Marathon #2 is History...

We are so lucky - dry - cloudy and gray, but dry from start to finish. The first raindrops hit the pavement within minutes of our finish. Finish time: 5:54:36. Not quite as fast as I hoped, but as whipped as I feel, definitely fast enough.

The first half is a blur, as usual. Lots of chatter, lots of fun, beautiful scenery. We ran on a paved trail for at least 16 miles, then through some urban and industrial areas, then back to paved trail. We had a good windstorm yesterday, so the trail was covered with leaves. The trees were gorgeous - one line was a glowing red, one area had trees with colors like flames, and more than one section was covered with golden birch leaves. We came to a bend in the path and it looked like the yellow brick road was laid out before us. We ran under freeways with cars rumbling and shaking above us with a rocky bank on one side and a river on the other. We ran over a wooden bridge that felt so soft on achy knees, and then over another bridge that carried us high above the water. We turned a corner in some little section of Seattle and saw a steep hill ahead - and Jenny made us run to the top - no breaks.

We ran through one aid station where Eric said it was 13 miles, but someone heard 15. That made for good discussion for a while. Then at the next aid station, Eric frowned and told us mile 19 - wow, we were cooking! We ran and ran and ran. Then my phone rang and it was Eric's special tone. He told me that the lady at the last station was wrong and we were a few blocks from mile 19. That was hard - probably the hardest thing of the day - to think we were at about 21 and to find we had 7 more to go. The course was well-marked to guide us, but had no mile markers. This was a small race, maybe 40 people and some of them running relays. We had an early start with three others, and eventually all but one runner passed us. But no worries, I had warned the race director of our expected times in an email earlier. We chugged along.

Another gradual hill approached and about half way up I had to walk. Rick immediately slowed down to walk with me. I told him I was in the "dead zone". I was moving forward steadily, but could not think at all. It was all momentum. We started running again at the top and Jenny was running beside me. She chattered away, and I answered with things like "uh-huh", "yeah", "oh". Jenny, I'm confessing here - I have no idea what you were talking about, no idea at all. I appreciate the distraction though. We ran past an industrial area that seemed like it would never end - it was pretty - all landscaped and green, but still, it went on for ever. Finally, that area ended and the water appeared on our left, with the Seattle skyline straight across. Then the one runner that was still behind us caught up and passed us by - Marathon Maniac, King Arthur (remember, he started a full hour after us). We were officially the last ones out. By this time we were dodging walkers, bicyclists, roller-bladers and dogs. One group of strollers wandering by asked if we were training for a marathon, and seemed very shocked when we said we were running one right now.

At this point, Melissa began to pull away. I was focused on Arthur's yellow vest, then on Melissa's swinging ponytail. First I saw the vest stop. Then the ponytail stopped. Then I saw Eric snapping pictures and then I realized we were done. Done! We broke six hours! And then, while we were sitting in the middle of the sidewalk stretching, the rain started.

I forgot to mention who "we" were. Jenny and I, both running marathon #2, Rick, a virgin (hah!), George, who's last marathon was seven years ago (Marine Corp Marathon), and Melissa, who we will call an "accidental" marathoner. Why accidental? Because she joined us today to run 12 to 13 miles for training, and felt so good she just kept going - making it the first marathon for both her and Rick! They were great and they both looked fresh.

We were once again blessed with Eric, the most awesome crew ever. At first, he'd pop up every four to five miles. He'd be snapping pictures with not one, but two cameras. He'd have drinks laid out and be holding spare clothing. Then towards the end, he suddenly was appearing every mile or so. He was wonderful. And by the way, he PR'd yesterday at Autumn Leaves - 50 miles in 8:11. Steve had a great race too - the 50k in about 5:02 or so.

One last detail about my race - it was practically blister free! Yay! I have one tiny one on the tip of each second toe and that is it. I relaced my shoes a few weeks ago - skipping the first set of holes. I can't remember who suggested it, maybe Sarah? Who ever it was - thank you!

So, marathon #2 is history, now I've got twenty-one days till #3.