Joining the 1% - Nike Women's Marathon October 2007

After 5 1/2 months of training, it is now history...I DID IT! And this is my race report...(I realize that only a few may be interested in the nitty-gritty details, but here they are.)


We arrived in San Francisco on Fri., went to the Nike Expo and did a little sight seeing on Sat., a team meeting, then to our TNT (Team in Training) Pasta Party on Sat. night where Joan Benoit Samuelson spoke, then tried to get to bed at a decent hour for our early morning on race day, Sun 10/21.

As a walker and member of TNT (Team in Training), we had the option of an early start, which we took advantage of. Without the early start it's nearly impossible for a walker to make the time deadline, and they won't let you finish if you don't get to Mile 19 by the cut-off time. But I'm getting ahead of myself....

2:15 AM: Alarm goes off and I’ve had about 3 hours of sleep. Coffee & 1 piece of bread with peanut butter & honey.

3:45 AM: Meet the early start group (walkers) in the lobby. After pictures, instructions, ½ bagel, we walk to the start line a few blocks away. It’s really cold, a little windy, and very dark. We huddle to stay warm, & take 1 more potty break. My friend Julie (who came with me to San Francisco to be my support) went down to the lobby with me, then went back to room & met us later at the start line for a few pics (wearing a "GO BETH GO!" shirt that she made, covered with pics of my friends and family.) :-)

5:30 AM – START! Here we go! There are so many people we are packed together for quite awhile. My walking buddy Ashlyn & I took advice from coaches to just enjoy the race & not worry about time. So, lots of pictures (there’s only one “First” time!)

Miles 1-6 are really dark, so we can’t take many pics but of course I tried anyway. At Mile 6 we get to the Oxygen Bar. What the heck, let’s try it. I breathed in some of the “Ocean Blast.” At first you actually taste it, then it’s just like brisk, fresh air. It actually felt good & opened up the sinuses.

Good thing because the next FOUR miles, Mile 6 through 9 are ALL up hill! Really BIG hills. I’m thinking, boy we didn’t do enough hill training, then I try to tell myself that this is just like Smiley Heights, where we trained… but that only works for awhile. I’m thinking these hills will NEVER end. Puff puff puff. Ashlyn (who is about 30 yrs. younger, by the way!) is now 10-15 feet ahead of me, and I know she is just having to keep going. In between these 4 miles there’s 1 downhill & I catch my breath, but it’s short lived. Up we go again! Finally Mile 10 and we’re flat for awhile, then this GORGEOUS view downhill and over the ocean! Aaaaah. Miles 11-16 are through Golden Gate Park. Everyone tells you that you’ll probably have a “Bite Me!” moment at some point, which is aimed at your friends and/or family. My friend Julie is with Ashlyn’s boyfriend Dean, her Dad, & Stepmom. They told us they’d meet us at Mile 12 & we told them we needed Gatorade. Just B4 mile 12 there’s a water stop but we skip it because we know we’ll see them around the corner. Mile 12 – no one. Mile 13, 14 = no one. We finally hear that they’re at Mile 15 or 16! BITE ME! Part of the problem was that they were told wrong info about where they were because of the ½ marathon course mixing with our course, & partly because they couldn’t get through on the closed roads. It wasn’t their fault but at this point you don’t care. We get our Gatorade & all is better, all is forgiven.

Mile 15.5 was cool as went through the “Nike Tunnel.” We heard Lance Armstrong encouraging us to keep on, and inspirational messages projected on the walls.

Mile 17-19 Great Highway. Beautiful ocean view, but it’s long. We know that Mile 19 has a cut off requirement, but we’re OK on time.

Mile 19 entering the circle around Lake Merced.. Oh my gosh, the lake is HUGE! Full loop is Mile 19-23. We have to go around THAT?!!!” There is a beautiful view & I ask Ashlyn to take a pic and ask if she wants a pic. She says, “I’m over the pic thing.”

Mile 23 – I don’t know if this is “The Wall” but now my knees really hurt! Ashlyn & I are both especially feeling it in our left knee. It’s not like it was all at once. It came on slowly but there was 1 point when my knees started to just buckle underneath me. That was a little scary, because it’s physical & you can’t do much about it except to keep going. You hear people talk about your body being like a machine. It’s kinda like that just you just keep moving your feet, one step at a time, don’t stop, don’t stop.

