Christy's Random Thoughts: Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco

Think this is about mid-way through the race.....

I SURVIVED!!! And better yet, I LOVED every minute of it! It was so much fun. The picture of me coming across the finish line, my head is down but I have the biggest smile on my face with my arms in the air "Hallelujah!". I feel like this was such a major accomplishment for me. I highly recommend it, it is such a rush!! I couldn't have done nearly as well without my "Sole Sisters" who stayed with me and cheered me on every step of the way (well except for miles 11-13 when they had to split off to go on to do the whole marathon, those over-achievers. haha). Jacque and Karla, you will always hold a special place in my heart and I couldn't have done NEARLY as well without you both there for support and company. There were people along the way cheering for their family members/friends and just when I felt like giving up, Jacque would run ahead and tell them to yell "Go, Christy!" Something about hearing your name yelled gives you a little boost and makes you perk up a little. I remember hitting around mile 10 and whining "how much further" just to hear from my Sole (S-O-L-E) Sisters that I only had 3 more miles. Woohooo! Since the pictures leave much to be desired as far as what they shot during, I will spare you of those. However, later when I get all of my pictures developed, I will blog more about our adventures in San Francisco. We had a total blast!!! And we have some really funny pictures that will only mean something to those of us there....more on that later.

Official results can be found at http://results.eternaltiming.com/event/NWM2008#

I ended up ranked 902 in my age group (30-34) and I was 5240 overall. There were 20,000 runners, most of which were women. Think it said there were like 1,000 of those that were men. Running along, there was a couple who had "Just Married" on their backs. Congratulating them as we ran by, they told us that they met there last year. So, men, if you are looking for a woman, those are some good odds!! I ran it in 2:39:59.730. I was hoping for 2:30 but after hearing a lady at the expo and her talking about the hills and how hard this course is, I had told myself I would be happy around 3 hours. I probably could have pushed harder but after that, I was a little scared about the hills. And I had made myself a nervous wreck before the race, thought I was going to throw up or pass out while standing among 20,000 people waiting to start. Neither of which would have been a good thing, although that could have gained us a little more elbow room. Most of you know, I don't do crowds well at all. Don't think at one point I could have lifted my arms if I wanted to, we were stuck in wall to wall people. Later, it was mentioned how quiet I got right before. hahaha Everyone knows something is wrong when I am quiet. So I struggled more the first few miles due to nervousness also. Had to stop on the very first bathroom stop which is a wait for some porta-potties. Something you must experience to get the full race effect. haha But that would have cut some time as well--unless you are Jacque who we discovered has a talent for the fastest bathroom pit stop ever!!! But I must say, I am glad I didn't push too hard and truly enjoyed my first race experience!

And it was all worth it for the Tiffany necklace that awaited us at the end, given to us by firefighters dressed in tuxedos with the little precious boxes loaded up on silver trays.

Although I couldn't tell you what my firefighter looked like, I was just looking for a place to land at that point. This was definitely a women's race--pedicures, massages, a chocolate mile, Tiffany jewelry. Who couldn't love that???