Nike Race Report

Saturday my alarm went off at 4:45. I actually slept really well... I wasn't too nervous about the race and the sofa bed at Rocky's parent's house was surprisingly comfy :) I got dressed, at my 2 bananas and Luna Bar and then Rocky's brother Martin came by to pick us up and take us to the start area.

We got to the start area a little after 6:00 am and Union Square was already packed! We met up with the team, did our team shout outs and then headed off to check our bags. The bag check was a complete nightmare... they had all these buses lines up and under each window was a letter. There was one poor girl standing outside the bus giving us all stickers for our bibs that corresponded to the bus number and window letter. Because everyone was in such a rush to check their bags, everyone was crowded around this one girl trying to push ahead to get a number. Uggg, such a pain. After checking our bags Claudia, Jeanette and I headed to our coral area to line up. Jeanette and I needed to use the potty one last time so we dashed as quickly as we could (which wasn't quickly at all with the mass of people) to the porta potties and then back. The gun went off at 7:00... and nothing happened. About 10 minutes later we finally started moving, and 15 minutes later we were across the start line!

We ran the first few miles at an easy pace... partly because we didn't want to push too hard at the start, and partly because we couldn't go any faster. I don't remember ever being so frustrated with all the slower runners and walkers than I was at this year's Nike. Now, I'm a slow runner so I know I have no reason to complain about the slower runners... but I think if people would line up in the correct corral, there wouldn't be as many problems with people having to weave around the much slower people in front of them. There were numerous times in the first few miles that I thought I had lost Claudia and Jeanette because they had to weave around one side of a slower group, and I had to weave around the other side, or one of us just got stuck behind them. :(

Right before the first major hill at mile 6, Jeanette had to take a potty break so Claudia and I forged ahead. As soon as we rounded the corner and started up that hill we started walking. A few minutes later here comes Jeanette running by us! She ran up that hill and then waited for us to catch up. We repeated this pattern during each little hilly section... Jeanette would run past us and then wait for us to catch up when the course leveled out. Around mile 7 we saw all the posters that the teams had made for their honorees and placed along the side of the road. We saw the poster for Cole, wishing him a happy 5th birthday, and right next to it the poster for Brenda with a picture of her cheering on everyone during last year's Nike race! Those posters provided some inspiration exactly when we needed it!

We ran out of the Presidio and into the Sea Cliff neighborhood where all the fancy houses are... including Robin Williams' house! Going, going, going up and down the hills :( Running above the ocean with the gorgeous views of the Golden Gate Bridge! Right around mile 10 we started down the hill near the Cliff House. At this point Jeanette and I had lost Claudia :( We had run a little ahead of her and when I turned around I couldn't see her anymore, although she later told me she was waving right at me :( Above the Cliff House we ran into one of my old mentees Lisa and I got a sense of deja vu! Two years ago she also did the Nike half marathon when I was her mentor and I ran into her at the same point along the course. Here we were two years later in the exact same spot!

Once we came around the curve near the Cliff House we had an incredible view of the ocean. You could hear everyone around us, especially those from other states, ooohing and ahhhing. The sun was out, the waves were crashing and it was an amazing view. But, since the sun was out, it also meant it was starting to get a little warm :( After running down the Great Highway for a bit, we turned up into Golden Gate park and finally got some shade. Jeanette and I stopped to say hello to a couple of TNT people and look back along the course to see if we could spot Claudia behind us. No luck :( We continued through the park, which was slightly uphill, and passed by the Bison, who were nowhere to be seen.

Right before we reach the 11 mile mark, the half marathoners split from the full marathoners, who continue up through the park. We made a hairpin turn and started back down through the park towards the finish line. We passed through the Polo Fields where Ghiradelli Chocolate was giving out little chocolate squares. We also passed through this weird, Las Vegas-ish tunnel with tv screens and loud music. Kinda cool but a little surreal after you've been running for 12 miles! The last part of the course through the park is thankfully downhill before you turn back onto the Great Highway for the grand finish. Jeanette told me I better not ditch her down the finish line, and I told her the same thing. The problem is that every time I make that turn, and hear the crowds cheering and the finish line music blaring, I kick it into high gear! Jeanette complained that I was sprinting but she kept up with me and we crossed the finish line with our arms raised together!! Yippee... we're done!!! I think our finish time was a little under 3 hours.

