Nike Women's Marathon San Francisco

Official Finish Time:  4:14:10
Pace:  9:43
Overall Place:  873 / approximately 32,000
Division Place:  77 / 433

5k-  27:58
10k-  55:21
15k-  1:25:05
21k-  2:00:39
25k-  2:23:29
30k-  2:53:54
35k-  3:26:26
40k-  3:59:55

I went into NWM for the experience.  I knew it would be a race unlike any other -- and it was.  From the race expo (which is nothing like any other race expo I've been to) to the craziness at Niketown to the race itself.  This race was not like the others.  I knew it would be a great experience and fun.

I had no expectations or time goals for NWM.  I remember being asked just one week ago while running with a local woman what my finish goal was.  I had nothing.  I told her I was running for the experience and looking forward to a weekend in San Francisco with my San Diego girlfriends.  It was going to be an awesome weekend, with a marathon thrown in.

NWM was my 3rd marathon in six months.  I knew the course would have hills but I still wanted to run a decent race.  I had incorporated hills on all my training runs but was ill-prepared for the onslaught that is the San Francisco course.  Very little of this course is flat.  You are constantly climbing or descending, both of which were severe at times.  It felt like a roller coaster.

I had imagined how I might run this race.  I was going to start slow (9:10-9:20 pace), pick it up after the course splits around mile 11 and finish strong.  I wanted to enjoy the whole race environment, take in the views, feel the others' energy.  I didn't wear a watch or listen to music.  I wanted to take it all in and a slow start would allow me to do that and still finish strong.  It didn't work like that.

I began the race at a comfortable 9:10 pace.  The weather was a cool but comfortable 50.  For me, this is perfect.  There was heavy fog so not much to look at (this was the case nearly all the course) but I imagine the views are spectacular as we made our way along the marina and around the bay.  The hills along the course were more than I expected so when mile 11 came along I thought I should keep it slow until the halfway point.  Quite honestly, I had to fight the urge to take the right turn with the Half Marathoners.  I would have been perfectly happy finishing.  However, I hadn't pushed the first 11 so I would not have been happy with my HM time.  This thought kept me left and on the path of the marathon.

After the split, we continued to climb into Golden Gate Park.  There were some rollers and I was not recovering well from the hills in the first half of the course.  At mile 13, I decided I need to keep it slow until I hit the Great Highway.  I knew at that point it would be a flat approx. 4 miles out and back.  This was not the case.

Around mile 15.5 for us, we merged with the half marathoners.  This does awful things to a runner when you are knee deep into the miles with a long way to go and the girls beside you are hammering it home because their finish line is around the corner.  For a moment I wish I had known (and taken) this short cut.  Ha!  I could have taken the split and merged back into the marathon and skipped about 4 miles.  Of course, this is not something I would ever do but it's always a thought that runs through my head after 15 miles of running.

Mile 18 began a dark period.  Did you know the bottoms of your feet can cramp?  They can.  And did.  Everything began to hurt.  I hadn't stopped until this but did stop for a minute.  When I did, I considered stopping altogether.  I could barely stand and at that point feared that a medical person would see me and pull me aside.  It was better to keep moving forward, no matter how slow the moving forward became. 

The dark period subsided and I was able to continue at a decent but slow pace.  I'd have to confirm on a map, but around mile 19 began more rolling hills.  Not anything to complain about but they were coming late and that always makes them feel hard.  The turn around at mile 21 was at the bottom of a hill.  It was at this point that I unloaded.  My bottles were empty and I had taken my last GU.  The fuel belt came off, my gloves were thrown into the trash, my handkerchief was left alongside the street. 

After the turn around climb, we began a gradual descent back to the Great Highway straightaway.  I watched the runners I passed who were making their way up that same hill.  Some had stopped to stretch, some looked absolutely miserable.  I felt sorry for them because I figured most had no idea how long that climb is or of the steeper hill at the mile 21 turn around still to come. 

The finish was flat and didn't feel as long as it did on the way out (remember mile 18 was dark?).  There were spectators cheering, surfers crossing to get to the beach and the fog was beginning to lift along the coastline.  I could barely make out the finish line (due to fog) but once I saw that I felt energized again.  The streets were lined with people in those last few blocks, at some points they really narrowed the course.  It made the finish fun to see all the people out cheering us on.  One older man, in particular, stepped out and gave me encouragement.  I don't know if spectators know just how much that means to a runner, esp. in those last miles.  I'll never forget the preppy gentleman in a bright yellow sweater.

Finish line: Very well organized with reusable water bottles handed to you immediately, the firefighter and Tiffany necklace waiting, other firefighters posing for photos, mylar blankets handed out, gift bags with food, and then gear checks beyond that.  Cell service was crappy so I worried I wouldn't find my friends who had all run the half marathon, but eventually service worked for 30 seconds and I was able to call one friend. 

This was a great race experience.  It is not a PR course.  It isn't a typical race.  It's hillier than you're going to imagine.  It's an expensive race.  And a weekend in San Francisco is not cheap.  I don't need to do it again.  It's a bucket list item that has now been checked off.  However, it is (and was) a fabulous girls' weekend -- with a marathon thrown in!