Well hello blogging world. I have forgotten about you!
Not only did I forget, I forgot to leave my two sense about the Nike Womens (Half)Marathon this last October, so here it goes.
I had a few friends that have done this race in the past and had talked about how amazing it was, so I thought I would give it a try. Too bad when I decided I wanted to train for it, it was about two weeks after the cut off for the lottery. Fear not! I did some searching and found out I can apply for the race and skip all the lottery bs if I apply as a student. There really werent any credit requirements (I only had 6 credits that semester), all you needed was to have a student ID. I signed up that night! I was stoked...not so much on the price (since I signed up late, I didnt get the student discount).
Meanwhile, I had a couple months to train, so in true Chrissy fashion...I trained for hard for about 4 weeks, then kind of half assed the rest of the time. I already had a previous half under my belt, so the butterflies of finishing werent as bad. I still felt comfortable that I would finish and be fine.
The Expo:
Jeremy and I got there early (I think maybe about an hour after it officially started) on that Saturday, and Im glad we did because the crowd wasnt too bad. The expo was a little overwhelming at first, even for the small crowd. But for such a huge race it was well put together. I checked in and grabbed my bib number, the wait was maybe 10 minutes. They were really adamant about if you registered as a student that you must show a valid student ID. I had my transcripts handy just in case they decided not to take my ID, but they didnt even ask. For such a hard race to get into, I thought it was weird that they didnt really confirm. I dont know what was stopping someone from signing up for one class, get an ID and dropping the class just to get into the race...but you didnt hear that from me.
Anyway, the Expo was awesome. I think the only thing we didnt check out was the hair cutting/styling section. We stocked up on some free trail mix from the Safeway booth (the one I got had mini PB cups in it- Im a fan of anything with mini PB cups!). I was too tempted to buy new shoes, so I shied away from trying on a new pair. I also checked out the ear buds booth and even bought a pair. I grabbed some free power bars and rub on tattoos on the way out. I wanted to check out the Nike Town before we left, so we ran across the street to check out the swag, and the wall with my name on it. Who knew a gigantic wall with your name plastered on it could be so interesting. Evidently everyone and their mom thought it was interesting too, cause it was hard to jockey for a position.
The vibe in the store was amazing. All the employees would periodically run around and dance all the while the music blaring real loud. It definitely got you pumped for the start of the race. I ended up buying a really cute but overly priced bright CalTrans orange running sweater, while Jeremy was perusing the Niners gear. Good thing he could never find anything in Smedium, cause we couldve spent a lot of money there.
Im glad we went when we did cause by the time we bought our stuff, the line for check in was around the corner and the Expo wasnt worth going back inside for. I heard through Facebook after everything was over that some people were really disappointed in the Expo, BUT I must say that those people that complained were the same people that came an hour before closing time and were pissed the line was around the corner (twice). I heard some people waited over an hour just to check in. Oh well....the early bird gets the worm.
The night before I got plenty of rest, and stayed hydrated. I didnt really get much sleep and woke up early to boot. I dont know what it is but I can never eat a full breakfast before a race. I try to stomach it, but I always feel like I have to puke...I dont even want to mention the nervous poops! Ugh. Jeremy ended up dropping me off a couple blocks away and I walked the rest since the traffic was getting bad. The start was a little nerve racking since I really wasnt sure where I needed to be. On the plus side...they had plenty of bathrooms!
I got there with plenty of time to spare, there was enough room to stretch and get warm for the start. Once the gun went off, it took about 20 minutes to finally get to the start. I was in the 10-15 minute mile pace group so it took us a while to get there, but once we got to the start the moment was awesome. FINALLY!!
The first few miles were a breeze. I heard about issues with people starting in the wrong pace corral, and this race did not disappoint, they were already dropping like flies at mile 2. Now Im all for people getting out there and running, but please if youre clearly winded after 2 miles, you need to not be starting in the corral before me (now Im not talking about the run/walkers), Im talking about the walkers...you know who you are!
The run down by the pier was awesome, they had a gospel choir singing and a couple bands performing. They definitely kept you entertained right off the bat. Once we hit just outside the Marina and hit Presido the fun was over! This was where the hills started. Luckily Jeremy caught a few pictures of me as I was running by. Mental note: Dont tell your significant other to keep an eye out for you, especially if your wearing purple...TNT wears purple...he wont find you. I found him!
