Met a couple friends and checked out the booths.

I loved the idea of this event. Since pot has been legalized here in WA (as well as a few other states) I believe some work needs to be done around the stigma of recreational marijuana use. This mission of this particular organization is this:

We are forging a new outlook on cannabis by hosting athletic events. All of our events are designed to accommodate beginning to advanced level athletes.

Like anything, moderation is key but I hate the misconception that one who uses marijuana must be a stoner who is lazy or unmotivated. There are risks to nearly everything we do in life from consuming carbs, drinking caffeine, driving our cars or bungee jumping. Get the facts (I don't me biased internet google searches, I do mean real facts) and then asses the risk.

Anyhoo - I loved the concept of the race but it also was a promotional deal, FREE! I figured it would be perfect, I could just run this thing for fun with no pressure and no financial commitment.

So I lined up at the start and the announcer tells us that there is a 500 dollar prize for the first place male AND female (200 second and 50 bucks for third.)

SAY WHAT?!?!?!

Well, that changes things a bit. I figured what I could do is run the first half as a tempo, per plan, then see where I was. If winning was in reach I would deviate from the plan go for it.

They counted down and we were off running. I am very familiar with Magnusun park as I have done a lot of races here. The course really plays into my strengths as there are some climbs alternating with flat sections and downhills. I like to use the climbs to make and solidify passes then just hold on for the flats.

There were about 5 or so women in front of me at the start and I passed them one by one, moving into number one by mile 1. The pace was still on par with tempo and I really wanted to stick with that at least until mile 3 and see what I needed to do. I mean, 500 bucks...

I was thinking through what my strategy should be. Should I lay it down and try to put some serious distance between us? Should I just stick with the original plan?

Ultimately what I did was stuck with t he plan, keeping a comfortable hard pace. I figured I would lay it down hard at mile 3ish and if the number 2 woman made a move I would evaluate if I could match it or not if/when it happened.

I rolled on steady through mile 2 and then 3. I was feeling great and appreciated my easier start. I pushed down the pace a little more and really focused on good mechanics.

Approaching mile 4 I had a good feeling it was in the bag. Now I had my sighs on the number three overall slot. The current number 3 male was in my sights. I locked in and accelerated past him and kept on going. We had a quarter mile to go, I just had to hang on.

I heard hit footsteps fall away, number three unchallenged. I hit the straightaway on the flat section of the course, rounded the corner and could see the finish.

I sprinted hard and got to break the tape as first woman and third overall!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlLkbW7grhY&feature=youtu.be




I thought this was really well executed.

I think I could have pushed a touch more at the beginning and maybe taken number 2?

Jogged a bit then collected my oversize 500 dollar check, a bucket list item for sure!


Recovering from ultra marathon