Nike Women's Marathon

26.2 miles through the streets of San Fransisco. Check.

I ran the Nike Women's Marathon this past weekend in San Fransisco. The weather was perfect for running, 60 degrees and overcast. Besides hogging the bed, Oliver slept quite well the night before, so I woke up feeling pretty rested and ready to rumble.


I wolfed down a breakfast cookie, mixed my watered down Gatorade, taped my toe that always rubs on long runs, put on my new smartwool socks, packed my Luna moons and energy jelly beans and headed out to the start, just a few blocks from our hotel. This is what Ollie looked like (see above) when I headed out. Still totally conked out.


Mylo and Oliver took the spectator bus to the first "family cheer station" to cheer me on. I was still all smiles at mile 4. Unfortunately, the spectator bus was a bit of a bust and I didn't get to see Mylo and Oliver until the finish. I guess I was just running too fast. The course was pretty hilly and quite challenging. The race started at Union square, went through Golden Gate Park, through an idyllic San Fransisco neighborhood (tall victorian homes less than a foot apart), and along the water. Mile six was completely uphill (and steep to boot) and mile 7 was completely downhill. My knees and legs were definitely feeling it later in the race and for the next couple days. I hit "the wall" at about mile 19/20 and just puttered along until mile 24, when I could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel and motivate myself to kick it up a notch. I finished in 4 hours 8 minutes, about 12 minutes faster than my first marathon. I was hoping to be closer to 4 hours, but in light of my serious slacking on my training for the last month or so, I was pretty happy with my time.

The finish. Petal to the metal.

Finishers got some pretty sweet swag, including a Tiffany's necklace & Nike technical top.

After the race, we checked out all the sights. Lombard street - touted as the most crooked and steep street in San Fransisco (sorry to burst your bubble, but it is neither).

China town. I remember visiting here as a kid and thinking it was pretty cool. Once you have been to the real thing, it doesn't quite measure up.

Fisherman's wharf. We checked out the massive number of sea lions at Pier 39. Oliver thought they were quite entertaining and barked back at them. We had some delicious clam chowder in sourdough bowls before walking back up to the trolley.

We took the BART to and from the Airport. It was very convenient and Oliver found it very entertaining to look out the window. All in all it was a great trip. Oliver was great on the flights and we had a good time. Vacationing with a baby in tow definitely takes some adjustment, especially when it is just the two of you (no extra helping hands from Grandparents). Naps didn't really happen and by the end of the day he was pretty exhausted (as were we), but it was still fun.