Saturday, June 27, 2009

Seattle Rock and Roll


The crowd - 25000 runners, about 7500 of them were marathoners, the rest did the half.

Well, I did it. It was 49 degrees when we got up this morning, and 79 degrees on the drive home. Forecast was a high of 77. Okay, okay. I knew I was taking a risk, but the weather has been varied here lately, and doesn't always match up with the forecast (surprise!) so I worked out a plan, and got it okay'd by Eric. My plan was to run while it was cool, and when it got hot, walk. Before I go any farther though, let me back up and tell the story from the beginning...

On Wednesday afternoon, Eric and I headed north to Seattle. I had a conference up there on Thursday, and Margaret very graciously offered us a night in her condo. We had a wonderfully relaxing afternoon and evening, and I attended an absolutely amazing eight hour lecture on Brain Rules. Wow! I got out of the lecture at 4:30 and we headed straight for the expo - which closed at six. Not so bad, it's just on the other side of town...wrong! Traffic. Seattle traffic compounded by the marathon expo and the Mariners game that had just finished up. At 5:20, I hopped out of the car in the midst of traffic and walked the rest of the way to the expo. Eric finally got to an area where he could park and met me shortly after. He had picked up his bib earlier, but of course, the Rock and Roll people wouldn't let him pick up mine. If there is any complaint about this race, this is it - the expo ended too early for working folk to get there amidst Seattle traffic and they wouldn't let anyone else pick up for you. Better change that!

We fought traffic to get out of Seattle as well, but finally got home. Friday was a kick-around day for both of us. I went for a three mile run to loosen up my legs, and then just puttered around all day.

We were up at 4:00 this morning, Laurie was here by 4:45, and Cat and Larry picked us up shortly after. We stopped to get George and headed north again. Larry was able to get us right to the drop-off point, then we had about a half mile walk to the corrals. I was in corral 28, Eric in corral 6. Once the gun went off, it took us 45 minutes to make it to where Eric's corral had started! Dori was up for the race, so she, Wendy, Tammy and I started together. Wendy, Tammy and I ran together for the first 13 miles, sometimes with Dori, and sometimes leap-frogging her.

At the half way point, Wendy was feeling good, so she and Tammy kept going. By this time, it was getting warm, so I decided to be proactive in my battle with the heat. I had filled my hydration pack with ice and water this morning (6.5 pounds) to help me stay cool, which was part one. I was applying sunscreen regularly to fight sunburn (did I mention I had a reaction to the sunburn I got in Spokane?). And finally, I decided to shift in to the old and familiar post-to-post method of running before I got into trouble. I pretty much did that from mile 13 to the finish. I figured it would keep my pace down, keeping me cooler, and hopefully, prevent some of the issues I had in Spokane. Doing that, the slight breeze in places, and the ice water at the aid stations in the last miles saved me. I finished in 6:04:40 and feeling good. Dori and I continued to leapfrog, with periods of running together, through out.


Heading to the stadium.


Finish line - remember to subtract the 48 or so minutes it took to get to the start line.


Dori and I.

It was a pretty good race for an inaugural - I didn't experience any mishaps or inconveniences. It was a pretty course, though the three out-and-backs seemed really, really long. I feel great now, and am pleased at my ability to manage the heat today. Wendy finished well, pulling in marathon #2, and Laurie did great with marathon #3. Cat ran a good race and so did Eric, and George in the half. All together, I think it was a good day!


The Happy Finishers.

16 comments:

Irene said...

Looks like a gorgeous day in Seattle!

I'm just a little envious that you did a Rock N Roll event in Seattle. Some day I'll have to do that one.

So glad you got to run with Dori!

Congratulations on yet another successful marathon!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations for logging another finish. Successive days of 100+ degree heat here leave me envious of the weather you guys are enjoying.

Anne said...

Sounds like your strategy worked just as intended, and I'm so glad to hear it. You and Eric both look very happy in that final photo. I read on another blog that she was in Corral #27 and took 45 minutes to reach the start. I thought she was exaggerating, but you confirmed it! That's amazing.

Ironayla said...

Congrats on another finish and managing yourself in the heat :) I worked yesterday and left early to try and beat any of the marathon traffic. As it was, I saw a bunch of buses going towards Tukwila as I was heading in to Seattle. Glad everything went well.

Sarah said...

Congrats on running a smart race! You're my hero. : )

Amazing that it took that long to cross the start line. But I guess its been awhile since I participated in a mega-marathon like that.

Unknown said...

Way to go! Looks like it was a lot of fun. I didn't have fomo though.

Joe said...

Very wise course and heart management, Michelle. So glad you felt good at the end. Ice water... smart!!

Gotta say 45 minutes to the start feels excessive. The Indy Mini Marathon has 35,000 runners and clears all of them in 30 minutes. There are ways to get going more quickly.

You two look great at the end... glad you enjoyed the day!!

Wes said...

Took some risks (on the side of caution), tried something new, crossed the finish line smiling. I'd say that was a good day :-) Well done!!!

Leslie said...

You continue to amaze, honey!

Anonymous said...

Way to go! :) Wow - what a crowd! 48 minutes to cross the start line? That's crazy! Sounds like it was a popular event. Glad you did well and avoided any heat incidents.

Slowrunner60 said...

Success was had by all. Finishing in that heat was success in itself. Feeling good at the end is even more success.Yea!!!

Darrell said...

Congrats on running the race the way you knew you'd need to get through without any issues.

A couple of the Cruisers were up there adding Washington to their lists of states, Margaret and Cindy.

Bootchez said...

Hi there, I just stumbled across your blog (due to the name, follow my profile and you'll see why) . . . congrats on your race, and I really look forward to checking out your archives and finding out more about who you are. I'll be around . . .

lizzie lee said...

Dear neighbor, I am glad you did it. I had it initially in my plans, but because all the unfavorable vicissitudes I've had, I did cancel the plan.

Glad this year the weather was "normal"!!! I was afraid of the weather too. Last year, that weekend, we had the hottest day.

cheers

Sunshine said...

Thanks for the "Brain Rules" site.
What a day you had!
I have been reading everything I could find about learning and the brain since Sweet Pea was about a year old.
Godspeed in your new opportunity.

Dori said...

Great race report! I waited to read yours until after I wrote mine. It was a hot day. I'm glad we were able to run together. :-)

Tell Wendy I said Good Job.