Seattle Rock n Roll Half Marathon

You can tell this race is coming up by the buzz in the air. With 26000+ athletes running and walking it not to mention all the cheering and set up and road closures, it dominates the running scene of Seattle.  It seems like everyone and their mother are running it and I think that is wonderful thing!

Ragnar team prep is kicking into high gear and this was a wonderful distraction to the lead up to this race.  I've been enjoying my workouts and feeling good.  What was the goal for this race?  I wanted to finish under 1:50 and finish strongly.

To facilitate all the major road closures, this race starts dang early down in Tukwilla.  Thanks to JB for driving myself and a couple of other runner friends to the start.  JB had planned on racing herself but had to bow out at the last minute.  As we all know a DNS (do not start) while always done for the right reasons is not the easiest thing to do mentally.

We made it to the start by the secret back door (although the race officials seem to have a better handle on those secret back doors) in good time and I was off to find a port o potty line (found it!) and bag check.  Holy sea of humanity.  I'd mostly avoided all of that over the past couple years but had to wade through on my way to the UPS trucks used for bag check.  With 30 minutes to go, I started my mile very easy warm-up.  I'm glad I did because I realized I had to go the bathroom again.  Those lines were ridiculous so I found a convenient bush.  Believe me I was not alone.  And then I roamed up to the starting corrals as I knew it would take a bit to get into them.

And I was ready.  This course is flat to vaguely downhill the first couple miles.  I planned on 8:10 pace, take it easy on the short hill at 3 and longer hill at mile 4.  I was planning on carrying a little bottle of water for the first few miles to avoid water stops and would ditch it when appropriate.

In short order we were off!  And I was very happy that the 8:09 pace I hit for the first two miles felt easy.  The weather was perfect 50 degrees and cloudy but not drizzly.  I wore short compression shorts and a sleeveless shirt.  the miles ticked along pretty quickly and suddenly I realized we were on the hill starting to climb at mile 4.  And I felt crappy all of a sudden.  Hmm.  Heart was up too high and it was time to eat.  At the next water stop, I walked through to get a gel and an electrolyte pill.  Even though it was cool, I was sweating pretty heavily so knew I needed to monitor fluids closely.

Right about here I spotted Tommy the UPS guy manning a water stop.  I see him often at work and he is the nicest guy.  He volunteered his time to drive a truck chock full of supplies (water and tables). He shouted out his usual greeting to me (my name at the top of his voice) and that made me smile and all those around me too.  What a nice boost. 

The downhill to the lake was pleasant and like usual I was amused by runner reactions of shock when we hit the very steep short downhill right at Seward Park.  Here I started to see CoachLesley support signs which made me smile.  The best one for me?  "whose idea was this anyway?"  Haha!  It was a good reminder to stay in the moment.

I started having some hamstring twinges around mile 7 or 8 which did not make me happy.  I'd ditched my water bottle by this point and made sure to walk right before the hills started again at 9.  That way i'd get in more water and rest hip/hamstring.  This worked. And I had a talk with myself about how you are supposed to feel around mile 8 or 9 of a half marathon.  I'd looked at heart rate data for successful halves in the past and was very surprised at how high it was for the entire time.  I wasn't used to effort for long races anymore.  It was ok to feel like I was working hard. I knew I had the strength to hold the last few miles.

At 10k, I'd been on a steady 8:08 pace even with the hill and a walk break.  From 6.2 to the 9 mile mat, I was a 8:42 pace for those less than 3 miles.  That takes into account walk breaks and the short, steep up to the I90 express lanes and the refocusing issues (ha).  Last year that short hill had been my undoing.  Everything felt awful after that and I limped through the tunnel.

This year, I got into the tunnel and started passing people and felt so much stronger.  It was wonderful.  I was taking manual splits with my garmin (as it doesn't work in the tunnel) and completely missed a mile in here.  We hit 2nd avenue and I enjoyed all the crowds.  I was sooooo thirsty by this point though.  I couldn't help it.  At mile 11-12 I took one more walk break to get in some water.  And then we were down Columbia to the viaduct and I was shocked to see I just had one more mile.  Last year the steep down had jacked up everything but this time, I was ready.  I had been continually monitoring my form and I came to the realization that I am running differently now.  I doubt I look any different running but I feel different.  I use my hip/butt muscles more (hill repeats work!) and I work to keep my gaze down just a bit so I don't sit back.  that sitting back when I get tired puts strain on my low back and hips.

