I did it!

For some reason I was really nervous about running this road race. I had never done one, so that's probably why. We left extremely way too early only to be standing in the freezing bay area cold for about 2 hours. I seriously thought my legs were going to fall off, they were so numb.
The first mile was not too too bad, mostly downhill, then flat. Then we reached the bridge where there were something like 5-6 switchbacks to go up really high. I handled the hill pretty well, walking only about 1 or two lengths of a switchback. It's weird to think that I found my groove going uphill.
It was so beautiful running across the bridge, it's something I've always wanted to do in life. The sun beating down on you, Baker beach and Seacliff to your right, the beautiful, beautiful City to your left...makes me love LOVE living in San Francisco.
Whoever said that "halfway across the bridge is the half point" is an asshole. I think we hit the 2 mile mark 1/3 of the way. Not a happy surprise. Though once you get halfway, it really is downhill from there. Coming off the bridge was a little bit of a tease because you could see the first wave runners...but you had to go BACK to the bridge and make a long loop before you ran down the marina. Running towards the bridge was with a headwind, not fun.
The last 3 miles were really not too bad. Running on the gravel was a nice change. Running along the water is really pretty. I planned on speeding up at the 6 mile mark until I saw that it was a steep grade uphill. No thanks! I walked about 50-60 feet of it, then forced myself to run some more.
It was so awesome to see Greg towards the finish line. I was afraid it would be really crowded and we wouldn't see each other. Seeing him smile and wave with the camera pushed me faster across the finish line. It was great.
Thanks go to TNT for the pre-race chats to calm my nerves. Thanks to the black-haired dread lady who was a great visual spot for about 3 miles of the run. Thanks to that cute old couple that kept me entertained. No thanks to the 13-year-old that passed me, but you rock. No thanks to the elite men that were running BACK to the bridge as I was coming down Crissy Field. You people are crazy.

I suppose this means I should be preparing myself for longer runs. I wonder if future runs will have cute little Asian 5-year-olds offering you water as you go.