Nike Re-cap - Part I

I can't believe it's already been a week since I got back from San Francisco. It sort of feels like it was yesterday (only I can walk normally today). It truly was one of the best weekends. Not only did I have a great time with my friends, but I had a great time during the marathon. The course, while tough, was the most beautiful I've ever seen. I don't know how many times I was literally stopped in my tracks because of the scenery. I'd do it all again this weekend if I could. Here's a rundown of the weekend:

We got to San Francisco late Friday morning, hopped on a bus to our hotel, checked in, then went to the Expo. Our hotel was in the absolute perfect spot in Union Square... only a 1/2 block from the Expo & the starting line, which meant only a 1/2 block from Tiffany & Co. :) I was a little disappointed in the expo because it was only Nike stuff, no other vendors of any kind. I couldn't even buy the super cute socks I normally do at marathon expos. Oh well. I got some super cool official Marathon gear at Niketown, which was across the street from the expo.

One of the coolest things about this race is that the folks at Nike printed out the names of all 23,000 participants & put them in the window of the huge Niketown store in Union Square. There was a line of participants all trying to find their names. Thankfully mine was at a decent height:

After a full afternoon of shopping, my friend Carissa & I rested for a bit, then got cleaned up & ready for a night out on the town. We went to dinner at the restaurant my Uncle Mark used to own, The Washington Square Bar & Grill. It was such a nostalgia kick for me. I hadn't been there in about 20 years & it looked exactly the same. The food was great, as were the cocktails. It was the perfect start to our night of fun. Afterwards we were picked up by Carissa's friend (a local) & spent the rest of the night hanging out at a great Irish pub with their friends. It was good, good fun & ended in a stretch limo ride back to the hotel.

Saturday was a bit of a recovery day for Carissa & I (Carissa more than me) so we really didn't do much of anything. We had a huge late breakfast with our new friend & teammate, Carrie (Carrie's 4 y/o son, Peyton has Leukemia) then did a little more shopping at Niketown. Afterwards we went back to our hotel room to finish decorating our race singlets.
Originally Carissa & I were going to skip the TNT pasta party & have dinner with some friends, but since it was Carrie's first marathon & since her son is one of our honored patients, we decided to escort her to her very first TNT pasta party. I'm so glad we did. It was amazing. We walked into the Moscone Center & were greeted by hundreds & hundreds of TNT staff, coaches, & mentors, all dressed up, blowing whistles, screaming, cheering, laughing. And just when I thought it was ending, I turned to go down the stairs & was greeted by 100's more TNT-ers. I'd never seen so many TNT people together in one place before. It was even more amazing when I got into the huge hall where the dinner was held. There were tables as far as the eye could see. Turns out it was the largest TNT pasta party in the history of TNT... over 8000 people! (5300 runners, plus their family & friends) I couldn't get over it.
The food was so-so, but the speakers were great. We had John "The Penguin" Bingham, Joan Benoit Samuelson (the first Women's Olympic Marathon Gold medalist in 1984 & one of the greatest American marathoners in history), & a woman named Kim (I hate that I can't remember her last name) who is a Lymphoma survivor. The Penguin was hilarious as always. Joan was inspirational & made us all feel extra proud to be a woman. Kim brought tears to my eyes & made me even more determined to finish what I started.

After the pasta party it was back to the hotel for a few last minute words of encouragement from our coaches before heading to bed. I knew I wouldn't sleep very well. I was too nervous & too excited. I couldn't wait to run.

To be continued...

I FINISHED!!!!!

I did it! I finished the Nike Women's Marathon!!!! And I SHATTERED my goal time of 7:30 & finished in 7:10:25!!!!! I could have easily finished in under 7 hours but I decided to slow down & soak it all in as much as I could.

I'm uploading photos & will type up a full, huge weekend/race re-cap later, but for now, I'll leave you with this...



I know it's VERY shaky, but you try holding a camera steady when you're running to the finish line after running for over 7 hours. LOL! If you listen closely, you can hear the crowd yelling my name & the announcer calling me in. Every time I watch it, my eyes well up with tears. I still can't believe I did it. What an absolutely FANTASTIC day & a FANTASTIC weekend. I'd do it over & over & over again.

Almost there!!!

Apologies to my 1 or 2 readers for not posting in a while. I swear I thought I had posted, but I must've dreamed it. So, where do I begin?

Last week's long run was pitiful. I had some "stomach issues" & that really slowed me down, but I trudged on through & finished the 14 miles in so-so time. It was very frustrating, especially considering how great my other training has been. My sprints are the fastest ever, averaging about a 13:00/mile pace. I am tickled pink about that!

Today's long run... my LAST ONE before the marathon... was FANTASTIC! The weather couldn't have been more perfect. I was in heaven! It's amazing what a 20º difference in temperature can do for your pace. I did 13 miles in 3:11. If this had been an official 1/2 marathon, it would've been a PR! (My current 1/2 marathon PR is 3:27) I started out walking the 1st 2.8 miles but I ran the whole rest of the way. I only stopped to walk twice! I couldn't believe how great I felt! I never got winded & my body felt awesome! It was definitely my best run ever & made me SO much more excited about the marathon next week.

Speaking of the marathon, Thursday night I picked up my race packet from the TNT group. They had a happy hour at a local pub, Kobain & all our stuff came in a blue Tiffany's bag w/ Tiffany perfume & a catalog of the most GORGEOUS Tiffany jewelry. OMG, I want! I want! I want! I was giddy with excitement. I can't wait to see what the race necklace looks like. More importantly, I can't wait to WEAR the race necklace. I don't know if I'll ever take it off!

I want the marathon to be here already. We leave at the butt-crack of dawn Friday morning & arrive in San Fran around 10:15 am. We'll quickly check into our hotel (the super swanky Sir Francis Drake) then walk over to the expo. I'm almost as excited about the expo as I am the race! After that, we'll do a short 3 mile run in the city, then we're free until the pasta party Saturday night.

I don't know how I'm going to sleep on Saturday. What sucks is that since I'm doing the early start, that means I'll have to get up at 3:30 am!! But it'll be worth it just to have that extra 90 minutes to run. The only thing I'm bummed about is that apparently we will have a motorcycle escort & we will not be permitted to go any faster that 15:00 mins/mile. My original plan was to keep up a 14:00/14:30 pace for as long as possible so when I slow down later in the race, I'll still hopefully be able to finish in 7:30. But maybe if I'm forced to go at that 15 min. pace it'll help me save some energy which will help me sustain that pace for a longer period of time. I figure if I can keep that pace for at least 16 miles, I'll be able to make my goal.

I still can't believe it's almost here. I keep thinking back to where I was a year or so ago & it amazes me how far I've come. I'm stronger than I think I've ever been in my life & I'm also becoming the thinnest I've ever been. To date I've lost 35 lbs. My original goal was to lose 40 lbs by race day, but I'll take the 35. I figure I've gained SO much muscle that it's basically the equivalent to losing 40 lbs.

I'm going to take a week off after the marathon, then I'll be back running. Next race up after Nike is the Aramco Houston Half Marathon in January. With any luck I'll be at least another 20 lbs lighter by then. :)