Hills? What hills?
“Racing teaches us to challenge ourselves. It teaches us to push beyond where we thought we could go. It helps us to find out what we are made of. This is what we do. This is what it’s all about.” - PattiSue Plumer, U.S. Olympian
San Francisco Marathon - July 26, 2009
When I was looking for a summer marathon, San Francisco seemed like a good idea. Convenient, direct flights were available, and the average morning temperature in July is around 55 degrees. Sure, there were a few hills in the city, but I train in Austin, not the flattest place in the world. I would just adjust my training routes to incorporate a few more hills, and I would be fine, right?
Despite the fact that we were traveling halfway across the country the day before the race, everything went seamlessly. There were no issues with flight delays, public transportation to the hotel or the shuttles to/from the expo. By 1pm, bib in hand, Kim and I were able to enjoy a turkey sandwich on a bench overlooking the bay. After a nap in the hotel room and 5pm mass at St. Peter and Paul’s church in North Beach, we met a neighborhood friend at an Italian restaurant for some serious carbs.
The first wave of racers were scheduled to depart at 5:30 am. Being in wave 3, I was to start at 5:42 am. Thanks to a recommendation from a San Francisco marathon alumnus, we stayed at a hotel that was literally right on the starting line. I walked out of my hotel room at 5:15, exited the lobby, and was in the front of my wave corral by 5:22. What a stress free way to begin a race! Little did I realize at the time how important it was to be that close to the finish line as well, but we’ll get to that later.
I was having trouble formulating a strategy for this race. The summer training in Texas had reeked havoc on my training times, and I couldn’t tell if I was faster or slower than I was a few months earlier. My marathon PR is a 3:34:45 in Groveton, TX, so I knew I wanted to try to beat that. The night before, I had told myself I would go out at a low 8 minute pace, hit the halfway point, then try to negative split to achieve something near a 3:30 race (8 minute overall pace).
The start went off without a hitch, and the first 4 miles were perfect – cool and flat, a runner’s dream. The course was not crowded at all, so there was no need to zig zag through runners to get the space to run comfortably.
- Mile 1 8:13
- Mile 2 8:07
-
Mile 3 8:27
-
Mile 4 8:18
-
Mile 5 8:22
Our first hill encounter was at the, start of mile 6, a 200 foot rise up to the entrance of the Golden Gate bridge. Unfortunately, as is customary in San Francisco, it was foggy, so when it came time to climb the hill to reach the start of the bridge, we could not see the structure we were to run across. Two lanes on the bridge were closed down for the racers, one for the trip out and one for the trip back. The runners were bunched up a little at this time, but it wasn’t terrible. My pace was OK for now, and any energy I was saving up here would certainly come in handy for the hills to come, right? Once across the bay, we turned around at the scenic overlook, and trekked back across the Golden Gate. Although the view was non-existent, the experience of running across that massive structure was certainly exciting, and the fog horn sounding every so often added to the experience.
- Mile 6 8:49
-
Mile 7 8:06
-
Mile 8 8:02
-
Mile 9 8:10
-
Mile 10 8:08
Once back across the bridge, the hills started. They were innocent enough at first. There was a half mile climb followed by a pretty steep 1 mile downhill. It was around here that I realized that although I was used to running up hills, the downhills were going to kill me. I started to feel the familiar tightness around the outsides of both knees, and I started having flashbacks of the ITB syndrome I had at the beginning of the year. The pain wasn’t strong, but I was aware it was there. Hopefully it wouldn’t effect me too much going forward.
- Mile 11 7:32
-
Mile 12 8:26
At around the 12.5 mile mark, we entered Golden Gate Park. Up to this point, there were very few spectators on the course. However, because of the first half - half marathon finish line, the second half – half marathon start line, and the marathon relay transition point, the crowd grew. The course weaved up and down hills throughout the park for miles. Although my lungs were fine, my legs were definitely starting to feel weak. The muscles around my hips and knees ached, but I fought to keep my pace, and I even tried to knock a few seconds off to get to negative splitsville.
- Mile 13 8:11
-
Mile 14 7:37
-
Mile 15 8:09
-
Mile 16 8:04
I remember looking at the course map the day before the race, and saying if I could get to mile 17 intact, I would be alright. The last of the major climbs would be done, and from here to the finish, it would be relatively flat or downhill. However, as I mentioned earlier, I didn’t count on the downhills being so painful. Remember, San Francisco doesn’t have the rolling hills we might be used to here in Austin, but steep grades on both the uphills and downhills. I could feel my gait changing and becoming more uncomfortable. However, I was still holding my pace pretty well, and even managed a few sub 8s in there.
- Mile 17 8:21
-
Mile 18 7:45
-
Mile 19 8:14
-
Mile 20 8:05
-
Mile 21 7:54
At this point, my knees were burning. I pounded the last of my 6 GUs and pressed on. This part of the course was not the most scenic, winding though a not so attractive part of town. I didn’t want to finish the race by counting down the miles, so I used the “you’re not going to finish ahead of me technique.” This basically involves picking a runner (aka “victim”) a few hundred feet ahead, and focusing on catching them, then picking the next victim. This helped keep my mind off the mileage and my pace and keep moving forward. Looking at my Garmin, I still thought I had a chance for a PR, although it would take a strong finish to do so. Then I saw the 23 mile mark. I looked at my watch, which indicated I had gone 23.35 miles. I tend to run to a specific pace, so when I realized the watch was calculating my pace as faster than reality, I was a little disappointed. Unless my painful, exhausted trot could produce a few 7 minute miles, today would not yield a PR.
- Mile 22 8:04
-
Mile 23 8:20
-
Mile 24 8:12
The last two miles routed us around AT&T Park. With McCovey Cove on my right, I went out of my way to STOMP on the Barry Bonds plaque embedded in the sidewalk (GUs aren’t considered performance enhancing drugs, right?). After turning the corner around the stadium, the beautiful Bay Bridge lay ahead. I knew the finish line was close. I found one last victim to pick off and stepped on the gas. Unfortunately, both the gas tank and the tires had given me everything they had. I crossed the finish line at 3:36:58, slightly over two minutes from my PR.
- Mile 25 8:21
-
Mile 26 7:59
-
Mile .2 + Garmin bonus 5:06 (7:37 pace)
Kim had managed to make it back to the hotel for a quick costume change and meet my neighbor and fellow Shipmate Sean at the finish to bring me home. It was good to see Sean after he had been away for several weeks, but that feeling quickly vanished upon his quote (and grin), “It is about time you felt bad during one of these things!” I guess I was glad someone was happy at this point. Without a doubt, this was the hardest of the three marathons I have completed.
Overall, the race was very well organized, and San Francisco is a great place to visit, especially in July! I would highly recommend the race to anyone looking for a cool weather summer marathon, however a PR course it is not. Despite the fact that at the finish line, I was questioning whether I would ever run again, I am now returning to “normal” and may be booking this race again next year.
