I’ve discovered that racing and checking off states during the summer months isn’t easy. Unless you’re into torture in the form of running in the extreme heat. But alas, California is actually quite mild in July.

I ran in the San Francisco Biofreeze Marathon, the Second Half Marathon to be specific. This race is huge and offers a distance for everyone. There is an ultra, a full marathon, two different half marathons and two different 5ks. That’s a heck of a lot of planning and race management. I’m pretty impressed with everything they orchestrated.

I chose the Second Half because the course elevation wasn’t too bad and it finished with the full marathon finishers at the main finish line. I love a good finish line party.

The morning of the race the temp was in the 50s at the start, pretty much perfect in my opinion. It was cool, but not cold. I was surprised at how many runners were wearing tights and long sleeves. I’m a very cold-natured person in general but when I run I prefer to keep my body temp down as much as possible so I was one of a few people in shorts and a tank top. The course was pretty and there was a lot to look at. I was surprised at the lack of crowd support since it’s such a big city. There were definitely pockets of spectators but I thought there would be a lot more based on my experiences walking around the city and also running in other large races. They did have some good water/fuel stops. I was in one of the first waves of the half marathon and because of that we got to see a lot of the elite marathoners as they passed us on their way in where our courses joined. It got hot quickly and I saw 3 separate runners collapse. One I stopped to help, poor guy was only a few miles from the finish but couldn’t do it. Another runner got taken away in an ambulance. It’s amazing how temps can affect your performance. They certainly do mine and I can only imagine how rough it is when you’re an elite runner, going as fast as they do. I hope everyone ended up okay.

The race went uphill for the first 7 miles or so and then had some steeper downhills. That was actually a little rough as I’m not used to it and by the end my toes were sore from pushing into the tops of my shoes. Running downhill affects your legs in a much different way then running on a flat surface or even running uphill.

I finished in 2:04, much better than the 2:33 I had done the week prior when I decided a midnight half marathon in 90 degrees was a good idea. (In hindsight, it was NOT a good idea…but I did get a glow in the dark medal so that’s awesome. Good medals are important).

Once again though, I was disappointed in the food at the end. It seems like the big races I’ve been to lately only have the basics. They had water bottles, bananas, and fruit cups. It is literally the most expensive race I have done (other than Disney) so I expected something a little heartier. I did find a Capital One tent and they had Gardetto’s and some other delicious options so that made things better. To date my favorite race as far as the food is concerned has been Go Fargo in North Dakota. They had pizza and cookie dough. Can’t go wrong with that.

I’ve actually been to San Francisco twice before, but both times it was less than 24 hours. Once on a trip back from Napa, and the other time on a quick work trip, so I hadn’t really seen the city during the day. It’s a very walkable city with some very, VERY, challenging hills. Some are so steep that the cars have to zig zag down them so they don’t flip over.

The food in San Francisco is incredible. I had some amazing meals while I was there. So amazing in fact that even though I walked and ran a total of 58 miles in 4 days, I gained 3 pounds. That’s commitment to eating. Below are just a few of the things I enjoyed.

I got to see a lot of the city with all the walking I did before and after the race. Alcatraz, Fisherman’s Wharf, and my favorite, the Museum of Ice Cream. A museum where they hand you a different ice cream treat in every single room. What an amazing world we live in.

Overall it was a pretty enjoyable race/state, and I’m glad to get another state done. It’s also the fastest long run I’ve been able to do in a while as I’ve been struggling this summer to combine speed and distance so it was a bit of a confidence boost. Training hasn’t been going well and I’ve been hurting so the mental boost this gave me was big. I remember while I was running I hit a wall early, at mile 4, and wanted to walk. I read an article recently that said you should dedicate a mile to someone to help you get through it. So I dedicated mile 4 to my daughter and mile 5 to my son, which got me through the pain. I imagined they were with me and I wouldn’t want them to see me give up just because things were hard. From then on things got better. The power of the mind is incredible.

Next up? 26.2 in South Dakota.