Bay to Breakers, 2009

Bay to Breakers this year was awesome. I trained hard for this race. I think I trained smart this year too. On Monday I ran 5 miles and then did absolutely nothing else for the rest of the week except eat, rest, and eat some more. I wanted to give my body every advantage and opportunity to recover and repair and be fully ready and energized to run on Sunday.

I was actually surprised at how well I ran, especially since the forecast was for a scorching 90 degrees. I ran really strong and I didn't ever feel particularly tired, and I got water at every station. At one point I grabbed two waters, and in a moment of extreme decadence, I poured one of the waters down my back and drank the other one. On the way up the Hayes Street hill, I found a group of high school cross country runners (I could just TELL they were CC girls--there's something about the understated camaraderie and silent but powerful drive to keep moving) and I hopped on with them. They took me all the way up the hill and beyond. I was going to go with them all the way but I got distracted by a samba group and when I looked back my girls were lost in the crowd. But I pushed on, my legs full of juice and it wasn't until a point in mile 5 where I started to wonder how much longer, but then the course started heading on a gentle downslope, which lifted my spirits. The last leg is through Golden Gate park, and in years past it seemed like it took forever to get through the park, but this year, it just flew by. Before I knew it we were heading toward the final turn before you come up on the Pacific Ocean. I could see the finish line, and my legs were still strong under me, and this guy right in front of me starting kicking, and I decided to go right along with him, and it was like flying, and I ran as hard as I could, my body pushing, arms pumping, lungs filling, your feet only touching the ground for the tiniest of moments, the world streaming by, and before I knew it, it was over, and it felt so good. I ran it it 1:11:24, by my watch. My chip says 1:17, but I had to take a shishi break after the first mile. It's a PR just the same.

This one was for me. I did it. All me. All by myself. Flying.