Over the summer & into the fall there was a Gifford training hard for a big race, and no it was not me. Dana – my lovely wife in case you don’t know her – just completed her first full marathon at the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco. This had been a big goal for Dana for a few years. Two years ago she was fit and ready to go, but an injury set her back less than three weeks from the Chicago Marathon. As she built up her fitness for this year’s Nike Marathon, there were a few aches and pains, but she was patient yet tenacious to get herself to the starting line fit and healthy.
Dana has supported and encouraged me while I’ve trained and raced the past three years, so I really enjoyed riding my bike around the city, cheering her on, and handing off GU & gatorade. She was smooth and comfortable early on, then really determined over the last few miles as a light rain started falling.
Dana wrote this recap of the race that I wanted to share. I’m proud of you Dana!
Nike Women’s Marathon Recap
I always knew that I wanted to run a marathon at some point in my life and today I am proud to say that I accomplished that longtime goal. It’s important to have goals and aspirations in life; it keeps us motivated, it lets us really live and experience life, and makes us more interesting individuals.
I really enjoyed my marathon training. It was fun exploring new running routes in SF and feeling the joy of pushing my body just a bit further each week. Jamey gave me tips along the way and boosted my confidence when pain crept into my body and doubt crept into my mind. Injury had prevented me from running previous marathons, but this time I had made it to the starting line in good health.
Here’s a breakdown of the day.
5:15 AM – Wake up, make some coffee, and try to eat an English muffin with peanut butter.
6:15 AM – Nervous gitters and I still haven’t used the bathroom (sorry to be graphic) but this is a red flag which means I will most likely have to stop somewhere on the course.
6:30 AM – Jamey drops me off at the start of the race. I gather with 20,000 runners (mostly women) at Union Square. As I stand in my corral, my heart is racing and I get teary eyed just thinking about all the strong women I’m surrounded by and that this is the moment where I begin to test myself and pursue my goal.
7:00 AM – Gun goes off and we start running. It is before sunrise so we’re running in the dark to the city lights of San Francisco. I like this moment and the next 4 miles will probably be the easiest of the course. We run to the Embarcadero and then through Fishermen’s Wharf. As we run by the SF Sourdough Company, the smell of fresh baked bread at 7:15 AM is overwhelming.
Mile 3 – I can’t settle into pace…heart is still racing with excitement as I try to figure out a conservative pace and realize that I’m probably running too hard at an 8:40 pace. Everyone has told me to go out slowly but I struggle to calm myself down and find my rhythm. I think of Jamey and how he always tells himself to “relax” when he’s in a race and feels anxious.
Mile 4 – I make the decision to take a pit stop now to avoid potential stomach disaster later. I lose 1 full minute! – it’s not easy to use a porta potty quickly! Then I climb the first hill of the race. I know this hill well due to all the sprints I’ve done up it in my boot camp class. I get to the top with ease.
Mile 5 – I see Jamey cheering me on for the first time. He was on his bike and biked around the course all day meeting me and cheering me on at various points. The sun has started to rise and I run towards the Golden Gate Bridge. Chrissy fields is my favorite place to run in San Francisco and is a regular part of my morning runs.
Mile 5-7 – The first big long climb up to GG Bridge and around the headland. I feel good, strong, and am settling into my pace. I see Jamey for the second time.
Mile 8 – Mostly steep downhill and I make up some time. My left hamstring and glut (which has been aggravating me) starts hurting. I remind myself that I’m doing it and pursuing my goal and that I’ve made it through the biggest climb of the course. Then I smile.
Mile 9 – Another steep climb but I know there’s another steep decline at the top. I look for the Ocean on the horizon and keep chugging through. Once I’ve finished this climb, I will have completed the 4 biggest climbs of the race.
Mile 10 – Turning into Golden Gate Park. I don’t like this section because it is 3 miles of gradual climbing. Mentally it’s hard to get through because you feel slower but visually it doesn’t look like you’re climbing. The good news is that there’s lots of race support and spectators on the course for the next 3 miles. Along the way I see the Nike Campaign signs that read “I Run to be…(fill in the blank)”. It motivated me to see all the different ways that sentence was completed. As a race participant, we had to complete that sentence in our race application.
Mile 13 - I see Jamey again and he gives me a Gatorade to drink. At this point the ½ marathoners had already split from us and we become a much smaller running group of about less than 5000. Most people are just doing the ½ marathon.
Miles 14-16 –We loop back and now run back down through GGP once again heading towards the water. I’m feeling okay and know that two major sections of the race are almost finished. The bad news is that I’m no longer running very close to any other runners. It has really thinned out and it looks like I’m going to be on my own going forward. I see a few runners up ahead about 40 yards.
