We had an entourage of 27 people in our crew....11 of which were the brave (or just plain crazy?) runners that were planning to run 26.2 miles with the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco.
The festivities kicked off on Wednesday with Dad & Carolyn arriving, continued Thursday with Lindsay and Jon getting in, then the floodgates opened and the city of San Francisco was taken over by fellow North Carolinians (current or ex-residents). It was fantastic!
Some of my fellow Flamingos at the Nike Expo
A recap....
FRIDAY:
We had the group over to our apartment on Friday night prior to going on a night tour of Alcatraz that was really cool! I decorated the chalkboard for their arrival.
"Run Like A Girl" was the Nike Women's Marathon theme
Lindsay and Dad lining up for the tour
The Alcatraz Tour is really one that is not to miss on a trip to SF. It is a self-guided tour with headsets and has narrators who either worked on Alcatraz when it was a prison or ex-prisoners of Alcatraz telling their stories, along with sound effects that really make you feel like you were there. You take a ferry over to the island, so it's an extra bonus that you get a boat ride along with the tour...with gorgeous views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge the entire way.
Lindsay and Tracie Heeding the Warning...
Lindsay and me showin' some love to Dad
Dad & Carolyn enjoying the weekend
SATURDAY:
On Saturday, we were heading to the Farmer's Market, but Dad & Carolyn had a special treat for us first. We went to Prague back in 2003 and, while we were there, we went to a restaurant called KOLKOVNA. To us, it seemed crazy-close to KOLCONAY and it has since represented our last name from "the motherland". My Dad made marathon t-shirts for all of us with our KOLKOVNA "logo" on it!
Team Kolkovna
Saturday night, we had a team dinner at Figaro's Italian Restaurant in North Beach. The food was great and the nerves started to kick in for the race the next day. Our beloved coaches, Malena and Geri, prepared these table settings for all 27 of us!
Flamingos, Flamingos Everywhere!
As a team, we decided to create a gift for Malena and Geri that would commemorate their experience in San Francisco and be a small token of our appreciation for ALL of their support over the last six months. We decided a photograph was the most appropriate gift, so Dave and I did a night photo shoot of the Golden Gate Bridge and framed a print for each of them. The team then wrote individual notes to each of them which we adhered to the back of the print.
SUNDAY:
At long last, it was RACE DAY!!! Dave and Jon drove us to Union Square to meet up with the team.
Lindsay and me, all geared up for the race
We took a quick team photo and then headed to the massive, massive 20,000-person-starting-line!
Fast and Furious Flamingos
Starting Line - It's Still DARK Outside!
The 11 of us quickly separated (with 20,000 runners, it was hard enough just to cross the START line together...much less the FINISH line!). I randomly was running next to Tracie (who I have known since Lindsay's college days at Greensboro) and we got extremely lucky as we were the exact same pace and ended up running side-by-side for the next 20 miles!! It was absolutely amazing. I just assumed I would be running alone as none of us trained together and would undoubtedly be all different paces/comfort levels. Tracie and I were a perfect match...she's a left-side runner and I'm a right-side runner....we stopped to stretch every 4-6 miles, grabbed liquids at every station and before we knew it, we were at the halfway point - 13.1 miles.
Tracie and I at mile 4 feeling strong!
We didn't see many other team mates throughout the race, but our fantastic cheerleaders took pics for us!
Lindsay Feelin' Good at Mile 4
Tracie and I didn't see our cheerleaders again until Mile 16, at which time we were VERY ready to see them (and to get the energy gels they were holding for us!!). Dad, Jon, Dave and Carolyn were contending with following Lindsay and me through the city, parking the car, then doing it all over and over again! It was a stressful day for them, but they were ALL SMILES for us!
