Its been more than a month since I ran my 4th marathon at San Francisco (SF) and I have been yearning to write about it but things kept me busy, I had my master thesis defense 3 weeks after the marathon so I was busy preparing for that, then I moved back to my hometown to India so I was busy packing and getting things right before I left. Nevertheless its better to be late than never.
Preparing for a marathon is a tough task and is not a joke. It takes weeks of meticulous & dedicated training. I wanted to run one of my marathons on the west coast of USA because that way I could also meet many of my college friends with whom I spent 4 years of my life. This is because most of them left to study in one of the top universities in California right after completing bachelors and have settled there for the moment. In the month of January this year I registered for the San Francisco marathon and informed my best friend (Praveen) that I will flying down soon and will be coming to meet him in July. Prior to my marathon in July I had another one in April, the Paris marathon about which I had described in one of my previous posts. Hence after successfully completing my Paris marathon I had a few days of rest and then began training for the San Francisco marathon.
May-June- July these months were very crucial to me. I had to complete my experiments, write my thesis report and also prepare for the marathon. The weather in Delft, Netherlands was getting warmer hence training was easier. I prepared a meticulous training plan, with lots of hill training in the schedule because the SF route is full of hills unlike in Netherlands where the whole country is flat as a pancake. I booked my tickets to SF with KLM and then anxiously waited till the D day came.
On 26 July I left for SF, departing from Amsterdam at 10:30 in the morning. The journey was smooth and comfortable and I reached SF at 16:30 hrs the same day. I picked up my baggage and went out of the airport thinking that my friend would be waiting in the arrival hall. The very thought of meeting him after so many years was simply amazing.
"Only when someone is deprived of something does one realize its true value"
But to my surprise after I picked my baggage and following the signs I was out of the airport, there were no arrival halls and I reached the airport road where cars came and picked up people. I did not see my friend and was getting anxious. I tried calling him from my mobile but the call never went through as I was on international roaming and I did not activate that. An old couple were also waiting for their son to pick them up and I struck a conversation with them and then I asked them if I could use their phone to call my friend. They were kind enough to let me make a call. I made the call and 15 minutes later my friend arrived in his white Lexus. I thanked the old couple, wished them and got into the car and we drove to Sunnyvale, that's where my friend lived. Sunnyvale is just an hour from San Francisco and staying in SF was not an option as its bloody expensive there.
We had a smooth drive and reached his house around 18:00 hrs. I refreshed myself and then he made palak paneer with rotis for dinner. They were delicious. In the meanwhile his friend Krishna arrived home. Krishna is another friend of mine back from college. After dinner we had a long chat, discussing old things and how life was and how things were at each one's end. The next day was a Friday and both left for work and I preferred resting at home. On Saturday we went to the marathon expo and this time we were joined by Surya as well. Surya is my classmate from college as well. Krishna opted out from coming as he had some work to do. So the three of us drove down to SF and luckily we got a parking space and didn't have to pay for it. We went into the expo and I picked up my bib number after which we were looking at the stalls. I particularly like the marathon expo because I always find useful information and products for my running.
After getting the BIB number we had lunch in a typical American cafe. I had pasta, the usual food that runners prefer before the big race as it is important to load carbs so that one has the energy reserves to go all the way. Once lunch was done both of them were keen on taking me to the Golden Gate Bridge. The drive through the Golden Gate Bridge was amazing, I enjoyed every bit of it and luckily that day that moment the weather was simply awesome. I could see the Golden Gate Bridge in its full splendour, no fog, no rain, just crystal clear. My friends told me that it is very rare to see the Golden Gate without any hindrance from mother nature. I guess I got lucky to view this marvellous structure in its full splendour. After spending some time at the the GG bridge we drove back home. I had a quick dinner, just curd rice and banana and went to bed early. The race was to begin at 5:30 in the morning and we had to drive for an hour, so I decided to get up at 2 in the morning. My friend, Praveen is an amazing guy and he told me that he would drive me to the starting point. Oh man not many people take the pains in doing things for others. Hats off to you dude.
As planned I got up at 2 in the morning, got ready and then woke Praveen at 3. We left Sunnyvale at 3:15, the drive was smooth and we reached SF at 4:30. We found a parking lot with a $15 parking rate (flat rate)
and parked the car. Realizing that we were a little early we decided to nap in the car for half hour. The power nap really helped me. At 5:15 I made sure I was present at the starting point and bid adieu to my friend and told him to be there at that spot at 9:45 as I was hoping for a sub 4 finish. I stretched, warmed myself up and was all set to go. My wave was to start at 5:45, the first waves being for runners who can run the course in a better time. The temperature was comfortable but it was humid and a few miles into the race I started sweating profusely. For the first 3 miles the course was flat and then we hit the first hill, the climb was quite steep and I never expected such a hilly route. Anyways the hill training helped me a lot and I comfortably scaled the hill. Then around mile 5 we hit the Golden Gate Bridge and we ran a full 4 miles on the bridge (2 up and 2 down). It was indeed an awesome feeling running on this landmark structure, tell me how many chances do you get in your life to do something like this? I felt great and felt adrenalin pumping through my whole body.
I was keeping a steady pace but the hills were beginning to take a toll on my legs. Just before the half way mark the first half marathoners entered a different lane for the finish while the marathoners kept going on a different route where they will be later joined by the second half marathoners. I had my power bars and isotone drinks in my fuel belt so didn't have to stop any any drink stations till mile 17. After this distance I could longer keep up pace uphill and started walking to conserve energy, running only on downhill and on flat stretches. Mile by mile I progressed and by mile 20 I knew that a sub 4 finish was out of the question. I kept pushing myself and took inspiration from other runners around me. The final few miles were run through the Golden Gate park, which was truly enriching. Golden Gate park was more like woods and running through the woods is always a feel good factor, the tall trees around you, the cool shade and the lush greenery around you. This makes running a truly awesome experience.
At mile 23 I started hitting the wall and resorted to a much slower running pace, alternating running with walking. Finally after 4:18:15 hrs I crossed the finish line, a sense of joy running through my body and mind. I also received the finisher's medal and the very size of it made my day. It was one damn big piece of metal and I was so proud to achieve it. All these months of training had finally paid off, another marathon was run, another course was experienced and another place was explored. After receiving the medal I collected my refreshments and went back to the parking lot where my friend was waiting for me. I could still feel my legs and knew that I had a strong finish. My friend congratulated me and we drove back home.
The sub 4 finish still eludes me but people told me that 4:18:15 was a very good timing for a hilly course such as SF.
