My NWM Race Report

The day had finally arrived. I ran the Nike Women's Marathon on October 21, 2007. The weather in San Francisco was perfect the day of the race, with clear skies to enjoy views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the coastline. Overall, the race was well organized. The Expotique was small, not much to see other than picking up the race packet and activating the chip. There were plenty of maps to show the starting line corrals and several portable restrooms at the starting line. There was water and gatorade throughout the course, plus some extras like Luna Moons. I loved the Luna Moons and I would recommend trying them.

The half marathon and the full marathon course was the same for the first half of the race. This made the course crowded. Even though I was in the right starting corral for my pace, I had to dodge around a lot of walkers for the first 6 miles. I should have started a little closer to the start line. The steep hills at the start of the race were tough. I had no choice but to walk up the hills since it was fairly crowded and everyone else was walking. But it probably saved my legs from giving out sooner than they actually did.

Once the half marathoners split off down the other course, I felt like I was alone. The desire to go the half marathon route was really strong, but the stubborn side of me said "never give up". The out and back loop from the forest led straight into a ton of spectators, each cheering us on and telling us what a good job we are doing. This made me seriously emotional. I don't know if it was because of the fatigue, but it was very touching to see all the people cheering on the runners. I knew then I wasn't doing this by myself.

Finally, I was headed down the Great Highway to Lake Merced. Mile 18 and 8 more miles to go. I didn't feel too bad, my shoulders ached and I walked at the water station for a quick recovery. I was watching the marathoners on the other side of the highway run to the finish line and I wished it was me running the last 2 miles of the race. As I headed down the hill towards the lake, the outside of my left knee started to burn. I told myself to keep running and it would work itself out. It didn't. Running actually made it worse. I stopped to walk, but I couldn't bend my knee without feeling nauseous. I needed the coach, but no one was around. Where was everyone?? There were no water stations, no red cross stations, and I was barely walking. It took everything I had, mentally and physically, to keep going. A couple of Arizona runners passed me and I envisioned a rope around them pulling me down the course. It helped until I had to walk again. The pain was so severe, I felt like throwing up.

I struggled through this until mile 24 when I was back on the Great Highway with only 2 miles left to run. They were handing out towels and I grabbed one. I was going to run the last mile if it killed me. At mile 25 I started running. Everytime I felt pain, I squeezed the towel with all my strength. Coaches and spectators were all around cheering us on and telling us we were almost done. Yeah? I didn't see the finish line and it made me irritated. I kept going, trying to focus on anything other than the pain in my knee. Then I saw it, the big banner of salvation! I ran to the end with an unknown coach running beside me. I felt a range of emotions. Relief that I finished, disappointment because my time wasn't what I was striving for, excitment because I couldn't believe I did it, and sadness because it was over. The gun time was 5 hours, 15 minutes, my chip time 4 hours 55 minutes.

Post race recovery is going well. I had a massage this week to work out my IT bands. The massage was painful, but I'm getting used feeling pain. The good news is that my knee is not hurting at all now. I am fatigued, a little sore and I caught a cold, but I would not trade the experience for anything in the world. Would I run the Nike Women's Marathon again? Absolutely! I have to beat my time!

The Running Experiment

Time is flying by as we get closer to the Nike Women's Marathon on October 21. My posts to the blog have taken a backseat since we've been increasing our weekly mileage. I never meant for running to take over my life. What I eat, what I wear, what I pack in my gymbag, what my workouts will be for the week. All this planning takes up most of the time outside of my full-time job. That's where the elite runners have the advantage. Personal coaches, unlimited supply to running gear and supplements, and the job of running. Where do I apply??? But just like any other job, the grass is always greener on the other side. I use running to escape the stress and to relax. After running, I have a fresh perspective on problems or I can even solve a couple during a good run. But can you run to escape the job of running? My guess is that there are professional runners who take up computer programming as a hobby. :)

Running gear and supplements. How much money do you have? I've been experimenting with both. My socks were a big deal since I was getting blisters between my toes. A fellow runner with TNT suggested the Injinji toe socks (www.injinji.com). I bought a couple of pairs and they are really awesome for the long runs. I still use bandaids on my toes (along with the socks) and I am very excited to be blister-free! Compression shorts: Compression shorts are supposedly a good choice for endurance activities. I thought I'd give it a try if it would help me achieve a good finish time (heh-heh). The shorts I bought were a little too tight around the waist, but overall my lower back and abs were not sore after a 20-mile run. I don't know that it makes a huge difference though. I'll probably stick with the one pair and not buy an entire new running wardrobe consisting of compression shorts. Gels: I've tried a few during my training with TNT. Gu, PowerGel, and Accel Gel. I still like Accel Gel because I'm a sucker for advertisement. ("Improves endurance by xxx%, improves recovery, blah blah blah"). Seriously though, I found a flavor that doesn't make me sick. The placebo effect doesn't hurt either. If I think it's helping, then it is helping....

So now that I've tried and tested all of these products, I should expect to run the marathon like I'm floating on clouds, with lots of energy, and zero pain! I'm looking forward to it.