Stay with it!  Focus!  Strong!  These were all going through my head as we finally made the turn off the Viaduct and then north to the finish line.  WHOOO! I could see a clock now and realized I was going to be under 1:50.  I wasn't sure by how much. 

1:47:41 Chip time - 8:13 pace overall!  Those last 4 miles I covered in 8:00 flat pace.  I'd call that a strong finish!  In 2009, I ran this race in 1:47:42.  Haha!  It has been a long and bumpy road to get back to this point and I am delighted.  Thanks to Coach Lesley for helping me figure it all out.

Rock n Roll or bust!

Unfortunately that was a bust!

The Seattle Rock n Roll Full and Half marathon had over 27,000 participants this year.  Incredible!  They do know how to put on a race of this size.  Everything is well organized.  I even chatted with a favorite vendor (Sound Sports) who was at the expo.  According to her, even the vendors benefit and the expo is well organized adn they are very well treated.  That was nice to hear. 

I managed to hitch a ride with JCB and other Coach Lesley athletes to the start of the race in Tukwilla.  JCB's husband is the ultimate in taxi services and knew just where to go to avoid all traffic.  And the drop off was close to my secret bathroom which I found last year when I gave up waiting in porto-potty lines for over 2500 people.  No.  I'm not telling!  I wore a throw away shirt and planned on not checking anything.  It was fun traveling light. 

It was a perfect morning.  Low 50s, cloudy and cool with no wind.  It was humid and I did take an electrolyte tablet early as I'd knew I'd need the salt.  Since I had signed up for this race last summer with discounted pricing, I'd had some other goals in mind when I seeded myself.  I was in corral 3 (out of 30 or more) but that would be too fast for me know so I tucked myself into Corral 4 after a good warm-up.  Ready!

Obviously the organization listened to issues from last year.  This year they had PA system set up so the people in front could hear what was going on.  I listened to the national anthem and marveled at how quiet so many people could be.   She sang "In the dawn's early light" and you could see all those late runners scurrying around.  Pretty funny, I thought. 

I placed myself behind the 1:45 pace group for the half and pretty far back.  My aim was to run 8:15 pace for the first few flat miles, take it easy on teh big hill at mile 5, get back on pace on the flats, don't lose it on the hill and tunnel and then keep it strong on the downhill and finish.  1:47 is what I ran last year.  I was doubtful I'd do that but was thinking I was in 1:48 - 1:49 shape based on a recent 10k.

and we were off.  It was crowded and so right away I was right on 8:15 pace and feeling good.  I carried a small bottle of water so I could avoid the crowds at the aid stations and not have to stop to drink out of those cups.  That works very well for me.  I was worried my shoulder which has been bugging me (from that trail fall a month ago) would not like carrying water but it wasn't an issue.   Tick, tick, tick.  The miles just fell away.  And then we start the very long hill at mile 5. It's not real steep but it definitely goes up and I could feel it.  I honestly did not want to push here so just took the pace easily.  the downhill was nice on the backside.

8:15
8:14
8:23
8:24
9:26
8:02

I was tending to a bit slower than I wanted but the effort felt right so I chose not to try and push it.  Mile 6 is still pretty early in a half.  I had decided to wear headphones (in one ear) and my ipod.  Last year most of the bands weren't quite awake or something when I came through.  This year they did better but I was still glad I was wearing the ipod.  With such a big race and at half marathon pace, there isn't chatting going on.  I'd done a special playlist and was really enjoying it.


:insert music here:

Praise You by Fatboy Slim.  A feel good song for me with a lovely line "I have to praise you like I should."  It always makes me thankful for all the things I can do and all the wonderful people in my life.  I was also enjoying seeing Seattle at it's best.  It was green and glorious and felt so nice out there.  There were numerous people out cheering too.  Nice!  50 states and 12 countries were represented at this race and it's nice to show off the city.

