US Half Marathon Report
After running my first Half Marathon on Oct 5th, I decided to run the US Half Marathon in San Francisco this past Sunday, Nov 2nd. The course looked to be quite different, filled with uphill/downhill, but I had no idea how I would do until I actually went out there and ran.
My day started about 4 am and I give my body about 90 min to wake itself up and go through my morning routine. I ate a little something and was out the door by 5:30. A big storm rolled through the Bay Area on Saturday, it was non-stop. And it was raining pretty hard in pockets on my drive up the 101 to SF, so I was worried that the weather would be worse than forecast. I arrived to the start area about 6:20, there were a fair amount of people warming up. It wasn't raining nor really that cold, so my decision to forego the long sleeve shirt seemed to be a good one.
Prior to the race, the announcer said that there was about 4000 racers and 65% were women. Looking around, he seemed to be right.
The race started right at 7 am and there was not too much of a starting clog, people seemed to move well. The first quarter-mile was straight uphill, I took my time, not pushing too much and was greeting by a nice sloping downhill for the next 3/4ths of mile 1. I used that to my advantage and gained speed, getting about a 9:15 pace. The course flattened out and miles 2 and 3 were along the Marina district of SF, past the Palace of Fine Arts, then to Crissy Field. I could see the Golden Gate Bridge getting bigger and it was towering, then i could see the other faster runners already tackling the huge hills to come. Just after Mile 3, the first big hill was in play. I took some water at the water station just before it and tackled that big boy. It soon surrendered and another downhill followed. My joy was shortlived when another uphill presented itself, this was much longer than the first one and steeper. Some showers rolled through about this time, nothing heavy, actually it felt good. The final uphill was the approach to the Golden Gate, up through the parking lot and finally onto the pedestrian walkway.
If you have never seen the Golden Gate up close, its an awesome sight, the views you can get are one of a kind. Even the sun came out as I plowed through Mile 5 and 6 across the span. As i reached the other side, I could see the next part, a big downhill going underneath the bridge and back up to the other side. Oh, and this part was all dirt. Luckily, there was not much mud to contend with, but I was careful not to go too fast and end up hurt. The hill going up back up was steeper than the first two so I just walked up it mostly, drinking some powerade. I hit the Mile 7 mark at about 1:18, not a bad pace. I started my run back across the bridge, getting a little more momentum as i passed the 8 mile mark. I came off the bridge at Mile 9 and had another downhill that led back to Crissy Field and to edge of the Bay.
I hit Mile 10 at 1:47, which is a full 5 minutes better than my Oct 5 run. I couldn't believe it. The course then led to the beach, which had a sandy path, full of puddles to jog. After Mile 11, my hips started to really flair up and i decided i had enough time cushion to take a 2 minute walk break. I came off the beach and back to the Marina for Mile 12. I could smell the finish line, but not before the course had one final hill for me to endure. I walked up half of it, but then i started seeing other people coming back saying the finish was just over the hill. I mustered all I had and ran the last 1/4 mile, down the steep downhill and to the finish line.
Final chip time: 2:24:59
About 4.5 minutes better than my previous half, which blows me away considering all the hills I had to contend with. But the course really was scenic and presented a whole host of challenges. The winner? For the men, it was a guy from Kenya who arrived 4 days prior. His time? 1:02. Sheesh.
I felt a lot better post-race this time, not that I wasn't tired and limping around a bit, but it was worse last time. I woke up Monday and my right knee was really stiff, so I iced it throughout the day and today it is much better.
I do have some real doubts about whether I could do a full marathon, but I plan to begin training in January for the San Diego Marathon in May.
Brian
~350
My day started about 4 am and I give my body about 90 min to wake itself up and go through my morning routine. I ate a little something and was out the door by 5:30. A big storm rolled through the Bay Area on Saturday, it was non-stop. And it was raining pretty hard in pockets on my drive up the 101 to SF, so I was worried that the weather would be worse than forecast. I arrived to the start area about 6:20, there were a fair amount of people warming up. It wasn't raining nor really that cold, so my decision to forego the long sleeve shirt seemed to be a good one.
