Sunday, October 16, 2011

Nike Women's Marathon

16 girls for every boy? I like those odds! I don't know what the exact statistic is, but one of the message boards indicated that the Nike Women's Marathon had a 94% female participation rate. That's a lot of estrogen for San Francisco!

I wasn't planning to run this race, but after my devastating DNF at Diablo, I had to scramble to find another marathon. Fortunately, Endorphin Dude managed to get him and his cape into this sold out event, thanks to his TNT connection and fellow Marathon Maniac, "The Mo." Your Marathon Caped Crusader got out there, ran the race, and waiting for him at the finish line was The Chiweenie! How awesome is that?

How's this for striking a pose?

I thought this race was going to be a piece of cake, but it wasn't. I struggled quite a bit. I really didn't know why. I just figured Nike Women's is the sister race to The San Francisco Marathon, so I would just glide through. That didn't happen. All my problems were mental though. Fortunately, no injuries hit me. Nonetheless, it's tough when you mentally break down during a race. Hitting the half way mark was especially rough not only because all the marathoners could see the halfers hit their finish line while we had another 13.1 miles to go, but also because my apartment was only two blocks away! Oh how I just wanted to veer off head home where I could just jump right back into bed. But I kept my eyes on that Titanium prize and kept plugging along. It helped that I kept seeing all my marathon buddies on the course!

There's my San Francisco Endorphin Dudette Nadia!
Deo looked so pretty in his Marathon Maniac Diva shirt and pink tutu. This picture doesn't do Deo justice! Too bad I don't have a full body shot of him.
At Surf City this year, Sue "The Italian Stallion" Mantyla called me "Euphoria Guy." I'll take it!
Always a pleasure to see Susan Carino on the course. I do have to ask, does my head look unusually large in this photo?
Fast Sally stopped to take a picture with Endorphin Dude! Thank goodness I didn't blink, because I would have missed her!
I had just seen Roland at The Tahoe Triple! It was good to see him again!
You gotta love Coconut Boy. I still need to ask Jon Mahoney how he got this nickname.
Funny thing is that I first met Sofie at my very first marathon in San Francisco. She was with fellow Marathon Maniacs Jessica Wabbitz and Sue Bear.
Doesn't Martha look like a puritan with her bonnet looking hat on?
Woot Woot! This is Sharon Mante's first marathon!
Ah, Kathy, my college buddy from yesteryear. This girl must have found the fountain of youth because she hasn't aged!
The Tutu Girls! I first met these ladies in Long Beach!
Marathon Maniacs from Arkansas! I will be seeing these ladies again for The Little Rock Marathon!
Janeth, Ultra Woof, and me post race! Notice Woofie showing off her bling.
Endorphin Dude with Susie from Alabama.
Me and my chiweenie.

Thankfully, the Endorphin Empire Headquarters is only two blocks from the finish line, so it didn't take me long to get home. As I walked back to my apartment, I figured out where it went wrong. After three weekends of extreme runner's high, I crashed. It's like feeling the high of a sugar rush and then crashing hard. After triumphing at the Tahoe Triple, pacing my sister to a PR in San Jose, and then flying high in Chicago, it was inevitable that this happened. I wasn't there mentally and I had to fight to get this one done. I took it for granted that this race was in my backyard. This is my stomping grounds and I just figured it would be easy. It wasn't. I struggled to get through miles 19 through 26.2. Nonetheless, I dug deep and crossed that finish line for the 42nd time in just a little over two years.

My body is beat up and I am exhausted, but my heart is still going strong. Just 17 more steps and I reach my goal of 52 marathons in 52 weeks. I believe I can do this. With every race, it does get harder, but I am up for the challenge. I will get there. I run to be TITANIUM!!

Titanium Score Board: 35 down, 17 to go!

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