us rant and then told us that the course for the second half marathon was over on JFK Drive, which was probably the full marathon course, too.  Not knowing what else to do, we decided to risk it, and thankfully, she had been correct.  We did get back on track, but we lost time and added distance.  Based on my Garmin, my guess is that my little excursion cost me about 15 minutes.  (Note: This was in a park that I know like the back of my hand because I’m in it almost every single day, so I don’t think that those of us who got lost were at fault…)

Finally, we were back on course, heading out of Golden Gate Park and onto Haight Street.  This was at about mile 16 or so, and it turned out to be my favorite part of the run.  (Thank goodness for that -- it helped me forget those 15 extra minutes of wandering in the desert!)  As a native San Franciscan and the daughter of two "transplants," some of my earliest memories are of relatives visiting us from Europe and the Midwest.  I was only 3 or 4 years old at the time, but I remember that they always wanted “to go see the hippies.”  Dad would pile us in the car, and we’d drive over to the Haight to see/smell the counterculture that was thriving in '68.  (Note: You can still smell the "counterculture" in Golden Gate Park on any given day of the week.) It was “groovy” to be able to run the whole length of Haight Street and really see it for the first time in years – without dodging buses, cars, and taxis.

I guess it's fitting that after Haight Street, my memories of the marathon are sort of blurry. I remember passing the boat yard where Jim works. I remember being amazed at how much the South of Market area has changed over the past twenty years.  I remember that one of the cops made me laugh when my cell phone rang and he responded, “I’ll get it!”  I also remember that around mile 22, my quads started tightening up from all of the downhill running.  (The uphills were challenging, but totally doable. The downhills got me.)  And, at some point, a laugh turned into a coughing spasm, reminding me that my bronchitis was still lingering and that I needed to be careful.

That’s when I decided to slow down from my “run one mile/walk one minute” plan to “run a half mile/walk a half mile” backup.  I stuck to this from about mile 23 to 26, but as soon as I saw that finish line, I took off.  I couldn’t get across it fast enough!  Seeing Jim, my mom and stepdad waiting for me, cheering and shouting, was the icing on the cake.

So, after thirty years of being a runner, I am now also a marathoner.  It still hasn’t really sunk in yet.

Thanks to all of my family and friends who supported me through the long months of training when my schedule was really difficult.  Thanks for your patience and encouragement with this crazy endeavor.  I'm especially grateful to my running friends who blazed the way by running their first (or 50th!) marathons and inspiring me to give it a try, too.  Without their support, I might never have started, let alone finished.  (Ladies, you know who you are!)

As to the San Francisco Marathon itself:  I couldn’t have imagined running my first marathon anywhere other than my hometown.  The pre-race events were well-organized, the course is gorgeous, and the medal is way cool.  I will be writing to the race organizers about the lack of course support for people in the last wave, however.  It’s a good thing that because my only goal was to finish, I didn’t really care about my time.  Otherwise, I would have been outraged about the time I lost getting off course due to the lack of markings/directors for us back-of-the-packers.

So, mission accomplished.*  Which means, it's time for a new mission!

*Note: This mission was accomplished for real -- no crotch-hugging flight suit required!

Ready... Set...

and in a about two more hours, it will be "GO!"  Seems as good a time as any to enjoy another cup of coffee. ;-)

So glad that this marathon is local.  I've spent hours making sure I've got everything ready to go and I can't imagine the added stress of doing that away from home.

On the other hand, being in a hotel would have spared me the "Oscar drama" of last night.  This is the first and only time that my dogger could not decide where he wanted to sleep:  On the bed?  On the floor?  In the living room? After about the third time he changed his mind (i.e., woke me up), I "banished" him to the living room, where he promptly curled up on the sofa.  Not a bad deal, if you ask me.  Still, somehow I think he will be back in his usual spot tonight!

I didn't manage to figure out the cool, high-tech runner tracking thing in time, so I will do things the old-fashioned way:  posting after the finish!  But for anyone who CAN figure these things out, my number is 11932.  That's in the last wave, by the way!

O.K., another sip of coffee, and it's time to gear up.  See you in a few hours!  I hope...!

So Here We Are...

Less than 48 hours to go until the marathon start, and I think I am going to get enough of this bronchitis behind me just in time.  I'm still not 100%, but the cough has quieted down (thank you, Robitussin w/ codeine!) so I will finally be able to get some sleep tonight.

Went to the expo today, where for the first time ever, I stood in this line:

Yikes!  At this moment, it finally became real, and I felt a surge of excitement, panic, doubt, confidence and anticipation all at once. 

Of course, race weekend wouldn't have been complete without at least one more glitch:  My car broke down on the way home from the expo.  On the freeway.  With me in the second lane from the left.  I managed to steer the car over to the right lane and pulled onto the shoulder just as it completely conked out.  It just came back from the mechanic last week, so needless to say, I was pretty upset.  After 45 minutes, AAA showed up and towed me home.  The diagnosis?  The alternator is shot -- something that has nothing to do with the $2,000 worth of repairs we had done last week.  Just great.

At least I am in one piece, this repair is a "do it yourself-er" for either Jim or Wolfie, and, since I'm on vacation, I am not completely dependent on the car right now.  The bad news is that I have to quickly come up with "Plan B" for getting to the race on Sunday.  Just when I had things all figured out...

Despite the setbacks of the past two weeks, I am determined to finish this marathon as best I can.  If that means crawling across the finish line, so be it! :-)

I'm sure I'll have more last-minute panic -- I mean, thoughts -- to share tomorrow!