The race. After a quick breakfast of the prerace usual (bagel w/ PB and Nutella), we hit the street for the mile walk to the start. Get there, do some business, quick jog, check bags, and then find that they’re letting folks in to our corral one at a time. That’s not going to work. With 15 seconds left before the gun, I hop the fence and the crowds follow (Gripe #1). I do a quick look for my pace group and find it’s in Wave #1. Based on my finish time I should be in that wave, but the organizers only set aside 250 spots for it, which filled VERY quickly of many folks who were slower than me (it was up to 1:45 halfers and 3:30 fullers). (Gripe #2) To remedy this, the organizers said they’d have the pace groups be at the front of the 2nd Wave. That makes sense, since a huge majority of the folks belonging in them are stuck in that wave. They lied about that (Gripe #3). This is a really big issue, as folks shooting for a very specific time (like me) rely on the pacers. With them starting a minute before me, I had no chance of being with them. We start… I’ve got 26.2 miles of loneliness ahead. On the bright side, the weather is perfect for running; upper 50s and the fog created a very nice mist for the first 10 miles.

Mile 1 – 7:05
Flat run along Embarcadero. Nothing to note, just some easy running.

Mile 2 – 7:08
Continue the flat run, Embarcadero becomes Jefferson, and we pass Fisherman’s Wharf and the lovely sourdough smell of Boudin Bakery.

Mile 3 – 7:19
Head up to Fort Mason, which has a pretty heavy uphill for a short period. I told myself I was going to keep an even effort on the hilly parts rather than worry about my per mile pace, and I did just that. Unfortunately, someone forgot to tell the Park Service to turn off the sprinklers in the park so we were sprayed a bit and ran through puddles. I soaked one of my shoes here… Pissed, but it didn’t end up have any effect. (Gripe #4)

Mile 4 – 7:01
More flatness along the water.

Mile 5 – 7:12
Through Presidio. More flatness by the water.

Mile 6 – 8:08
As you may have guessed, we faced a serious hill here on our approach to the Golden Gate Bridge and while on it. I’d have preferred skipping the damned bridge than to have to deal with those hills. C’est la vie; I’m sure I’m in the minority. In case you’re wondering, they closed down half the lanes on the bridge.

Mile 7 – 7:01
Middle span of the bridge. This was equal uphill and downhill. I ran in to a running friend from back home here. Exchanged handshakes and split up again.

Mile 8 – 7:07
Finished one length of the bridge, waved to Caitlin as we crossed, and started our way back up the bridge.

Mile 9 – 7:12
Center span of the bridge again. Didn’t notice the wind when it was at our backs heading the other direction… Funny how that works. Equal parts uphill and downhill with a bit of a headwind. Had some guys draft me, I did a very tiny bit once I realized this was happening, but not enough to have much effect. Next time, more drafting.

Mile 10 – 7:32
Complete the bridge and back in to Presidio for a wonderful uphill again. This was a pretty long and steady one. So much uphill… where are the downhills?

Mile 11 – 6:46
Ah, there’s the downhill. Unfortunately, it’s a steep one, which isn’t ideal. I think we lose all that elevation we had gained in that one mile. Sucky; that’s not the most efficient way to do it as your quads can only handle so much downhill speed.

Mile 12 – 7:39
Finished with the downhill, we’re back to uphill through neighborhood streets. Boring and slow.

Mile 13 – 7:14
Into Golden Gate Park for rolling hills. We split off from the first half-marathon group and nothing else special happens.

Mile 14 – 6:52
A decent downhill (the kind that doesn’t hurt or waste your elevation) and Bison! Quick flashback to a childhood vacation in Yellowstone in which my Dad stepped in a giant bison pile of “scat.” It was up to his ankle.

Mile 15 – 7:23
Rolling hills and nothing of note.

Mile 16 – 7:25
More rolling hills. This is where I really felt my energy waning in my last marathon, but I was feeling relatively good. Last two miles were a little slow, but plenty of time to make up for them (especially considering I actually have until 3:10:59 to qualify).

Mile 17 – 7:34
A rather annoying loop around a lake. Annoying because I saw my damned pace group pass me after they had completed it. I SHOULD HAVE BEEN WITH YOU GUYS!

Mile 18 – 7:07
Just a regular old mile. There’s that pace I need! There was a crowd here cheering [primarily for the half-marathoners finishing], which helped.

Mile 19 – 7:20
A slight uphill as we pass the Conservatory of Flowers. Caitlin managed to not see this giant white building surrounded by flowers.

Mile 20 – 7:38
Exit the park and in to some pretty barren neighborhoods on Haight Street. I believe this was a slight uphill again… They really start taking a toll on you; ever since the water we had either been going up or down… Like wind, that’s a net loss. All the elevation we gained over the past two miles was lost with a single block here… Probably the most extreme downhill I’ve ever run. My quads went to jello and I began to know I’d have to have a really strong finish to make this happen. All these dramatic elevation losses just suuuuck.

