The Seattle Marathon - Race Report

November 30th, 2014. Race start – 8:15AM
 
Training: Here is the training plan that I used. I was already running five days per week, so I did a variation of the Hal Higdon plan that I used for my previous marathon. I truncated it into 11 weeks instead of 18. Each week was great until around week 7. Daylight savings time meant it got dark at 4PM. Running in the dark isn’t my favorite, but headlamps help. During week 10, I went to a conference in Denver for the week. I had to wake up early every day to run, and it was the week of the polar vortex, so temps were in the negatives each day. I stayed on my running schedule, but my flight out Saturday was really late, and I didn’t feel like running 20 miles Sunday, so I only ran 5. Tried to make up some mileage the next week, but it didn’t really happen. I still felt very prepared, especially considering I only took 11 weeks to train. I should also mention here that I trained on hills. See: end of race report for why that matters.

Weather: Sunny, clear. Start of the race: 23^o F. High for the day: 36^o F. Wind: average of 1.2mph, gusting up to 8mph (the weather man lied!) I can handle the cold, so the beginning wasn’t bad. Warmed up completely around mile 2, and stayed warm throughout the entire race.

Gear: Top to bottom: Buff, Brooks running jacket, fleece zip up, long-sleeved sweat wicking shirt, Adidas sports bra, Sugoi running tights, Experia running socks, Adidas Supernova Glide 6 Boost shoes.

The Race:

Map of the course.

 The race started pretty flat. Running to the I-90 express lanes was cool because you could see SafeCo and CenturyLink fields. I’ve also never run on an interstate before. The I-90 floating bridge to Mercer Island was freezing. The wind was whipping off of the water and beating down on the bridge. Gusts up to 8mph? More like 20! The bridge still had a little bit of frost, so running on it was kind of slick. Mile 8 began when you turn off of the I-90 bridge after going over to Mercer and back. Then began the 10+ miles of running on Lake Washington Blvd. Did I mention it was windy by the water? It was the worst going around Seward Park because the wind was really strong, and the park was exposed compared to the blvd. I’m pretty sure I cursed the wind a few times. I also realized around mile 8 that I had to pee really bad. I never used a porta-potty during a race before, and each time I found one, it was occupied. I didn’t want to wait and watch time slip away, so I waited for five miles until I got to one that was unoccupied, got in and out within a minute, and caught up to the 4:25 pace group. Also, during the first few miles I was averaging 8.5-9 minute miles. Realized I was running a tad too fast to keep that up for 26.2, so I slowed down, got in the 4:25 pace group, and hung out there until about mile 15. Around mile 15 I was tired, the wind was getting to me, and I really wanted to walk. I could tell I was getting sore, but my mistake during the Omaha Marathon was walking because I cramped up, and never got fully started again. Therefore, I didn’t let myself walk. I actually never walked once this entire race, even up the hills! Speaking of hills…somewhere between miles 20 and 22 there were a lot of hills. I ran them all. The worst was at Interlaken Blvd. It was a steady incline that felt like it lasted forever. I was warned that this hill existed at the expo, so I was ready for it. There was a nice pedestrian trail from mile 22-23ish that went through a wooded area. This was mostly uphill as well, but it was a nice change of pace from the suburban landscape. At mile 23 I knew I basically had a 5k left, so I didn’t care about any pain I was feeling. The last three miles are kind of a blur because I was so excited to get to the finish line. Around mile 25, I texted Mike because I realized he was not expecting me to finish so much faster than my previous time, and that I had been running for only 4hrs 10 minutes. It was then that I got a little bit emotional because I was going to PR by so many minutes. The last 0.2 miles consisted of a wonderful crowd, annoying hill into Memorial Stadium, a PR by 43 minutes, and some happy tears.

Finish line: Going from concrete to turf was a nice way to finish. My feet felt like they were floating during that run into the stadium. The announcer also announced my name to the crowd as I crossed the finish line! This is when the tears started, and I finished in 4:24:35.

