FINISHER!!! Nike Women's 1/2 Marathon!!!

October 19th, 7 am.
Although I can't check the official results for a few days, unofficially I did about 12.5 minute miles!!
I am so happy! Happy to have it behind me, happy I finished, just happy all around. It was a really fun race. The weather was perfect - cold and cloudy. For the first 6 to 7 miles my neighbor, Winnie, and I ran together. She was a trooper. And we did between 10 and 11 minute miles. I will know better when I can see the results which have quite a few splits recorded as well. At some point I passed her on a hill. I was really focused on finishing in under 3 hours. The hills on the course are a bitch. Well, duh. San Francisco, what do you expect?
I was really craving seeing my friends and thought I might have missed them when I passed mile 9 and hadn't seen them yet. But, there they were... very close to where my grandparents lived on 36th Ave. I was so happy to see them. And Vinay joined me for the last 4 miles. Before I reached mile 11, but a bit after 10, I really hit a wall (as they call it). I was really starting to hurt and it seemed hard to breath. I felt like the littlest effort was making me hyperventilate. At mile 13 Vinay split off and I took off for the run into the chutes. It was very exciting. So exciting, actually, that I totally forgot to turn off my stop watch. But, I believe I made it at about 2:40 or so. And I got the "medal" handed to me by a really nice looking fireman in a tux - a Tiffany necklace - well worth the pain and suffering!
Thanks everyone who supported me! I am looking forward to next year. Hopefully some of you will join me next time.
Love, Elisabeth