And then around mile 7, I started to feel the first twinges of my hip.  Oh, that isn't good.  I tried switching up my stride a bit with quicker turnover and then slower turnover.  Sometimes that can help.  Slowing definitely can help as I knew from long runs.  I'd taken a gel at about mile 5 so I made sure to finish water off and decided I was going to need more and took my first aid station stop in here.  Six miles.  Can the hip hold it together?

8:29
9:18
9:05
9:27

They did seem to change the course this year to the more gradual climb (starting at 8.5) to access the very steep short access road to the I-90 tunnel.  I found that a bit easier but I still kept it easy on the very steep section.  And had a huge laugh as "Stayin' alive" by the Bee Gees came on.  Last year I got way too hot in the tunnel which this year wasn't an issue.  I do find the tunnel rather horrific though.  The sound of traffic from the other tunnels echos strangely and I really dislike it.  It's creepy to me. I put in the other earbud at this point.  the hip was starting to bind and ache.  And I know from experience that I will eventually be unable to maintain any sort of pace as I stop being able to extend my leg.  At mile 9, I took my first stop to stretch out the hip and hamstring as I stopped being able to extend it and my race was done.

Nope.  Hip couldn't hold it together.  I had to alternate running in and stopping to loosen the hip.  Frustrating to say the least.  Once off the I-90 bridge, I was tempted to jump off the course and just jog it in to the meeting place but ultimately decided I didn't want another DNF. 

8:37 (downhill)
17:48
0:53
1:54:21 or 8:44 pace overall.

Basically this was a good tempo run with marathon pace at the end.  And really, marathon pace or easier is what the hip can handle once it is irritated.  Doing the marathon training for Lincoln, I'd managed to keep the hip under control but knew long runs would irritate it.  I was encouraged that as I built distance that moment when all of a sudden I'd be aware of the hip got later in the run (first 8, then 12, then 15 or 16) but running at the faster half marathon pace brought up the issue sooner.  And I've been lax in some of the care I do to keep it happy.  When the trail fall, I couldn't do yoga as easily with my shoulder so iffy.  I'd had a hard time getting into get a massage since work was so busy.   Don't you hate it when you try to ignore things and they come and bite you in the butt (literally)? 

All the coach Lesley gals had run really well and there were numerous PRs.  that was great to hear and listen to people's race stories.  I was pretty quiet but very happy for everyone though.  I was in a bit of shock at how quickly the race had turned and really was questioning my training and the choices I'd made.

And now it's been 24 hours later.  I knew the hip was starting to act up and I wanted to address the problem before I decide what my next goal should be.  I called last week and made a physical therapy appointment for this coming wednesday.  I am SO glad I did this.  I honestly cannot think of a time I've not dealt with some mild hip issue which at times has gotten worse.  I'd love to figure out what this is and the PT (recommended by multiple friends plus husband who has had success after a long and frustrating injury) sounds like just the right fit.  I went off and did a really nice and easy trail run this morning.  Hamstrings are tight but the leg with the bad hip is very sore in both quad and hamstring as all muscles struggled to compensate for a hip/butt which wasn't working correctly to move a leg.  the trail run felt so nice though and a great way to move the legs without bothering anything. 

Yesterday I spend a lot of time vacillating between I need to take a month off of running to I need to run many more miles.  Shock and anger and frustration was getting the better of me.  Today?  Keep up the 30-40 miles per week with biking and get back on the core/weight  training program and see what happens with PT.  I do plan to ask a some questions regarding my thoughts that I may be much better at shorter distances.  How can i train to get better at longer ones? There's always been a huge disconnect between my PRs at shorter distances to longer distances and I'd like to look at that in better detail. 