Nutrition: I used GU’s throughout my training. I think I’m addicted to the salted caramel ones. I just heard that they have a new flavor, salted watermelon, and I need to try it...like now. Anyways, I used four on my run. I downed one each hour with water/Gatorade at the water stations. Hydrated a lot the night before with water/Nuun, and didn’t feel dehydrated at all on race day.

Volunteers/Aid Stations: These guys were great! The volunteers at the water stations were always friendly and kept the stations very clean. I realized that the Seattle PD/volunteers had to shut down traffic on the busiest traveling day of the year! How they did it, I have no idea, but somehow they successfully and efficiently managed this race and shut down a major interstate the Sunday after Thanksgiving.

Overall: I think the experience was amazing. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I am planning on it next year (barring no injuries). I’m so glad I trained on hills. That is what allowed me to run the entire thing and not stop once. I want to continue getting faster, and improve my mile pace so I can someday qualify for Boston, but that is probably a few years away. I also felt really good the following day. Not really that sore, and was on my feet all day. I think I trained the right way this time! Yay, for injury free running!

Thanks for reading! Onto the next running adventure! You'll just have to wait and see what it's going to be!

xoxo

Running out of daylight - Week 3/4/5 wrap up

I can't believe that I'm already into week five of training. Time sure flies. Weeks three through five have been pretty great so far, and as of right now, I have no injuries and no pain (even after my 10-mile run this morning)!

Here's what the schedule has looked like:

Week 3:
Weekday runs: 4-miles, 5-miles, 3-miles; Long run: 5-miles

Week 4:
Weekday runs: 4-miles, 5-miles, 3-miles; Long run: 9-miles

Week 5:
Weekday runs: 4-miles, 6-miles, 3.5-miles; Long run: 10-miles

Week three was really easy. I'm starting to think I should have pushed myself on my long run to go about seven miles. Unfortunately, I was almost late for the Seahawks game, so I ran a super fast five miles and had no space for extra mileage.

Week four was fine, except the long run was the longest I've run since I injured my leg two years ago. That was nerve-racking. I finished though and after a looooonnngggg foam rolling sesh, my leg was fresh, and felt great. This was also the week where I was running in salty fog near the Puget Sound. Talk about a way to dehydrate fast!

Salt fog. Great view, right?

Week five (this past week) was also pretty smooth. I ran around Ruston Way/Puget Sound on a few runs and Point Defiance.

Fog rolling in on 4-mile run, Ruston Way.

The Mountain on a really clear day from Ruston Way.

On my moderate mid-week running day, I got done with work at 5:00-ish, got home around 5:30, quick change into run gear, get bike on car, drive to Point Defiance, start run around 6:00. We start and it's barely dark. I think I can outrun the sun and Mike agrees that we have enough daylight left. Oh my, were we wrong. Almost three miles into the run (mind you, this was a six mile run, so pretty much half way) we get to the darkest part of the trail. Tons of trees are blocking the few sun rays that are left of the day, so it was basically dark in the forest. I start getting scared and we make a plan for me to jump on the back of the bike if we need to jet. Of course I want to keep running so I can make the exact halfway point, but we turn a corner, and it was just too eerie. Being in a dark forest at night with animals moving around you, no one to be seen, and no lights with you, well...our minds got the best of us, and we decided it was time to turn around. The next 3-ish miles were the fastest I've run in a while. Mike was on the bike and was by my side the entire time. It was quiet and dark. As we're discussing how creepy this run is getting, I decide to turn my flashlight app on. Mistake. Animal eyes....everywhere. We saw deer and raccoons. At least we kept telling ourselves that's what they were.

We finally get back to the car, quickly put the bike on, fastest stretch session ever, and get out of the park. It was empty as we were driving out. Mike now understands the importance of me not running alone on my nightly runs. Especially since daylight was gone in what felt like an instant, and I'll be starting my runs after the sun has already set in the next few weeks. Lesson learned though. I'd much rather be running through dark city streets than a dark forest.

