Over the past several months, most of my races have been "away games," so my Race Reports have featured not only the races themselves, but also all the other fun stuff I've done in the cities I've visited. Well, I decided that even though the SF Half Marathon was on home turf, there's no reason not to feature my activities in my own fair city.
Saturday
10:00 Show up at the Expo in Justin Herman Plaza. No convention center reminiscent of trade shows for us here in San Francisco. We're all about the great outdoors. I meandered around the booths, thinking that with a few exceptions, it's the usual suspects...CLIF (yay!), various other races trying to recruit you to come to their cities, and the folks that come with racks and racks of apparel plus gear and gadgets organized in rows of boxes around the perimeter. It's the racing equivalent of the impulse purchase rack at the supermarket checkout. Do I really need another Amphipod? Why, yes! You can never have too many of those, right?
10:30 Time to get down to business. Go across the street to the One Market building for packet pickup and chip swiping. No line -- breezed right through.
10:35 Another advantage of having the Expo in Justin Herman Plaza is that it's right across the street from the world-famous Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market. While I still miss the days when it was held in a nearby parking lot, there's no denying the wonder of the new space and all its retail splendor. This time I picked up some of my favorite prepared foods at San Francisco Fish Company (tea-smoked scallops, ahi tuna poke and candied smoked salmon), some verbena soaps at The Gardener, and a few kitchen "essentials" at Sur la Table. Paid a visit to a new merchant, Boriana, which features imported specialties from Tuscany -- wine, cheese, pasta, pastry and coffee. Benvenuto!
2:45 After lunch, headed out to Union City to try indoor skydiving -- what a rush! The facility hasn't officially opened yet, but they were doing instructor training and I got the inside track thanks to my friend Greg, whose former roommate owns the place. iFly simulates the experience of skydiving, but instead of free-falling from a plane at 15,000 feet, you're flying in a wind tunnel just a few feet above a metal net. It was a total blast and can't wait to go back when they open. Learn more on iFly's site.
6:30 Carbo load a spaghetti dinner.
Sunday
5:45 Wake up and recognize a key difference between racing on the road and racing at home: the number of wardrobe choices. On the road, you can only pack so many in your bag. At home, they're all there. Shorts or running pants? Long or short sleeves? Settle on long black running pants with a short-sleeved top. Underneath, there's no dilemma, though. I'm wearing the greatest athletic bra known to women, the Lululemon Marathon Bra. Provides "maximum support" that's comfortable, not constraining. (My girls need a leash, not a straitjacket.)
6:00 Contemplate logistics. For this race, you could choose to do the first half of the marathon, the second half or the whole thing. I'm doing the second half, which starts in Golden Gate Park and ends at the Telecom-du-Jour Park. (First it was Pac Bell, then SBC; now it's AT&T, which Cingular also became.) I decide the best plan is to park near the finish, and take the race-provided shuttle to the start. Worked like a charm. The buses were where we were told they'd be, they were clean and comfortable, and the only waiting time was after we got dropped off at the park and had to wait about an hour and a half for the race to start.
7:30 Brrr...it's cold! I'm wearing one of those disposable Tyvek jackets and thinking next time I'll have to experiment with the gear-checking system. I used to think, "Who wants to deal with figuring out where the stuff has been dropped off and wading through it to find yours?" Now I'm thinking, "Who the hell cares, I'm freezing my butt off out here."
8:00 Eat my customary pre-race CLIF Peanut Butter Builder's Bar, which can hold me for an entire race, though I usually have a Chocolate CLIF Shot around Mile 8 for a little boost. Stretch. Talk to 56-year-old breast cancer survivor who does 2 races a year, and did the L.A. Marathon in 4:10. What a nice woman, and such an inspiration!
8:25 I'm in Wave 3, and we start right on time. It takes a while for me to really warm up, but I'm loving this race because it's a great course that's mostly through the park, and mostly either flat or downhill!
The race is already a blur for me, but here's what I do remember:
-- Great support along the course. Plenty of water, quickly dispensed.
-- Lots of music -- probably the best speakers of any race I've done this year! This is key since I'm not running with my iPod in races anymore thanks to the USATF ban on headphones. (People still wear them, but supposedly they strip you out of the photos if you do, and you people know how I love my photo opps.)
-- Seeing a whole crowd of runners do the YMCA dance while they ran and the Village People song played.
-- Having my name printed on my bib so tons of random strangers could cheer for me.
-- Having someone I actually know see me and cheer for me. Thanks, Lisa M!
-- Feeling good and strong the entire way, and sprinting across the finish line.
-- Moseying my way thorough the post-race transition area and loving the fact that we're not being corralled like cattle (as I've experienced at other races). Not in San Francisco. We're free-range runners here.
11:00 Head home. Check my race time... 2:22:30. Not bad; in fact, my second-best half marathon time ever. Thought I'd beat my 2:15 from the U.S. Half last year, since that had more hills (going up), but it was not to be. Good thing I get another shot at it in two weeks in Chicago.
11:30 Shower and nap.
4:00 Manicure and pedicure.
7:00 Pane e Vino.
More about the race on its official site here: San Francisco Marathon
At last, the photos:
San Francisco (Half) Marathon album on Webshots
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