Prior to the race, the announcer said that there was about 4000 racers and 65% were women. Looking around, he seemed to be right.
The race started right at 7 am and there was not too much of a starting clog, people seemed to move well. The first quarter-mile was straight uphill, I took my time, not pushing too much and was greeting by a nice sloping downhill for the next 3/4ths of mile 1. I used that to my advantage and gained speed, getting about a 9:15 pace. The course flattened out and miles 2 and 3 were along the Marina district of SF, past the Palace of Fine Arts, then to Crissy Field. I could see the Golden Gate Bridge getting bigger and it was towering, then i could see the other faster runners already tackling the huge hills to come. Just after Mile 3, the first big hill was in play. I took some water at the water station just before it and tackled that big boy. It soon surrendered and another downhill followed. My joy was shortlived when another uphill presented itself, this was much longer than the first one and steeper. Some showers rolled through about this time, nothing heavy, actually it felt good. The final uphill was the approach to the Golden Gate, up through the parking lot and finally onto the pedestrian walkway.
If you have never seen the Golden Gate up close, its an awesome sight, the views you can get are one of a kind. Even the sun came out as I plowed through Mile 5 and 6 across the span. As i reached the other side, I could see the next part, a big downhill going underneath the bridge and back up to the other side. Oh, and this part was all dirt. Luckily, there was not much mud to contend with, but I was careful not to go too fast and end up hurt. The hill going up back up was steeper than the first two so I just walked up it mostly, drinking some powerade. I hit the Mile 7 mark at about 1:18, not a bad pace. I started my run back across the bridge, getting a little more momentum as i passed the 8 mile mark. I came off the bridge at Mile 9 and had another downhill that led back to Crissy Field and to edge of the Bay.
I hit Mile 10 at 1:47, which is a full 5 minutes better than my Oct 5 run. I couldn't believe it. The course then led to the beach, which had a sandy path, full of puddles to jog. After Mile 11, my hips started to really flair up and i decided i had enough time cushion to take a 2 minute walk break. I came off the beach and back to the Marina for Mile 12. I could smell the finish line, but not before the course had one final hill for me to endure. I walked up half of it, but then i started seeing other people coming back saying the finish was just over the hill. I mustered all I had and ran the last 1/4 mile, down the steep downhill and to the finish line.
Final chip time: 2:24:59
About 4.5 minutes better than my previous half, which blows me away considering all the hills I had to contend with. But the course really was scenic and presented a whole host of challenges. The winner? For the men, it was a guy from Kenya who arrived 4 days prior. His time? 1:02. Sheesh.
I felt a lot better post-race this time, not that I wasn't tired and limping around a bit, but it was worse last time. I woke up Monday and my right knee was really stiff, so I iced it throughout the day and today it is much better.
I do have some real doubts about whether I could do a full marathon, but I plan to begin training in January for the San Diego Marathon in May.
Brian
~350
Fantastic job Brian!
I think the hardest 10k race I've ever done was the hilly one I did this summer. At least you got to go downhill after the up!
I like you're new avatar also, by the way!
I don't have any doubt you could do a full, it just takes some more feet time and training. Give yourself some time and see...
Congrats again!
Linn
I think the hardest 10k race I've ever done was the hilly one I did this summer. At least you got to go downhill after the up!
I like you're new avatar also, by the way!
I don't have any doubt you could do a full, it just takes some more feet time and training. Give yourself some time and see...
Congrats again!
Linn
Brian...I have total CONFIDENCE you can go 26.2
I was intimidated to join a local training group. I went out of my comfort zone and joined...best decision I made for first-time marathon training. I don't think I coulda done it without having the accountability of showing up to see my newly-made friends each weekend!
I was intimidated to join a local training group. I went out of my comfort zone and joined...best decision I made for first-time marathon training. I don't think I coulda done it without having the accountability of showing up to see my newly-made friends each weekend!
STACEY
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