The 2008 SF Marathon & Half Marathon is now in the books! It took place yesterday on a cool overcast morning in San Francisco. And, I am pleased to report that Donna (my wife) and I crossed the finish line tested by the race, and pleased with our efforts.
More than 18,000 runners took part in a variety of the races offered, 6662 participated in our race, the half marathon, and it sure seemed like it; the streets were quite crowded with runners. I was able to finish the race in 1:53:44 an 8:41 pace, and Donna finished at 2:13:38 a 10:12 pace.
The race follows the course of the Full Marathon beginning in the Embarcadero to Fisherman's wharf; the Marina district; to Crissy Field; to the Golden Gate Bridge and across, and back; through Lincoln, and finishing in Golden Gate Park.
We left our house at 4:30 am for the 5:45 am start time. After carbo loading early the night before, and attempting to drift off to sleep, neither of us slept well. I guess the adrenaline rush was too much to overcome. We arrived at the parking lot adjacent to the start line at about 5:30 am. After glancing at the throng of people queuing up to pay their parking toll; we decided to risk the ticket and head to the start line. As we jogged to the start line, we heard the announcer blare that out our wave was about to get under way. Within a minute of our arrival, we were off along the Embarcadero traversing along the edge of the most beautiful city in the world, but right before we departed I wished Donna good luck; I was somewhat worried about her because she had not run at all for three weeks prior to this event. Amazingly, she was quite confident about finishing the run.
I started off at a decent pace. The race is mostly flat until arriving at Fort Mason, about 3 miles into the run. Climbing past the first moderate hill, runners head down into the Marina and past a lovely expanse of beautiful homes. As I passed the Marina, I began focusing on my pace (steady), while simultaneously negotiating my steps between asphalt and concrete, choosing to soften the blows to my knees with every step rather than striking aimlessly. We turned into Crissy Field, the crowd support from a small throng of supporters sent chills electrifying through my veins. Wow! It's really amazing what a little support can do for competing runners, and the cheers jolted me, as I am sure the runners in my group were energized, too.
I gazed to my right, the Golden Gate Bridge looming in the horizon, I wondered how I would feel in a few short minutes as I traversed one of world's most recognizable landmarks, the Golden Gate Bridge! What a thrill it is to run across the GGB! Despite climbing up from Crissy Field to the GGB, I hardly noticed the struggle; I was busy avoiding runners and keeping my pace, all the while attempting to conserve energy for the work to come. I made the loop around Vista point (North end of Bridge), and headed back with enthusiasm. As I retreated back toward San Francisco, I began looking for my lovely wife. Sure enough, I passed her on the way back, a small miracle among thousands of runners. I stuck my hand out and she grazed it going by. I noticed a twinge of struggle in her eyes, but Donna is a fighter and never quits.
As I passed each tower on the GGB, I glanced up to gauge the awesome height of each one, and under each tower the wind swirled briskly while passing: obviously influenced by the immensity of each anchor of the bridge. As I came down into Lincoln Avenue, I ran past Baker Beach; a favorite spot of the Rodriguez Family, and though I was running downhill, I wasn't exactly enjoying lung relief. As I descended on the final water stop, I drank the electrolyte and water offered, and got on my way. I knew there were a series of small hills left, but I was but 3 miles from my goal. Though I didn't exactly stampede the remaining hills, I focused on the horizon, remembered my training and tried to visualize my regular 3 mile run. As I entered Golden Gate Park, there was one small hill left, and I ran up it steadily until the grade was even and then bolted toward the finish.
I waited for Donna to come in, and not surprisingly I missed her. She must have ran past me in my recovery. Donna reported struggling, but true to her nature--she finished. Though she was disappointed with her time, after three weeks of non-training, recovering from injury; just lacing it up was an awesome feat! I'm proud of her, but hardly surprised!
My time was new PR (personal record) for me in this event. In fact, I knocked off nearly 2 minutes from last year's SF Half Marathon. So, needless to say, I'm happy my training paid off, and though the improvement was incremental; the year in between was not. I look forward to my next run with enthusiasm and optimism!