The last 3 miles were really HARD. Playing music in iPod just to create a distraction, but not sure how much it’s helping. The phone messages and texts that I received (even if I didn't answer) from friends really helped keep me moving along.

Mile 25 – we see Coach Ron! YEAH! We needed that.!

WE CAN SEE THE FINISH LINE! Just keep going, one step at a time.

Cross the line! WE DID IT!!! Cute guy in tux gives us a Tiffany box. Oh yeah! Time: 7 hrs. 3 min.

We get our timing chip clipped off, then head over to the TNT tent to check in but realize we were supposed to go straight first to get our “FINISHER” shirt, so we have to back track. At this point you don’t want to walk 1 more step. Get shirt, go to TNT tent for check in and 26.2 pin. Pick up some snacks, then meet Julie & Ashlyn & her family again. Heading towards shuttle area which is about 2 blocks away (seems like another 26.2!). We get there & find out they’ve MOVED the shuttle area to be at finish line. CRAP! That’s where we came from! Ashlyn’s family gives us a ride instead, so there’s 6 people in a little pickup truck. Takes a long time to get back to hotel with traffic, 1 way streets, & closures.

Back in room. Julie orders pizza & gets me some ice while I take a shower. I am glad there’s a handicap bar in the shower to hang on to! After shower we eat pizza, snack a little more, then get ready for Victory Party. The party location is 3 blocks away & we can’t bear to imagine walking that far, so I decide to pay for a cab. As we walk through the hotel you can spot the marathoners. They have what is called the “Marathon Moon Walk” – it’s kind of a waddle. We take the cab from Marriott to Moscone Center & eat good food. The cab fare was about $5 but I gave the driver a $10. (each way) – It was SO worth it! The food was plentiful & it was good to see some of our teammates, 90% of whom are waddling.

Going to bed it’s hard to get in a comfortable position. I prop my knees with a pillow behind my knees, take ipuprofen, & ice my knees. That felt good, and with the exception of the difficulty of changing positions, I slept great.

I raised $3,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and am so thankful to everyone who contributed with the finances and prayers

Did you know that only 1% of the population have completed a marathon? Feels good.

Dad's 90th Birthday Celebration

Today was Dad's 90th birthday party. About 50 family & friends attended. It was a lot of work, but well worth it. How blessed am I to still have my Dad in my life! He is such an easy person to be around, everyone likes him, and I'm sure his friends would say "Norm's a great friend!" He's always had a great sense of humor, so he keeps us all laughing. Here's a few pics from the party:

Disneyland Half Marathon-The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly

Just a little over 1 month before my marathon in San Francisco, Kim and I participated in the Disneyland ½ marathon.
The GOOD: Kim & I wore Mickey tattoos :-), and were really excited about the whole Disney thing. The race started by going through Disneyland and California Adventure, characters & cheering everywhere. FUN! Then we headed out onto Ball road and right into the sun. Hot, Hot, Hot. After a few miles we were already beet red & sensing how hard this would be. When we got to the Angels Stadium at Mile 10, it really lifted our spirits. Sat in the dugout for pics, saw ourselves on the Jumbotron, cheerleaders…
then we left the stadium & the rest of the race was pretty much concrete.
The BAD: The temp at 6:30 AM was already at about 85 degrees. Not a good sign. Speaking of signs, they posted warnings about what could happen.

At the start of the race, we were already at the Red Flag warning. I heard rumors that it really did reach Black Flag conditions during the race, but they didn’t call it. First Aid assistance and ambulances were a common sight.
Many stations ran out of water, or the water was hot because they hadn’t had time to put it on ice, so people were taking ice to put on their heads, in their own water bottles.

The UGLY: OK, well let’s just say we weren’t “pretty”, but we were just happy to have survived!

My First Triathlon - June 9, 2007

L.A. Tri Series, San Dimas, CA, Lake Bonelli
Sprint Distance: Swim 300 meters, Bike 8.4 miles, Run 4K (2.5 miles)

I got up at 4:15 AM. Ate: 1/2 Fat free muffin but couldn't finish it. Nerves? 3/4 cup coffee, then 1/2 Power Bar on the drive in, and water.

