KP Half Marathon Race - Group Interview

- What did you eat the night before the race? Is this your standard pre-race meal?

A: I ate a big bowl of plain pasta. I always eat pasta the night before, but I wasn't full so I also had some toast AND a bowl of cereal :)

M: I tend to eat the same thing, including the brands. I ate a big bowl of Barrilla penne pasta (100% seminola, not that whole wheat crap on a race day) with Classico Four Cheese sauce on top.

K: I had whole wheat (sorry Maritza, I subscribe to the "whole wheat crap" lol!) spaghetti with ground turkey and basil tomato sauce and home made garlic bread...yum! This is typically what I eat before a race, pasta and bread, with some protein added in there.

T: I ate pasta plain with no sauce, just a little olive oil. I am not a pasta girl so it's rough for me to shovel this stuff down. I also ended up eating a Clif bar later in the night. This is what I typically eat, but since pasta is not a fav of mine I think I might make the switch to eating rice or some other carb heavy food before future races.

J: I had Chinese food. Lots of Hong Kong style Chow Mein… along with Peking Duck and General Chicken. And lots of rice. I don’t usually have Chinese food the night before but I was craving it!


- Do you have any mandatory pre-race rituals?

A: I always try to go to the porta potties 3 times. This race the lines were so long I made a trip to the bushes for trip #3 where I almost twisted my ankle and would have been done for the race... oops :)

M: I always put my shoe tag or shoe chip on my right shoe. I also leave my shoelaces untied (loosened enough so I don't trip in the meantime) until I actually get to the race start. I don't know why that's comforting to me, but it is.

K: Nothing mandatory, but I do visualize myself finishing and kicking butt - oh and eating afterwards. I just run better when I focus on the end before I've even begun.

T: I think of what outcome I want from the race....happy thoughts :) I also put my tag/chip on my left shoe. Cytomax goes on the leftside of my fuel-belt and water on the right :)

J: I try to go #2. It’s very important. I’m usually successful! ;-)



- What did you eat/consume during this race?

A: I drink gatorade/water at every mile (when my garmin beeps I take a sip), then I take gu every 4-5 miles, depending on the race, followed by plain water.

M: I carried lemon-lime Gatorade diluted with some water in my fuel belt. I also had 3 Gu Blueberry Roctanes. One 15 before the start, one at mile 5, one at mile 10. I think it was overkill. I might swap out a Roctane for a regular Gu.

K: I drank water and citrus Cytomax throughout the entire race, whenever I felt thirsty. I also reminded myself to drink anytime I passed a drink station. I had a regular Gu 45 minutes before race time and one at mile 5. I felt pretty good with that combo.

T: I drank grape Cytomax/water at ever mile or when thirsty. I also took a blueberry/pomegranite Roctane gu at miles 4.5 and 9.5 followed by water of course. Next time I would switch it up with one regular Gu cause I was having some major heartburn in my later miles!

J: I had a Roctane every 5 miles and lots of water. I always carry a 24 oz bottle of water during a race.

- How did you deal with any mental tough spots in this race?

A: I always play mental math games with myself. Counting down only having a certain # of miles to go helps towards the end, for example when I hit just over 11 miles in a half marathon i think less than 2 miles to go... once I pass a mile mark its always "less than __" and they just pass on by.

M: After Mile 7 it got kinda hot. I had to take my first walking break and kept yelling at myself in my head to toughen up and BTTW and ROWYCO. I made sure to not walk for more than 20 seconds. I picked someone in front of me and just paced with their shoes. I do this a lot - pick a pair of shoes and just focus on them, keeping my distance from them constant. It totally helps. I also turned up my music REALLY loudly.

K: Music for sure! Setting my iPod shuffle list before I began was mega smart. Mile 7 was a tough one for me too, it was super sunny and much warmer than I had anticipated, so I stopped looking at the pavement, and looked out to the Ocean. Running on such a beautiful day in such an amazing area definitely helped me to think how lucky I was to be a runner and how awesome I was going to feel after the race!

T: Mile 8 was a bit tough for me and I really had to think what was the best strategy to keep myself going strong for the next 5 miles. I told myself to slow down a bit and also to look out for the other girls since I knew I would be seeing them along the Great Highway. It was a good distraction trying to find those pink shirts in the crowd!

J: My biggest challenge during a race is self doubt and second guessing myself. I tried to focus putting one foot in front of the other and remember that this is a race against me. As for this half marathon, the worst time for me was around mile 9 thinking I still had 4 miles to go and was running to slow. I had to remind myself to enjoy the race… sometimes I forget to do that.


- What was your favorite part of the course?

A: I really liked the sections through Golden Gate Park, especially the downhills. I have a few bad memories of golden gate park but this was my favorite time I ran through it.

M: I loved the part where we exited Golden Gate Park by the windmill, and headed straight toward the ocean. (You make a left and then run along it for a while.) Coming out of the tree-lined park, to the openness of Ocean Beach, waves crashing, bright blue sky and the sun shining.....it was one of those moments where I just couldn't deny feeling happy to be healthy and alive.

K: The buffalo in Golden Gate Park!! Well, partly, but mainly I loved seeing the vast Pacific Ocean. It was just a solid statement to me that anything is possible. Seeing something as powerful and unrelenting as the Pacific will motivate anyone to take on a challenge!

T: The decline through GG Park that lead to the Great Highway since there was a lot of crowd support here and I was able to see all the RoHo's running strong!

