Hallowed Ground

Sept 10 - 17

Total Mileage - 26.4 (now I just need to do this in one day)



Totally worth it

This week was full of ups and downs.  Got a really good run in on Tuesday then flew to Portland later that afternoon.  Knowing that Voodoo Donuts was on the way to our meeting on Wednesday, I made sure to get my run in early.  Flying on Tuesday and Wednesday totally wrecked me and I had to move my Thursday run to Friday.  I was hoping to have two days rest before the half marathon, but such is life.

We rolled into the Bay on Saturday afternoon and I started to prep for Sunday.  We had the obligatory pasta dinner and I called it a night early.  I needed to be down at ATT at 7:00 and although the race day instructions said to utilize BART my dad pointed out that no train runs on Sunday before 8:00.  Major problem right?  Nope, Dad saved the day (as always) and drove me into the city, then went back to the East Bay to get the rest of the family. 

Dad dropped me off at 6:45 and I walked in from China Basin, along McCovey Cove (a homeless guy told me I had cool shoes) and toward the stadium.  I checked in at Willie Mays plaza and headed out to the starting corral.  This run brought out a lot of interesting people and some fantastic costumes.  Lots of Black and Orange, a ton of people in Tutu's (not all of them women), one guy dressed as a Banana (he finished in the top ten) and 3 guys dressed in full Dodger gear (idiots).  Lots of people stopped and commented on me running in Vibrams (how are people not used to them yet) and told me that I was crazy.

We could hear the 5k runners take off and we started making our way down 4th street to the start line.  It took nearly a half an hour to get up to the starting line and then I was off.    You could not have asked for a better day in the city.  Foggy and 50 degrees for the first hour and then the sun broke through and it was in the high 60's / low 70's.  The run took us along the Embarcadero, underneath the Bay Bridge, and toward Fisherman's Wharf.  It was pretty crowded for the first 3 miles until we made the turn out of the Wharf and headed up the hill at Gharadelli Square. 

You could hear the runners ahead groan when they saw the hill.  It made you wonder what was up ahead and then - - BAM - - a giant hill.  I pushed hard on my forefeet and made it through.  Now it was down hill by the painted ladies and towards the Golden Gate.  The leaders were already on their way back and their course split off and headed up toward Fort Mason Green .  The crowd was starting to thin out now.  There will still plenty of people on the course, but you had enough room to move around.  One of the biggest surprises happened around mile 6 when we went from sidewalk to soft gravel trail.  WooHoo!  For some reason the concrete in the city felt harder than the concrete in the burbs.  The soft trail was fantastic and really helped save my legs for the last half.  It was pretty smooth sailing as I ran right along the water with the Golden Gate and The Rock in full view.  I wished that I could have taken a picture, but I had a PR to set. 

I got back to the base of the hill at Fort Mason and saw that the hill was insane.  There were plenty of people pulling off to the side to walk it, but I decided that this was where I would try to pick up some time.  I again pushed as hard as I could (my heart rate jumped up into the low 200's) and headed to the top.  Once there though, I realized that I then had to go back down the other side.  I hate running down hill as I have a hard time keeping a fluid stride.  I'm pretty sure I was saying "ouch" out loud with each step but as I hit the bottom of the hill I knew that I just achieved something I would not have been able to do in my last half marathon. 

10 Miles down, 3.1 to go.  "Just a 5k left," I thought to myself.  Back down through the Wharf and toward the park.  There were a ton of people on the street cheering (in many cases for no one in particular).  I ran under the Bay Bridge again and caught sight of the park.  The finish was in view.  The course pushed us up onto the sidewalk that runs along the back of the park and along the marina.  I entered the stadium through the right field arcade and the finish line was in sight.  I can't imagine what it feels like with 41,000+ fans cheering, but the 5-10k people that were at the stadium cheering was enough to boost my adrenaline big time.  I dug down and sprinted as hard as I could along the warning track and crossed the finish line.  2:24, a new PR.  My family was up in the left field bleachers holding a huge sign and it was great to see them.  I collected my medal and walked around the field.  Totally amazing.

I stretched over in the Giants bullpen (and stole some dirt) then walked over and grabbed a bagel (which Emily later stole) and took a pic at home plate.  Unlike the first go around, I did not feel like I had been hit my a truck.  I think I could have gone 3-4 more miles. 

Thanks to my family again for making the trek (its like herding cats trying to travel with 2 kids) but it is always great to see them at the finish line.  Now all I need to do is double that distance...yikes.