Monday, February 2, 2009

Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon Race Report

I look back at yesterday's Kaiser Permanente Half Marathon and I get the warm and fuzzies. (No, not the kind you get when you get a charlie horse! The kind you get in your heart. :-) As a team, it was ROHOs' first race together and personally, a very stress-less kind of a race. We talked about the race logistics all week between the 5 of us and it was something we were all looking forward to. We had our team shirts ready, goals in mind and lots of expectations! And I'm happy to report that all of us achieved or exceed our goals for the race!!

Duane and I woke up early to make sure we got to the start to meet the rest of the girls. For the first time ever, we got to the race site early to find good parking, run to the start, use the bathroom *and* still have enough time to take pictures and loiter around before the race. (I hate that sinking feeling when you're in the porta-potties and the start gun goes off! Like it did at the Nike Women's Marathon, yikes!) So here are some of the before photos...

My friend Pam and me, she's training for the Way too Cool 50k
Duane and me, so sexy in front of the porta-potties!
Go Team ROHO! Aron, Tara, Maritza, Kristin and meGo Team ROHO!
I really wasn't that nervous about this race. It was part of my training for the Napa Valley Marathon in 4 weeks and I wasn't looking to PR. Of course, a sub 2 hour finish time would have been nice but I was really looking for consistent pacing and strong finish. The first couple of the miles were easy. As a matter of fact, I think I started out faster than I normally do. Up until mile 4, I was running sub 8:50 pace and felt pretty good. Duane was running with me most of the time and I could tell he was having a lot of fun. Due to the great weather, we didn't freeze our buns off and was able to warm up quickly. The next couple of miles seemed even easier due to a few easy downhills. I think I lost Duane around mile 7 but I knew he was behind me for the most part...

The KP half starts around the De Young Museum in the Golden Gate Park, loops around a few times, spits you out onto the Great Highway (shouldering the Pacific Ocean) and then back to the Golden Gate Park. There is a point around mile 8 or 9 where you go down the Great Highway and turn back the way you came. So you can usually see the runners who turn ahead of you. I got to see Tara and Maritza at some point and it was really great to see them run so strong! A little after I made my turn to head back around mile 9, I saw Duane. He looked like he was struggling. He was probably about a 1 minute behind me. Poor guy, he looked like he could use some encouragement! Duane had a goal of finishing sub 2 hours again. When he ran the RnR San Jose Half, he finish 1:59:XX. Made is just under 2 hours, which he was very proud of. He wanted to do it again at the KP Half. So I stopped and waited for him. I figured, I wasn't going to PR anyway and it's so much more fun to run with him... and I wanted him to do well.

Map of the race route...

When he saw me, he waved me away as if to say, go on! I told him I was going to run with him and finish together. We did that once before, when we finished our first marathon together (The SFM 2007) hand in hand! He struggled again around mile 11 but once he got some Cytomax, he perked up and finished strong the rest of the way. The warm weather and the last mile uphill weren't easy but we both finished strong. Our exact finish time was 2:00:14! It wasn't quite sub 2 hours, but close enough!

Our race stats!


Julianne

Duane

Bib

1356

1357

Chip Time

2:00:14

2:00:14

Overall

2650

2648

Sex

996

1654

Division

218

185


We were SO close to a sub 2 hour finish! But overall, we were both happy to finish strong. I felt like I could go for another several miles! Ok, maybe not several...

Like I said, all the other girls did GREAT. Tara even PR'd by 7 minutes! How fabulous is that???

Here's some of our celebratory photos after the race! Don't we look pretty good for having just run 13.1 miles??
The Shoe Photo
Looking back, I am really glad I stopped and waited for my husband. I could have run on and met him at the end but something really special about crossing the finish line together. And I finally got to see the famous buffaloes in the Golden Gate Park! I've run around the park like dozens of times but for some reason, I never noticed them before!

Duane with the Gold Gate Park buffalo.
So after the race... Tara, Maritza, Duane and I went to one of my favorite hamburger joints in the city called Grubstake and totally chowed down. It was SO good. Totally hit the spot. :-)

And then Duane and I got home and totally passed out. And no, we didn't watch one minute of the Super Bowl!



39 comments:

  1. YAY love the report!!! it was such a great day!! i loved having all of us racing and matching :) congrats on a great race and so awesome to finish with duane!!! cant wait for the next roho race!

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  2. excellent report...nice pics. congrats to you, duane and the team. NAPA awaits!

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  3. Yay!!!! Such a wonderful day! Thanks for carting us around and showing us where the good food is at! It was so yummy!!! Can't wait for out next race and to cheer you on at Napa :)

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  4. Congrats on an awesome race Julianne!! I love that you stopped and waited for your husband too. CIM was very similar for me and my husband and it was so much more meaningful to finish together. :) You both did great!! :)

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  5. Congrats Julianne! Awesome race!

