Eat Drink Run Woman

The interwebs are turning my brain into mush.  Whereas I USED to find the time to compose pithy prose, nowadays you’re more apt to find me on Facebook and various running forums with nary a pith to my name.  Pretty pithiful, I mean, pitiful (or pithiless?)

Anyhoo, I aim to reverse the trend.  I realize my blathering may not interest many, but it provides me with a great outlet for my writing.  And I’m not just talking race reports, although yes, this one will be.

When Elite Racing announced it was taking over the Seafair Marathon I was ecstatic — for once I’d be running a local inaugural race.  Even better, we managed to nab a couple of the one-day-only $47 registration specials.  Score!  At the time we weren’t yet Marathon Maniacs, so little did I know it would be my 5th race for the month.

I was really excited as not only would the race be held at a better time of year than the Seattle Marathon, it truly was a destination marathon.  Whereas Seattle may attract people primarily from around the Northwest, Seattle Rock ‘n Roll would be bringing in runners from across the country.  I was curious to see how the city would handle 25,000+ runners (the Seattle Marathon typically has about 12,000-14,000).  The race sold out in May, much to the dismay of several (I saw many bibs listed on Craig’s List for an exorbitant amount).

In an attempt to fortify my running karma, I volunteered at the expo the day before.  Fortunately I was placed in registration as I was able to sit (I figured standing all day would not bode well for the marathon).  But while my legs got rest my arm did not; after pointing toward the t-shirt/goody bag pickup about a bajillion times my shoulder started to ache!  Oh well.  The expo itself was one of the largest I’ve seen, rivaled only by Boston’s.  I showed restraint and didn’t buy a thing, save for two $50 registrations for next year’s race.  (It was an expo special; the cost has already increased to $100).

Because I’m such the Nervous Nellie, I warned my darling we’d be getting up at Oh God Thirty to catch one of the free shuttles to the start.  I’ve heard horror stories about runners arriving late to races due to horrendous lines, and I didn’t want to have the same experience.  (In fact, that was one of the major debacles of last year’s Seafair race; some runners didn’t make it to the start until almost a half hour later).  We carpooled with a couple of fellow Maniacs, parked our car about two blocks from the shuttles and were merrily driving down I-5 by 5 a.m.

The start area was teeming with runners, many in Maniac gear (at least 200-250 Maniacs were running the race).  We were a yellow force to be reckoned with.  Even though my darling was assigned corral 2, he decided to run with his brother, who was running the half.  Unfortunately he was assigned corral 36 — the very last one.  My darling had already given up his goal to BQ, but I still questioned his decision to start so far behind.   He figured he and his brother could somehow work their way up a few corrals.  About five minutes before the gun was to go off his brother called to say… he was stuck on the freeway.  (Being a Nervous Nellie has its benefits).  Luckily corral 36 wouldn’t get going for almost an hour after the first few corrals.  I kissed my darling goodbye and lined myself up in corral 8 (when I signed up for the race I estimated a 4-hour finish).

About 10 minutes after the first two corrals crossed the start line I did as well.  I maneuvered myself off to the side to allow the faster runners pass and settled into a steady pace.  Given the promise of bands every mile, I ran sans iPod.  This also enabled me to chat up my fellow runners, Maniacs in particular.  As we started making our way toward Lake Washington I met a new Maniac, Janet, who had come up from California.  We pretty much were running the same pace, so we decided to stick together.  I stopped for a potty break just after mile 6, but managed to catch back up with her.  However, a couple miles later she too succumbed to the call of nature.  I slowed my pace for a bit, then took a walk break.  But as the course made its way up to the I-90 bridge I got a surge of energy.  It was a glorious, cloudless day, and the views from the bridge of Mt. Rainier and Lake Washington were stunning.  This was the first out & back of the race, so I also got a boost from seeing my faster friends heading back as I was heading out.  I felt bad for not hooking back up with Janet, but I hoped she would understand.

After the turnaround the race started to get tough.  The temperature had risen by then and the bridge offered no shade.  The only bright side was seeing my darling heading out (turns out he and his brother were able to make their way up to corral 17).  I looked forward to hitting the Mt. Baker tunnel, as I assumed it would be cooler.  Unfortunately that wasn’t to be — it was hotter and muggier than the open air.  But on the bright side I caught up with my Maniac running buddy Jessica and we slogged ahead as best we could.  As we exited the tunnel and started making our way to the downtown streets my groin started acting up.  Jessica thought she had some ibuprofen in her pack (she’s always well-stocked with various provisions), but couldn’t find any.  I figured I’d be okay without it but she yells out, “Anyone have any ibuprofen?”  Sure enough, one of the half marathoners, who would be finishing within a few minutes, had one last vitamin I.  I thanked her profusely and gulped it down.

As we neared the Alaska Way viaduct the half marathoners turned left toward the finish and we headed north along the viaduct.  Both Jessica and I were feeling the effects of our doubles two weeks prior, so we barely spoke, instead focusing on relentless forward motion.  We exited the viaduct tunnel and began our ascent up Aurora (my darling passed me at that point).  Although it’s a gradual climb, given it started at mile 17 it was a tough slog.  However, for some reason I managed to pick up the pace and pulled ahead.  After a mile we hit the Aurora Bridge and a half-mile downhill.  But what goes down must go up, and when we hit the end of the bridge we had to turn around and run back up it.

In the beginning of the race, whenever saw a fellow Maniac I would enthusiastically wave to them.  But as I neared mile 20 the hills and the heat sapped my energy and I could only muster up a feeble thumbs up.  Although I really enjoyed the course, the last couple of miles were cruel.  We had to pass Qwest Field (the finish), continue along the viaduct for another mile, then turn around and head back.  To add insult to injury there was an overpass at mile 25 that seemed like Mt. Everest.  Fortunately we got a nice downhill section when turning off the viaduct, then the crowds spurred us all on.  It certainly wasn’t one of my fastest races, but at 4:25:52 it was the fastest one of my Monster Month.

While I had intended to take a break from marathons for the months of July and August, as I write this I’m readying myself for the Wild Thing — 10 laps around the 2.6-mile Lake Padden in Bellingham, Wash.  I also had my first DNF today; more to come on that!