RunnerCarol: All said and done

I can't believe the marathon has come and gone. Going to San Fransisco felt very surreal. The flight to was smooth and without a hitch. I had a fantastic time in San Fransisco and utilized the little bits of free time to the fullest. We shopped a little - which is not like me. I hate shopping. But it was pretty fun. We ate very good food and just generally had a great time seeing the city.

Race day came quickly. I had a migraine Saturday night and woke with it Sunday morning. It went away during the marathon.

We were up bright and early Sunday morning. There was quite a bit of hurry up and wait for the race to start. The race was 23,0000 people strong. Only 1% of the participants were men. I didn't cross the starting line until after 7:30. The official start for the elite runners was 7:00 AM.

The race itself was incredible! The weather was perfect, the course is just gorgeous. This marathon is very walker friendly. There were participants stopping at Golden Gate Park taking pictures. I found this very amusing. There were people in groups chatting up a storm, walking as if it were a leisurely stroll.

I paced myself well, and worked at not starting out too fast and strong so I didn't defeat early in the race. I ran solid for the first 6 miles. Mile 6 was a mile long climb up past Golden Gate Park. I picked up and ran again solid until I got to the half way mark. I walked through all the water and food stations and the 3 big hills. I also walked miles 18 and 19. Once I got to mile 20 I picked it up again and ran the remainder of the course.

The course has a couple of killer hill climbs and there were a couple of daunting spots. They split the course at the 12 mile point in to half and full. It was a little tough to see the half marathoners heading toward completion. The other spot is a drop over Lake Merced in which you can see a huge part of the course. It feels rather intimidating. But there wasn't a point in the course when I felt I couldn't finish.

I was sore and stiff after, suffered a very bloody toe from a rubbed blister, but other than that I am still on the marathon high and looking forward to training for the next.

After the marathon, I was able to stand in the cold ocean to cool my legs down. I went swimming this morning and it felt very good to work slowly on my body.

My body has recovered quickly and I am antsy to start running again. I am not sore at all today and plan on running tomorrow during my lunch hour.

This marathon was just the beginning. Now I can start working on my pace and see if I can shave some time. I have the endurance and strength and I know my eating plan works well and fuels me just as needed for both a long run and for recovery.

Here are some pictures taken before, during and after the event.

My team that I trained with, minus our coach. We missed him terribly.

Carb loading the night before. I have used a protein heavy diet in training, so the carb loading was not good for me. I scrounged up protien later on that night to load up on: