NIKE Women's Marathon 2011

I was lucky enough this year to win the lottery to enter the San Francisco Nike's Women Marathon. This was my first year entering and I am so glad that I did. It was nice to train for such a well-known half marathon. I trained pretty hard for this race because I set a very ambitious goal of running it in under two hours... which is five minutes better than my personal best. I had heard this half marathon was very difficult because of those famous San Francisco hills... the night before the race I was starting to get nervous on whether I could actually run the hills without walking.

Race day quickly approached and as I was walking to the starting line the streets were crammed with people, you could barely move... finding the bag drop and appropriate corel was nearly impossible. And if you wanted to use the bathroom it was about a 30 minute wait. :( I decided to hold it and spend my time finding the correct corel which I never found.

The starting gun finally went off and Beyonce's "Who Runs the World (Girls)" song was playing blasting. The energy was electric, I have never seen this many women (and a few men) come together to run! Over 22,000 people were at the starting line and it was pure insanity!
As I finally passed the starting line I was a bit frustrated because it was obvious that people didn't stick to the corel assignments, because people were walking and jamming up the streets. I just wanted to start with a decent pace but I was unable to until mile 4 or so. As I was running I was taking in the beautiful wharf area, Alcatrez and as we approached the Golden Gate Bridge the views were breathtaking and the weather was fabulous.

But as the views got better the race got more challenging... starting at mile 6 it was all about the hills. I don't know which mile was the hardest but miles 6 -11 definitely blended together for me because a hill of some sort was involved in every mile. I was did pretty well on the hills and controlled my breathing so it was mainly a mental battle. :) I chose not to run with headphones so controlling my breathing was easier and my run was more peaceful!

I actually smiled through this race but as I neared mile 11 I didn't know if I could keep my pace... but somehow the crowd support got me through it. And as I neared the finish line I saw men in tuxedos and that was enough motivations. :) The half marathon had everything a great goodie, a bra exchange station, Giradelli chocalate station, photographer at the Golden Gate bridge, hot firemen in tuxedos at the finish line presenting all finishers with Tiffany's necklaces. I mean I think the last line is a big enough perk to enter this half marathon. :) 

I ran into some girlfriends at the finishline... what a small world.

Check out the loot from the race... okay I bought two of the shirts but oh well! :) Best part of the race was doing my personal best 2:00:24. Most challenging part pushing myself to do my best at miles 9, 10 and 11.

 I recommend this half marathon to everyone who loves to smile through a challenging race and get pampered at the end! My tips train hard, hit up the expo and NikeTown, buy finisher gear and wear your Tiffany's necklace with pride. I Run to Be... Stonger and Better. :) I am definitely entering the lottery next year because this was one of the most amazing events I have ever been a part of.