Nike Women's Half Marathon San Francisco

It's been a few days, but it's time for my race report from the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco!

The race itself was a beast compared to previous half marathons I've done. It started in Union Square in downtown SF, then immediately went into some hills. Starting off on uphills was rough! A lot of people around me seemed to burn themselves out quickly using their energy to tackle those early uphills. I knew I wasn't in peak shape, so I opted to walk the uphills from the beginning. 

The worst hill of the race was at mile 10. Man, was it brutal. Even the really good runners I know struggled on it. At one point, I looked around and not a single person in my line of sight was actually running. While I enjoyed the run signage and motivational slogans Nike had scattered around the hill, I would be very happy if they opted to take a different route next year! Even for San Francisco, this was a very hilly course. I would've preferred a route along the Embarcadero.

It was also very crowded. By the end of the race, my GPS said I'd run 14 miles with all my zigzagging around. I can't say I was super pumped about that! I started in the 11:00+ minute mile corral, which meant lots of walkers to dodge for most of the race, so that extra distance could've been avoided if they'd had a separate corral for walkers.

I like to say I'm showing off my best "I'm about to sneeze" face in this one.

The course wasn't terribly scenic, either. I would've been pretty disappointed had I flown in from out of town specifically to run this as it didn't really go by many classic San Francisco sights. It was foggy, which didn't help (there would've been some great Golden Gate Bridge vistas near the finish!), but it would've been nice to see a few more iconic landmarks. Instead, we got routed through the Tenderloin and Western Addition, which aren't exactly the most scenic parts of the city!

Now, onto my favorite parts of the race! The finish area was simply incredible. There were sponsor tents from Whole Foods (free food!), Neutrogena (free, full-size products!), Kaiser (free massages!) and more. The lines were long, but it was worth the wait. There was also a lounge area for runners only that featured personal trainers who would come stretch you out. That was a nice touch! 

And, of course, there's the necklace. Unlike the medals awarded at most other races, this one gives you a necklace from Tiffany & Co. (yes, the one pictured above). At first, I didn't really have strong feelings about this particular feature. But, now that I have it, it's a lot more practical than a medal! I enjoy being able to wear it on a daily basis and use it as a conversation starter! It's a cute necklace, too. 

The course had some incredible entertainment along the way. I was a big fan of the drum group in Golden Gate Park! It was pretty cool to see all these people coming out to perform and cheer for the runners.

Finally, I really love the fact that they give us our race photos for free. I know my photos weren't all great (and they really didn't grab a decent finish shot), but I'd much rather have okay photos from the race for free than good photos (because, let's face it...race photos are never great) that cost a ton. It was a nice added bonus!

So, yes, this was a good race. Was it a race I'd do again? I'm not 100% sure. Between the hills, the crowded course and the $150 entry fee, there are a few things making me lean towards no. But the amenities post-race, necklace and general atmosphere of the race make me think yes. We shall see what next year holds!

2013 in Review: Part 3

Missed the other posts? Check out Part One and Part Two.

July

I had my first visitor to Park City! Katrina came out to visit and we had a great time wandering around everything Park City has to offer.

 I spent many a Sunday at the Park Silly Sunday Market enjoying Five Wives vodka lemonades.

I went home to Indianapolis for Aly's wedding shower and enjoyed sister time with these two lovely ladies.

Some family friends threw their annual summer bash while I was home, so I got to enjoy good company, lobsters and martinis.

Aly got some fun pre-wedding gifts.

Before heading back to Utah, I went to an Indianapolis Indians baseball game with the family! 

Family at the Indians game! 

August

Since half marathon month had arrived, I continued with the last bits of my training plan and saw some lovely sights on the trails in Park City.

I went to the Kimball Arts Festival.

Josh (aka my twin) drove through Salt Lake City on his way back to school in Arizona, so we got to get together and have a drink at Bar X before he had to leave.

A wildfire broke out near Park City. 

While the wildfire was scary, it did make for some very gorgeous sunsets.

 

Katie moved to town and we became fast friends!

 Half marathon #2 completed! Dad came out to Utah to run the race with me.

The next day, we went for a hot air balloon ride over Park City and it was gorgeous! 

Two-time Olympic gold medalist Seth Wescott came to work and did an athlete social with our staff. He's a wonderful guy!

And, finally, I volunteered with Hurricane for Hope, an event benefitting The Speedy Foundation.

September

I went shopping with Katie and got this awesome shirt.

I went to a sheepdog festival, which I never knew was a thing until...well, I went to one.

 I had a really good hair day.

I returned to Colorado Springs for the first time since moving away for the USOC Communications Workshop...even stayed at the Olympic Training Center!

