The Salty Half - RunHalf Marathon


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Seattle, Washington
United States
39F / 4C
Total Time = 1h 34m
Overall Rank = 7/104
Age Group = 24-29
Age Group Rank = 1/17
Pre-race routine:

I consider the night before to be an intricate part of my pre-race. J and I went to a house warming party. I had my usual night before beer and then drank exactly one sh*t ton of water as I was the DD. We didn't end up getting home until pretty late though.

The morning of we had some coffee and I grabbed a PowerBar performance bar since I didn't really feel like making anything. I couldn't even eat it all.
Event warmup:

Picked up bib, did some jogging to warm up as it was SUPER cold. It was probably about 38 degrees and REALLY windy. Brrrrrrr. The good news: It wasn't raining!!!!!!!!
Run
  • 1h 34m
  • 13.1 miles
  • 07m 11s  min/mile
Comments:

This was one of those races where the numbers just don't do it justice. It was probably one of my very best executed races I have run. Why? Because I stuck with my plan.

"Start out easy. Focus on good form through the first 5k. Take a gel and settle into a comfortable pace. Take water at all stops as there are only a few of them. Work the "hill" but don't waste energy. Be efficient on the gravel portion and the turnaround. Reevaluate/take a gel and set up for a strong finish. Get outside of self and finish unreasonably fast, accelerating through last 100. That pain IS temporary."

I executed nearly perfectly. I was running out of gas a little bit in the end but I was still able to accelerate through that last 100.

The wind was insane. It was blowing me all over. Also, there was this jack-azz tucked in behind me letting me do all of the work in the wind. I can't blame him, I guess. I mean, it was smart racing on his part but wheew!

The course wasn't closed so the sidewalks were a bit chaotic. Lots of "ON YOUR LEFT!!!" which of course, no one understood. I even hurdled a pile of stuff at a garage sale. Also notable was the car that backed up, forcing me into the street and the unaware bicyclist.

Because this race was local (just a few miles from our house) I had a bunch of friends (and J) who came out. They were scattered throughout the course as well as appearing at various portions in their cars honking and yelling things at me. It was hilarious. At one point the got out and made a human tunnel for me to run under. This is why I love local races!

I ended up getting 2nd overall female and winning a stuffed fish! Also, the "race medals" were recycled glass fish. VERY cool!!
What would you do differently?:

Not a thing! I think my fitness was suffering a little from relatively unstructured training and lower run mileage and the fact that I ran a half just two weeks ago. We'll see what I am really made up when I do a half during Boston training!!
Post race
Warm down:

Went to Marination Ma Kai on Alki. My FAVORITE!! Hawaiian Asian fusion.

Also, we saw some Orcas out in the sound so we attempted to follow them along the waterfront but lost them.

Posted below is a picture someone else took of them. Also, note the choppy water!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

As I said, relatively unstructured training and lower run mileage and the fact that I ran a half just two weeks ago

Event comments:

REALLY nice little local race. It was only 22 bucks. Very no frills. I loved it!


Profile Album


Last updated: 2012-08-28 12:00 AM
Running
01:34:00 | 13.1 miles | 07m 11s  min/mile
Age Group: 1/17
Overall: 7/104
Performance: Good
Course: An out and back course along Alki’s boardwalk and into Lincoln Park. Views of Seattle's skyline, Olympic Mts, Puget Sound and Elliot Bay. Course is flat, with one small short hill. About a mile of it just before the turn around is loose gravel. The course was not closed so there was lots of car dodging, sketchy sidewalk and random people that weren't paying attention to keep things interesting.
Keeping cool Good Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Good
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 4
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge
Organized? Yes
Events on-time?
Lots of volunteers?
Plenty of drinks?
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5