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...