And because I plan on using this playlist again for half marathons, here is what powers a PuddleThumper:


warm-up:
On the Road to find out - Cat Stevens
Have you Ever - Brandi Carlile

Superstition - Stevie Wonder
Silence - Delerium & Sarah McLachlan
Come on Eileen  - Dexy's Midnight runners
Once in a lifetime - Talking Heads
Brimful of Asha (Norman cook remix) - Cornershop
That's Not my Name - the ting tings
Take your mama - Scissor Sisters
Mamma Mia - ABBA (yes, really)
I got it (What you need) - galactic & Lyrics
I see you Baby (Fatboy slim Remix) - Groove Armada
heads will roll - yeah yeah yeahs
american idiot - green day
daylight robbery - imogen heap
last train to lhasa - banco de gaia
vacation - the go-go's
praise you - fatboy slim
land of a 1000 dances - wilson pickett
stayin' alive - bee gees   :-D
I love baby cheesy (skippy mix) - banco de gaia
rock this town - stray cat strut
suddenly i see - KT turnstall
the dusty miller - the Chieftains
marvo ging - the chemical brothers
when you're falling - afro celt sound system
synchronicity 1 - the police
the wind that shakes the barley - the chieftains

June Gloom...

Cloudy and rainy lately but lots going on!  I'm too busy to be gloomy.  

There is something about these longer days in May which make for, uh, very long days!  it's easier to get up in the morning since it is so bright at 5:00 am and it's hard to get into bed at the regular time because it is so light out at 9:30 pm.  Add in World Cup, home renovation, training, busy at work and I cannot believe it's already past mid-June!  Happy Summer Solstice! 

World Cup:  we spend a lot of the day trying not to see results and then the evenings watching a lot of soccer.   I am loving every minute of it except for that horrible referee call in the US v Slovenia match. 

Home renovation:  After spending a good chunk of our lives renovating our old house ourselves, we are ready to call in a contractor to rebuild our crumbling porch.  We've found the contractor we want and will be setting up when this work will be done.  I cannot wait!  meanwhile, we have two large shrubs which need to be removed.  One shrub we planted shortly after moving into the house 13 years ago.  It was very, very happy in it's spot and was a shorter lived shrub and suffered the last couple winters we had.  I'd been planning on removing it anyway.  The other shrub is a beloved Kalmia (picture) which came with the house.  They are slow growing so who knows how old the one is outside our front steps.  It is blooming now and it is tough taking it down.  I researched a bit about taking a cutting but found it wasn't teh right season and Kalmia don't take to that all that well. 

Training:  The Seattle Rock n Roll Half is next weekend!  I am very excited.  Training has been going pretty well.  I've had some confidence boosting runs of late and feel that this race will help me move past the mental block I've had against racing longer distances.  It's not going to be a PR effort as I'm not in that sort of shape but I am hoping for a solid run.   Last year was rather warm, it'll be a big joke if this year's race is warm.  It has been a wet and cold late spring. See the raindrops on the kalmia above?  I kept waiting for a sunny day to take a picture but no luck.

I have been focusing more of roads of late but I had the best trail run yesterday on my favorite trail.  It's a really tough trail.  Overall uphill for 8 miles and then features a screaming descent for 1.8 miles.  I offered to mark the course for a Coach Lesley group run.  This way, I could get my run in and still see friends.  Since I have the half marathon next weekend, I knew I needed to keep this run super easy and marking the course (using colored chalk to put arrows down on trails to direct runners) is a very good way to keep it easy.  The fastest kid of the group caught me  at the end on teh uphill to Wilderness Peak so I had a good time chatting with this kid for a few slow miles.  Since I knew where we were going, he had to stay behind me!  I love how running can bridge a gap between such different people. 

And I finally realized what bothers me about my trail running shoes.  I've been wearing La Sportiva Wildcats which I like very much.  Good lugging on the sole and fits my foot pretty well. they are a little too stable a shoe for me but work well enough for softer trails.  I do not like wearing them on roads or even gravel trails.   I like the bumpers on the toe.  However, I hate the built-in gaiter (lace cover thingy in photo on left) on the shoe.  What is the problem?  It is supposed to keep out rocks and sand but for me it keeps me from cinching the shoe tight enough and i end up banging my toes at the end of the shoe.  It's not tight enough.  So I took a pair of scissors to that little problem and voila!  I can't wait to take the shoes out for the next trail run.  It's my first shoe surgery and I'm happy about it!