Left house at 5:15 for San Dimas. Arrived around 6:00 AM, picked up packet and goodie bag, bathroom, set up transition area.

About 5-10 mins. before start of swim, a large dog (german shepherd) attacked a cocker spaniel, holding it in its mouth above the ground. It was very traumatic & unsettling and I had to calm myself down. The owner of the larger dog just stayed there! Several people were mumbling, "why doesn't she leave?," etc., and I finally yelled, "Get your dog out of here!" which was followed by numerous other people yelling the same. I asked the owners of the cocker spaniel if it was OK and they say "we don't know." My heart was racing. The owner of the spaniel was a participant, and shortly thereafer I noticed they were gone.

Just before the start of the race I saw my friends Kim, Jeff, and their boys Riley & Reid. You don't know how great it feels to have your friends there to support you!

I found out they shortened the swim to about 300 meters (originally 400), which elicited a huge cheer when announced. The swim started with the championship group (longer) of men first, then the women. When our group started I hung to the back of the pack based on the advice of many for a 1st timer - helps avoid being kicked around a lot. It was so much harder than I expected (despite warnings of this). I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, gasping for air, and at one point was swimming across rather than forward! Fortunately I wasn't the only one - one girl swam all the way to shore before she realized she was way short of the finish. About 1/2 way through I calmed myself and just swam on my back so I could catch my breath. I heard a lifeguard tell the wayward girl something about "do 10 strokes and..." (something) and I decided "10 strokes, then look at where you're at", so that's what I did. It worked. As soon as I could stand I started pulling off my goggles & wetsuit since they say to take it off when it's wet. I was still gasping :-) but I kept moving. My transition felt surprisingly fast, didn't have any problems with the order of things, and my wetsuit came off without problems, probably thanks to the BodyGlide. I don't know what my T1 (Transition 1) time was because this race (unlike most races) doesn't break down your transition time, they just lump it into the first segment. My swim plus transition was 10:23 for 300 meters (less than 1/4 mile). My guess is that my T1 was in the 3 min. range. I finished the swim 165 out of 200. (I read one guy's review of his 1st tri swim, "I gasped. I swallowed water. I swallowed a bass." haha!)

Bike: Even though I was winded, I was just glad to be sitting! haha. Though the hard work started pretty quickly. I suppose the hills were normal for the non-rookies, but they were tough! (I did hear someone else comment on this) I fought one hill w/out stopping. On the 2nd one, I thought the end of the hill was coming so I kept going, only to find out the right turn (downhill) was not the course; we had to continue UP. I then had to walk a bit. On the 3rd hill, I had to stop for a drink. Unfortunately I was "sucking air" so badly that I inhaled the water and choked. duh. On about the 2nd hill I felt like I was in a hard gear and couldn't figure out what was up, because my gears were OK. Then I looked at my rear tire, it appeared to be flat, but I guess was just really low. I had checked the tire pressure the night before, but forgot to replace the cap. Ugh. At least I felt better about sucking in the bike portion. On a huge downhill I was up to 25 mph! Freaky if you've never gone that fast. I read somewhere that the elite racers hit 40-45 on this same hill. I preferred not to hit anything so I used my breaks a lot, even if it meant a slower time. I didn't want to find out what road rash was like. The 2nd transition was easy since I only had to remove my helmet, grab visor, water, & snacks. Time including T2 was 57:02 for 8.4 miles. Not too great. I finished the bike section 186 out of 200.


Run: I was a bit rubber leggy when I started but still jogged more than I had hoped I could. I refueled with my Cliff Blocks and water. The course was 98% gravel which I wasn't used to. Slipped & fell once on a steep downhill but caught myself with 1 hand. I finished the run/walk in 33:44 for 2.5 miles. I finished the run 174 out of 200.

Overall time: 1:41:07. No broken records, but no broken bones either. I finished 5th out of 7 in my age group, and was the oldest in my age group.


That's it. Feels good. If you had asked me 2 years ago, even 1 year if I would ever do this, I would've looked at you like you had two heads. But I found out it's possible. YOU can do it too!