As I mentioned on Thursday, today was the 20 year anniversary of my first marathon EVER in San Francisco. If you missed the post, it was run on a dare with very little training. For the last three years, my friend Erin was an SF Marathon Race Ambassador [see her race report HERE]. The first year, she asked me to run. I told her that I’d run in 2016 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of my first marathon there in 1996. An idea was hatched! I mentioned the idea to a few of my friends and set about recruiting some partners in crime. As you may know, runners are very susceptible to joining in on these types of shenanigans. I applied to be a race ambassador and assembled an awesome crew.
Just like everything, this all seemed so far away until a few weeks ago. Josh agreed to run the full and created an awesome training plan for himself. Lynn and I joined in the fun with Coach Josh. We were as ready as flatlanders can be for a hilly marathon. We traveled to the suburbs on a bunch of weekends (sometimes both days) to run hills. I made some dinner plans for pre-marathon dinner for 15 runners, fans and friends who came in with me for the race. Flights and hotels were booked. I started using the hashtag #beat1996 (as my goal was to beat my time from 1996 which I thought was reasonable – see Thursday’s post for why!)
Then, race weekend was here. We had a great Chicago crew plus Marie came from NYC and high school friend, Melissa, from Pennsylvania. Some injuries increased the size of Team Superfan, so we had 6 marathoners and 2 half marathoners plus some friends from Chicago and SF also running.
I came in on Thursday and went into my company’s office. The crew arrived on Friday. Saturday morning, we jogged over to the Shake Out Run with Dean Karnazes. Roger and Alli joined our crew for the shake out. I led a group and we met some nice folks. Then, we hit the Expo. There were tons of awesome freebies from Finds’ friends Curate Bar (giveaway ends 8/4), Perfect Bar, Bob’s Red Mill, Dang and many others. The gear was really nice, too! We walked back through North Beach and had a quick brunch.
I worked at the Expo for a few hours in the afternoon. I met tons of cool runners at the Berkeley Half Booth. And, Sue and her family came in to meet me, too!
I rushed back for our dinner at E Tutto Qua (which I recommend!) Meredith and Chris joined our crew for a pre-race dinner. They surprised me with a toast and some fun signs. We went back, got everything laid out and set our alarms for 3:30 AM! The race start was 5:30 and the start was 15 minutes away from the hotel, so we agreed to meet at 4:30 in the lobby.
Marie bunked with me and we got ready without a hitch. We met the crew and Wendy (part of Team Superfan, wife of Ryan and recent LA Marathon companion on injured reserve) in the lobby. We headed over to the Embarcadero and easily checked bags, used porta potties and found our corral. Josh, Lynn, Melissa, Marie and I were in the same corral and enjoyed the pre-race fun.
Before we knew it, we were off. The course starts off flat on The Embarcadero for a few miles before a climb in Fort Mason. Josh, Lynn and I ran together. The weather was in the 50s and very humid. It was very, very nice by Chicago summer standards. I enjoyed running on The Embarcadero with my friends but had a tough time getting in the groove.
The first 5 miles was not bad hill-wise. Then, we got to the Golden Gate Bridge access road. Ouch. The good news was that Stacy, Wendy, Leslye and Ken were at the top and we put on our game faces (and smiles). Josh pulled ahead and Lynn and I followed. We met up again at the other side. As we were coming up again, I let them both go. Unfortunately, I wasn’t feeling great. Nothing hurt, but I just struggled to keep the pace. I chatted with Dean K. who was running the marathon after running it at midnight in the opposite direction with the other ultra runners. I tried to keep up and we leap frogged a few times.
After the bridge, I saw Ken again for a photo. The race headed into the Presidio where there were some more tough hills. There was an amazing downhill with a beautiful view. I used the momentum from the hill to pick up the pace and enjoyed flying down. The elation was short lived. Sometimes in a marathon, the miles fly by. Not this time. I wish I could say otherwise, but it was a real slog. I had to work for every mile. I loved seeing Sue, Carolyn and Matan at the second half marathon start. Then Marie as she easily strode by. I took a porta potty break which I thought might help me to feel better – it did a bit. My co-worker Alli cheered me at mile 17 and I lamented a bit that it wasn’t my day. Then, I saw Lisa (who ran a PR in the second half) at Mile 18 when I really needed the boost. I saw Leslye and Stacy again. Stacy jumped in and ran 19 – 20 with me and told me that Ryan just finished in 3:03! She gave me updates on the rest of the crew and lifted my spirits a ton.
The last 10K was uneventful and much less hilly after mile 21. I took in a lot of fluids and walked through the water stops which helped. After the bathroom break before mile 15, I knew I would have to pick it up to 8:30 minute/mile pace to beat my 1996 time (which was 3:55). Even 4 hours was not feeling realistic. I have only run a few marathons of my 43 over 4 hours, so I was a bit disappointed. But, I kept at it and even kicked it in with a smile when I saw Stacy, Ryan, Wendy and Melissa at Mile 26.
In the end, I did not beat 1996. I was not even close. I ran one of my slowest marathons (net time 4:09.09/9:31 pace). That being said, I felt so loved and supported to have so many friends join me and for all of the amazing calls, texts and social media love. I kept smiling and kept my head held high. As my wise friend, Deb, reminded me, “It’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey.” What a journey this has been! I was surely humbled yesterday, but I am proud of myself for never giving up for 20 years despite ups and downs.
Thank you all for coming on this journey with me! My “A” goal will be to beat 1996 in NYC this year. The real goal is to train well, stay healthy and as always to finish smiling!
