Race Weekend (Friday, October 17): I Don't Recognize You With Hair

Race weekend began early on Friday morning. I arrived at the airport around 5:30 a.m.*, and I waited for a familiar face--and an unfamiliar face that was supposed to have my airline tickets, team jersey, and weekend itinerary. Being the Type-A+ personality that I am, not having every detail of my weekend laid out for me was a challenge. The first person I saw at the airport that I recognized was Heather (Silvey) Butner. She, too, was waiting for her tickets, jersey, and itinerary. Heather, like me, is a Type-A/planner.

Once we got our tickets from our race captain, our team members congregate at the gate for our flight to San Francisco. I met my roommate for the weekend, Ellen Gillespie-Miller. I had seen Ellen at a few of the team practices this summer, but I had not yet met her. She was going to be running her 8th full marathon, and her 6th as a member of a Team in Training Team. I was excited to be rooming with an experienced runner because I certainly had pre-race anxiety, despite knowing that with a broken foot, I wouldn't be setting any records. All my teammates at the airport were groomed and dressed in non-running garb, and there were certainly a few people who did not recognize me, as I was not in my trademark white Nike hat pulled low over my eyes and signature long run pigtails. I did, however, have a heavily-taped foot to protect those broken bones as best as possible until I saw my doctor after the race ended and I returned home.

I sat with Heather on the flight, and we gossiped the entire time much to the very visible displeasure of the other girl sitting in our row. She was quite upset that she couldn't sit with her boyfriend (on a full Southwest flight), and she spent most of the flight pouting and holding his hand--as he sat in the row in front of her. Surprisingly enough, this girl looked to be about my age, not 14.

We arrived in San Francisco (actually, Oakland) before noon, and we boarded a shuttle to our hotel--the Hilton Financial District on Kearny. I was so thrilled to see palm trees and sunshine. Despite having been born in California,** I hadn't actually been there in several years. It was unseasonably warm in San Francisco that day--in the mid-80's. We checked in, and I headed to the race Expotique to pick up my bib number and freebies with teammates Ellen, Heather, Aileen Laughlin, Suzie Johnston, and Becky Denson. The Expotique ran smoothly, and I picked up my number, some granola, a great "shopping" bag, some Laura Mercier bath gel, and a spectator's pass for Andrew.***

Then, it was time to shop. The Expotique (and race start on Sunday) were right in San Francisco's Union Square, right in the heart of Saks, Gucci, Prada, etc. The Nike Store in Union Square had the names of all the Nike Marathon runners in pink and white on the side of the building.

*I am not a morning person. I had gotten up at 4 to finish packing, get ready for the flight (I am not a roll out in public in sweats kind of girl, either), and head to the airport. I had not had coffee (trying to stay hydrated for the race). I was less than pleasant, but my hair looked great.

**Despite my more "East Coast" personality, I am actually a California Girl.

***Andrew was driving down Saturday, and he would be watching the race Sunday morning. Nike had arranged shuttles for spectators that would drop them off at cheering stations along the course, down to the finish line, and back to Union Square.