The views of the bridge were amazing. The clouds were covering it just a little, but it was great to look at something other then the hill that was to come. Crissy Field is always pretty to run through (love the name). The hill up the bridge was miserable! You can kind of see it in the distance to the left...it was so much worse in person. Now my goal was to not walk the race, but I knew how unrealistic that was considering its San Francisco. I threw that goal out the window about half way up the hill...not really because I was tired, but because it was impossible to dodge 1000s of people walking. I ended up running half way up on the dirt then looked to the person next to me and realized they were walking just as fast as I was "running." Eff this, Im walking.
The middle part of the race was a blur...no really, about mile 6-10 was kind of eh. The signs were awesome, and the volunteers kept you going!! They were so encouraging! Once you hit the hill at Ocean Beach, you could see the finish line...I was almost there! The hill going down to Ocean Beach was almost as bad as the hill going up, it was rough on the knees. I think the worst part of the race was mile 11 to 12ish...I so wanted it to be over with. The guy handing out the PBR at mile 11 was my hero. Jeremy was great and drove all over SF to meet me at the finish line and finally snapped a pic of me towards the end.
The final stretch was so awesome! I wish every finish was like this one! I almost cried, Im pretty sure it was because of my feet hurting so bad, but it was a good feeling that it was finally over with! The sad thing was, I finished just as the full marathoners were finishing. Oh well! I finished thats all I cared about. The finish line was a huge mess...1000s of people being corralled to a small tent to collect your goodies was interesting. Ocean Beach was cold, so I waited in line for the foil blankets. At the end they literally gave you a shopping bag and you held it open while passing through all the tents handing out food. They had a little bit of everything...bananas, coconut water (gross- I dont know what the big fad is on that one), fruit, water, bagels, chocolate (they were out when I crossed, bummer). Of course we all got our necklaces and finisher t-shirts. I dont know what some of the ladies were talking about, the firefighter giving out my necklace was HOT. I opted to not take a picture with him, since Im sure he was tired of us smelly women hanging all over him.
Meanwhile, I had a couple months to train, so in true Chrissy fashion...I trained for hard for about 4 weeks, then kind of half assed the rest of the time. I already had a previous half under my belt, so the butterflies of finishing werent as bad. I still felt comfortable that I would finish and be fine.
The Expo:
Jeremy and I got there early (I think maybe about an hour after it officially started) on that Saturday, and Im glad we did because the crowd wasnt too bad. The expo was a little overwhelming at first, even for the small crowd. But for such a huge race it was well put together. I checked in and grabbed my bib number, the wait was maybe 10 minutes. They were really adamant about if you registered as a student that you must show a valid student ID. I had my transcripts handy just in case they decided not to take my ID, but they didnt even ask. For such a hard race to get into, I thought it was weird that they didnt really confirm. I dont know what was stopping someone from signing up for one class, get an ID and dropping the class just to get into the race...but you didnt hear that from me.
Im glad we went when we did cause by the time we bought our stuff, the line for check in was around the corner and the Expo wasnt worth going back inside for. I heard through Facebook after everything was over that some people were really disappointed in the Expo, BUT I must say that those people that complained were the same people that came an hour before closing time and were pissed the line was around the corner (twice). I heard some people waited over an hour just to check in. Oh well....the early bird gets the worm.
The first few miles were a breeze. I heard about issues with people starting in the wrong pace corral, and this race did not disappoint, they were already dropping like flies at mile 2. Now Im all for people getting out there and running, but please if youre clearly winded after 2 miles, you need to not be starting in the corral before me (now Im not talking about the run/walkers), Im talking about the walkers...you know who you are!
The run down by the pier was awesome, they had a gospel choir singing and a couple bands performing. They definitely kept you entertained right off the bat. Once we hit just outside the Marina and hit Presido the fun was over! This was where the hills started. Luckily Jeremy caught a few pictures of me as I was running by. Mental note: Dont tell your significant other to keep an eye out for you, especially if your wearing purple...TNT wears purple...he wont find you. I found him!
