I woke up at 4 a.m. for this number and I'm hanging around at 10:30 to file the race report, so forgive me if some details get foggy. Mike, Mike's wife Tracy and I drove over to the hotel Paul was staying at and parked, planning to jog to the start. A couple saw us and offered a ride for the 1.5 miles, which we took even though it ended up not making things any quicker than they would have been otherwise. By the time we got out of the car, peed behind a garbage can and dropped our bags (and forgot the gels I packed inside), Mike and I made it to the start as the national anthem was being sung. We saw Paul up front, and snuck into a good spot in corral 1. We got off to a good start, it was a beautiful morning. The mix of half and full runners in the corral made it a little difficult to judge the intial pace, and we were just a tad quicker than expected on #1 (6:50). (Side note: band #1, on that first mile, was my favorite of all of them.) Except then we kept with that pace going, and followed the first mile with a 6:27, 6:37 and 6:34. The course was nice, kind of industrial/neighborhoods. It didn't feel fast, so we stuck with a faster pace than planned without complaining much. Then we did a 7:08 on a mile with some uphill, then cruised back down to Seward Park with a 6:19. (Incidentally, I and some others have questions about the distance on all these miles, some don't quite square. So take it all with a small grain of salt.) We came out on to Lake Washington Boulevard, which is a beautiful part of the course with a great water view and tree-lined street. I stopped at a port o pottie and let Mike go, and hit a 7:03 (6:28 minus the 35 seconds in the bathroom, actually). Still feeling great. I had Mike in view as I left, but didn't charge to hard after him. I figured I'd pick up a few seconds each mile and get him eventually. He started dragging when the course moved to the I-90 floating bridge, and after a 6:42 and 6:40 I caught up to him. The bridge was an odd place to run, just flat and the first real exposed part of the course. We finished off a 6:43 headed to the I-90 tunnel (where we met back up with half-marathoners). Then we hooked up for a 7:05. 6:19 and 7:36 (definitely a long mile there) to hit the half at a bit under 1:29. Pretty good pace, and ahead of our planned schedule. The strategy then became to keep a consistent pace through 18 or 20, and leave it all from there and see what happened. That's about when we hit downtown, and started heading uphill (though just slightly, the hills weren't quite as bad as I'd expected.) 6:06 (short mile), 6:54, and then a 7:46 as I left Mike up Highway 99. I was focused in really good at that point, moving steadily on the uphill and holding close to what could be 3 hour pace. I kept on it with a 7:15 and 7:37 -- still in the ballpark, but I was tiring. Not exhaustion like at Tri-Cities, so I wanted to keep my head about me and hang in there. I was focused on making the Aurora Bridge turnaround and back downhill to mile 21 at a consistent pace, that's where more gu was. I put in a 6:37 at that point, taking advantage of some downhill and pushing back up. Then the first cramp hit, left hamstring. Turned mile 20 into an 8:03 because of 20-30 seconds worth of stretching. Leg just balled up, which was frustrating because my energy level felt alright and I wasn't breaking down otherwise. I had taken two gels and hit every cytomax and water stop, and even though one more gu coming I knew I'd have to grit my teeth through at that point. I missed the mile 21 marker because I was having a gu and walked through the aid station, in an attempt to get something to help the cramping. 21/22 went about 8:10 each when averaged, so I had lost touch with 3-hour pace but still felt alright about where I was. Mile 23, unfortunately, was the killer. Both hamstrings turned into balls halfway through, and I limped to the ledge of the Alaskan Way Viaduct's upper deck (beautiful view of Puget Sound, by the way) to grab a rail to stretch on. Mike caught me at this point and moved back ahead. Mile turned into a frustrating 9:18, and then a 9:24 followed on 24 because of more stops. Just couldn't run through the cramps, when the muscle balls like that I can't take another step. On 25, whether the gu or cytomax, my legs started to relax. I caught Mike and notched a 7:25, moving ahead of him. I was feeling good again, and did it on a tough mile that includes the last good uphill. The Slug Club aid station is there, so seeing those guys was motivation. But just after the station, and after getting a rhythm back I wanted to finish with, I caught another small cramp and slowed slightly. Mike caught me again and we decided to finish together. We exited the viaduct and cruised down onto 1st Ave, picking up some speed. We hit the final stretch and actually even passed a guy within 50 yards of the finish. Last 1.2 was 8:35, putting us in just seconds over 3:11. A little frustrating because a few steps at those final aid stations I walked through cost me the 3:10, but still a p.r. Overall a fun race, and a blast to start and finish with Mike even though we ran separately (and passed each other back and forth throughout). The hamstring cramps were frustrating, but to finish without a real bonk or total breakdown in the legs is encouraging. If I can get whatever nutrition or processing problem solved and minimize the hamstring cramps (it's happened before) I'd be set for a really strong time. And I really like our "strategy" of going after it strong for 16 miles and setting up for a potentially great finish. That first half did feel great. Also, a pretty fun course and a well-run event (one complaint -- no band played Michael Jackson songs. Wha? C'mon, be timely.) Paul and I gorged on pizza tonight, so I'm fat and happy and by tomorrow will be rested. Well done.
supernova glide -- 325
| 