Here's a picture from the start of that run. Looks like it could get dark in maybe an hour or longer..right?! Nope, we maybe had 20 minutes of daylight left in this photo.

Point Defiance - 5 Mile Drive

We tried getting pictures at the end, but our phone cameras could not pick up enough light, and the photos were just black.

I've mentioned my IT band strength training routine that I do after every run, but I must say, there is another reason I've gone injury free so far. FOAM ROLLER!..boy is that a godsend. Even after ten miles today, my legs feel fresh and rested. All of my tight muscles get a super massage from that wonderful invention after my runs, and so far it's making the difference in my running. Highly recommend! It hurts (so bad!), but it's so worth the results. This is what I use.

I also got new shoes recently. Adidas Supernova Glide Boost. I was using the Asics Gel-Nimbus shoes for a really long time, and they were great, don't get me wrong, but it was time for a change. The Supernova's are really light and bouncy. They have these little bouncy, rubber balls that make up the midsole. They call it "Boost", and I'm not lying when I say I can actually feel the difference between my other running shoes and these. They make me feel like I'm bouncing around while I'm running, and I like to think I get a little bit of energy back with each step. The midsole material also stays flexible in cold temperatures, which is awesome. I always hated leaving my running shoes in my car in the winter, just to put my feet in hard, non-flexible shoes and start running with what felt like cement blocks. So, I'm pretty excited to see how these hold up when the temperatures drop.

Did I mention the weather has pretty much cooperated!? It's super gorgeous in this part of the world right now. Here's what this morning's ten miles looked like at Point Defiance Park:

And here's this weekends hike at Mount Rainier National Park. We went with some friends.

Tipsoo Lake/Naches Loop trail - Mt. Rainier National Park

 I couldn't resist running on these gorgeous trails!

Until next time! Here's to injury free running!

Week two recap

I'm officially into week two of training. Yeah! So far it's been fairly easy to keep up with my truncated training plan. It's also staying light until around 7PM here, so it has been easy to get in my runs after work. However, soon the daylight will be gone by the time I get home from work, and that means I'll have to run in the early AM or in the dark PM. Mike has graciously volunteered to be my training partner when the days are too dark to run alone. I see a headlamp in my future.

Today was my long run for the week - seven miles! For my weekly long runs, I've been going to a local state park that has a five mile loop. It's very close to our home which makes it an easy drive. The park is a beautiful rainforest-like environment with huge trees and sweeping views of the Puget Sound. It makes for some amazing runs in complete peace and quiet. In the mornings, it is closed off to traffic until 1PM which makes it an ideal place to run without being scared of cars. Although, some cyclists sound like cars picking up speed when they are flying down the hill, so it's always best to be alert. It's a great park for hiking as well. It has well over five miles of trails throughout, however, I've yet to run the trails. I'm keeping to the streets until I'm confident I won't roll my ankle or trip on a tree branch because I'm distracted by a caterpillar. All very real concerns considering this morning I saw a caterpillar while running, and immediately stopped, grabbed a leaf, and helped it to the side of the road, all whilst yelling, "It's so cute!" and having no care who was running/biking past me. So...you can see my dilemma.

Free to run anywhere on these empty roads.

Scenic overlook.

For my weekly runs I've been running around our neighborhood. We live less than a mile from the Sound, so it makes for really great running scenery. Doesn't hurt that the neighborhood in general is super gorgeous, but once you start running in fog and drizzle, the scenery sure makes you forget how annoying the rain can be. The smell of the Sound is also kind of relaxing. It reminds me of when I was living on the bay in Maine. It definitely smells fishy, but in the mornings with the fog in the bay and wind coming off of the water, it just feels like everything in the world is right.

