Eat Drink Run Woman

This is going to be a down & dirty report since I’ve been obsessing over another little race I’m running on Monday. 🙂

My darling and I have wanted to run YRCM ever since we heard about it.  His mom lives in Yakima, and when we heard Bob and Lenore Dolphin put it on, we knew it would be amazing.  However, this year was out for my darling as he was shooting a wedding that day (the bride originally picked April 18, but he convinced her to change the date due to Boston).  I figured I wouldn’t run it either, but then discovered it would be a huge Marathon Maniac reunion.  How could I NOT run it?

To save on costs I advertised for a roommate on the Maniac message board, and within a couple of days fellow Maniacs Rikki, Marie and Cheri took me up on it (we figured we could stand sharing a bed for one night).  The cost of the room couldn’t be beat: $70, divided four ways.  While Cheri would be driving solo from Oregon, Marie, Rikki and I made plans to carpool.

I originally had Friday off, but a last-minute trip to Tucson the day after the marathon meant I had to cook for my Monday client that day.  Fortunately I picked a speedy menu and made plans to meet up with Rikki and Marie in North Bend at 2 p.m.  However, we were concerned about the weather — Snoqualmie Pass had to close Wednesday evening for several hours due to a severe snow storm.  WTF?  It’s April!

While the weather report promised better conditions come Friday, several Maniacs said they were looking into other route alternatives.  None of them appealed to me, as they would add several hours, meaning we probably wouldn’t make the 4 p.m. Maniac meeting, or even the 5 p.m. Maniac group photo.  We crossed our collective fingers that the pass would be clear.

I arrived at my client’s house at 10 a.m. and fortunately checked my email — the pass would be closing at 1:30 p.m. for avalanche control.  Doh!  Time to kick into high gear.  I managed to finish up just before 11:30 and headed home, pulling into my driveway at 11:45.  While I was mostly packed, I still had to throw a few more things into my bag, as well as take a shower.  But I decided vanity was over-rated and pulled back out of my driveway at 12:04 with slicked-back wet hair.  A half hour later Rikki and Marie were throwing their bags into the car and off we went.  We reached the cut-off point in plenty of time, but after crossing over the pass (it was bare and wet) we hit a long back-up (apparently there was a frost-heave that caused a bump in the road).

We arrived at the Selah Civic Center just before 4 p.m., picked up our packets and headed to the Maniac meeting.  They had each of us introduce ourselves and then handed us a special marathon mug and pin.  Sweet!  After taking the group photo we headed back in for a yummy pasta feed.  My mother-in-law called to arrange a meeting spot the next day, and mentioned she had dropped off a package for me at our motel.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered she had paid for our room!  I couldn’t believe it; that was so generous.

Despite getting a rather good night’s sleep, the alarm still went off far too early.  I made some oatmeal in the microwave using our new marathon mug and gulped down a banana as I got ready.  I had hoped to wear my new Maniac Brooks’ Powerpro mesh tank, but after stepping outside I knew I’d be more comfortable in a long-sleeved shirt.  We stopped by the motel lobby for coffee, then headed to the civic center where we boarded a bus to the start in Ellensburg.

Thankfully we had a warm building — with REAL bathrooms — to gather in as we waited for the gun to go off.  Like the night before, this was a great chance to catch up with fellow Maniacs and meet new ones.  Just before 8 a.m. we were called to the start about a quarter mile away.  One of the Maniacs sang the nation’s anthem and we were off!

While Rikki was hoping to BQ, Marie, Cheri and I would all be running the race slow.  However, despite Marie’s claims she’d be the slowest, she took off at a speedier pace than felt comfortable to me.  We planned on running a mile, then taking a 1-minute walk break at every mile marker.  But by mile 3 I decided I needed to take it at my own pace and wished Marie good luck (I actually figured I’d eventually pass her late in the race).

I settled into a comfortable pace and chatted with various Maniacs.  My heel was feeling pretty good, although the cambered roads aggravated it somewhat (I kept crossing back and forth trying to find the most level spot).  Race support was superb, and I took in fluids at most of the water stops.  I was thankful for the decision to wear a long-sleeved shirt as it was quite cool in the shade.

While I wasn’t wearing my earbuds I did carry my iPhone.  Starting at mile 16 I shot pictures of the mile markers and emailed them to my darling.  At mile 20 I thought I had something in my right shoe, so I stopped to get it out.  But once I started up again I realized it was a hot spot; I KNEW I shouldn’t have worn those new socks!  (I actually thought I had worn them before).  Fortunately the aid station a quarter mile away had Vaseline, so I slathered it all over the spot.

While the course is relatively flat, there are a couple of killer hills.  The first comes just after the half-way point, however, I was spurred on by the sounds of Van Halen and Lynyrd Skynyrd being played at the top (I blew a kiss to the men who had set up the sound system).  I also got a mental boost by passing several runners.  The next hill came just before mile 15, but we were rewarded with a long downhill after that.  The final hill was the worse, however: 1.2 miles long with almost 300 feet of elevation gain starting at mile 22.  I soldiered up it though and even took a call from my darling, where I breathlessly gasped “Hi. Mile 22. Big hill. Love you.”  When he mentioned to the wedding guests I had answered the phone they thought I was pretty awesome!

As I made my way up that final hill I kept telling myself it was great practice for the famed Newton Hills of the Boston Marathon.  But at mile 23 something happened that’s never before — a calf cramp!  I had taken in plenty of fluids and gels, so perhaps the cambered roads were to blame.  By then I had stopped taking walk breaks, but I figured if it continued for too long I’d stop to stretch and take in another margarita ShotBlock.  Fortunately it did subside and I powered through the final couple of miles.

At mile 25 I thought I saw Marie ahead of me, but it was another Maniac.  I was thrilled for Marie as I knew she was trying for a PR.  I ran mile 25 in 9:32, and mile 26 in 9:05.  Just as I reached the mile 26 marker I passed Cheri.  I also saw my mother-in-law and blew her a kiss as I ran by.  I crossed the finish line in 4:36:13.

This was indeed a VERY fun race that I hope to run again next year.