Last but not least, the kittens (but now over a year old) York and Keswick continue to amuse and delight.  the new treat is raw chunks of chicken necks.  York is a little mouthy and enjoys really gnawing at them.  Good stuff and supposed to be good for their teeth.  It looks like a workout when they are going at them.  And they do not mind the weather.  Good for sleeping. 

Seattle Rock n Roll Half Marathon

I signed up for this race back in March when I’d heard it was going to sell out. They were capping the race at 25000 runners and it was planning on selling out?! I had to be in on an inaugural race which would just dominate the city as those numbers are unheard of in this area.

Training has been going pretty well. I really need to limit my miles as my foot (FUPF! :mutmad:) can be touchy. I’m about ready to go back to the podiatrist and see what my next options are about that. :meh: I realized this week that I really haven’t been doing any speedwork besides the occasional race or trail race. Trail running is a different sort of beasty and just doesn’t translate for me well for speed. I’ve got the shorter speed in place now but with no good longer tempo runs besides a 5 mile road race mid-may I knew this might be a bit tough especially with my overall lower mileage. Oh well. Onward!

My training group offered a carpool drop off over to the start. I’m really glad I did that as it was a friendly packed van that got a ride to the start to lovely Tukwila. I got to sleep an extra hour and only got up at 4:30. As an inaugural event, we ran into the first glitch right here. The freeway backed up for over a mile to get to the offramp for drop off. I think if this had really been a goal race, I’d have been freaking out! As it was, it was just rather humorous to me.

I still got over to the starting area with 30 minutes to spare and was overwhelmed by the huge crowds of people. There were gigantic lines for all the portapotties and I needed one! I had traveled light so didn’t need to check a bag. But I realized there was no way I’d get through the lines to use the facilities and be able to do a warm up.

Off I went to do a warm up and find a shrub. Just a quarter of a mile away, it was peaceful and quiet and a beautiful morning. I happened to see a trail leading up a road and found a park with my very own porta potty – brand spankin’ new with no one around. Picture it sitting in a beautiful field with the sun shining on it and birds flitting around. I have never been so happy! :laugh:

Business taken care of, I jogged back to the start my mile warm up done and a smile on my face and wandered into the sea of humanity. I had put a finishing time of 1:43 when I signed up so was seeded into corral number 2 (out of 36!) for this event. I knew I’d not be starting in that group but it was fun to wander up and up and get to the front of the race.

(I have to include the amusing story from work: I’m riding the elevator and a guy gets on bursting with energy at the end of the day. I’m just as happy since it was Friday at 4:30. He immediately tells me he is so looking forward to the weekend because he is running in big event tomorrow. Seriously, I haven’t said anything to him and I’ve never seen him before. I agree and say that I am too and it should be lots of fun. He immediately asks which corral I’m in. when I say “2” his jaw drops and he is speechless. I felt like a rock star! He says he’s in corral 14. I mention that I’m just doing the half and he says he is too. :blush::laugh: )

For a Rock n Roll marathon and 25k people I was expecting more noise at the start. It was super quiet. Only one announcing system set up and it was much farther back and not pointing towards the start. I couldn’t really hear the national anthem played at all. The elites start just a couple of minutes late. I’ve put myself into corral 3 and have my eye on the 1:45 half pacer. In just a few minutes, we’ve moved up and we are off.

I immediately settle into pace and I’m feeling good. The pacer is just to the side with a big group and he’s right at a good pace. I gradually start speeding up but notice it and settle back and watch the 1:45 pace group gradually get farther and farther away. What does 1:45 pace group mean to you? :wtf: I was surprised but maybe they are running a bit fast to plan for a bit of a slowdown on the later hills.

I hit the 5k mat at exactly 8:00 pace and congratulate myself. Mile 5 featured a gradual mile long hill. I was dismayed to find I really didn’t have much energy for this hill. I know not to push hills as I blow up on them sometimes so when that mile clocked at 8:57 I was a bit dismayed. I figured it was a bit long and sure enough it was plus I was just slow. :pbbt:

With the crowds, I decided to carry a small water bottle mostly empty and crumpled so it was easy to carry. This way I could skip all water stations the first half of the race. At 5 I had pitched it and at 6 I took a first walk break to get water in. I was really feeling warm when we were in the sun. And then it started getting tougher. I was still on pace (for a bit) but know the area really well and knew just how freaking far away it was until the turn towards downtown.

