It has been three weeks since I ran the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco. I don't always buy my race photos, but this years photos were awesome! Especially the ones from the start line with my friend Tiara! I just had to share some of the fun times on course with you all.
At the start line! I'm pretty awake for 5:30am.
First, I want to give a shoutout for my sponsor this year, Athleta! I am the sponsored athlete of the Roseville store and I absolutely loved my race outfit. Shoutout to Gabbie for recommending this awesome tank. My top picks for this race were the Turbocharge Tank and Relay Capri. I wore the tank in the color Coralade and the Relay Capri in Cobalt Blue. I love wearing bright colors at races because they make it easier for friends and family to spot me. Athleta did it right with this outfit. Loved it! If you're in need of a new racing or training outfit check them out. They focus on women and they know what they are doing. My racing shoes were the Nike Lunareclipse.
Strong at the start!
I started out this race a little too fast. I was running 7-minute miles - which is not what I would recommend for someone going for a 9-minute mile average. I definitely felt the speed too soon later on in the race. Live and learn.
Coming up the first major hill.
I was strong through the first half of the race and the first hill wasn't too bad. I ran hard and was able to keep a steady pace. As the race went on my pace began to slow. The back half of the course was cold and I started to feel my muscles tightening. At this point it was a mental battle to just keep pushing to the finish.
The final miles to the finish.
I am definitely not feeling as good as I look here. It's a good thing I saw the photographer on course, otherwise my true feelings of exhaustion would be showing!
Final strides!
This is my final push to the finish line. It was hard to keep going, but even harder to stop. I've never been so excited to see the finish line before. I was just telling myself to keep going and push through.
Made it to the finish!
I was so happy to make it to the finish and bundle up in a warm sweatshirt. I found my parents right away, then found Tiara and saw Sabrina. I had some snacks, visited the finisher tents and vendor booths and waited in a long line for a finisher towel. It was worth it though. Let's not forget the awesome Tiffany's finisher necklace I received too! For some reason I didn't take a picture in the finisher booths - not sure why - but if I had to guess I would say after running 26.2 miles, I wasn't quite thinking clearly.
This race was a blast and I am already looking forward to next year. I'm hoping to do the half marathon and really enjoy the course and atmosphere without the full marathon pressure. And there is always NWM DC! I hope to be able to do that race again this coming year - but I'm not sure I can afford it. I definitely need a sponsor for that race. Did I mention it's on my birthday weekend again? I think it's meant to be. Hey Santa - I'll take a DC trip for Christmas.
Did you run NWM or another marathon? How did the race go for you? Share your photos and comments with me!
~Karen
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