Mile 16-18 – Great Highway. It starts to drizzle rain. I look at Ocean beach and see big waves crashing into shore. The ocean looks wild and somewhat stormy. I know I have the hardest part ahead of me.
Mile 18 – I see Jamey again and grab more snacks. After this, I see Jamey frequently through out the rest of the race. But my mind gets kind of fuzzy since I’m focusing on the run. I know I’m running low on energy and need to eat. But, I take one bite of a Luna bar and my body wants none of it. I almost spit the bite out but force it down. The smell of food is repulsive even though I know I need it. I force down a few sport beans hoping they’ll carry me through the last 8 miles. Every marathon runner talks about hitting the wall in the last 6 miles of the race. For me, I start to feel The Wall begin to build itself. I’m hoping to finish before fully hitting it head on.
Mile 20 – The rain increases. I don’t mind but my shoes and socks start to get pretty wet and heavy. I’m tired, my legs hurt, but I know this is the part of the race that I’ve been training for. I knew this was going to be hard and that it was coming. They offer Ghirardelli chocolate and I laugh at the idea. Chocolate after the race, yes, chocolate in my final push just didn’t seem right (even though looking back I probably would have benefited from it). Prior to the race, my aunt Gail taught me a mental trick. She said to dedicate the last 6 miles to people you know would never give up on you in life and to just focus on that person. So mile 21 went to my good friend Joelle. Miles 22-23 went to Erin and Wendy. Miles 24-25 went to my mom and dad, and Mile 26 was for Jamey.
Mile 22 – I really start to feel the pain. My legs are burning. The rain is coming down. I’m getting chafed from the rain and I feel a big blister on my right foot. I just keep thinking 2 more miles around this lake and then 2 miles back through Great Hwy to the finish. I see Jamey and he yells “stay strong, only 4 more miles” and I keep repeating that to myself “stay strong, stay strong”.
Mile 25-26 – I crest the final hill but I’m sputtering, completely out of gas. That Wall that had been building was finally complete and I hit it straight on. I was bonking, I was hitting the wall. My legs are screaming at me, I have completely depleted my energy, its pure will power at this point. I see the 4 hour pace group go by and I make an effort to pick it up and join them. The effort lasts about 40 yards and I just can’t get my legs moving any faster. As I watch plan A go by (finish within 4 hours) I just let it go and focus on Plan B (don’t stop running). I feel like I’m at a shuffle and I must look horrible because at this time the spectators really start to cheer for me and motivate me on. I listen to the battle going on between my legs and my brain.
Legs: “Let’s just stop and walk a bit. I promise it will feel REALLY GOOD. Come on, just a few steps, it would be soo easy to walk right now.”
Brain: “Keep putting one foot in front of the other. You’ve come all this way and you’re not going to walk in the last two miles.”
Legs “But look at all those other runners around you, some of them are walking.”
Brain “Walking is contagious, be strong and just keep putting one foot in front of the other. I know we’re going to miss your goal of a sub 4 marathon, but just keep moving, don’t stop, and let’s finish this thing.
Legs: “Pretty please let me stop.”
Brain: “Legs, you knew this was coming, this is what we trained for. This is it, so let’s do this. I promise I’ll give you a rest in 2 miles.”
Legs: “Okay, I’m giving you what I got but I’m not happy about this and I’m not going to move very fast.”
Brain: “Let’s just do what we can. We can see the finish now. Let’s finish this.”
Mile 26 – I cross the finish line with my arms in the air. I’ve done it. I smile and receive my Tiffany necklace from the handsome fireman in the tux. Then I make my way through the shoot grabbing snacks, water, my shirt, and I look for Jamey.
Although I would have liked to stay and enjoy the moment, the rain was coming down hard and I was beginning to shake with cold. Jamey and I find each other (it’s so good to see him again) and all I want to do is get home to a hot bath. I receive lots of phone calls and text messages from friends and family congratulating me and cheering me on. It was great.
Everyone always asks “would you do another one?” My answer to that is yes. I really did enjoy the training and the feeling of pushing my body to its limits. Next time, I’d like to run a flatter course that would give me the chance to really find my rhythm and let me settle into a pace. Nike was a beautiful course and it was in my backyard but each mile was completely different and I didn’t have two consistent splits throughout the entire 26.2 miles. My pace ranged from 8 minute miles to 10 minute miles so I really struggled to settle into my strides.
For now, I think I might go back to working on improving my time on the ½ marathon.
Thanks to all for your support and guidance along the way.
Dana
