Marathon Weekly Update

A marathon weekend - literally

You may think that a marathon is a one day event, but you would be wrong. My friend Libby arrived on Friday afternoon and we went out and drove the course. I had the advantage of having run all but 4 miles of the marathon course during my six months of training, but Libby trained for her half marathon in Florida and needed to see the hills involved in the course. On Saturday we walked down to the Expo site to pick up our bibs, race t-shirts, and see what other free samples we could pick up. It was like a carnival but instead of seeing overweight people wearing silly t-shirts and eating funnel cake the park was filled with small, thin people wearing super short shorts and hawking organic goods and gym memberships - surreal. Libby and I dumped all of our stuff into one bag and then realized the folly of this move. We didn't know whose timing chip was whose and I figured that people following my progress online might panic if my time stopped at 13.1 miles. After sorting all that out we walked back to my house. Now, this walk is a straight shot 1.25 miles on one street which may seem easy. Oh, did I forget to mention the 300' elevation gain in 6 blocks. I was actually looking forward to this walk to warm up my muscles so I could do a major stretching session when I got home.

Libby and I walked down to the AIDS Marathon Pasta Party at 4pm. It seemed a little strange to be eating dinner that early, but my running group had decided to have their own pasta party at 5 and I wanted to get to both. Yes, that's right, I ate 2 pasta dinners in the same night. There were a ton of people at the AIDS Marathon dinner and the staff put on a great program. Several others from my running group were there so we caught a cab to Esther's together. We had a great time chatting, hanging out, discussing our marathon plans, and planning for future runs. Dinner involved loads of pasta, salad, bread, fruit, and gatorade. My team surprised me with a gift certificate for a massage and a card filled with great sentiments.

3:30am on Sunday came very quickly, but thankfully I had planned out my morning the night before. I had a checklist of things to do, wear, and bring with me to the run site (thanks for the advice Andy). Libby and I jumped in a cab at 4:15am and were at the run site by 4:30am. I had time to tape my arches and shins, pin on my bib number, write my name on my singlet, and take pre-marathon pictures with my team before I made my way to the start line. While we were milling about in front of the AIDS Marathon tent a whole slew of men in leather riding motorcycles roared into the plaza. Our group started in the last wave which had a start time of 6:10am. I crossed the start line 2 min and 21 sec after our wave started and we were on our way.

The team plan was to start out at a 14 minute pace with a 3:2 walk run ratio. We wanted to make sure that we didn't start off too quickly so we had enough juice at the end of the race. We had many discussions prior to the race via email and in person about this being each person's own race. It was a day to be selfish and run the race that each of us had prepared for. Everyone agreed to stay together for the first 5 miles and then each person could do what worked best for them. Once we got on Golden Gate Bridge (mile 5.5) we changed our ratio to 3:1 and sped up to a 13 minute mile. We crossed paths with tons of people on the bridge and there was lots of cheering and hand slapping. One of my favorite sights was a runner in a suit of armor with a helmet, shield, and spear. We also found out that the bikers that we saw at 4:30am were to be our helpers at the race. They directed traffic, pointed runners in the right direction, handed out water, and cheered us on. There is nothing like seeing a very large man in leather chaps and vest clapping his hands and telling you that you can make it.

The running seemed pretty easy until we hit the halfway point. For some reason when we entered the park everyone's spirits were a little low. I blame a lot of it on the heat. The forecast for Sunday was supposed to be 61 degrees but actually it was about 80 degrees. It is amazing how much high temperatures sap your energy and training in SF does not prepare anyone for high temps. It makes me rethink running any races in warmer climate - but I'm getting ahead of myself. At mile 19 we were headed out of the park and into the Haight where people were out cheering us on. We changed the ratio to 4:1 and kicked the pace up to 12 minute miles. By this time the group had split into two groups and everyone was concentrating on their own race. It was good to have some cheering fans to lift our spirits.

The last 7 miles of the race were along the city streets in the Haight, the Mission, and Potrero Hill. It was later in the day which means more fans lining the streets, but it also means higher temperatures and no shade from trees. At mile 21 I wanted to be done and so I spent the next four miles convincing myself to keep going. The AIDS Marathon people were manning the mile 24 water stop and Shaun, our program director, was there in his pink tutu, green afro wig, striped knee socks, and Elton John sunglasses. I told him that I didn't think I was going to make it and he gave me the encouragement I needed. He told me that the race was mine, that I only had 2 miles left, and that I had run 2 miles so many different times in the past 6 months this would be no problem. At mile 25 I knew that I would finish and all I wanted to do was get to that line. About 50 yards from the finish line Libby was standing in the road screaming for me and that was just the last little push that I needed.

I crossed the finish line in 5 hours 49 minutes and 30 seconds with my arms raised in triumph. I joined up with the rest of my crew to celebrate and take pictures (coming soon, I promise). After scarfing down all the food available and heading to the AIDS Marathon tent to see other finishers Libby and I jumped (ok it was more like limped) on the cable car and headed back to my house. Getting off the cable car was highly amusing, although I don't know that the other passengers appreciated the time it took for us to get out of our seats and make it down the 2 steps to the street. An ice bath, 800 mg of ibuprofen, half a pizza, and a nap later I was feeling better. A pint of post nap peanut butter - chocolate ice cream made it much better.

Monday and Tuesday Libby and I spent a lot of time walking around and working the lactic acid out of our muscles. Stairs and anything downhill was murder but it was necessary. I am surprised at how good my body feels today. I'm getting that massage tonight to finish off my marathon experience.

It is really strange to think that this chapter of my life has come to a close. I have become very close with the 9 other Salazars and we have plans to continue running together and finding other races to run. It is nice to know that there are other people out there that I enjoy running with and who are at the same fitness level as me. I am still processing this marathon. During the past six months I have been surrounded by people that have the same goal as me so I have a warped sense of this accomplishment. When I look at my time and the times of some of those who I ran with when I was a Cathy O'Brien I think, "I could run at that pace next time." Then, I think "NEXT TIME?!? What the hell am I thinking?!?" A lot of people have asked me if I will be running another marathon and I honestly don't know at this point.

I just got back from my massage and it really was the cherry on the top of a marathon sundae. My LMT found sore spots that I didn't know I had and released a lot of toxins. I knew that my quads, hamstrings, and calves were a bit tender but the really sore spots were mostly in my hips. We talked about the nagging pain that I have had in my left arch and she mentioned the dreaded words "plantar fasciitis." She made me promise to see a podiatrist and have a gait analysis before getting back into any serious running. She also nixed my plan to run 3 miles tomorrow. I got the OK for water running, but nothing more for a little longer.

So, will I continue with running? - Yes! Will I run another marathon? - That decision is yet to come.

posted by Heidi @ 10:00 AM