![\"Betsy](\"http:\/\/www.eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/BetsyGW.jpg\" "\\"Betsy")
Question: what has two thumbs and looks like a total dork? THIS GAL! I mean, really; could I have strapped any MORE gadgets to my body? Sheesh…<\/p>\nQuestion: what has two thumbs and looks like a total dork? THIS GAL! I mean, really; could I have strapped any MORE gadgets to my body? Sheesh…<\/p>\n
Anyhoo, all geekiness aside, I had an absolutely fabulous time on Saturday, despite not meeting my goal of a sub 2-hour half. I read about the Green River Marathon<\/a> in the same Runner’s World article<\/a> where I learned about the Marathon du Medoc<\/a> (although I feel compelled to make a correction: the article states to not expect volunteers or aid stations at Green River as the race is more training run than actual race. Not true! While indeed there isn’t an entry fee, we were supported by some fabulous volunteers at several aid stations. We could even buy a commemorative t-shirt for just $12!).<\/p>\n I originally had hoped to do the race as a relay with my darling, but he had a photo assignment. So I asked the race director about doing it as a half, and he said “No problem!” I picked the latter half since it ends along Alki beach, which as you can see offers fabulous views of the city (and okay, I also was looking forward to the post-race lunch at Spud’s Fish & Chips). However, given how hot the day was to become, I probably would have been wiser to choose the first half. Oh well!<\/p>\n Although I wouldn’t be starting my race until at least 10 a.m., I arrived at the start to help out and see the runners off. This year there were a little over 50 marathoners, 12 relay teams and a handful of half marathoners and 10 K’ers. After the group photo the race started at 8:30 (although they did offer an early bird start at 6:30 and 7:30 for those who needed a bit more time).<\/p>\n As mentioned earlier, I toyed with trying to break the 2-hour mark. I even programmed in a run\/walk workout into my Garmin that would put me on a sub 2-hour pace. However, it was clear from the start that it wouldn’t be a good idea. The temperature had been in the 80s all week, and it wasn’t going to let up. I don’t do heat very well, so I knew not to try to push it. (Several years ago one of my team members for the Hood-to-Coast relay had to be rushed to the hospital with severe heat stroke. It wasn’t a pretty sight). Just in case, I strapped on four Clif Shots and three water bottles to my belt, plus threw a Clif Bar into my pouch (gotta have proper sustenance, ya know!). I also planned on stopping at each aid station.<\/p>\n I intended to wait until a majority of runners had reached the half-way point before heading out, but as 10 a.m. rolled around it was already in the high 70s, so I took off. I passed a few people from the get-go, but made sure to let them know I was just starting at the half so they wouldn’t feel bad. The first few miles were actually rather shady, but soon the trail opened up and I felt the sun beating down on me (fortunately I slathered on plenty of sunscreen).<\/p>\n Because this isn’t a sanctioned race, none of the streets get blocked off, plus it’s not always clear where one must turn. At about mile 4 or 5 it got somewhat confusing; I stopped to ask the runner behind me, but he too was a newbie (they warned us that each year a few newbies will get lost). But a volunteer van soon showed up and directed us where we needed to go.<\/p>\n By mile 6 I was ready for something to eat, and I was thrilled to not only see an aid station with Rice Krispy Treats, they also had several slices of watermelon. It was a cool, delicious treat that was greatly appreciated. As always, I started to feel a slight burn in my quads by mile 7, so I downed a Clif Shot. The heat wasn’t too bad, but it definitely slowed me down (I was averaging about 9 3\/4 minutes\/mile during my running portion).<\/p>\n During the last 3-mile stretch I passed the race director, Steve. Now if I hadn’t just seen him alert and talking at the aid station, I would have been concerned. He’s a tall guy, and his gait by that time can best be described as a lumbering shuffle (although if I had just run 23 miles in that heat, I’d probably be lumbering too!). He passed me during my next walk break, but I once again passed him when I began my run. I figured I’d beat him with no problem, but with a little less than 2 miles to go, he overtook me. RASSENFRASSEN! (Perhaps the thought of Spud’s spurred him on).<\/p>\n Alki tends to get busy no matter what the season, but on a cloudless 80-degree day, it’s absolutely hopping. Fortunately there was a bit of a breeze, so the final stretch was quite pleasant. I crossed the finish line in just over 2 hours, 11 minutes; not my best, but pretty darn good considering the circumstances.<\/p>\n After taking several sips of Gatorade and water and downing yet another Clif Shot, I was ready for my post-race lunch. It was high noon, and the line at Spud’s was out the door. I used the wait as an opportunity to stretch my sore muscles. However, as I inched my way closer to the cashier I found myself getting light-headed. And of course the more I thought about it, the more light-headed I became. Just as the couple in front of me was placing their order I knew I had to sit down or pass out on the spot. So I got out of line, went outside and sat on one of the benches. After finishing my bottle of water I felt okay, but I had to go back to the end of the line. *sigh* This time I made it faint-free and was soon noshing on fried oysters and greasy fries.<\/p>\n I don’t think it gets any better than that!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Question: what has two thumbs and looks like a total dork? THIS GAL! I mean, really; could I have strapped any MORE gadgets to my body? Sheesh… Anyhoo, all geekiness aside, I had an absolutely fabulous time on Saturday, despite not meeting my goal of a sub 2-hour half. I read about the Green River […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-33","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-race-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=33"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=33"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=33"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eatdrinkrunwoman.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=33"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}