Brandon, Jenny and I had a little intern reunion at The Finish Line, the dive bar across the street from the Olympic Training Center.

Afterwards, I headed up to Denver and visited with my friend and former roommate, Karen. Unfortunately, we didn't take any photos together, so here is a photo of her cat, Lucky.

I took a full week off from work to head back to Indiana for my brother's wedding! I started the week off with a 5k run, which I ran with my cousin Sarah.

For Aly's bachelorette party, we started the day with a wine and painting party.

And finally the big day rolled around! We got Starbucks for Aly that morning, but they butchered her name.

Wedding time!

And I officially have two sisters now!

Half Marathon #2 Completed!

I finished my second half marathon (and the first one I actually trained for) this weekend! My dad was also along for the ride, coming out from Indiana to brave 13.1 miles at altitude. It was a small race, but it was a great course and a beautiful morning!

Dad and I left Park City around 5am. The race started and finished at different places, so you had to park at the finish and get shuttled to the start. We arrived before the sun came up in Draper City Park, hopped on a school bus and got taken to the mouth of Little Cottonwood Canyon. After watching the sun come up over the canyon, we were off!

The course was much more challenging than I was expecting. The website had emphasized the fact that it was a fast, downhill course, so I wasn't too terribly concerned about hills. I was very, very happy that I had trained on hills, though, because despite there being a net elevation loss, there were definitely a lot of hills! By mile eight, I was starting to get blisters on my right foot and it was heating up (it was a rather hot day in the Valley). I was definitely struggling as I hit mile 10 and then, at mile 12, I somehow managed to follow the wrong runner and go off course for about a half mile. Unfortunately, that means my official time is above my goal time (2:32:40), but my actual time was within it! I guess that means I'll just have to run another half marathon for my wounded pride's sake :)

After the race, Dad and I had a leisurely afternoon. I'll write more about his visit in my next post! Today, two days post-race, I'm still pretty sore, but I was back at the gym today. I'm hoping to be running again by Thursday or so. I've always been bad about not sticking with running after a race is over, so I'm determined to not do that this time around. It's never any fun to start over with running from square one!

Running for Boston

By now, I'm sure just about everyone has heard about the terrible events that happened yesterday at the Boston Marathon. I'm completely and utterly heartbroken for everyone whose lives were shattered on an afternoon that should have been one of the happiest of their lives.

I was running yesterday when the attacks occurred. I hadn't run in months, but my dad just signed me up for a half-marathon in August so I figured I should get started on training. While I was whining about walk/running for a half hour on a treadmill while watching Game of Thrones, hell broke loose in Boston. When I got back up to my desk post-workout, I was totally shocked at the information coming my way on Twitter.

Although it's pure coincidence that I happened to start running again at the same time of a horrible tragedy, it's inspired me. I want to do something about it. I'm trying to think of some way to "run for Boston." So far, the best idea I've had is to ask people to donate a certain amount of money per mile for my August half marathon so that I can donate the total to an organization helping with the victims in Boston. It'll be a little while before you can discern between the opportunists and the legitimate organizations, but if anyone hears anything, let me know.

Half Marathon COMPLETED

Despite basically not training, I did it! I finished my first half marathon this weekend in St. George, Utah!

It was super cold at the starting line (around 30 degrees), so the first two miles were pretty rough. I had a little bit of a hard time breathing and I couldn't feel my feet because of the cold. Finally, around mile 2, my feet had warmed up enough that I could actually feel them and my breathing had become more regular. Around mile 4, I started feeling fantastic. Miles 4-8 were awesome...great scenery, a good mix of uphills and downhills, a random person who I met and ended up running with for awhile.

When I hit mile 9, though, it got pretty tough. I could feel my IT bands tightening up and the bottoms of my feet were not feeling the best. The 2:30 pace group passed me right around that point, which suddenly gave me a new surge of energy. I was anticipating a time around three hours, so seeing that I was doing so much better than I thought was a huge encouragement!

For the rest of the race, I chased the 2:30 group, sometimes walking, sometimes running. Around mile 11, my feet hurt too badly to keep up with them, so I just tried to keep them in sight. That strategy worked and I ended up finishing in 2:33:40! I was pretty pleased with that! My training consisted of a few 3-4 mile runs on an indoor track and I've never run any race longer than 4 miles, so I was very happy!

I do have to say that my favorite part of participating in a half marathon was the pre- and post-race meals.

I NEVER let myself eat alfredo or fast food, so it was quite the splurge and I enjoyed every bite!

Also enjoyable was the trip to Las Vegas afterwards! My afternoon was spent sipping cocktails poolside at the Trump International.

All things considered...awesome weekend!!!