Seattle Half Marathon - Two Thumbs Up!

Organized and Ready!

Yesterday was another great race day! The weather was PERFECT (NO rain / NO wind), which is unusual for Seattle, especially at this time of the year! It was a chilly 38 degrees F to start with and didn’t get above 40. Gloves were a must for me. I even started out with my favorite hand warmers but before I finished mile two, I had taken them out and given them to a little boy standing on the sideline. Of course with any race, it doesn’t take long to warm up (as long as I am moving) so the cold was only an “issue” at the start line.

 

Sue and I ready to go... burrrrr....

 

 

The Seattle Half Marathon is a great route – starting at 5th Avenue and Harrison Street near Seattle Center, going south on 5th Avenue and then onto the I-90 eastbound express lanes, through the Mt. Baker tunnel, north along Lake Washington, through the Washington Park Arboretum and Japanese Garden, and then back into downtown - finishing at Memorial Stadium. The course elevation is “moderately hilly” but it felt "massively hilly" to me! The hills are peppered throughout the route and going uphill at the end of any race is never fun, no matter how small it may look on this chart! (Trust me... I was definitely moaning about it!)

Elevation chart from my Garmin...

The route was very well supported with plenty of water stations, porta-potties, medical aid stations and volunteers. It was well marked and police were at every intersection directing traffic and keeping us safe.

I haven’t been training (still trying to get past all of my foot issues) but I never doubt that I can walk 13.1 miles. My pace is the only thing questionable. With the recent purchase of custom inserts and “doctor recommended” shoes (my podiatrist is a marathon runner so I had to trust him), there is hope that I might FINALLY move forward again and be able to train like I should... and improve my overall time.
 

During mile two I felt some left knee pain and I worried that my shoes and inserts were actually over-correcting my foot problem, causing a whole different set of issues. However, when I noticed it, we were on the I-90 on ramp and were walking at a tilt, the left side being the downhill side. Sure enough, as soon as we flattened out, my knee pain disappeared. Whew.

My shoes - Brooks Addiction 10 - and inserts proved to be spectacular! I never felt any foot pain or had any problems. The shoes were easy to run in (I initially had my doubts!) even though they are shoes with maximum support (not very bendy!).  My right calf became quite tight towards the end but obviously lack of training has something to do with that and lack of stretching. Overall, my foot and Achilles tendon felt strong and basically, pain-free. I was pleased.

It was Mile 9 when I started to play the mental game – negative thoughts running through every vein in my body. I was tired. Sue and I were moving at a good rate of speed and I knew we were doing well (I refused to look at my watch and predict the outcome) but I wanted to stop… slow down… take a break. I truthfully wanted it all to be over with. However, knowing we had put so much work into the miles leading up to this point, I wasn’t about to let my mind overtake and lose everything we had worked for but I really, really wanted to.

I struggled mentally and physically (I was sooo TIRED) for the remainder of the race and although I was still able to run off and on, I was unable to sprint through the finish line. I gave all I had to give and was very glad it was over.

I finished 13.1 miles in 2:59:50, averaging 13:40 minute miles. It was the second time for me to reach my goal of finishing in less than three hours (I just barely made it!) so needless to say, I was VERY happy! All that effort paid off! Yahoooooo!!
 

After crossing the finish line, I received my super cool medal, my space blanket, and then walked hobbled very slowly to the recovery area. I grabbed a bagel and some chocolate muscle milk, found a chair, and plopped myself down with the idea that I would sit there all the way into next week if I wanted to! I removed my jacket and discovered I was soaked to the core – WE. WORKED. HARD. (Great Saucony jacket… I never knew I was sweating! I didn’t even get cold from being that soaked in 40 degree F temps!) After refueling and recovering a bit, we walked outside ready to brave the one mile walk back to our hotel. At that time a volunteer pointed us to a line of busses – free of charge – ready to drive us to the Westin, which was only a couple of blocks from where we were staying. I love you, Seattle Marathon! Not even Godiva Chocolate would have been better than that offer! ;) Thank you mucho!

We showered and then headed to the nearest Starbucks (less than a block away… of course… we were in Seattle!). We enjoyed our holiday peppermint mochas and then Sue went to walk around downtown (UGH!!!) and I headed out for the 2.5 hour drive home. My legs were sore and I was worried about sitting still for that long but the drive home turned out to be relaxing and enjoyable.

By 8:00 p.m. I was comfortably tucked into my cozy blankets and completely lost in my dreams ... no doubt dreaming of another race day! heh heh 

Zzzzzzz…