MY FIRST MARATHON!

The entire experience was amazing and I honestly could not have asked for a better one. Here's my report of my experience.

Health and Wellness Expo: I arrived in NYC Saturday morning, got my butt to the Health and Wellness Expo, and grabbed my bib. Since I got to the expo kind of late in the day, I didn't have as much time to explore. The expo was super overwhelming , but my friend told me to embrace it all. So I did. I quickly went to see all the vendors, tried their samples, and even scored this fancy schmancy jacket at 50% off the original price.

Getting to the marathon start line was a marathon in itself. I left my hotel at 7 am and got on the metro to arrive at the Staten Island Ferry WhiteHall Terminal. I then ferried over to Staten Island where I waited to get onto a shuttle that then took me to the start corrals. I got to my corral just in time for my wave to be released at 11 am. Whoo! If that wasn't good timing, I don't know what was. In all honesty, getting to the marathon wasn't too bad. Yes, it did take a few hours to get there, but I was surrounded by fellow runners and everyone was so friendly. :) I met a few other solo runners and we just chit chatted about nerves, training, and our overall experience with running. Before I knew it, it was race time!

The Race:
I don't know what it was (maybe it was the music, the weather, the other runners, or just the overall energy of the race), but I knew from the start line that it was going to be a great race. The DJ was blasting Taylor Swift's "Welcome to New York," at the start line and I just soaked it all in.

We first started off on the The Verrazano Narrows Bridge, which is about a 2 mile long stretch. The bridge gives you an amazing view of the city and I'll admit, I slowed down a bit on the bridge so I could just take in more of the scenery. (I also didn't want to burn out too quickly since I had 26 miles to go). After the bridge, we immediately entered Brooklyn, which was full of energy. (Thank goodness, too because 12 miles of this race was in Brooklyn). The fans lined the streets of Brooklyn to cheer us on with signs and high fives. It was definitely an amazing feeling to have people root for me even though they didn't know me. I high fived so many children, I lost count and I don't think I've ever smiled so much during a race, let alone a 26.2 mile race.

After Brooklyn, we entered Williamsburg, which has a huge Hasidic Jewish community. Many of them were headed to work and so I saw a few of them dart across the streets in order to get there. I also got a few stares here and there since they're not used to athletic wear. There were less spectators at this point, but I was still having a blast running around and looking at all the differences of each neighborhood. Next bridge up was the Pulaski Bridge, which took us into Queens. It also has a great view of the city. Queensborough Bridge, which was the third bridge we crossed was probably the hardest bridge. It's in between mile 15 and 16 and is all uphill. Many of the runners walked up this bridge and I saw a lot of people stop to stretch their calves. I even saw a guy being tended to by a medic. Luckily, I trained for hills and was prepared for this. I just leaned towards the ground and pumped my arms and within 10 minutes, I was off that bridge and in Manhattan, where more crowds of people were waiting. Running up 1st Ave was pretty tiring (miles 16 - 19), but the crowds pulled through for me. Their cheers got me through Manhattan, into the Bronx, and back into Manhattan again. Once I got to Central Park at mile 23, I knew I had it in the bag. My boyfriend was waiting for me at mile 25 and my brother was at mile 26. I knew I had to get to them. Plus, Central Park is amazing. As a Californian, I don't get to see the leaves change color so Central Park was such an amazing place to run through. Crossing that finish line and being handed that medal felt amazing. I would definitely run the race again in a heartbeat.

I had previously run the 10K Turkey Trot a few years ago, but wanted an extra challenge so I upped it to the 15k this year. The 15k also takes me really close to my old neighborhood so I thought why not? It was great running weather. Crisp air. Beautiful grassy start area. But the HILLS. Oh the HILLS. I have never hated my neighborhood hills more. Driving along those hills all those years seemed easy peasy. Running up them? Not so much. You start off the race at the Bonita golf course. That part of the race is on a trail. You have to dodge non-racers around part of the golf course before veering off onto a paved road. This is where the hills started. It's a shallow incline at first and then it gets bad. I'm not sure what the elevation map looked like, but the first hill is not fun. Neither is the second or third, but now I'm just complaining. If you signed up for the 5k, you just complete the golf course loop. If you're a 10ker, you turn around after the first hill. If you're a 15ker like I was, you continue through a neighborhood full of trees, hills, and a canyon. And at least if there's an uphill, there will also be a downhill. You end up running back towards the golf course and finishing where you started. It's a good race to get your heart pumping before a Thanksgiving feast and I'd definitely repeat it. It is a smaller race with maybe 300 people running it so maybe not the best for competing athletes. They do have a challenge with the 15k Turkey Trot and the San Diego Holiday Half marathon, which will give you an extra medal though. It's great for family and friends. A lot of people dress up for the costume contest as well. You'll see turkeys, pilgrims, and even a fork or knife costume. The distances are differentiated by the neck ribbon. All the medals are the same. Fun race and would do again.

Rock N Roll Health and Fitness Expo

Race pick up was a breeze. I drove downtown, parked in a 20 minute zone, grabbed my gear, looped around the HUGE expo, and made it back before the 20 minute mark. If this is your first Rock N Roll expo, I suggest you give yourself at least 1.5 hours to walk around and explore everything. There is a lot of advertising for anything running related and if you're anything like me, you'd be Oooooohing and Ahhinngg all the way through. The Brooksrunning station is my favorite part since they have all these little cheesy games that you can do and get free stuff from and who doesn't love free stuff?

Pre-race

The organizers recommended locals to park at Qualcomm stadium and take the trolley down. BEST DECISION EVER. We avoided the crazy traffic headed to downtown and we didn't have to pay $10 for parking nor the $6 for the shuttle to the start from the parking lot. We left at 4 am and arrived at 6 am leaving us with 15-20 minutes of time to stretch and get pumped up for the race.

Race time!

And we were off! There was music at every mile or so, adequate water/sport drink stations, and my favorite part of any race - a lot of neighborhood support. Neighbors will wake up at the crack of dawn to watch you run and cheer for you. They'll hold up signs that make you laugh, inspire you, and just make you keep going. Some people will even be crazy enough to offer you shots of whiskey or tequila to make your run a little more interesting. (This has happened both times I've run the race). It's amazing how much support you get at these races and when you're pounding the pavement for 13.1 or 26.2 miles, you're going to need it.

Post-race

Freebies galore. There are bananas, pretzels, sports drinks, water, photographers, and of course, that fancy medal you worked so hard for. There's also music and a beer garden that awaits you. The festival area is fairly well organized and there are reunion areas for your friends and family to meet you at. I bypassed all the post-race festivities this year as my post-race ritual included a date with AYCE Korean BBQ. Nom nom nom.

This race will always be near and dear to my heart as this was my 1st and 10th half marathon. I will continue to try and run it until my legs can't run no more. :)

The race itself, is beautiful. If you don't live on a coast, this is a really good race to run if you want a great view of the beach/bay. The course has many turns at the beginning of the race, but at each turn, you get really beautiful views of the city/parks/bay. Then, around mile 6.5, you loop back to the start/finish line, which is actually a bit of a tease. You're so close, yet in actuality, not really. For another 3 miles, you run along the bay and face the sun. This was my least favorite part since the sun is just bearing down on your face, but it was only for three miles. Luckily, there were donuts given out by volunteer groups. At mile 9.5, you do a U turn and race back to the finish line. You run through the city and it's just a nice ending view.

All in all, it was a good race. They were organized and they gave half marathoners the option to start at 6 am instead of 7:30 am. I would have definitely melted had they not.