A-List Diet Fit's recent Real Life story by Karie Bennett, San Francisco
Hi all,
Well, I did it! I finished a half marathon!
The Nike Women's Marathon, this past Sunday in
San Francisco, was well
attended...by 24,000 people. (900 of them were men, actually) It was
exciting and fun, and I definitely experienced it the way I had
imagined...very proud of my accomplishment, but also very humbled by
the cause (
Leukemia & Lymphoma Society) and the people I met who
were recovering or had survived these terrible diseases. Along the
course were volunteers of all ages who were cheering us on, some
dressed up in silly, funny costumes, and some in wheelchairs out on
their sidewalks. We started in Union Square as the sun was just rising
and took a path along the Embarcadero, Fisherman's Wharf, past the
Golden Gate bridge, through the Presidio, past Sea Cliff and Pacific
Heights, and over the 4th and final hill...out to the Great Highway at
the Cliff House. From there, we walked along the ocean, went back for a
little 3 mile jaunt into Golden Gate park, past the bison paddock, and
back out to
Ocean Beach where we finally crossed the finish line. Aaron
was there to see me cross, with a cheer sign that gave me the extra
burst of energy I needed to make it! What a sweetie! On the other side
of that finish line were men in tuxedos with silver trays stacked with
blue Tiffany boxes. A necklace commemorating the event was a beautiful
prize, but I had my eye on the table heaped with
Noah's bagels! The
finisher tee shirt was also a nice perk. Then we walked back up to the
Cliff House to meet my brother-in-law and sister-in-law, Ray and Diem,
for lunch. I slept the whole way home, took an epsom salt bath, and all
in all, am feeling pretty great today. It was a great experience, and I
will do it again next year! I really like doing this with Team in
Training. I really appreciated my walking partner Janell, who was with
me every step of the way. I know she loved my little silly songs when
we were on the 3rd hill, just singin' about the Tiffany necklace! We
plan to continue to walk together once a week.
I
also have to send out props to my TNT coach Michelle, who gave me one
good kick in the pants to get me past the mental block. And big love
to Aaron who was so proud of me that he came all the way there and
pushed through huge crowds to see me cross the finish line, with his
cheer sign and his big smile!
So my official time was 4:19,
for 13.1 miles, but with 4 porta potty breaks (one had a 5 min. wait),
2 "take off the shoe and adjust the sock" adjustments, and 6 photo ops,
Janell and I call it 4 hours even. Not too shabby. Actually, just
getting up at 5 am after 5 months of training was way not shabby. We
decided to just set our sights on finishing, not rushing through it,
which was a good plan. I wouldn't have wanted to miss a thing.
I highly recommend doing this with Team in
Training!
Thanks
to all of you who donated for my walk, I really appreciated it, and so
does the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. See you soon!
Karie
