Mercer Island Rotary Half Marathon - RunHalf Marathon


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Mercer Island , Washington
United States
Mercer Island Rotary
56F / 13C
Precipitation
Total Time = 2h 07m 49s
Overall Rank = 1044/
Age Group = 40-44
Age Group Rank = 73/650
Pre-race routine:

Got up and had coffee and a breakfast cookie while watching the weather report. Decided on my Triks Race Skirt and tank top with a jacket. It was cold and rainy!
Event warmup:

There was no warm up because it wasn't WARM! It was freezing and wet and cold and wet. It rained and rained. We walked around to keep warm and I shivered a lot.
Run
  • 2h 07m 39s
  • 13.1 miles
  • 09m 44s  min/mile
Comments:

The run went really well. I started out running with Linda. Mile one was my slowest mile, due to the start. It came in at 10:14. After that all miles were sub 10 min miles. Starting with mile three I did a one mile run, one minute walk. My legs felt fresh the entire time. I even stopped a few times and took pictures! The last four miles I ran in, no intervals, with the last two miles around 8:30 miles. This, for me, is rocking fast!
What would you do differently?:

Nothing! I took it easy the first part, and pushed it some the second. I probably should have taken it a little slower since I was doing this as a training run.
Post race
Warm down:

I found Roy and did some walking around and stretching. Of course we snagged some goodies! I'm all about the goodies!

What limited your ability to perform faster:

The fact that I'm not very fast!

Event comments:

I think the only damper on this entire race, other than the wet weather, was the attitudes of the natives! What in the world is up with Mercer Island? I mean I know some people who live there. They are very nice people. But they have a few neighbors who could use some tips from good old Emily Post!

Roy was telling me after his 10k that at one point a lady in a hummer got mad that she was being detoured. So how did she handle it? She drove slowly past the runners, laying on the horn, and flipping them all off. Very classy. That showed them! How DARE they raise money for colon cancer research! Don't they know I have a pedi scheduled?

Then after my race we walked over to Albertsons. A gentleman (and I use that term loosely) in front of us was just finishing up purchasing his items. He says to the cashier, "Well I think I'll go run down a few runners."

The cashier looked at me, turned a little pink (I still had my number on) and said "Hey, at least they're out there doing something for a good cause."

Crabby Pants harumphed as if to say "They're on my Island and I do not like interlopers in lycra on MY ISLAND!"

So cashier guy says, "Hey, she ran the race!" and pointed at me. "How did you do?"

I answered that I'd had a great run and finished in good time.

Crabby Pants didn't even turn around, nor did he have the class to even look embarrassed. And no, he didn't say it in a joking manner.

Finally we went for lunch. On the way out a family was coming in. I held the door for all four of them. Nothing. Nothing. Not even a nod. Made eye contact with the father. Nothing. Having had enough of the "hospitality of the locals" I turned and said "You know? Thank you is a very nice phrase." He just looked at me blankly.

It was probably the lycra.




Last updated: 2007-03-27 12:00 AM
Running
02:07:39 | 13.1 miles | 09m 44s  min/mile
Age Group: 73/650
Overall: 1044/
Performance: Good
Average heart rate: 159 Best mile: 8:34
Course: The course was a hilly loop of Mercer Island, a beautiful island full of chi chi houses, lots of nature, and lots of Humvees. After all, one can never tell when one might be attacked! Then those without Hummers will be laughing! Ha! One big challenge is the canted road. Last year that translated into a great deal of hip and back pain, so I really paid a lot of attention to it and tried to avoid the extreme grades as best as possible.
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 Too hard
Organized? Yes
Events on-time? Yes
Lots of volunteers? Yes
Plenty of drinks? Yes
Post race activities: Good
Race evaluation [1-5] 4