The SF Marathon

This is the greeting I got as I walked through the doors of the expo for the San Francisco marathon last weekend. I have to admit I was terrified. I love SF with all of my heart but I was not eager to run the greuling  hills of this course... as I learned from Seattle hills are my enemy.

I got my gear together the day before and did my pre-race routine.... Gear check before the expo in case I needed to pick anything up last minute... Get my bib and pin it on my racing skirt and then do my gear check photo and post it to facebook.

I love this because if I am forgetting anything my fellow racing buddies will leave comments reminding me so. My good friend E. noticed that I was missing my garmin in this pic and she reminded me to take it off the charger. :)

It was a perfect morning... 60 degrees with a thin layer of clouds covering the bay. No rain or heavy fog.

I had been debating on dropping down to the half marathon distance... as a matter of fact I was sure of it at one point. I had even told everyone not to come to the race.

The day before I changed my mind... for lots of reasons and let me tell you... I am SO glad I did.

I LOVED the SF marathon... well as much as one can love running for 6 hours and 26.2+ miles.

                   There were a lot of hills...

Not gonna lie...

 I had a few not-so-nice words come out of my mouth when I saw them... and then I proceeded to slowly hike up them... but the course was beautiful!

 We got to run along the coast and through Golden Gate Park and we even got to run over the Golden Gate Bridge! It's the only marathon in the city that does that!

I met Yolanda Holder along the course... for those of you who don't know who she is... she holds the world record for most marathons run by a woman in a single year. She ran 106, I believe. What an inspiration and she was so sweet and took pictures with me on the course too!

One of the best parts of the course was at the finish my grandparents came to see me run in. My grandfather ran the SF marathon in 1982... but he did it in 3 hours 58 mintues! That's a Boston qualifying time! Now my grandpa was able to stand at the finish with me, his medal and mine, side by side. It was a truly special moment for us both. :)

I finished this marathon in 6:08... I was very happy. I set a PR (personal record)!

The best part? I am now officially a marathon maniac!!

And I was welcomed into the crowd by one of my favorite celeb runners... "Endorphine Dude"

When I received the confirmation email from the Marathon Maniacs that I was in... this is what I got...

"Andrea, at last you have found refuge, a place where you can call home, where the Insane can feel Sane again, and once again be treated like a normal human being."

"Welcome To The Marathon Maniacs InSane AsyLum!!!!"

I wish you all could have seen the smile on my face when I read those words.

I could not have been more proud.

Marathon # 3 is on the books and this girl is officially Marathon Maniac #4171!!

P.S. I may be a maniac but I am not as crazy as this guy who literally did the entire half marathon on crutches! Now that is crazy indeed.