The Other Half

Hi Guys! Can I get a second to breathe? Apparently not in the last two weeks or so - it's been complete craziness with Halloween, choir concerts and rehearsals, work and more work, and my SECOND half marathon, which I ran last Sunday!

So - leaving that craziness behind for a brief moment, I'll tell you a little about the race!

I signed up for the US Half Marathon in May, a little while after I had completed my first four mile race. I figured, hey, I just ran four, why not build up to 13.1? I felt at the time like I was being a little bit hasty with the assumption that I could run a half marathon in less than six months, but I'm glad I was so ambitious. Look where it got me! I decided then that I'd start half marathon training over the summer, and be ready by November. (Little did I know I'd get talked into completing another half marathon before that!) I was drawn to this one because I wanted to do a half in San Francisco, and this one involves running across the Golden Gate Bridge - scenery too awesome to pass up!

As it so happened, last Saturday, I had a choir retreat and rehearsal alllll day, so A and I headed up to SF for the evening when I was finished. We both got there starving and cranky, and immediately headed out for some food at Castagnola's on fisherman's wharf. Touristy, of course, due to the location, but delicious - and we were both much more pleasant to be around after a little sustenance.

Mud pie at Castagnola's. SO. GOOD. Somehow, A talked me into both getting our own dessert, which maaaaay have not been the greatest idea the day before a half marathon, but luckily, everything went fine. Everyone needs a little (or large) dessert occasionally.

The wharf at night. Pretty!

The next day, I was up and at 'em early - even earlier than usual due to Daylight Savings Time. I headed over to the starting line, at Aquatic Park across the street from Ghiradelli Square, at 6:15, with every intention of doing the "Starting Line Yoga" at 6:20am, but instead ended up walking around, checking out the scenery, and taking a couple pics. It was a beautiful day - 50 degrees and sunny, perfect for a scenic race!

So after waiting in line for bathrooms then attempting to check my gear at 6:40am, I realized the gear check line was literally around the block, with at least 300-400 people standing in line. I think there were four people working. I mean. There were over 3500 people running this race, how many people did they think were going to be checking bags? Sigh. So, I, like many others, got my pre-race warm-up in by walking/jogging back to my hotel, frantically handing A my stuff and telling him where to meet me after the race, and walking/jogging back to the starting line.

Although it was a bit hectic, due to my running back and forth and general pre-start craziness, I barely had any time to be nervous standing around at the start - before I knew it, we were off! Now, I knew the course was hilly for the first 5-7 miles, but it was almost constant uphills then downhills. My goal was just to keep running up the hills, no matter how slowly, then control my speed going down the hills. By mile six, headed across the GGB, I was worried that I was already so tired and had half the race to go. That being said, I feel like the hills kept it interesting, so it went by faster than the monotony of an entirely flat race like my first half in San Jose.

Across the GGB in Marin was the killer - a giant downhill under the bridge, and then a giant uphill to get back. SO many people walked up the hill that it made it difficult for me to run slowly jog past them, but I made it! I knew that was the final big push, and from here on, it was mostly slight uphill/downhills, and flats. Knowing that, the run across the bridge was much more pleasant!

When I got back across, Mile 9-10 was mostly downhill, and Miles 10-13 were flat. In my head, I thought, "Flat! I can run flat. Let's do this." With that, I picked up my pace and took off towards the finish line. The best part? Seeing my parents and brother at Crissy Field (after that, they sort of stalked me in their car along Bay St. for miles 10-12) and A in the park at mile 12.5, after my FINAL little uphill. Here are some pictures A took of me:

Finishing my final uphill push at Mile 12.5

Hi! I'm not dying, I promise!

Blowing a kiss

After that last little uphill, it was a little downhill, then a sprint to the finish! I felt like I finished strong, and it felt amazing.

Here's the rundown:

Time: 2:22.46
Pace: 10:54/mile
Place: 2395/3510

That's three minutes faster than my last half!

A and I at the finish

Now, I feel like I'm a little addicted. I see advertisements for other half marathons, and want to sign up for all of them! However, I'm giving myself a break to focus on mixing up workouts - speed work, track workouts, and hopefully more yoga, Pure Barre, and strength workouts as well! I feel like it will be best to change it up, and not get tired of training or injure myself. That being said - I'm hoping my next half will happen Spring/Summer 2014, and I'll be back at it again then!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!