Rock 'n' Roll San Francisco

Rock 'n' Roll San Francisco: April 6, 2014

This past Sunday was the Rock 'n' Roll San Francisco Half Marathon, my second race of the year. The weather was great, the people were happy, and the city was beautiful. I had a lot of fun. Even though I didn't set a new PR, I'm very happy with my results. Here's a recount of my day:

I got up at 3:30am so I could eat a pot of rice (mmm, carbs) and get ready for the race. B gave me a ride to the start line at the ocean end of Golden Gate Park. At 5:30am it was dark and cold, and I started to question why I had put myself in this position. Sunday mornings are meant for sleeping in and going out to brunch! However an hour later, when the sky began to lighten and the race began, I forgot all about my complaints. The weather turned out to be perfect: nice and cool, with Karl the Fog nowhere in sight. The Golden Gate Bridge was looking awful pretty. Three lanes of the bridge were closed to traffic so that we were able to run on the deck and get a spectacular sunrise view of that iconic engineering marvel. I tried to take a selfie while running under a tower, but it turned out to be a very unflattering blur of a picture.

The RNRSF course was a lot more challenging than the ORF course. Where the ORF half marathon was almost completely flat, the RNRSF course looked like this:

 

In the two weeks between the ORF and RNRSF, I ran up any hills that I could find. I even ran some stairs in hopes of getting my calves ready for some climbing. Come race day, I was still dreading the hills. But they actually weren't too bad! I'm saying this three days after the race now, but as I was huffing and puffing up those inclines, I'm sure I had some less cheerful thoughts on the terrain. I'm just glad that I made it through the entire race without cramps or injury. My final time was 1:52:07, 47 seconds over my ORF time. It would have been nice to set a PR, but considering all the hills and the short time between races, I mark this as a success. As a bonus, I got to snag a picture with the Nesquik bunny in front of City Hall!

That very afternoon, riding on my runner's high, I signed up for more races: Bay to Breakers 12k and The Town's Half Marathon. I think I have an addiction! Now here's how my year of running is looking:

• March 23  -  Oakland Running Festival Half Marathon  Finished in 1:51:25
• April 6  -  Rock 'n' Roll San Francisco Half Marathon  Finished in 1:52:07
• May 18  -  Bay to Breakers 12K
• June 1  -  Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Half Marathon
• August 16  -  The Town's Half Marathon, Oakland
• September 19-20  -  RAGNAR 200-Mile Relay, Napa Valley
• October 5  -  Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Half Marathon

I feel like I need to find races for July, November, and December so that I have a race every month. I'm pretty sure I'll end up registering for even more races. But for now, time to work on my speed and my B2B costume!