Sunday, October 26, 2008

Marathon Results!!

After committing to this one particular race some seven months ago, the marathon FINALLY took place on Sunday, October 19th!!!

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.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Marathon? What Marathon?

Well, even though I don't yet have a post up about the AWESOME, AWESOME marathon that took place last weekend, I thought I could at least whet your palates with a teaser from SomeECards. They are genius!

Not appropriate for kiddies!





Post about our marathon experience to follow!!

Saturday, October 11, 2008

Triathlon Results!

Two weeks ago, Heidi and I competed in the See Jane Tri Triathlon in Pleasanton, CA (aka East Bay...aka Suburbia). To say I have been nervous would be a complete understatement to the pure fear that I have been experiencing for the last month leading up to the race. We did a practice tri about a month ago where we went through all the motions of what we'd experience on the day of the big race, and ever since then I have been completely freaking out.

In my head, the swimming portion was equivalent to putting me in a tank of sharks and then cutting my legs off for them to chase a trail of blood while I flailed as best I could. Yes, I'm serious. That's how terrified I was of swimming the equivalent of just FOUR FOOTBALL FIELDS!!!

The sprint triathlon included:
* 400 yard open water (lake) swim (1/4 mile)
* 11 mile bike
* 5K run (3.1 miles)

Lindsay and Jon were in town for the weekend and they, along with Dave, were much-needed cheerleaders through every transition! The race started at 8am, so we left the house around 6am (1 hour drive to aforementioned suburbia), packing up the bikes, triple-checking our gear and then piling in the 4Runner where Heidi offered up fresh bagels with delicious homemade honey and jam. The car ride was abuzz with chatter...so much so that we drove 15 miles PAST the exit! It was about 7:45am when we finally pulled into the race location and we hustled to check in, get our gear in place and work out the nerves.


My set-up....#99!


Official Tri Marking...one on the arm, one on the leg


Pre-Race with the best Cheering Squad Ever!

When Heidi and I were walking up to the transition area pre-race, I was shaking and repeated to her (over and over), "Heidi, I can't do this. I can't do this. Seriously. I can't f'ing do this." She, dealing with her own nerves, showed great patience and restraint by saying, "You damn well better do this...you're the one that talked me INTO this f'ing hellhole event!" - Okay, she didn't say that, but I'm SURE it's what she was thinking. Instead, she was completely supportive and encouraging, saying that I absolutely can make it through...and the next thing I knew, we were lining up in the sludgy brown lake water for the 30-34 year-olds to GO!


Me, departing the lake after the swim...I MADE IT!

Turns out, the swim wasn't even that bad!!! I was so relieved that it was OVER that I then took FOREVER in my transition to bike in changing my clothes, putting my shoes on, etc.


Heidi was off on the bike where she started her run of terror in KICKING A$$!!!

I eventually left for the 11 mile bike which was, again - strange to say this - lovely! I had a smile plastered on my face for all 11 miles. I recently purchased a bike after borrowing our friend Jen's for a month and being on a road bike vs. a mountain bike made ALL the difference! I was pumping hard, but flying by the poor mountain bikers...


Returning from the Bike

I then had the - self dubbed - fastest transition in triathlon history. Okay, that may be an exaggeration, but it was awesome! My paparazzi cheerleaders captured this fun moment on video:


Transition from 11-mile Bike to 3.1-mile Run

And yes...I did toss a "peace out" to my peeps.

At long last - the run!!! Keeping in mind that I'm training for 26.2, the 3.1 miler was certainly not a concern. The route was definitely hilly, but was mostly on trail (friendly to the knees/impact) and it was great!

Heidi kicked butt and our photogs captured both of our finishes:


Finish Line!

THANK YOU to Lindsay, Jon and Dave for being such fantastic supporters! And thank you to Heidi for not letting me quit before we even began!!!


Team Bryand-Rynearson


Heidi and me....the TRIATHLETES!!!

So how did we do? Actually, not so bad!!! Heidi got 5th in our Age Group (30-34) and 49th Overall with a time of 1:06, and I got 14th in our Age Group and 109th Overall with a time of 1:09. Yahoo!


Official Results, Highlighted

And now how do I feel about the swimming? Let's put it this way - I am ready to sign up for another triathlon!!!!

For more pics from the event, click here....

Friday, October 10, 2008

T-Minus 9 Days Until the Marathon

Wow. Did I just type that?? How can it be?? Yet, October 19th is creeping up around the corner when Lindsay, me and 9 other "Flamingos" will compete (compete? well, hopefully complete) the SF Nike Women's Marathon...RUN LIKE A GIRL.

My coaches sent me this link today for a movie that I'm waiting to come out either on the big screen or to NetFlix called "The Spirit of the Marathon". It just makes you want to RUN!!!!



For the first time in my life, I actually feel ready for this race. I have done all the training, I have followed the advice (plus added some of my own...why didn't the coaches prescribe daily doses of chocolate ice cream bars on the nutrition list? I don't get it.) and am R-E-A-D-Y for October 19th to arrive!!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

"Don't Vote" Video

I'm not political, but did like this video. Get a move on, people!!!



I can't help it - I love this!


SNL Skit on Sarah Palin/Katie Courie Interview