The Puget Sound

Today's run felt great, and I'm hoping I can keep up the positivity with these workouts. I'm really keeping an eye on my IT band, just to make sure I'm not overdoing it. After every run, I'm foam rolling (lifesaver!) and stretching. So far, that has been key. I also started my physical therapy exercises again to keep my glute/quads in check. The last thing I want is to get lazy with it, and hurt myself again. This is a great video outlining a basic IT band rehab routine, and it's very similar to what I do. Gotta keep those glutes strong, and running all of these hills won't hurt either!

Speaking of hills, I'm going to try and remember to get a picture of the hills this city has. It's insane. Remember when I said I run to the Sound, well it's all downhill and wonderful, until you have to turn around and come home. Completely uphill. From small hills to gigantic, steep monsters. Like I said, I'm sure it's great for my glutes, but every time I'm talking myself through these hills because I feel like I'm going to just drop. San Fran ain't got nothin' on Tacoma.

Week three schedule looks like: cross train, 3-mile, 5-mile, 3-mile, rest, 5-mile, cross train. Seems easy enough.

Let's hope it continues to be injury free!

Hello runner.

I began running before my senior year of high school. I used it to help keep me in shape, and really began to enjoy it. It became a time when I could de-stress and let my mind wander. I did my fair share of 5k's and 10k's in college, but in the Summer of 2008, I decided to dream big and register for The Omaha Marathon. This particular marathon is one of the hilliest marathons in the U.S. - which I did not know about until I was at the starting line and the lady next to me said, "This is your first marathon?! Why did you pick this one? It's all hills!". And the award for the 'Most influential speech before you run 26.2 miles for the first time in your life' goes to....the lady standing next to me at the starting line! It didn't change the fact that I trained for 3.5 months in the humid summer heat, prepared as much as I could, and felt completely ready for race day. And yes, I completed the marathon in the Fall of 2008.

After the hill-tastic Omaha Marathon, I ran two half-marathons, multiple smaller races, and continued running in my free time. After starting optometry school in the fall of 2010, I realized that my free time was becoming a thing of the past, and I decided to put off another marathon until after boards. I wanted to run The Philadelphia Marathon. Well, Nike's minimalistic shoes are not for everyone, and I learned that the hard way. I dealt with almost two years of iliotibial (IT) band syndrome and pain from those damn shoes. *Pro tip: Always get fit at a running specialty store when wanting to transition to a new shoe. Especially if you have magnificent ballerina arches like me.* I wish I would have taken my advice. After almost six months of physical therapy to get me back on my feet, I could run around a track four times. Four. And with that, Philadelphia was obviously off the table.

Since then, I've been slowly increasing mileage, but never surpassing five miles because I've been so scared I'll injure my leg again. Anyone who's ever been benched from running for any time at all can feel my anxiety. I did not want to go through that healing process ever again.

So basically, I had no training plan since 2010, and I finally started to miss it.

Fast forward to now. I'm done with school. Working at the residency of my dreams. Living in the most beautiful part of the United States. So, I woke up last week and decided it was about time I made another running goal. I figured I might as well go big or go home, and decided to tackle another marathon. I mean, it's the perfect time to get back to running, winter is right around the corner!... Okay, so maybe it's not the greatest time, but I can't control what my brain wants! Besides, I'm used to real winters. Sorry, but the people that live on this coastal side of the U.S. do not understand what -60 degrees Fahrenheit feels like. I think everyone in California would just cease to exist if they experienced 30 seconds of real cold and 32 inches of snow at the same time. I'm not gonna lie, I 'farmer's almanac'd' the weather in the Pacific Northwest, and the coldest predicted for this winter? 19 degrees Fahrenheit. Psssh. Piece. Of. Cake. And, in the words of the great Russell Wilson, "Why not (me)?".

So here it goes. I'm on track to complete a four month training course in mid-January. Good thing the marathon I want to run is at the end of November.

Here's to a truncated training program and injury free running!