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  6. Love the pics, and congrats on a great race for both of you! So awesome that you both run, and finishing together is awesome! :D

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  7. Aww that is so cute! I would love to cross the finish line with my "future" husband whoever that is and whenever I get married! lol You girls look like twins all together! Congrats on another great race and such a fun finish!

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  8. You did fabulous!! I love the pics!

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  9. Congrats!! You did fabulously!! I definitely got all teary eyed at reading how yall crossed hand in hand together, what a cool thing to do as a married couple!

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  10. Sounds like you did great. Good job.

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  11. Yay you, and especially Yay, Duane!

    I thought about you and the other folks I know who ran it all Sunday morning. Glad you were having as much fun as I hoped!

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  12. Great job on your run, congratulations!

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  13. This was such a great post! You and the ROHO's are adorable, and it's so sweet that you and Duane finished together. (Note to self: Get faster so I can run with the boyfriend)

    I love the pink tops and black bottoms, so cute!

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  14. You guys look fresher after the race than before! Sounds like you'll be super prepared for Napa!

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  15. Fantastic report! I love the pictures!! And I think I have relationship envy between you and your man! Cute.

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  16. The ROHOs are awesome!

    So great that you & Duane finished together :)

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  17. Congrats to you and Duane and the rest of the ROHOs for a great race. It's so interesting to me how you all ran the same race but everyone had such a different experience. You are definitely on track for a great marathon. Awesome job!

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  18. I think it is awesome that you and Duane crossed the finish line together. What a great time too. You and your girls look so cute in the pink shirts!

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  19. Congrats! It's really great that your husband runs too and that you could finish together

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  20. Awesome stuff, great run, great report, great friends what more do you need!

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  21. What a great race report! Girly friends and a great husband to share it all with.

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  22. Awesome race report.It sounds like you girls had such a great time and I can only imagine it must have been really cool to cross the finish line with your husband!

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  23. Thats it I want to find a group to run with race with have fun with!!! I LOVE THIS REPORT!

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  24. Awesome report. Between you and Aron and your great race reports on your blogs, and all the great pics you guys take, I feel like I was there with you. You and Duane had a great race! Now I have the warm and fuzzies. :)

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  25. I love that you waited and ran together with him the last few miles--love is powerful :).

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  26. Congrats on a great race! Sometimes it is more fun just to run and have fun instead of worrying about a PR.

    You girls look cute in your matching shirts.

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  27. Congrats to you and Duane! So cute that you guys finished together... although who knows, maybe one of these days, you'll be chasing him - heehee!

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  28. Ahhh, great race recap! Running and crossing the finish line with the hubs is always so much fun! But in my case, it is the hubs who always has to wait for me! Go you!

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  29. Great pictures! I love the sexy portapotty pic. :)

    This race report made me think "Julianne is a better wife than I am!" Love how supportive you are of each other and both try to put the other first. (OK, I also love all of us girls who outrun our husbands, even if it's only because we train more seriously...)

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  30. Love the report and the pictures! Gosh you guys are soo cute and I'm so glad we are friends. and how FREAKING cute are you and duane... i love it!!!!! He better be coming down to SD too!

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  31. That's so nice that your husband likes to run with you and that you finished together. Makes it so much more fun!

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  32. Congrats on a great race! You guys look great!

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  33. Congrats on a good run and looking adorable while doing it! And so romantic and sweet!

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  34. Hola! Stumbled across your blog today via Twitter. Love it! Such a sweet story about running with your husband, I'm marathon training and my #1 goal is to get m live-in boyfriend out running with me, period! He's not exactly the running type, but I am still holding out hope that someday he will be. :)

    Good luck on your upcoming marathon! I'll be tuning in.

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  35. awesome race report and pics...sounds like a fun race, and how cool to have the exact finish time as Duane....really cool that you have a group of runner bloggers in your area to do races together..

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  36. Sounds like a great race and great race report!

    I can only hope someday to finish a race with my hubby! The Mr. 3:28 marathoner...yikes!

    Hope to see you soon.

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  37. Yay! Loved your report and how cute are you guys??? :) You both give me the warm and fuzzies.

    ROHO's are gonna kill it in SD! But first, you're gonna kill Napa my friend!! Can I come and cheer with my fuel belt full of wine while I wait for you? It will make me ring that cowbell extra loud!!!

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  38. Awesome. I'd be dead on the ground after 13.1, but no, you're glowing. The other day, I ran two miles and about died.

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  39. Nice job on your race! If my husband could run, I'd definitely wait for him and cross the finish line together. You ROHOs look so cute in your matching outfits. Great way to recognize each other and add some extra fun to your race!!

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