San Francisco Marathon Dramedy, Act IV
by marathonmama | Aug 27, 2009 | 270 views
By Brian Sawyer
Delirious at Mile 25 or so
I don’t remember the title (or much else) of the IMAX movie I saw years ago about a guy who crashes his plane in the mountains and has to walk some unheard-of distance through the snow to civilization, but his mantra made a big impression on me: “I’m walking … I’m walking … I’m walking …” This is how I started to feel. I knew I was getting slower, but I physically couldn’t go any faster. I also knew I couldn’t stop, or walk. I actually started telling myself, “I’m running … I’m running … I’m running …” Then I made that last turn onto the Embarcadero and thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. But that light ended up being a long way off.
Embarcadero, Mile 26 (Can I beat 3:50?)
The last two miles or so, just as I was really beginning to fade, the sun finally cut through the morning haze and started to heat things up. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other, trying to keep moving and telling myself how lucky I was that the heat (such as it was, probably mid 60s) didn’t start earlier in the day. I also kept looking at my watch and realizing that if I just kept going, perhaps even a little harder, I just might still have a chance to break 3:50.
My official finish time was 3:49:43, with an average pace of 8:46. I’d gained about 10 seconds on my pace at each checkpoint, but I was thrilled with the overall result.
Bling
I’d beaten my previous marathon PR by an hour and 10 minutes.
Trying hard not to fall over as I lowered my head to receive the giant Flavor Flav-inspired medal that was placed around my neck, I thought to myself that it would make an excellent coaster. As it turns out, it was designed with that reuse in mind, including rubber feet on the back side. So now, I have a swanky new ornament on which to place my Sapphire and tonic, an offer of Kristina’s that I cashed in the day after returning home on the redeye that night.
Medal Designed as Coaster
RSS Feed
August 27th, 2009 on 9:41 am
Yay!! I would kill for that time. Great job.
August 27th, 2009 on 10:06 am
congratulations on a fabulous time! That was a great race report. I love reports that give all the details…even when I have to wait for the installments.
And I LOVE that coaster medal. My various medals are hanging on a hook on my desk. Doing something cool and useful is a great idea. If I am ever a race director, that is what I’ll do!
August 27th, 2009 on 10:11 am
Great, great posts on this marathon. I was on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I need to go out and get some rubber feet for my tri medals. You should consider submitting that one to Martha Stewart…lol.
By the way, major congratulations on such a fine finish and a finer time! Will I see you in NYC in November for the ING NYC marathon?
August 27th, 2009 on 3:00 pm
Congrats on an amzing time on what seems like a terribly difficult course! way to hang in there! hope we hear from you again, love the report.
August 27th, 2009 on 3:30 pm
Great job! Next thing you know you will be trying to qualify for Boston! I know a flat and fast course and a cheap house you could stay in….:) Nice effort. Give your wifey a bug hug when she gets home for me! Jess
September 6th, 2009 on 8:29 pm
Kristina:
That was an inspiring and very entertaining report on your trip. I thoroughly enjoyed it and felt like I was attempting to take some of those grueling steps myself.
I’d love to hear more about it.
hope you are recuperating well and gearing up for that next great challenge!
Andre