We were greeted across the finish line by some very cute firemen dressed in tuxedos handing out our Tiffany's necklace. We grabbed a box, got our chip cut off and then grabbed our finisher shirt. The shirts are cute but for some reason they decided not to give out the usual performance shirts... instead they were a technical cotton/poly blend that fit MUCH smaller than the finisher shirts usually do. I'm kind of bummed I won't have a cute pink shirt to run in for NY :(

Jeanette and I made our way to the TNT tent to grab some food and goodies before we headed back out to wait for Brandy and Phil. At the tent we ran into Claudia, who came in about 5 minutes behind us, and Rocky, who had come in quite a bit before us :D They had some yummy sandwiches, cookies, chips and even SODA!!!! I was a good girl though and downed some Gatorade before I had some soda. On our way out of the tent towards the course I looked behind me and everyone was gone... I backtracked a ways and found Claudia and Jeanette talking to a SF Chronicle reporter. He was interviewing them about the race and TNT. Jeanette spoke very passionately about Brenda and Cole and all the reasons why participating in a race like this is important. The (very cute but married) reporter seemed very interested in a number of things we talked about but of course only one thing made it into the final article... "Jeanette Hurwitz of Antioch and her friends from Team in Training decided to do the shorter course Sunday. That's because the women - novices no more - plan to run the New York City Marathon in two weeks. "This," Hurwitz said, "was a training run.""

After our 15 minutes of fame we headed back out on the Great Highway to wait for Brandy. She had done the early start at 5:00 so she wouldn't have to worry about meeting the cut off, so we knew she would be coming in soon. We parked ourselves about a half mile from the finish line and cheered for the runners while we waiting. The weather was so nice and warm... great for us, bad for the people still running :( After waiting a little while we spotted Brandy and Brian coming down the Great Highway... when we reached us we all joined her to walk (and then run) the final half mile. Right when we approached the finish line chute, Brandy's sister, who was there with some other friends and Brandy's daughter Emma, passed Emma over the barricade so she could run in with Mommy. At first she looked a little shocked... like why am I being passed off to these people, but as soon as she grabbed her mom's hand and started running, a smile popped up on her face. She was SO cute running in those last hundred yards with Brandy! And even Brandy had a big smile on her face, despite already running those 26 miles! WOO HOO BRANDY... YOU DID IT!!!! We all gave her a big hug after she crossed the finish line and then headed back out to wait for Phil.

Phil didn't do the early start so we knew he should be coming our way soon. We didn't have too long to wait before we saw his smiling face running down the Great Highway. Phil's past two marathons weren't that great of an experience for him so I was really hoping that this marathon would be better... judging from that smile on his face he was either having a great time, or a little delirious from the exertion and the heat! We asked him how he was doing and he said GREAT! We all ran with him towards the finish line and damn him... he smoked us all! One by one we he outran all of us down the chute except for Rocky! We gave him a big hug afterwards and then headed out to the buses to pick up our bags. CONGRATULATIONS PHIL... you achieved your goal and proved to us that a FUN marathon is possible!

Rocky, Claudia and I picked up our bags from the bus and called Martin to let him know we were ready to be picked up. They took us back to Rocky's parent's house were we were greeted with a yummy lunch :D Yeah! More food to shovel in my mouth! After eating and visiting we grabbed our bags and headed back to the East Bay. By the time I finally got home it was after 4:00 and I was still in my stinky, sweaty running clothes. I took a shower, too a nap and relaxed for the rest of the night.

All in all I had a wonderful time... I think it was actually the most fun I've ever had during a race. I think part of that was due to the fact that we just took it slow... we didn't worry about finishing in a certain time... we just had fun and did the damn thing! The next day the only part of me that was hurting was my quads and my sunburned face :( Today I'm pretty much back to normal! Now I just have to get ready for NY in just about 10 days... AHHHH!!!