SF Half-Marathon - 13.65 miles, 1:39:48
Done and dusted. I completed the San Francisco Half Marathon this morning with a time of 1:39:48. I came in 162 place, 125th out of my age group. I ran the second half because it was flatter, went by my house, and started at a reasonable time (8:15 AM as opposed to 5:30AM). My GPS had 1:39:13 which means that my pee break was an amazing 35 seconds. It was a great experience for my first race. My target goal was 1 hr 40 mins. so I hit it perfectly. I didn’t really intended to push myself too much because this is my first race and I have never run over 11 miles. In retrospect, I could have pushed a bit harder. My left knee was bothering me on the downhills and in the 11th mile but, otherwise I felt good.
My friend Space came outside his house in the Mission and picked up the run about half way through which was a huge boost and one of the nicest acts of friendship I can recall or imagine. He’s a triathlete so this was well within his limits but regardless, the fact that he timed his training run to run along with me shows the true measure of the man and his enthusiasm was much appreciated.
The only bummer for me was that I had a bit too much left in the tank towards the end so I ended up sprinting the last 20 yards or so. I tried to keep up with Space who was leading me out into the finish but, I had thought the finish was a bit farther away. Also, I had picked up the pace to a 7 minute mile in the last mile but, perhaps a bit too soon. I felt a bit nauseous and slowed down but, in hindsight I should have sucked it up there and kept pushing. Not having my glasses was a bit of hindrance in this regard but, really I should have known the course better since I run up the Embarcadero all the time. But no matter, next time I’ll feel confident pushing harder.
Now I’ve got my eyes on a full marathon. I was a little envious of all the folks walking around with their large, full size marathon medals afterwards. Next time.
August 2nd, 2005 at 11:06 pm
Congrats on the race. I like your blog. I am a running blogger and happened upon your site from http://www.technorati.com/ while searching for something.
What type of GPS do you use for your runs?
August 8th, 2005 at 6:48 pm
Thanks for the kind words. I use a Garmin Forerunner 201 GPS. It was a gift from my Dad who intended for me to use it while sea kayaking around the Bay area. Turns that it has been ideal for running. Sometimes it takes a little while to find a signal but I usually turn it on while I warm up and stretch and by the time I am done it has locked on to a satellite. I downloaded a script that splits the XML files that can be exported via the PC software that comes with it (luckily I have access to a PC at work). Then I use http://www.gpsvisualizer.com/ to turn the XML files into the maps that are linked at the bottom of some of my posts.
The 301 comes with a heart rate monitor. I’d like to upgrade someday but, I’m very happy with the 201.