On Saturday night, we stayed at Hotel Griffon, which was right at the start and finish line of the marathon. The hotel was sold out and we got upgraded to the suite with a gorgeous view of the bay. So nice! The location was perfect, the room was perfect, and I was excited for my first marathon. The weekend was starting quite nicely. I tried to get to bed early, but ended up waking up at 2am when I heard the starting line being set up. I looked out the window, and this is what I saw.... the start line set up right outside our window.
The first wave started at 5:30AM and the music started at 5AM. Hopefully everyone at our hotel was here for the marathon, because otherwise they got a nice and early wake up call with all the music! From our window, we watched the first wave start while we were still in our pajamas.
I was in wave 8 (the last one) scheduled to start at 6:32am, so I had some time between the first wave and my wave to get ready. The kids woke up from all the music and were excited for their munchkin race. They enjoyed watching the wave starts from the window.
Here is a picture of us from our hotel room. The boys got the necklaces from the expo and just had to wear them for the race. The shirts they are wearing are the shirts they got for entering the race.
The race started on Embarcadero and we ran along the piers toward the Golden Gate Bridge, we ran over the bridge, through Golden Gate Park, through neighborhoods and past AT&T park. My favorite part of the race was the Golden Gate Bridge. It was just breathtaking. It was a bit foggy, but what do you expect in San Francisco?
And.... 5 hours 26 minutes after I started, I crossed the finish line.
Here we are at the starting line...
And we're off...
The race started on Embarcadero and we ran along the piers toward the Golden Gate Bridge, we ran over the bridge, through Golden Gate Park, through neighborhoods and past AT&T park. My favorite part of the race was the Golden Gate Bridge. It was just breathtaking. It was a bit foggy, but what do you expect in San Francisco? They closed three lanes of the bridge for the race. There was one lane for outbound, one lane for inbound and one buffer lane so the cars don't get too close.
The Wall Street Journal call the SF Marathon, "the Marathon that Marathoners Fear" because of all the hills on the course. But, come on, you can't have a marathon in San Francisco without hills!
Golden Gate Park was also a scenic part of the course.
While I was running, Connor and Ryan ran a 1/2 mile munchkin run.
Here is Ryan showing off his medal after "winning" his race.
While I was running, the kids also enjoyed watching the boats in the bay.
Now, you can tell I am getting close to the finish because I am not even looking at the photographer anymore. I just see that the END is in sight. At mile 20, there was a nice long downhill which I loved after all the uphills. At mile 21, there were spectators handing out grapes. After running 21 miles, those were the best grapes I ever had. I hit the wall at mile 22 and the last 4 miles were brutal. It took all my energy to just focus on moving towards the finish.
The balloons.... that means I am almost done!
And.... 5 hours 26 minutes after I started, I crossed the finish line. This is a well deserved medal!
It was an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment to be done and to finish a marathon. I decided in November 2009 that I was going to run a marathon, but I really didn't know what I was getting myself into. I trained hard and was focused on that finish line. After running 26.2 miles, I have more respect for the distance. It was hard, there is no doubt about that. But, it something I will remember for the rest of my life.
At the finish line, Ed, Connor and Ryan were waiting for me and cheered me on to the finish. Connor and Ryan were excited to show me their medals and told me that they "won just like Mommy."
The medal....
The medal.... 
