Finally..My 1st Marathon Race Report!

<span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">So here it is...the long awaited race report. Warning...long!!!</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">5K 33:09</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">10K 1:05:02</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">15K 1:42:11</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">Half 2:29:05</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">25K 2:58:30</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">30K 3:36:24</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">35K 4:18:38</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">40K 5:04:44</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">Full 5:23:05 (chip) 5:30:41 (gun)</span></span><br><br><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">There were many great things about this race and definitely some not so great things. I was running the race (she was running the half) with my neighbor and sometimes training partner Laura. We had planned for a long time to make a whole weekend of it. We had originally planned to go pick up our packets on Thursday night but Laura ended up having a date so we decided that we were going to head over on Saturday early afternoon. Saturday morning I met Laura for our last pre-race training run...my training plan called for 2 miles. Laura went out way too fast for me and I ended up spending the 2 miles huffing and puffing along behind her feeling like I was going to puke. That worried me a little because I had basically not run for an entire month.</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">My last real training run had been sept 23 (a 22 miler) that I bailed on at mile 16 because of my achilles. I then took a week off and thought my achilles was better so I ran the Tahoe half and destroyed my achilles...I did not run a step for two weeks and managed to only get two very short training runs (a 4 miler and a 3 miler) in before that final Saturday.</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">Anyway, back to the story we left about noon and walked the mile to the BART station and took BART into the city. We got the race expo and it was packed...there were people everywhere but we got our bibs picked up and managed to snag some free jamba juice, luna bars, chocolate, and granola. There were manicures and massages but the lines were crazy long. We headed over to Niketown to check out the race merchandise but it was a zoo also so we decided to go dump our backpacks at our motel (a short ½ mile walk) and come back later. The rest of the day was uneventful, came back to the expo, stood in line for massages but ended up getting the crappy chair massages instead of the full massages while the ladies in front and behind us (that were not running the race) got the good ones. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/sad.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Sad"> Had the requisite pasta dinner and headed back to the Motel for bed. I will not rehash that horrible experience but lets just say I got about an hour of sleep.</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">Sunday morning we awoke at 5am, threw on our race clothes, packed all our stuff in the race bag and headed out the door. There were only a few homeless guys and a group of partiers left over from the night before out. Therefore our pre-dawn walk through the worst neighborhood in SF was uneventful. As we neared Union Square we started seeing runners with purple singlets (I have never seen so much purple in my life!). We fought through the crowds and checked our bags and then stood around in the street for about an hour near the 4:10 pacer. It surprisingly wasnt cold and I wasnt even chilly in my singlet and shorts. Then we heard the elites take off and a while later heard our gun...we stood there for 3-4 more minutes before we started moving and as we crossed the start line most everyone started running. It was weird to be running in the middle of the street through the financial district with skyscrapers surrounding us. We then headed down onto Embarcadero along the waterfront. I was feeling great but I knew that my Garmin was telling me that I was going too fast so I attempted to slow down. I was surprised at how many walkers I passed in the early 2-3 miles (what the heck were they doing starting with the 10 minute milers???). We headed up through Fort Mason (up a short but steep hill) and along the waterfront toward the Golden Gate. Here there was a jackass with a sign saying to hurry up they are running out of necklaces...I yelled at him that he should be at mile 25. The weather was fabulous and the views of the city were absolutely amazing. The support in this race was also amazing. The great side effect of running a huge team in training event is that the charity runners come with a ton of supporters and they were out there in force (some in costume, some with signs, etc). However I was surprised that most would only cheer for purple jerseys...bastards! As we entered the Presidio though we started on roads I had never been on and they were HILLY. There were probably three miles of hills in here and I opted to walk partway up some of them to conserve my energy. My stomach was also bothering me so I had to make a stop at a couple of porta potties. Then the blessed downhills began and we headed toward one of the most amazing views of the ocean ever (by the Cliff house on the Great Highway). Then it was up into Golden Gate park where the halfers headed off in a different direction. GG park is a slight uphill so there were a few more miles of annoying uphill here, but since it was an out and back section I got to do the downhill part also. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Smile"> At the turnaround they were giving out Nike socks but I opted against because I didn’t want to carry them. Finally through the half we headed out of the park and along Ocean Beach. It was pretty out here but really hot because there isn’t a bit of shade. I grabbed 2 waters at every water stop and I was still dying of thirst. Past the zoo and the lovely smelling sewage treatment plant and I begin to feel myself fading..the running is getting hard. I opt to walk a little and run/walk up and around the lake. Finally at about mile 22 I just couldn’t run anymore so I start walking (I rarely ran after this point). Back down along ocean beach and I am no longer enjoying myself. Everything hurts, I just want to be finished and I have like 3 miles left. I watched runner after runner pass me and I watched my finish time slip. Oh well. I continue on and finally I see the blessed finish line. I force myself to run as fast as I possibly can just so I can be done! I did it...I finally got across the friggin line, grab my necklace from the nice looking man in a tuxedo, grab my shirt and head to find my neighbor (who had been done with the half for almost three hours).</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">All in all I really enjoyed the experience and I have newfound respect for charity runners. Reading their jerseys and seeing the pictures of their loved ones that had died of cancer was heartbreaking (a lot of the pictures were kids) and I almost started crying in the middle of the race. I will definatly run another...I certainly can stand to improve my time (I was hoping to come in almost an hour earlier).</span></span><br><span style="font-family:'Times New Roman';"><span style="font-size:medium;">It is now a few days later and I can walk properly again. <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.kickrunners.com/forum/images/smilies/smile.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="Smile"></span></span>