So for me, the race started with a drive. My husband, dog, and I took off at 6PM on Friday night and made the trek to Santa Rosa. Hank slept the whole way and was a crazy dog the moment we stepped foot in my parents house. He ran around, drank too much water, refused to eat any food, and almost popped in the kitchen. After a 5 hour drive, all I wanted to do was sleep and the dog just wanted to play. Then he woke us up to go to the bathroom at 4AM and 6AM. Let's just say, when I finally woke up for real on Saturday morning, it felt like I only got 5 minutes of sleep.
Once everyone else in the house was awake, I headed over to the Expo to pick up my race packet. On the way, I stopped at Lucky's to buy Peanut Butter for the Redwood Empire Food Bank and my last minute, "shit I need stuff for the race" stuff. Basically I still needed Powerade, a pre race Power Bar, and a during race pack of Power Bar energy blasts. While at the store, an older gentleman in a wheelchair told me, "Hey gorgeous, want to point me in the direction of the adult diapers?" After I pointed down the aisle he proceeded to tell me, "I think I love you. Let me take you to dinner. Where do you want to go?" I didn't feel too pleased with myself because literally a second after I declined, he offered to take someone else to dinner.
With my dreams of dinner out with a nice man in adult diapers completely shattered, I headed off to the Expo at the Flamingo Hotel. Parking was a complete disaster but once I parked, I took a long walk to the lobby of the hotel. I immediately dropped off my Peanut Butter and got a nice "Run, Run" grocery bag. The girls at the booth also tried to sell me a shirt for the Santa Rosa Marathon and I was thinking, "Um... hello? I get a shirt with my race registration. Why would I buy another?" Long story, short. I did not buy another shirt.
I had a great lunch on Saturday with my Mom at BJ's Brewery (sodium-rrific!) and an even better dinner with my grandparents, Mom, and Husband at Mary's Pizza Shack. I was also perfectly exhausted by 10PM so I was able to fall asleep really quick and woke up pretty easily at 5AM on Sunday. I've found that the earlier I wake up and eat, the easier it is for my GI tract to let loose before I run. TMI, yes. Completely necessary, absolutely. I even drank a little bit of coffee and I've decided that method is a mistake and it won't be repeated. I should have had only Powerade before the race but I've just chalked it up to experience and I'm going to move on.
I left the house at about 6:15, made the five minute drive to the free parking garage and then took the 5-10 minute walk to Juilliard Park in Downtown Santa Rosa. I was really nervous at this point because I really needed to use the bathroom... again. I waited in a really long line and realized there was absolutely NO toilet paper left in that bathroom so I ran to a group of porta potties and waited in line there. It was 6:55 when I finally sped over to the start line. I don't know if it was the chilly morning temperatures or the significant amount of waste I expelled from my body that caused my mental confusion but it seriously took me three minutes to figure out how to get to the start line. I ended up in this maze of route fencing and had to hop over one of the fences to get where I needed to be. To make matters worse, I couldn't find the pace group I planned on joining so I ended up completely at the end of start pack. It took me about 3 minutes to cross the start line (the only reason I know for sure is because my clock time and chip time are 3 minutes apart).
Once we all got moving, the run was chilly at first and the views were pretty. We passed a bunch of horse properties, vineyards, and fields all while running along the Santa Rosa Creek. Later on, I was grateful for the shady running area and I was so glad that the volunteers were placed near some of the complicated insets in the course. There were quite a few spots where marathon runners were doubling back when I was making my first pass through an inset and I know that I almost went the wrong way at one point.
I was really happy at mile 8-9ish when they had oranges, bananas, and extra GU. I swear it was my saving grace and gave me the extra boost I needed to finish the race. At about 6 miles, I realized that I burned through my Energy Blasts and I was so pissed off at myself. I prefer the Energy Blasts to GU because I prefer chewing but ended up having GU at the rests of the stations. My camelbak proved to be helpful yet again because I definitely needed the extra hydration along the way. I even decided to use it as my ipod holder last minute because I realized that most people were hooked to music even though the race rules highly advised not being plugged in to headphones. It was a good choice because I was alone most of the race and needed the company of my music.
Run wise, I felt like I could have done better. I could have run a little bit more and I could have paced better in the beginning. I ran until the 3 mile mark, then did 1/2 mile jog-walk intervals for 5 miles or so, and then I dropped down to 1/4 jog-walk intervals. My heart rate was just not as consistent as usual and it made me suffer a little bit. I didn't fatigue as early this time around and I actually remember the whole race this time around. I didn't once get the feeling of dread because I had a certain number of miles left and at one point I started chanting to myself, "You can do it. Almost there. Just here to beat yourself." It helped a lot because my final three miles weren't horrible. I felt a blister on the bottom, side of my left foot for the last 5 miles but it didn't hurt as much as the back of the ankle blisters I got in Fresno. My $15 pair of socks really DID help. :)
Race wise, I loved this race and will definitely consider doing it again. The crowd was supportive, the other runners were amazing, and the volunteers were awesome. I swear, I want to be around this group of runners every time I run. I don't know what was different between Santa Rosa and Fresno but there was definitely a difference. There was more camaraderie between the runners in Santa Rosa. Marathon runners who were doubling back were actually encouraging us back of the pack half runners to "finish strong"and telling us that we were "so close". It was really cool. I even got a high five from a Modesto Marathoner after I crossed the finish who kept telling me all through the race, "You're gonna smoke 'em!" I mean... how cool is that guy?
I was lapped at Mile 10 by the first place Marathon finisher and that was at about 2 hours and 13 minutes. He ended up finishing at 2 hours and 40 minutes (whoa, dude!) and I finished my half marathon about 20 minutes after that. Just BARELY over the 3 hour mark. At first, I was really bummed because my goal was 2:45 or less. Doing the math, I ended up cutting over a minute per mile off my last half marathon time so you know, I done good. And I even got to meet my family at the finish line. My Husband, our dog, and my Mom were all there to see me finish and it was pretty cool. The pictures below are courtesy of my Mom.
Next race is November 4th and it is in Clovis! I guess my new goal for Clovis is to be at 2:45 or less... I can do it. Almost there. Just going to beat myself.
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