2011 Seattle Half Marathon - a Dedicated Race

Yesterday I walked the Seattle Half Marathon. It was my first time to walk an event in Seattle and I have to say, it is my new favorite course and I will most definitely do it again! The course started near Seattle Center at 5th and Harrison. We went though downtown streets, along the shores of Lake Washington, through the Arboretum and back to the Seattle Center. It was a beautiful route. If I wasn't viewing the world through millions of raindrops, it would have been even prettier! There were lots of hills on this course but I'm crazy and love hills! My GPS watch tells me our total elevation gain was 1,806 feet so it is no wonder why my thighs are complaining a bit today.

My friend, Sue, and I drove up to Seattle on Saturday and went to the expo to get our bibs and to do a little shopping. We found a couple "must haves" such as this Spibelt and Fitsok's socks printed with 13.1 and 26.2 around the ankle. (very cool)

We also gathered lots of information on various upcoming marathons throughout the region. It's always good to have something to work towards!

After the expo, we went to Lynnwood where we were spending the night with my sister-in-law, Edith. We went to Red Robin for burgers and fries for dinner and I don't know if that's what did it or not but I was FULL OF ENERGY for the entire half marathon and NEVER ran out of steam. I think I will try that meal again the night before my next half, which happens to be in two weeks.

There were cars backed up on the freeway going into Seattle early Sunday morning. With 17,000 participants, it wasn't a big surprise. We parked about a mile from the starting line and got to the event right when they were announcing the half marathon walkers needed to line up. We literally waited 7 minutes and it was time to start! The nice thing was, there was no time to stand around and get cold(er).  It was raining and windy, ooooooof course.

Sue, Edith and Me at the starting line

We walked through downtown Seattle and then onto the onramp to I-90. It certainly gives you a different perspective when you are walking on a freeway rather than riding in a vehicle. We went through the Mercer Island tunnel, which was nice because we were out of the rain but not so nice because it was pretty humid in there and it made us sweat. At the end of the tunnel, the half marathoners turned along the shoreline and the full marathoners continued across the I-90 bridge. Walking along the shoreline meant walking along some really big homes, which I totally enjoyed looking at. There were cheering people along the route and one long lineup of military people holding large flags and telling us we were looking good. We were thanking them for their service. I couldn't help but think that walking a marathon is such a small task when considering what those men and women do on a daily basis... what they go through and sacrifice - and here they were cheering us on. It was very meaningful to me.


Edith ROCKING her first Half Marathon

Throughout the race I was thinking of my very special friend, Sally, who has fought cancer and has continued to fight the terrible results of her radiation for the past four years. I learned on Friday that Sally was once again in the hospital fighting yet another issue. She has had it very rough and is tired of having to fight so hard. I dedicated my race to Sally and wore her name on my leg. I knew that any struggle I might have encountered would be nothing compared to her struggles. For a moment in time, I wanted to "fight for" Sally and let her take a break. On my way home, I received a text message saying she was doing a little bit better. Just maybe .... hopefully... Sally felt the positive vibes coming her way.  I love you, Sally. Mucho.

Walking for Sally

Rain soaked...

The race ended at the Memorial Stadium, which is where our closing ceremony is held for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day event. It was pretty exciting running into that stadium of cheering people and across the field like a football player does!  haha Running on that astroturf felt great after pounding the payment for the past three hours.

Edith and I crossed the finish line in 3 hours 5 minutes 24 seconds, averaging 14:08 minute miles. It was Edith's very first timed event and she rocked it! I would look behind me if she fell back a few feet and I would see her face full of concentration and her arms pumping like there was no tomorrow! She pushed herself HARD the entire race. She has something to be very proud of herself for because she finished in excellent time even with the RAIN, the WIND, and the HILLS. Sue finished just a couple minutes after us and I will always remember the size of her grin when she crossed that finish line! A job well done ladies!! I really enjoyed sharing the experience with both of you! xoxo

Going through the finish line!



We did it!

After eating bagels and bananas, drinking chocolate protein milk (damn, no wonder I don't lose weight while walking!), stretching, etc., we had to walk the mile back to our car but at least it was downhill all the way. We were limping with tired muscles and shivering cold in the wind and rain but none of that mattered because we were on a high from finishing the race. We stopped at a restaurant on the way back to Lynnwood, sat by a warm fireplace and had B52 coffee drinks to top off the day.  (pure bliss...)

The three hour drive back home to Vancouver with Sue was full of excitement as we talked about the event and how proud we were of our latest accomplishment. We have a common goal of completing a half in under 3 hours and plan to have that happen in 2012. Edith now has the bug of marathoning and I bet she will be right there with us whenever she can.