The Golden Gate seemed like the perfect opportunity. Even though it's only been two weeks since my last half, I felt like my body could handle it---though I was just finishing up a recovery week. And I wasn't too worried about the hills (I should have at least acknowledged their existence in my mind pre-race).
And the medal/race shirt were pretty darn cool.
All of that seemed like a good idea a week ago when I signed up at midnight----race weekend, of course, was a different story. I was definitely not prepared. Not necessarily for running, but for the whole process of the pre-run. From packet pickup to morning of parking, I was behind in the game and was, to say the least, a little bit stressed until I got to the start line.
As this was a local race, there were only about 5,000 runners, which turned out to be a nice size. The thing that I've noticed about the "National" Race Organizers, like RnR have everything down to a tee----in just about every location they are at. Pretty seemless. Local races, due to their staffing size, of course don't always have that luxury. However, I was pretty impressed by the way it ran, the number of water/aid stations and the general organization. I know a few people complained about the gear check (I drove, so I didn't have anything to check) and the lack of "professional staff" who "knew what they were doing"
I didn't have that experience, my grip really only came in the form of aching thighs and sore knees. The course was pretty awesome. It started near Fort Mason, looped around the Mariana for a bit and then headed to the Bridge. We were blessed with almost perfect weather (if by perfect, you mean a bit cold, a bit cloudy and a bit rainy) For this Seattle girl, I was pretty happy.
I'm not going to lie---I continue to be slower than I'd like to be, but I also take my time to enjoy the view. I know I'm never going to win anything (unless I'm the only one running) and I never know when I'll ever find myself running that exact path again. I like to "smell the roses" and really experience what is around me. I know that would be different if I was trying to qualify for some race, but for now, I'm okay with coming in slow----as long as I'm not last (there's nothing wrong with coming in last).
It really was fun running across the bridge (everyone says that). The only thing that would have made it better would have been running on the actual Bridge, where the cars drive----but running on the side was still pretty cool.
At least the first time. I'll admit, having to run back, wasn't as exciting. By that point, the rain and wind had really started to come in. And it was Mile 9.
So you know, tired.
I finished fairly strong---sore, but not crawling across the finish line. The last little hill on mile 13.01 wasn't appreciated, but I made it.
The finish line was a bit chaotic. They gave us reusable water bottles, which is a neat idea----as long as the water coolers aren't empty. And there wasn't any food within easy grabs. Not that big of a deal---I had a date with In N Out back on the island for when I got home.
Happy to say that I ran 4 halfs this year. Each one was a lot of fun, really different and gave me a fantastic opportunity to see more of this world.
Can't wait to figure out what next year has in store.
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