San Francisco Rock n' Roll Half Marathon (April 3, 2016)

San Francisco’s Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon was my very 1^st half marathon. What an amazing challenging, experience it was. I started my running journey back in summer 2015, barely able to run 1 mile without being completely exhausted. But I kept training, racing, training and racing. When January 2016 rolled around I made it a goal to run my 1^st half marathon. I signed up for the San Francisco Rock n’ Roll Half on April 3^rd.

Friday April 1^st my husband and I drove into San Francisco. We checked into our hotel, the Palace Hotel on New Montgomery Street, and then headed out for some sight-seeing. The next day on Saturday the 2^nd we headed to the Expo first thing to pick up by bib and race packet. The expo was such a great experience for me! This half marathon was the biggest race I have done so far so being at that expo was a “wow” experience for me. We picked up my packet and then checked out all the vendors and booths. Once we were done we headed back to the hotel and changed and headed out for a run along the Embarcadero waterfront. We started our run at the Bay Bridge, stopping at AT&T Park, and ended at Pier 39/Fisherman’s Wharf, then back to the hotel. Round trip we ran about 6 miles. I felt strong and good and it was an absolutely gorgeous day in the city! After our run we freshened up and headed out for dinner. The night before a race, any race, I need to eat a big pasta meal. Sort of a ritual or habit, probably more mental, but I can stuff my face without feeling bloated and yucky the next day. Just give me a big old plate of pasta and I am good to go! So we found this great, quaint, authentic Italian restaurant called Café Zoetrope on Columbus Avenue down the street from the Transamerica Pyramid. Great meal and great service! After dinner we headed back to our hotel and had our evening Tea in the Lobby restaurant. Then it was time to head to bed!

Sunday April 3^rd was race day. Woke up at 4:30am, got dressed and headed out. Never have I ever walked the streets of San Francisco that early. It was eerie quiet! I walked down Market Street to City Hall where the buses were lined up. I took the 5:15am bus which got me to the start at Ocean Beach at 5:45am. When I arrived at Ocean Beach it was still dark and very, very cold. I didn’t even think to bring any throw away clothes. Honestly I didn’t think it would be that freaking cold. I was wrong! I should have worn layers! So I walked around a bit to check out the starting area, ate a banana and bagel. At this point, I was feeling like I was being stuck in a freezer. So I saw a group of people huddled around a light generator. It was warm so I quickly figured out why everyone was hanging out there together. Since I was running on my own I just squeezed my way into the middle area so that the body heat and generator heat would warm me up. It worked but it was still very cold. But, in the mist of being so cold huddled around a generator I met some really cool people. We talked and I made friends with 1 lady whom found me on Facebook after the race and we are still friends and keep in contact…how cool is that?!?! But little by little the huddle group was breaking up. The race started at 6:30am with at least 15 waves of runners. I was in wave 8. So once the race started I headed over to my wave corral to get ready to start. Wave 8 started about 6:45am and off I went. I was still in awe as to how many people there were. Again, this was the biggest race I have ever done so I was just in amazement the whole time. I told myself from the start…go slow…don’t burn out…take pictures…and have fun!! And that is what I did. For the first 4 miles I felt great. I reached the Golden Gate Bridge at mile 4.5 and boy was it crowded. The Bridge was still open on one side for cars so the race area got really narrow. I had to just keep pace with the people around me, I couldn’t go fast and I couldn’t go slow. But running the Golden Gate Bridge was an amazing experience!! I have only been on the Golden Gate Bridge 1 other time for a school field trip when I was younger, so to run across it as an adult in a race was just SO MUCH FUN! I took lots of pictures on the Golden Gate Bridge and even through the fog you could see the city, Fort Point and the Ocean, just gorgeous! At mile 9, after completing the Golden Gate Bridge running down past Fort Point, my left knee on the outside at the IT band started to ache. I slowed down a bit but kept on running. By mile 11 my knee was hurting pretty bad. I had to stop a few times to walk and stretch. As I turned down the final stretch on Polk Street I could see the up and down hills of San Francisco and my mind started freaking out. How was I going to finish the final 2 miles with my knee hurting? I am not one to quit so I just took it slow and jogged/walked the final 1.5 miles to the finish. Once over the last hill I could see the finish line off in the distance. At that point I decided to run to the end. As I approached the finish I was limping but was overwhelmed with pride. Although it was a hard race for me at the end, I did it! I ran 13.1 miles! I ran my very first half marathon! I am not one to hold back my emotions so as I crossed the finish line I cried. A random lady, a race worker, grabbed me and hugged me and said loudly, “Good Job! You did it!” I got my medal and took my race finishing photos. As I was walking to the exit I found my husband and we chilled out in the finish area expo/concert as I ate my energy bar. It was such an amazing experience to accomplish something you didn’t think you could ever do. I was not a runner growing up and never once thought I could complete a half marathon. 13.1 miles just seemed way, way too far to run. But here I am! I didn’t it! I trained for 8 months and on April 3^rd, 2016 I completed my 1^st half marathon, the San Francisco Rock n’ Roll Half! Not only was it an amazing experience but I learned a lot about myself. Despite my knee issues at mile 9 I kept going. I pushed through the pain and finished what I started. Now comes recovery and I will have to add some extra strength training exercises into my work outs to help strengthen my hips and core so that next time, hopefully, no more knee issues will come up. The San Francisco Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon was an awesome race and I can’t wait to come back to do it again next year!  

Our Palace Hotel in San Francisco

Walking to the Expo we did some sight-seeing. SF MOMA with the city behind! Gorgeous Day!

Picking up my race packet and bib at the Expo

6 Mile run along the Embarcadero in San Francisco

Tea Time after dinner at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco

4:30am heading out to the buses at City Hall

At the start at Ocean Beach.

 

On my way to the Golden Gate Bridge!

 
Ran into Elvis running barefoot (I know, crazy!) on the Golden Gate Bridge.

Just having some fun on the Golden Gate Bridge!

Fort Point and Chrissy Fields

Mandatory finish line photo! Thumbs up...that guy in the back though, all smiles!!

Me and my awesome medal!