Nike Women's (1/2) Marathon

I entered this lottery because everyone I've talked to who has done it told me how awesome it is. I didn't think I'd win a spot. I didn't think that I'd get pregnant so soon.

All I do know is once I got it I was set on doing it. Once I found out I was pregnant, it defined my identity as being an athlete.

The biggest obstacle I've had to overcome during these past 7 months was the limitations the pregnancy has put on me. I've heard it all: it's only temporary, it's so worth the sacrifice, you have the rest of your life to run/bike. I don't care. I didn't realize how much I depended on running as therapy, a reset, a stress reliever, until I didn't have it any more. I took this frustration and focused it on training for this 1/2 marathon.

Let me be the first to tell you that I didn't train more than 8 miles on any of my walks. Some serious crap went down (which I may share with you all at a later date) and I didn't stick to my plan. However, when the weekend of October 18th came around, I was ready to prove all my naysayers wrong. I didn't realize it would help me reclaim myself.

Race Day:Rosemarie and I in our hotel room, all Nike'd out

I did not treat this as a race at all. I woke up and got a chai latte from Starbucks of all things! I'm not Glenn. My race morning meal is NOT an apple fritter.

My Tri peeps and other friends before the race.
Everyone else was running.

We lined up in the wrong corral, but I was okay with it. We were with the 12-14 min/mile peeps. It was a big cluster, so I figured we'd be okay if we stuck to the side. When I found out I was pregnant and told people, I asked my mom to walk the race with me. Yes, she was a bandit. Little did I know my aunt would walk some of it with us.

Miles 1-10:
were great. Yes there were hills but I made my mom stop almost every mile to take a picture. I couldn't believe the views and the camaraderie of the walkers. I did stop before mile 2 for my first of 4 bathroom stops.

Me and the fireman that let me use the firehouse restroom.
It was clean and it flushed!

My mom was starting to take off a bit faster than I had planned. I had to reign her in, which is funny, since that is what I always do.

Me and mom at Pier 1

We spent the whole time talking about random stuff. It was fun. She went back and forth about wanting to walk the race again next year. She was all for in the first 5 miles, the hills made her change her mind, but I think she's back on board.

My aunt, me and my mom at mile 5.
There is ~ a 20 min difference between the clock time and our actual time.

The Golden Gate and me.

Miles 11-13.1 (or 12.99 if you trust nike+ thing down there):

Let me be the first to tell you, walkers are mentally strong. I will not compare myself, as a 1/2 marathon runner, to any of these 1/2 marathon walkers. We came up on 4 hours and I was done. I just wanted the race to be over. I wasn't really having fun anymore. Any of the give aways were gone before we got to them. But then we came upon some friendly walkers. They were still chatty, if not smiling. One pair even offered us licorice. We were bitching about our feet, the blisters that we knew we'd find at the end of the day. The fact that we swore they moved the mile markers. They were awesome.

My mom cut out right before the finish. I got my necklace, t-shirt (the wrong one which they want me to send back and are going to send me the right one), and food for us both. It was a pretty race and a good experience. I can't wait to run it, at least once.

I can't tell you how great it felt. To know that I could do it. To prove to everyone who said I was crazy, that I wasn't. That I still have some level of fitness, even if I don't have the same core strength or arm muscles, or even leg muscles really. That I'm still me somewhere in here.