I didn't blog about San Francisco Half Marathon in July, but it was my most difficult HM. Lots of hills. I worried so much about the uphills, that I didn't even consider the downhills. It was the downhills that reaked havoc on my knees. The last 5 miles were hard and teadious. But I finished in 2:29:20, which beat my first HM by 3 seconds....on hills no doubt. I was very happy with that...and sore.

Fast forward 6 weeks. I have only run once during this time. Bad, very bad. So I had 5 weeks to train for Long Beach Half Marathon. See previous log "from Horrid to Happening". As my runs were getting better, I was getting more excited for this race. All the talk on the CA Dreamin' team was getting me hyped as well as following Kashmir's & Keakman's Marathon and SP_Nancy's Marathon at the same time as Long Beach......how could I not be excited.

I got up early on Saturday to make the hour drive to LB. I wanted to get there early so as not to miss out on getting my size CA Dreamin' Racing Series Jacket and to hear Steve Mackel talk about ChiRunning at 10:30am. I met up with Jackie, Janey, & Mary at about 12 for lunch at Sharky's. We cruised the Expo some more and met up with Suzanne. AFter a while Jackie and I went back to our hotel to check in and cool our jets until Dinner. Dinner was fun at George's Greek Cafe. I met MORE fellow SparkPeople.

We even showed off our CA Dreamin' Jackets.

After dinner, Jackie and I went back to the hotel to get ready for tomorrow's big race and relax. We went to bed early and woke early. I actually slept pretty decent which is unusual for me (I sleep like a cat away from home). We were up at 5am and out the door at 6:15am to walk over to the starting line about a mile from the hotel. One of our first stops was the baggage check in. What a nightmare! It was soooo unorganized and SMALL. It took forever to check in. We did have a little time left over tho to meet up at wave 5 with other fellow Sparkers.

Tammy, Suzanne, Janey, Jackie & Me.
We were all anxious to get started, and like a well oiled machine, the waves stared like clockwork. Our wave started at 7:20. This was Jackie's 1st Marathon and she was surprisingly calm. I was so excited for her and for Janey, as she suffered an injury in March and hadn't run a HM race since. I was excited and wanted to just get it started already. The weather was a cool and still 60, and remained in the low 60's for the entire race.

Finally the raced started. I had a minor issue with my fuel belt. I had placed it low on my hips which was unusual for me. I usually wear it at my waist so it wouldn't jostle. Well, it constantly jostled on my girly hips and drove me nuts. All I could think about was "how am I going to run for 12.6 more miles like this?" The answer is....I wouldn't. I stopped 3 times by 1.5 miles before I could fix it right. Now I was set. I cruised well for about 5 miles and my Forerunner clocked me at btwn 9:30 & 10:30 min/mile everytime I looked at it. I was thrilled but also concerned I would burn myself out early. I took it down at this point. I was feeling good until about mile 7. My middle back was getting fatiqued. Also, I had a pedicure a few days beforehand and the girl cut my nails too short. I could feel the nail pulling away from the nailbed. Ugghhh! It was minor compared to my aching back. At least the run on beachfront was pretty! By mile 9, I just wanted to see the finish line already! As I got to mile 10, I felt victorious. Only 3 more miles. According to my Forerunner, if I pushed it, I may PR. I did consider it for another mile, but I was tired and my back ached badly. I didn't want to risk injury. I estimated I would finish about 2:22. I think mile 12 to 13 was the longest mile on record. It felt like it would never end. I could NOT see the finish line! But it did arrive and I finished at 2:22:42, just as I had predicted at mile 10.

I blindingly moved thru the food line and ate, then cruised the booths. My first stop....the CA Dreamin' Racing Series METAL! This was 11 months in the making and it felt GOOD!!!! I perused more booths but I didn't see anyone I knew yet. I texted Janey to see if she finished, and a couple minutes later she answered that she just finished. We met up and looked for Mary. We hung out for a while and waited for Jackie & Suzanne to finish the Marathon. In the meantime I wanted to freshen up in the hotel so I excused myself and started to walk back to the hotel. I got 1/4 mile and just pooped out. I wanted a nap. I headed back to the girls but couldn't find them. They went to mile 25 to scope out Jackie & Suzanne. I decided I would wait at the finish line and have Janey text me when Jackie & Suzanne were near. It worked. First Suzanne came across the finish and I snapped a pix (see AROSPCGL's blog). Jackie followed not too far behind holding a cupcake? LOL! I snapped a pix of her as well and ran along with her the last few yards. She was victorious and I got emotional for her. Well, celebrations were all around and it was time for the well earned Beer Garden!

After our "Play that Funky Music White Boy" dance and beer were history, we said our goodbyes and it was time to head home. My body was tired but my spirits were high.