Nike Women's Marathon

                                                                   Race Day!
   
On October 12th, me and the Team in Training group I have been training with flew to San Francisco, and on October 14th, I participated in the Nike Women's Marathon.  Granted, I only did the half (13.1) miles, but if someone had told me a year ago that I would be doing this, I would have said they were crazy!  The race was awesome, and I am so happy I did this.  This was my first half marathon ever, and I am so looking forward to the next ones I am signed up for!  My time: 4:05.  I know, slow, slow, slow, but Johnson and I did this together and we took our time, stopped for pictures (and pee breaks) along the way, and had a good time.  The route was beautiful!

                                         The line of people in front of us at the start.
At O'dark:30 in the morning, me and about 25,000 other crazy runner types took to the streets of San Francisco to do this awesome event.  We started downtown, then wound our way over to the waterfront and over to Fisherman's Wharf, then stayed along the waterfront for a while, and then between miles 8 and 0 we wound up through a park and walked among trees and greenery.  The last few miles were in park areas and along a gold course, and the finish line was along the beachfront.  Such an awesome finish! All along the route there were pockets of people, groups, bands, entertainers and volunteers cheering us on, and cries of "Go team" through out the whole race.  Supporters of Team in Training were all over the place!  It was great!

Oh, and there were hills....boy were there hills, like the little one around mile 3.

Yep.  That's a little hill compared to what we were to encounter later.

Like this one!  Here's Johnson trudging up the big hill at mile 6:

Yeah, that hill really sucked!

     The weather was perfect for this race.  It was a little cool in certain places, and at times there was fog and  a little mist, but it wasn't a problem at all.  We ditched our jackets around 2.5 miles into the race because we got too warm.  Great thing about this race was, they had people who would come by afterward and pick up ditched clothing and donate it to charity.  

     Let me tell you, 13.1 miles is a long way to go on 2 feet.  I have to say, I enjoyed every mile.  We saw alot of interesting houses, scenery, and people, like the guy holding the sign saying he was single and listing his phone number, and these ladies at mile 4:

Good comedy relief!

     Along the way we passed groups of people shouting and yelling and encouraging us along, and there's nothing like people yelling out your name as you pass to make you feel like a rock star.  Just when you think you need to slow down and take a break, there would be someone yelling "Go Karen, go Karen!"  Wow, just so awesome!

     Johnson and I stuck together for the majority of the race, but when we passed mile 12, and only had 1.1 miles to go, I surged forward and couldn't stop. I left Johnson behind as I pressed forward and moved closer to the finish line, and people were cheering me on, calling my name, yelling "Go team", and one man even asked if this was my first half and told me congratulations when I nodded yes.  I got within a tenth of the finish line and knew I had to run it in...I was not going to walk across that finish line.  So, I did!  I took off, ran for it and crossed the finish line, arms in the air, screaming and whooping the whole time, and then I burst into tears!  I was so emotional because I was so proud of myself, proud of my accomplishments and all I had done.  This was not an easy journey, but it wasn't all that difficult either.  The hardest part was the fundraising, but doing 13.1 miles is nothing compared to what people with blood cancers are going through, and that was one thought that kept me going forward.

     After I crossed over the line, I waited for Johnson to come across, then we went to get our Tiffany necklaces from the tuxedo-clad fireman.  Johnson had been waiting for this moment and was so excited she had me take a picture with her and her fireman!  Here's a picture of the necklace:

I think that would make a great tattoo!

     I got brave (or stupid) and looked at the pictures and video of myself as I traversed the race course.  Good lord.  I really, really don't look like a runner, at all, with my big wobbly hips and big huge calfs, but the way I look at it, I'm out there, working it, running, walking, whatever it takes to get through the route.  I am doing something that only 7% of the population has accomplished.  I did a half marathon...me of all people!  I did...A HALF MARATHON!  2 days after this, I turned 42 years old.  The past year has been awesome, I wonder what the next year will bring...I can't wait to find out!

Ok, that's all for now, more to come as I continue my adventures!

As always, I am...
Karen, Determine Runner.

Marathon training, and other stuff

I was shocked to see that I hadn't posted anything since July 1st.  Since that last post, I had a little change and decided that I needed to run the Nike Half-Marathon in San Francisco.  As of this writing, that is only one week away.  I have been training with Team in Training and it has been awesome.  I have met some awesome people and gone further than I have ever thought I would.  I have been through parts of Brackenridge Park I never even knew existed, and been through neighborhoods and through some very beautiful parts of San Antonio.  I have logged quite a few miles on my favorite pair of running shoes and spent alot of time with my two favorite running friend, Johnson and Lali.  I have more running clothes than other clothes, and a ton of race t-shirts!

Lali, Johnson and I actually did 11 miles, but it was supposed to be 10 lol...still, it was a great trek through the Alamo Heights part of San Antonio.  Afterward, when I thought about it, I realized that this was the farthest I had ever gone, and also that we were only 2 miles shy of half marathon distance.  I knew that if I had gone that far and knew I only had 2 more miles to go,  I could have done it.  That 11 miles took 2 hours and 46 minutes.  Not bad at all...and having someone to talk to helped the miles go faster.

Since I started this venture, I have had to hold off on participating in the 5K events I had been partaking in.  I needed to log longer miles than 3, and training with the team has been fun!  Team in Training involves fundraising for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.  I had originally signed up for the San Antonio Rock and Roll (half) Marathon.  To do this, I had to raise $1500.00.  I was hanging out with Johnson one evening, and she asked me if I was doing "Nike", meaning the San Francisco event.  I told her I was doing the RnR in San Antonio, and she told me I needed to go to San Francisco with her because she didn't want to do it alone.  The fundraising for this is $3200!  That goal seemed more out of reach to me than 13.1 miles!  Then, I found out that the event takes place 2 days before my 42nd birthday, and I knew I had to do it.  I still plan to do the San Antonio Rock and Roll event, and now I have signed up for another half marathon in January (Hero-Thon) and am considering Zooma in March.  I am hooked!

Although I have been holding off on the 5K events, I did have to do the Pajama Pancake Run, which was the very first race I had participated in last year.  I have been dealing with leg and ankle pain issues this week.  I had hoped to log a better time this year, but I was only a minute or so less than last year's run.  Next year, I will do better.  Still, it was a beautiful run along the Riverwalk and near the Guenther House, which is where Mark and I got married.  I should have taken pictures along the way, but I was so focused on getting my time in faster, and also dealing with pain in my legs threw off my focus.  NEXT year will be better!

I have done a few other 5K races along the way, such as the Loteria 5K and the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition in Austin as well as a few others, but no where near the amount of races I had been doing.  I miss the race day energy, but am enjoying the Team in Training energy so much better.

Ok, signing off for now.  I will post again after the event!
Until then, I am...
The Determined Runner.