J: I agree with Tara, the decline through the GGP was the best. Especially the crowd support! Of course, the END is always my favorite…




- What's the one thing you'll remember about this race?

A: All the people... I will remember seeing all my friends on the great highway, especially one of my best friends who was running her first long race. I was so excited to see her out there accomplishing this goal. It will also always be remembered as ROHO's first race together and pretty much the first race Chris and I raced together. Lots of people!!

M: It's the first ROHO group race!

K: How beautiful it was. It was a gorgeous day, very unlike San Francisco at this time, especially the Golden Gate Park area. Sunny, warm, people everywhere, and the ROHO's first race together!!!

T: That I PR'd by 6 min and 49 seconds!!!! Also that my knee/IT band did not hurt me once the entire race!!!!!!!!!!!!! and of course that it was the 1st RoHo group race :)

J: It’s our first official ROHO race together and it will always be very special to me. I love that we started together and all waited for each other. *sniff*


- If you could do one thing differently for this race, what would it be?

A: I would have started closer to the front. The first couple miles were such a pain to weave through people and my mile time really showed. I would have been even closer to a PR if I would have started that mile off where I wanted.

M: I'd definitely swap out a Roctane for a regular GU somewhere in there. I burped blueberry from miles 10 to the finish. :-/

K: Definitely train more! I was on vacation for most of November and December, and with the holidays I didn't get to train as much as I wanted too. My time was still fantastic and I'm super glad I did it, but I was definitely more nervous about it because I didn't feel that I had trained enough.

T: NOTHING!!!!!! lol kidding Even though this was a major PR for me I would have liked my miles to be more consistent that way I could really push it towards the end. I tend to crap out the last mile even though I know the finish is SO close!

J: I with I got more sleep the night before!!


- How did you treat yourself for a job well done post-race?

A: With a big sandwich and chips, plus lots of yummy super bowl food and a 40 :)

M: A big veggie burger with jack cheese and french fries. And then a few pints of Amstel Light at the bar while watching the Superbowl.

K: Cupcakes!

T: Veggie burger with fries followed by many pints of beer and enjoying the Superbowl!

J: Big fat juicy cheeseburger from Grubstake!! Oh and a nap after that.


- Would you do this race again? Why or why not?

A: Yes, even though I was not a fan of the last few miles on the Great Highway, it really was a beautiful course and a fast one. Plus it's an easy one for us bay area peeps to get to.

M: Definitely! It was scenic and local, and a pretty fast course through mile 8. Lots of downhills.

K: I am definitely doing this race again! It was such a great experience, great course and fun people. Even though it was crowded, people get me pumped so I felt like it helped me in the long run.

T: I would absolutely do it again! It's a fast course and close to home.

J: Oh yes! It’s local and well organized race!

- Use one word to describe this race.

A: Fabulous :)

M: Kickass!

K: Awesome!

T: Amazing!

J: ROHOriffic!

Maritza

I started running in 2003, after I had moved to the Bay Area post-college, for my first job in the 'real world.' I hadn't exercised consistently since high school and I had definitely gained the freshman 15 ( except more like freshman 30) and wasn't doing much better. I never really ate a lot of junk food, but I was not the healthy eater I am now and I was definitely going through too many bottles of wine a week. I felt lazy and soft and pudgy.

I decided that enough was enough and that I was going to run around my block because running was free (at the time, so I thought) - I owned running shoes and shorts and a sports bra. I probably shouldn't even admit that I started running in a pair of New Balance that were really cross-trainers, and wearing 100% cotton apparrel. Forgive me, as I did not know any of the golden rules of running back then. I went out my front door for a lap around my block.....and probably made it halfway at the most before having to stop to walk because I was wheezing so badly. This was beyond ridiculous.

And that's how it began. One lap, turned into 2, turned into a 3 mile loop around my neighborhood. I moved then to a complex that had a gym and started using the treadmill, running around the nearby lake, and weight-training. I ran my first race on March 21st, 2004, the Across the Bay 12k. This will always be my most favorite race and I'll be running it again this year (I've only missed it once, when I was out of the country on vacation.)

2004 was also the year I decided to run my first marathon, along with the help, support, friendship and coaching of Jen. It was her first marathon too. I would not and could not have done it without her, I'm convinced. She was in charge of mapping our long runs and I was in charge of finding where we'd go eat our giant breakfast afterwards. Through this experience, Jen became one of my very best and closest friends...I can't really describe all she has done for me and how she's always there for me, in running and in life. I am so grateful that we got to share our first marathon experience together. She has far surpassed me in running skillz (not a typo) but we will always have our first. (*cheese*)

And now I have my RoHos, which I am also grateful for. Aron found my blog and we met up for a run. She knew Kristin and Tara from marathon fundraising. They met up with Julianne, who turned out to be connected to Tara, and who I was introduced to later on. There it is. At another fundamentally pivotal point in my life, when Jen had moved away and my life 180-ed on me, I found these ladies. This is exactly when I would be needing support, friends, and long runs...and it feels like they fell out of the sky just for me. What an amazing and well-timed gift of friendship I have found in these strong, amazing, and hysterically funny women. Yet again, I'm not sure I can accurately describe what they mean to me, and how their friendship has made me stronger than I thought I could be right now. And running together is the icing on the already wonderful cake. (*clearly more cheese*)

So there it is. 4 marathons and a ton of other races later, I'm a runner. And I love being able to call myself that. :)