The middle part of the race was a blur...no really, about mile 6-10 was kind of eh. The signs were awesome, and the volunteers kept you going!! They were so encouraging! Once you hit the hill at Ocean Beach, you could see the finish line...I was almost there! The hill going down to Ocean Beach was almost as bad as the hill going up, it was rough on the knees. I think the worst part of the race was mile 11 to 12ish...I so wanted it to be over with. The guy handing out the PBR at mile 11 was my hero. Jeremy was great and drove all over SF to meet me at the finish line and finally snapped a pic of me towards the end. 
The final stretch was so awesome! I wish every finish was like this one! I almost cried, Im pretty sure it was because of my feet hurting so bad, but it was a good feeling that it was finally over with! The sad thing was, I finished just as the full marathoners were finishing. Oh well! I finished thats all I cared about. The finish line was a huge mess...1000s of people being corralled to a small tent to collect your goodies was interesting. Ocean Beach was cold, so I waited in line for the foil blankets. At the end they literally gave you a shopping bag and you held it open while passing through all the tents handing out food. They had a little bit of everything...bananas, coconut water (gross- I dont know what the big fad is on that one), fruit, water, bagels, chocolate (they were out when I crossed, bummer). Of course we all got our necklaces and finisher t-shirts. I dont know what some of the ladies were talking about, the firefighter giving out my necklace was HOT. I opted to not take a picture with him, since Im sure he was tired of us smelly women hanging all over him.
The post race expo was crazy. I didnt wait in line for the merchandise (I heard they ran out of a lot of sizes), I also didnt really want to take pictures with the fireman. I finally got a hold of Jeremy (your phones wont work at the finish line, no matter what carrier you have), and we made the walk back to the car. I will be buying the ticket to use the shuttle back to the car, the walk back was worse then the half marathon!
Overall the race was awesome, and I will do it again next year! I had a blast running this one.
Things I liked:
- The expo was awesome and got you pumped for the race!
- The girl power all throughout the race and even before was cool too. Yes, guys can run it too, but be prepared for glares from the girls when you run by.
- The signs were funny and kept me chuckling while running. Some that stood out "Dont poop yourself" (with a hand drawn picture of a pile of poopy), "We didnt want those toenails anyway," etc etc. They were great.
- The supporters along the way were encouraging and clapping as we ran by. Which really isnt a big deal, but when you think about sitting there and clapping for several hours, Im sure they were bored.
- The aid stations weren't too crowded considering how many people were running. I tend to run to the end of the tables where its not too crowded.
- NWM organizers actually took the feedback from past runners and definitely applied it to this race.
Okay so the things I hated:
- TNT! Ugh I seriously dislike these people. They are rude inconsiderate and really dont know the etiquette of running. Walking 4 abreast hand in hand is NOT okay. Running then abruptly stopping without looking behind you is NOT okay. Being completely obnoxiously loud, and not only loud, but look at me loud, is really NOT okay.
- So now that I got that over with...
- I heard people complaining about the Expo and the lines but I never had an issue. Some were also complaining about how they ran out of everything once they crossed. I could only imagine finishing a full marathon, and having nothing at the finish line. I hope they change this for next year...I would hate to cross with a ghost town at the Finish. I heard they also ran out of oranges (they ran out of the hand wipes when I ran by). Again, I didnt have an issue with some of this because I did the half.
- They seriously need volunteers to stand in front of mile markers to take pictures of everyone that stops by. I really loath these people. I say loath because some of my friends do this, if you are not my friend that does this, I hate you. Not like Im going to PR this race, but I really dont need to be bothered when Im huffing and puffing up a hill to be bothered to take a picture of you at mile marker 2.
- The Tiffany necklace really isnt all that great. No really, its not. Its not really a Tiffany necklace per se, its a Nike necklace with a tiny Tiffany logo on the back. I wore it straight for about two months and it was already starting to fade and just look beat up. I thought because it was Tiffany, it would last through a couple showers and some runs. Oh well...its a cool reminder of what I accomplished.
- NWM doesnt have a website...its a Facebook page! For such a huge race, they need to have a website...I felt really not informed when it came to details about the race. I really hope they improve this next year.
Happy racing in 2013.