I promised myself I’d run no more road half marathons in here. Then I laughed at myself and realized that yep, I was racing. Decided to turn the brain off and focus on form and the scenery and the course. I did enjoy the bands along this course and there were more spectators out for a seattle race than I’ve ever seen. I guess that’s because normally the seattle marathon takes place in late November when the weather is horrible. :rollseyes: It was nice to see people out and cheering.

We finally make the turn up the short, steep hill to get to the express lanes of the I-90 freeway. The full marathoners turn off here to do an out and back on the floating bridge and the halfers turn towards downtown and go into the tunnel. That was awful. It’s hard cement road and my legs immediately started aching. It’s hot with no breeze at all and strangely echoy of traffic. I know I slowed in here and just endured. It’s also uphill. But wait the fun doesn’t end! Once out of the tunnel at 10, you are still on a freeway. Nobody about except tanker trucks honking in support :hug:, hard cement and more uphill.

Finally at mile 11, we start the downhill and then hit city streets. I’m hoping to pick it up in here but I think I just stayed steady. There are tons of people out cheering and this is really nice. Someone on the side spots me around 11.5 and shouts out my name. Turns out it’s Mark Mandi who came in 6th overall in the half @ 1:08:52. We were on the same team for a relay in April and he is just a nice (speedy elite) guy.

We run through the streets and make the turn to get onto yet another freeway. Yay! :rollseyes: This one is the elevated viaduct which runs along the Seattle waterfront. After half a mile, I come across a runner down with two people around him. I immediately stop and ask if they need help. I do have a cell phone on me. That runner was completely out of it and lying strangely. I think he might have fallen and hit his head. They say that help has been called and someone is coming so I start running again. Really that was disturbing to see and shook me up a bit. :sad:

We finally hit the downhill of the freeway off ramp and I’m not falling for going out too fast for the finish which I know seems close but is deceptively far away. Of course I fall for it again but it doesn’t matter, I’m ready to finish! It was still early and sparse in the finish area and it took me a bit of walking very slowly to feel ok. Then I call my husband and we chat and he’s been tracking so many people online so I know how everyone is doing. That was pretty cool.
lap time distance according to garmin
1 8:02 1.02
2 15:57 2.01
3 8:01 1.01
4 8:59 1.05 hill
5 7:45 1.00 downhill
6 7:54 0.98
7 8:29 1.02 asleep? probably a water break.
8 8:32 1.02 feeling icky
9 5:03 0.09 hit split at marathon mile marker and in tunnel so distance is off.
10 11:36 1.84
11 17:20 2.18

From Garmin 13.2 miles :rollseyes: in 1:47:40.
I was 50th in my age group out of 1700. :laughs:

I went wandering off after potato chips :hug: , banana, cytomax :meh: and water and waited at mile 14 hoping to see my friend running the full. I couldn’t do the math at all and had to call husband to help me figure out when he’d be coming based on start time, split times etc. Eventually I spotted RPD and ran with him a block. He was looking great!

The other fun part of this race was then going to the local running store downtown to pick up my trail shoes I’d ordered. The owner was manning the shop while his wife was running the full. I went to work to change and get online briefly. Evidently I dawdled too much as I then went up to mile marker 21 to see if I could catch the friend again and run with him a few miles. I missed him by 10 minutes. :sad: but also :happy: since he'd not slowed down.

Overall it was a really fun day and I’m glad I did this race. It’s nice to confirm where I am right now although, honestly, it is a bit depressing at the same time. Foot never bothered me while running and that was great.

For anyone who may need WA as a state, I do think this is a tough marathon course. Too much cement and at mile 14, the full marathoners get on a freeway and essentially have no cheering or crowd support until the finish. But it does go by some very pretty scenery and the weather this year was good.

Onto the next 10 mile trail race in two weeks!