I Survived San Francisco!

Well I have returned from San Francisco - a newly designated "half-marathoner." The entire weekend was so fun, so fulfilling, so envigorating, and also so exhausting! But everything we did led up to our 5:30am morning on Sunday to get ready for the race! Well..I guess I should start the beginning of the weekend and go from there....

Friday started off with getting picked up at my house by Cheryl, Monique & Kiersten - we then picked up Diane at her work and headed off to PDX to catch our flight. We killed some time by grabbing dinner and putzing around the airport. Once we landed in SFO we had to trapse over to the AirTrain to then catch the BART into downtown San Francisco. After this trek, one would think the journey would end. But no - not for us...we then proceeded to haul our suitcases & ourselves up the legendary San Francisco hills to our hotel. A total of 5 uphill blocks before reaching our destination. Upon entering the hotel, no one spoke a work...just heavy breaths & slight damp brows. We dropped off our bags in our room & went down to meet up with Monique's aunts & cousin to visit for a bit before heading off to bed.
With the new morning brought a whole different view of the Union Square area of San Francisco. The remaining NWM participants descended upon Union Square (ourselves included) to pick up their race packets and enjoy the expotique. We quickly fell in line, picked up our packets & started to meander thru the expo. There were stations to engrave your ipod/iphones, check out your running style & what shoe fits it, a station to get on stationary bikes to make smoothies, and an oxygen bar -- to name a few. This was a great way to start off a very fun day. Afterwards we made our way to Niketown and shopped a bit for a few more memorable items to commemorate our time in San Fran & propmptly made our way to Macy's to enjoy some Starbucks & rest our legs! That's when my parents showed up! My wonderful parents & brother were able to join me in San Francisco & cheer me on during the race. I really have a hard time putting it into words how much it meant to have them there with me. They definitely gave me that boost during the race when I needed it. The rest of the afternoon was spent riding trolley cars, visiting Ghirardelli square, eating, and visiting with my family.

Then before I knew it I was waking up on race day. Thankfully the night before I had layed out every piece of clothing & gear that I would need thru out the day so I only had to wake up & get dressed & go. After meeting up with the rest of Monique's family, we trekked down to Union Square - only to be met by thousands & thousands of other women (and some men too) prepping for the race. Dropped off our check bags & made our way to our pace section. Then the waiting began.
As soon as we were able to cross the line I knew this was a big accomplishment for me. I was going to finish this race, even if I had to cry crossing the finish line. I was finishing. Monique and I stuck together thru the entirety of the race - and for that I am incredibly thankful! What a blessing to have a friend to be encouraged by, to be challenged by, and to run by thru this entire race. When one of us needed to walk, no problem! If one of us needed to use the restroom, no problem! We were in it together! And as I said, seeing my parents through out the race course definitely helped me finish! I could start to feel the effects about mile 12 - my foot starting to cramp up, the downhills of San Francisco coming in to full swing on my knees -- but I didn't care...I was pushing thru no matter what. And Monique & I finished together - we crossed the finish line together & received our Tiffany finishers necklace from cute fireman together! And to top it all off -- there were my parents & brother right there at the finish line to give hugs & congrats. They are amazing!!!! How lucky am I??

Altough being stranded in SFO for 8 hours with a delayed flight - this last weekend taught me a great deal about myself & about my friendships & about my family. I wish my husband could have celebrated with us - but duty calls during football season (although he was incredibly sweet & sent flowers to my hotel for me). I have learned that I can push thru the pain. I have learned that real friends stand by you no matter where you are in the race or how you're feeling during the race. I have learned that when I focus on a goal I am going to finish it no matter what! I have learned that my family is incredibly more supportive than I ever would have imagined or deserved.
God is good and He is faithful -- I prayed a lot thru the race and He was with me every step of the way.

An overall extremely successful & meaningful weekend - that I will remember for the rest of the days of my life! On to the next race!!