Mile 21 – 7:13
Had a strong mental mile. Told myself to push it to pick up lost time. I was right on the cusp on not making it. More neighborhood running.

Mile 22 – 7:25
So much for being strong mentally. This was more rolling up/down mileage through barren neighborhoods. My body was really starting to fatigue at this point and I calculated that I’d have to have a great finish to hit my goal.

Mile 23 – 7:39
More pretty barren neighborhood. GOD! There were some folks out watching, but NONE cheering (Gripe #5). And yes, more hills. Unless I found some energy, the day was not going to be mine.

Mile 24 – 7:42
Nope, nothing in the tank. At this point I calculate that I need two miles at faster than 20:00 5k pace. Still possible, but I need a stellar next mile.

Mile 25 – 7:37
Back down to flat ground on Embarcadero, but nope, no stellar mile. The tank is dry. Needing a 6:00 final mile, I call it quits and “slog” the final mile (slow jog) since there’s no prize for a 3:14.

Mile 26 – 8:41
That’s a slog. I instead use my energy to cheer on waning runners. I manage to get two guys to beat me by pushing them… Hehehe.

Final .2
Time is off because my GPS isn’t exactly the same as the course mileage. Oddly, it was dead on for the first 10 miles… That never happens.

I finished in 3:16:18 feeling far better than I did after my previous marathon (and six minutes faster). I could have pulled a high 3:14 had I tried the last mile, but after 25 and knowing I wasn’t hitting my goal, the care factor hit zero.

Surprisingly, I wasn’t as sad as I thought I’d be; this was a really grueling training program with lots of miles, pretty much nonstop injuries, and it ended with my mind not where it needed to be. To pull a pretty decent time on [what I feel] was a pretty tough course, I have to be pleased. On another day and another course, I’m confident I could have hit the goal.

What could I have done differently? I had planned on doing a lot of strength training this go-around, but didn’t (could feel my form go bad around 15), and I could have definitely watched my diet a bit better; I think I’ve put on five pounds in the past couple months… Astonishing given the number of miles I’ve been running… I can’t know for sure because I’ve kind of been in denial and haven’t been weighing myself muck I think my body has indicated it can only handle about 40 miles a week [right now] so I’d do well to introduce some more biking and swimming in to my routine to keep the miles down, but the work up.

What’s next? I’m not too sure. I’ll take a week or two off from running entirely (look for me at Upton Hill Pool or on the bike) and then figure out what I want to do. Chicago is a fast course, I have friends running it, but it’s only 2.5 months away and is sold out; I’d have to get back in to running serious mileage again AND overpay for a bib transfer. Steamtown (Scranton) is that same day, is even faster, would be drivable, is not sold out, and I think I know at least one other person running it, but again, it’s soon. Then there’s the California International Marathon in December, which is the fastest race in the US (thanks to being a point-to-point that’s a net elevation loss), but do I want to come back out to California (Sacramento) again? Do I want to wait until December to make another attempt? Or would getting two potential attempts be worth the short rest period? I dunno… Nobody knows… We’ll see how I feel next week.

On the Caitlin side, she had a stellar race, taking thirteen minutes off her previous time. I’d argue she sandbagged the first try, but she insists she died 😉 Her time was good enough for 6th in her gender/age division and I think 24th female overall? Awesome! She didn’t think the race was too hilly, but she also missed two of the three more notable landmarks on the course (Boudin Bakery and the Conservatory of Flowers… she noticed the Golden Gate Bridge) so she may have missed them too. She’s now doubly qualified for Boston in 2010… Lucky girl.

In case you were wondering, yes, I’ll be contacting the race directors with my gripes. How else can they make the race better without knowing what bugged folks? I’ll be sure to start it nicely

As far as the rest of our trip goes, I’m writing a long version of it (100% not worth reading the first two days, but I did write a lot), but won’t post it until it’s complete. The quick version: Friday we arrived and went to bed. Saturday we rested and saw a movie. Sunday we raced. Monday we’re getting massages and doing shopping (we’re in the middle of the shopping district), Chinatown, maybe Japantown (I could go for some sushi), and the Wharf. Tuesday we’re hopping on a bus tour to Napa Valley. Wednesday we’re renting a car to hit Muir Woods, other stuff across the bridge, and the west end of the city (Presidio, Golden Gate Park, and the Conservatory of Flowers).

Now, if you’ll excuse me, my watch says I burned 3600 calories. I’m off to a silly awesome dinner and heavy drinking (Beam is treating me fine as I write this). Can’t wait for massages in the morning!

Results: Go here, click results, choose SFM, full marathon, and enter bib 2350 (2351 for Caitlin)
GPS [Link to come… will be interesting to see elevation]