Wednesday, July 29, 2009

SF Marathon Part Deux

I see Lisa already posted, but I have to throw my two cents in. . .

I had a truly great time. I also PR'd. Of course it was my first half as a runner, so it was a given - unless I suffered a total meltdown.

During the first 5 miles of the course, I made a strange observation. Everyone was silent. There I was running down the road surrounded by lots of other runners and it was dead silent - no conversation, no laughing, nothing. I wondered if this was typical for the start of a race.

While training, I ran all of my long runs by myself, so I found it humorous to hear all the Garmins from other Run/Walkers going off around me. I often had to hold my wrist up to my ear to check if it was my Garmin beeping. It was quite entertaining.

I was lucky enough to have an once in a lifetime experience while on the course. At one point, the course made a left turn onto a street that had metro tracks running down the middle. I saw the runners ahead of me make the turn after crossing the tracks, as you would in a car. Just as I was approaching the tracks, a race official directed me to turn before crossing the tracks. This put me on the wrong side of the road with no one in front of me. I got to feel what it is like to be in front (that is if I didn't look at the runners on the other side of the tracks). I savored the moment until I was eventually passed. I might spend the rest of my running life as a back-of-the-packer, but for about a tenth of a mile I tasted greatness.

I was so pleased with my finishing time of 2:47:51. It's a great place to start. Next up . . . the Dean Karnazes Silicon Valley Marathon half in October.
I only have one complaint about the entire event. I didn't get a banana! I was hungry toward the end of the race and spent the last 2 miles imagining how much I was going to enjoy that post-race banana that I love so much. After crossing the finishing line, I declined water and had little interest in the heat sheet or even the finishing medal. I looked and looked, but no banana. I watched with disappointment as other runners eat bananas, unknowingly taunting me. I had fallen from running god to outcast in a matter of miles. Well - that's Square Peg Running for ya.


-Lara

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