I winged it.
I ran it.
I completed it!
That's me running during the marathon!
The Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco.
Completed in 05:48:33 — Pretty much an hour slower than what I wanted — but I really blame the last hour on the last two miles… :) The next marathon that I do, I will make it under 5 hours.
Facts:
- I did not train consistently
- The most I ever ran, “training” for this marathon was 7 miles (the most I ever ran before that was the 13.1 Marathon Series in Los Angeles)
- I wore my Asics Kayano – the shoes that I wore for the Rocky Mountain Half Marathon
- Had a banana for breakfast
- Jammed to Ronald Jenkees on my 3rd gen Apple iPod Shuffle
The Nike Women’s Marathon was hands down, the best race I have ever experienced. The scenery and the obstacles were perfect! I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
- I never walked up any of the steep hills
- I ran through the freezing rain from miles 6 onward
- At the 6th mile is when I felt like I was on cruise mode all the way up to the 13th mile
- 13th mile is when my knees started to burn from inflammation and my right ankle started to feel sharp pain (I think I may have a chronic injury there)
- I lost my boyfriend at the 15th mile…
- On the 20th mile, I felt like my hips were becoming detached to my body and my right ankle was in excruciating pain
- I found him again at the 25th mile…
- And then we crossed the finish line together at 26.1 miles!
The happiest moment during the marathon was when I saw my boyfriend, Joe Nguyen, ahead of me after losing him for 10 miles. At that time it was the 25th mile and the skeleton in my body had already felt detached. It didn’t feel like anything was connected anymore and I was in so much pain, I was desperate for Vicodin or at least for more Ibuprofen pills. I started to feel demoralized regardless of how many times I kept telling myself, “You can do it Ny, keep running, run Hong run… you didn’t get this far for nothing,” but when I saw Joe, that pain suddenly vanished! For a few seconds, I regained my energy sprinted up to Joe while calling out his name over and over. He had his headphones on so he couldn’t here me. I had to run faster! Just picture that in your head! When I caught up to Joe, as happy and excited as I was, I felt reality again. My body ached and I could barely move. Having Joe next to me, he motivated me and helped me finish up the last mile strong. You can’t tell in the photos because we were so happy finishing together, but the both of us were in a crazy amount pain. Apparently, before I caught up to Joe, he had fallen over and some lady helped him get back up! Poor guy :( … but not anymore! =)
Large Nike Women's Marathon sign hanging up at Macy's in Union Square, SF
Look! There's my name on the Nike Women's Marathon wall!
His shoes and my shoes all prepped the night before with our race chips secure.
Me and Joe early in the morning at the race line.
People were lining up early in the morning -- I think as early as 5A.
That's me running! Joe purchased the cute little hat to keep me from losing too much heat.
That's my partner! Joe Nguyen, staying positive and focused!
That's us running together right before we crossed the finish line!
Us posing for a quick photo after the finish line.
Oh! It totally forgot to mention that each finisher was given a Tiffany’s necklace by young gentlemen in tuxedos! You read that right. These guys were holding silver platters with the little blue boxes and white ribbons tied around them, giving them out to each marathon finisher.
My (Joe's) Tiffany's Finisher Necklace (not polished bc I have been wearing it)
My Nike Women's Marathon bib, finisher Tiffany's necklace & shirt
This was such a rewarding experience to have completed a full marathon. Joe, was such a wonderful, motivational partner. I’m really glad he agreed to join this adventure in running it with me. The trail was absolutely amazing and I am very happy we experienced all of the scenery together. Just like me, Joe was never a long distance runner before and now look at him!
After the marathon:
- I could not walk
- Joe could not walk
- We both could barely move
- We could barely walk stairs or even lift our legs — everything was so STIFF
Onto challenge #2, the shower. I’ve never experienced anything more difficult than to try and shower after running a marathon. Quite honestly, I could barely clean myself because by then, my body was stiff! Next time, I’ll know what to do. Bring a bunch of Salonpas! ha!
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