Dad & Jon with Team Kolkovna Shirts
Dave met up with me again at Mile 19 and ran with me through Mile 23 (around Lake Merced in SF). It was perfect timing as I really needed the moral support for the fabled "wall" that I hit around Mile 20. It was so nice to see a familiar face (Tracie and I had missed almost every cheering station of our friends & family) and running with Dave was FUN! Another team member, Anne, caught up about that time which was a perfect time for Anne and Tracie to run ahead while I trotted behind.
By the time Dave left me at Mile 23, I wasn't sure how I could possible go another 3.2 Miles by myself. I stopped to stretch every mile from 20-26 for 30 seconds at a time. Dave appeared at Mile 25 and I was in a slightly demonic phase where I was using every ounce of energy and concentration putting one foot in front of the other.
Mile 25...I am begging God to run me over with a car and put me out of my misery
At Mile 26, I could finally see something that looked familiar....was it a mirage??? Did I have one too many energy gels??? No, it was the FINISH LINE!!! As I approached, I couldn't help it...I was bawling like a child. The overhead race announcer even mentioned it on the loudspeaker, "Those are tears of joy, ladies and gentlemen...here comes Brooke!" (I had my name on my shirt...he didn't know my name because I rocked out 1st place or anything!). Dave met me the moment I crossed the finish line (well, first I practically tackled the tuxedo-wearing fireman that was holding the Tiffany necklace) and I cried and cried and cried. It's hard to explain the feelings I went through without getting completely cheesy, but in finishing the marathon, it was as if all of the doubts I put on myself disappeared...all of the times in my life I told myself that I couldn't do something....that I wasn't a "real" runner...couldn't possibly run 10 miles much less 26.2....couldn't even dream of finishing....all vanished. All of the months and months of weekday 5:45am wake-up calls and Saturday morning 8am long runs were over...and were the very things that made me achieve this dream. All of that and then my next thought was - where the hell is the CHAMPAGNE????
Celebrating...after I stopped with "Cryfest 2008"
Dave and I were at the finish line to cheer in all of my fellow Flamingos (except Anne and Tracie who were speed-demons and finished earlier!) and it was so completely rewarding to be able to celebrate with each of them as they crossed that line!
Lindsay was as emotional as I was
The firemen I tackled...sorry about that!
Tiffany Necklace
Looking back, the marathon was an awesome, awesome experience. The moment I finished I said I would never, ever do one again. Then, about 24 hours later, I thought - well...maybe. Now, I'm about 75% committed to the San Diego Rock'N'Roll Marathon May 31, 2009!!!
My time goal was under 5 hours, but I wasn't sure if that was even humanly possible. Turns out that by running alongside Tracie and just not even thinking about time, I was able to finish in 4:43!!!
Finally, Matt, a "Flamaniac" (what the Flamingo cheerleaders were called), created this awesome video to commemorate the experience. Thank you, Matt!
Truly, thank you to our coaches - Malena and Geri - for being crazy enough to talk the other 9 of us into this adventure so many months ago. Thank you to my Dad & Carolyn for flying in from Charleston to cheer us on and see us at the Finish Line. Thank you to my amazing brother-in-law, Jon, who kept me calm, made me laugh, saved me from a mental breakdown the day before the race (I was crying my eyes out walking back from the Apple store...why? because I forgot my wallet at home. Normal? I think not). Thank you to my sister for being completely amazing...without you, I would not have even dared to dream. Thank you to the Flamaniacs for making the sacrifices to cheer us on, from the race course or from home. And thank you to the best husband in the world for being so completely supportive...from listening to me diagnose every blister to continually bolstering my confidence that I CAN DO THIS. I love you all!
Okay, now that I officially sound like I just walked on the moon or am running for President of the United States, I am ready to get back to normalcy! More pics from the weekend of festivities can be found by clicking here.
A final word of congratulations to our friend Katie, a new runner who completed her first 5K the same weekend!!! I remember being so incredibly nervous in my first 5K (with Lindsay) a few years ago and I could barely make it through. I'M SO PROUD OF YOU, KATE!!!
xoxo,
Brooke...a marathoner.
