Some pictures

These pictures were taken at the 25.5 mile area.  I had just started speeding up, which is why I'm alone in the picture.  The second picture has Michael in the background, the pacer who was very encouraging thru the second half of the marathon.  He's the one carrying the balloons.

So below this entry you can see my results from running the SF marathon. My first marathon I ran was the Big Sur marathon earlier this year. It is known as one of the harder marathons to do but I did better than I thought I would. I finished in 3:25 and decided that my goal for the year would be to qualify for Boston which meant that I would have to run a marathon in 3 hours and 10 minutes. On a whim, I signed up for the SF marathon not thinking that I would achieve my goal as it's a tad hilly and windy but just enjoy the run and hopefully do well. Clif Bar sponsors pace groups where a pacer will run the course in a certain amount of time. The pacers are easy to spot as they run with a stick that has 3 balloons attached. On the balloons the finishing time of that pacer is written. Even though I wasn't very confident I could pull off a 3:10 marathon, I decided to run with Jack, the pacer for the 3:10 group. It was nice running with a group and not having to think about if my pace was on as Jack was keeping track of the pace. The first half wasn't a problem as I've run a lot of half marathons at 1:35 or faster. But I was definitely wondering if I could keep up the pace for another 13 miles. At the halfway point, I was a bit in front of the pace group but a couple miles into the second half, Michael, who took over for Jack at the halfway point, as the pacer came up behind me. He was going at a faster pace than I was but I decided to try to keep up with him. It was tough and after mile 21 I was definitely starting to have second thoughts but Michael was very supportive and really kept me focused. With about a mile to go I picked up my pace and gave everything I had for a sprint finish. I had some friends who decided to cheer for me during the race or at the finish line but I finished faster than we all expected and only ended up seeing Peter, who ran with me for about a mile. I really am grateful for all the support and encouragement my friends, family, and complete strangers provide during my races. Yesterday was a perfect example of how well I can do with support from others. My training gives me a great foundation but without all the encouragement I get before, during, and after races, there is no way I could achieve those goals.

I done good!

7/29/2007   San Francisco CA
San Francisco Marathon     -    Full Marathon

Bib:	5630
Name:	John Branderhorst
Gender:	M
Age:	28
Hometown:	San Francisco CA

Place Overall:	65	out of   4250
Men:	63	out of   2805
M 25-29:	17	out of   429

AgeGrade:

67.28%

Place:  184

FINISH:

3:06:44

pace:   7:08

7.5 Miles:	55:48	pace:   7:27
Half:	1:35:44	pace:   7:19
20.7 Miles:	2:30:20	pace:   7:16

Chip Time:	3:06:44
Gun Time:	3:08:53

What are you doing?

So I've been venting a bit lately about the state of pro sports.  But there is another side to every story and I just finished reading about athletes who provide money and time to those less fortunate.  Here's the article, http://proxy.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2950420&sportCat=ncf&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab5pos1 .  I probably should have just linked it but oh well.  If you've never given of your time or money for someone in need, you really should.  I'm not lying when I say it feels good.

 

"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver." - Maya Angelou

こんにちは

最近ブログに英語しか書いてない。すみません。私はほとんどスポーツについて書いてます。

アジアカップで日本を負けちゃって、韓国も負けて、さしぶりに中東の国で決勝です。IraqとSaudi Arabiaです。

Tour de Franceのニュースも見てるけど、あんまりよくない。何名いんちきして、面白くない。やばい、私は日本語を忘れてる！

ごめん、詳しくかけなくて、恥ずかしい。勉強しなくきゃ。。。