Seattle Marathon - RunMarathon


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Seattle, Washington
United States
Amica Insurance
48F / 9C
Overcast
Total Time = 3h 39m 44s
Overall Rank = 431/1770
Age Group = 20-24
Age Group Rank = 35/81
Pre-race routine:

Awoke at 06:30 and tried to get breakfast eaten 1.5hrs before the race. This turned out to work really well, I had no reflux issues and had exactly the right amount of energy. This meal has been my go to meal right before going on my long runs, great balance of protein, high/low glycemic carbs to replace what was lost at night and to fuel me for later, electrolytes, and caffeine to jump-start the digestive process.

I ate:
3 egg white + 1 yolk
1 glass OJ no pulp
1 cup coffee
1 banana
2 slices whole wheat toast with salted butter

Slowly drank Accelerade energy drink for the hour before the race. Perfect morning diet routine.
Event warmup:

Got to the race, knees felt the slightest bit rickety, but I felt great. No more aches from the training, and I had the energy/excitement for the race day.

Thank you, Hal Higdon training program! An EXCELLENT free marathon training program online.
Run
  • 3h 39m 44s
  • 26.2 miles
  • 08m 23s  min/mile
Comments:

I kept up a nice pace at the start, definitely was on track to nail a sub 3:30, at least for the first 8 miles or so. I hit the half-mary mark at exactly 1:45:00, which told me I needed to run faster than the first half. Basically, I said "fat chance" and decided to just run as best as I could.

I really did a great job on this run. I don't think I could have done any better at this point. I put it all out there, and finished with a very good time for my first mary. Will focus on improving for next summer.
What would you do differently?:

Not wear tights unless I really needed them. I was right on the edge of "to wear or not to wear" and I decided to wear them. After 5 miles, I shed my headband, gloves, and wished I could have gotten rid of the tights. They weren't excessively hot, but I do think I sucked down more water than I would have if I didn't have them... and I wouldn't have gotten these killer chafe marks on the inside of my thighs from the fabric.
Post race
Warm down:

Hugged my parents and girlfriend, sat down and tried to do a little stretching. Ate pizza for lunch, went home, took some ibuprofen and took an hour-long nap. Ate again, stretched some more, relaxed.

What limited your ability to perform faster:

Starting an 18 week marathon training program in the 9th week. Wearing tights might have limited my ability too.

Event comments:

Great race, I thought the end-race activities were decent, not as great as some of the other races I went to, but then again, I did miss out on the free acupuncture and didn't splurge on the massage.


Profile Album


Last updated: 2009-11-29 12:00 AM
Running
03:39:44 | 26.2 miles | 08m 23s  min/mile
Age Group: 36/81
Overall: 431/1770
Performance: Good
Stupid heart rate monitor malfunctioned at about mile 10. Not only did it screw up my heart data collection for the marathon, it also freaked me out really badly when I suddenly had a drop in my heart rate from 160 --> 100, followed by feeling some chest burning that was no doubt brought on by anxiety from the sight of my heart rate plummeting. I checked my pulse in my neck (yes, I was still alive) and decided I had to return back to judging my energy output by feel. For this reason, I am very glad I trained the first half of my marathon training without a heart rate monitor, because I had a feel for how much energy I should be exerting. Out of the blue, the heart rate monitor started working again at about mile 18. Looking at the overall trend in the heart rate, I maintained a fairly high heart rate for the whole time. I definitely have grown quite a bit throughout the last 3 months of training, I started being able to tolerate about 160 for very long distances, and was able to tolerate 170 for the marathon.
Course: Pretty flat, until the last 4mi... which were killer! Interlaken blvd will definitely be on the list for my hill-repeat runs. Running this course made me realize how much smaller Seattle was than I had imagined in my head. At the start of this summer, I had the goal to be able to bike round-trip between the UW and my dad's house on MI. After finishing the marathon... I realize I'm capable of so much more than I originally allowed myself to imagine!
Keeping cool Below average Drinking Just right
Post race
Weight change: %
Overall: Average
Mental exertion [1-5] 5
Physical exertion [1-5] 5
Good race? Yes
Evaluation
Course challenge Just right
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Average
Race evaluation [1-5] 5