My NIKE Women's Experience

We signed up as a group months ago with high hopes and lots of anticipation.  All of us run at different speeds and for different reasons.  Some run for weight loss, some for fun and some for general health.  I run for health but also for the companionship of these fantastic women.

I met all these women through my younger step-daughter's school.  We drop off the kids and meet up to go on a daily run.  Ok, not DAILY but 3+ times a week are scheduled and you make what you can.  How perfect is it to sign up for THIS women's race and train together?  If you have ever toed the start at the Nike Women's Marathon you know what I mean.  The energy, the vibe, the love, the strength is all indescribable.  I have run it solo for years, almost all of the 7 it has been around.  However, this year was so different and a much more memorable experience. 

The Friday before the race six of us trekked into San Francisco from the East Bay to peruse the Expo and pick up our bibs.  The best part?  The car ride, hands down.  I have not laughed so hard in ages - until Saturday when four of us drove in again to stay the night for the race.  Then again at dinner with all 11 women.  And yet again the four of us trying to get to the hotel room and into bed.  Grown women acting silly as children is the BEST EVER!!

5:00am came quickly and that is when the last anxiety really hits - why are we doing this again?  It's 5:00 am on a Sunday!!  13.1 really?  Whose bright idea was this?  After getting dressed and putting on our custom made running tanks to honor a young man currently in remission from Leukemia (proceeds from the race benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) we became a little more settled.  I went across the street to grab Starbucks and bananas for everyone - as soon as the air hit me, you could feel the energy in the streets.  It seemed like electricity just surging through the air in waves as people were already lining up, finding friends and making new ones.  Yes, people make friends quickly at the start of this event, there is just something about this race that does it.

The four of us walked down to the start to meet up with the rest of our group and check our bags so we didn't freeze at the Finish.  Despite the cold, all the people huddled together created not just an audible buzz but a warmth from the body heat.  Flashes were going off all around, people making and preserving their memories.  We have  ours too - of course trying to make a path in thousands of people to get our perfect photo.  The beauty?  People did get out of the way because they wanted to do the same.  The courtesy before this race is fabulous.

Now, we trained with hopes of certain times and performance expectations.  We also trained in hot weather and it was cold and overcast that Sunday in San Francisco.  I thought we were golden.  Cooler temperature, we were ready for "the hill" and we were pumped.  Off we went.

About 10 minutes after the start of the race, we officially crossed the starting line.  Watches were started so we could check our pace and see our approximate mileage (we now know that Garmins are not as accurate in a city as in suburbia - dang buildings).  It was extremely crowded in the first few miles and we tried to wait it out and find where the race was "thinning".  This year the race did not thin, not one bit.  I was elbow to elbow with someone the entire way.  Then I realized, I don't feel as good as I think I should.  By mile 5 I had to make a pit stop (Thanks Jenn for staying with me!) which I have NEVER done in a race.  Could it be helped? No, but I was irritated, and so the race went. 

I have not ever struggled with a race the way I did with this one in the last three miles.  My left medius was giving out, my knees were aching (I have no idea why), I incurred a blister on the arch of my right foot despite having well broken in shoes and had just fought my way up another hill when all I wanted to do was quit.  But as I rounded the corner to head back down the hill and the ocean came in view, a nice, calming song came on my iPod. The Grateful Dead, San Francisco, the ocean, everything came together right then.  They sang me down the hill and kept me going until I caught up with another group of ladies I knew.  After chatting a bit, I was on my way again, only one more mile.

At this point, as many of you know, the finish is all in your head.  A total mind game.  In pain and tired, periods of struggle where you want to throw down your water bottle and go home are only overcome with pure focus and determination.  It may start with a distraction technique but it is ALL in your head.  You can either talk yourself into a strong finish or talk yourself out of one.  I would  venture to say that mile 7 forward is mind games for a 1/2 marathon.  Full marathons are an entirely different beast I do not care to tackle again, ever.  I had forged ahead out of frustration at this point and was flying solo.  Just me and my will.

Still weaving in and out of other runners, yes still at mile 12.5, I started pushing harder.  The faster I run, the faster I will be done.  As I pushed, my stomach of all things pushed back.  I started getting nauseous.  No way was I stopping now.  I slowed just a tad until I had the last .1 mile then took off the best my body could handle.  Not only did it not feel graceful, photographic evidence shows it did not remotely look graceful either.  But I made it, I hit that last timing strip and immediately turned to look for my girls.  Nausea gone, pains and aches gone, I was just excited to see them hit the finish.  So much so I forgot to stop my watch.  If you know me that is SO NOT ME to forget that.  That is what bonding with these ladies had done.  The time, the aches, the pains, blisters and everything else that course threw at me didn't matter.  Where were my girls?  Watch?  Crap.  I forgot.  Then came Carrie - hauling over the finish and we just grabbed each other in a huge hug.  We were done.  Phew!  Next in Gini (all smiles) and Jen (less than happy but done all the same) and all of us with good times.  A TV crew lined a bunch of us up with our special Leukemia shirts, asked us questions and we realized it isn't about the "race" or the time.  It was about standing there with our arms over each others shoulders having accomplished something many people never do.

Post race started the giggles ALL OVER.  Even in the cold, standing in line for the shuttle back to the hotel, bodies beaten, rain coming down, the laughter commenced.  I'm sure we irritated all the exhausted people on our bus as we laughed the whole way back to the hotel.  Even during four showers and packing up to leave, the jokes and laughter just kept coming.  Lunch, same deal - how can you laugh so much and be so tired?  Perhaps they go together.  Even the car ride home was a blast.

The further away the race gets, the less I remember the rough parts and the more permanent the killer memories of being with strong women who are also great friends, great motivators and great people.  I wouldn't have traded it for a faster time or "better" race or for anything other than what it was.  And I can't wait to do another one with them soon.

Thanks Ladies!