A San Francisco Marathon Weekend

Well folks, it came, it went, and it was awesome.

Thanks to the good folks at Run Racing and The San Francisco Marathon, I was lucky enough to win an entry into the second half of the San Francisco Marathon, a race close to home and with great friends.

First up was meeting up with Danica, Aron and Kristin as the expo on Saturday. I’ll admit, I love me some expos! But this one was a bit of a pain in my ass. I literally circled the block for thirty minutes trying to find parking, almost went down a one way street with a cop behind me, and the expo was abnormally crowded and was extremely difficult to get around. The organization of the expo was fine, but it was simply too many people in a small location.

After some random expo purchases (window decal and Snuggy Bud headphones), Danica was ready to close-up shop and we headed off to run a few quick errands and off to the hotel in the Tenderloin district (more on that later).

Famished, we met up with Tara and Maritza to eat our weight in pizza and bread at Little Star pizza (which I would recommend, BTW), but the best was yet to come…ladies and gentleman, I give you America Cupcake. Yes, these are pretty much the most fantastic cupcakes I’ve had to date and the atmosphere is absolutely fantastic. First, the cupcakes themselves: fun, colorful and topped with a light and fluffy icing that doesn’t feel like you’ve just eaten a stick of butter. But what really sealed the deal was the fact that they pair cupcakes and beer with cupcakes! Shut the front door! While I didn’t partake in the wine parings (next time I tell you, NEXT TIME!), I did wolf down a lemon cupcake that has earned its bragging rights. I am going to take all of my friends and family here when they come to visit as it is not only delicious, but just a really fun experience. Anyone else been there?

Little Star Pizza

Me and my lemon. I'm dreaming of it now.

Ok, ok, enough of my food ramblings…back to the race. Tara, Maritza, Danica and I all passed out at the hotel, but I was up what felt like the entire night listening to people party and, I kid you not, listening to what sounded like four gunshots in a row. The hotel was nice, the parking affordable, but the neighborhood? Now that’s a no go.

Since the second half marathon started at 8:15, we got to sleep in a bit, shove the hotel’s continental breakfast down and make our way to the start. But I should advise you, if you are traveling with me, it is always inevitable that we will get lost…and that we did. After meandering around a bit, Danica and I found our way to the start, met up with Aron, Kristin and her BF, and before you knew it, it was time to go. Strangely, there was no announcement or gun, but people just started running and I followed.

Per the photo above…can someone please tell me to wear a little make-up next time? SCARY!

So, I went into this race with no specific time goal, but whenever I race, I usually try to give it my best…it is a race after all  Now there is one thing that you must know, I’m kind of lazy while racing…I don’t clock my splits or anything, but rather just run according the pace that I know I am capable of for that day. This day just happened to be better than the rest.

The first half marathon goes over the Golden Gate bridge, but the second half focuses on Golden Gate Park, down Haight street, through some not-so-scenic parts of San Francisco, then finally part the Giant’s stadium, along the Embarcadero and to the highly anticipated finish.

So how did it go? I can excitedly say that I PR-ed with an official time of 1:33:15; 20^th female overall (out of 2,005) and 5^th female in my age group (out of 605). I literally have no idea where this came from, especially given all of the rolling hills, but I think that the cool weather and I work well together. Ahhhh…

Chicken Face, Lola and his sister were all at the finish line waiting and by the time 13.1 miles came around (or 13.3 according to my Garmin), I was so happy to see them! I don’t know if I could have lasted much longer.  I grabbed all of the post-race food and somehow shoved it all into the space blanked (can we get bags next time, please?) and stocked up on Honest Tea (I LOVE the green tea honey Honest Tea…if you like tea you have to try it!). After a few pics and phone calls, we met up with the rest of the gang, mowed down at Gordan Biersch and had a relaxing afternoon.

Not only was the weather perfect and I was so excited with my time, but it was great to spend a couple of days with new and old friends.

She refused to look at the camera. Blast!

How did everyone else’s races go this weekend?

P.S. This is for Danica…I’m ridin’ solo, I’m ridin’ solo, I’m ridin’ solo….