I got before dawn had cracked this morning and got ready to race. I woke Scott up and we were on our merry way. Scott dropped me off at Memorial Stadium. I walked in and found my training group where I met up with my running partner. I decided that I was just going to have fun on this race and not care about my time. I'm never going to win one of these and having a good time is way more important to me than shaving a minute or two off my time.
Photo by ScottmonI made sure to take my time at the start and gently jogged through Downtown Seattle to the International District. I had lost Julie in the crowd at this point but was OK with each of us running our own race.
I entered the I-90 express lanes which is really the ugliest and more boring part of the race course where I chatted with a nice lady as we climbed up the express lanes. Once we reached the tunnel, I began running again and ran into Julie. We stuck together for the rest of the race which was really nice of her since she is a much faster runner. It makes for a better time though if you have someone to run with.
Photo by ScottmonWe whirled our ways down Lake Washington Blvd and to THE HILL! I was grateful for all the hill training I did this session as the hill wasn't as terrible as it has been in the past. I live at the bottom of a hill and usually walk quickly up the hill to start my running routes. It makes for a great butt workout even if it makes you feel like death at times.
We then entered the Arboretum and committed to running all the downhills. I also committed to walking all the uphills but Julie told me that she wasn't allowing that.
We climbed up the last hill along I-5 and then burst into running for most of mile 12. The marathon winner blew past us at about 12.5 miles. His legs were AMAZING!
Photo by ScottmonThen I sprinted into the chute and Julie bounded ahead of me down toward the finish. I spotted Scott and my parent's and maybe even posed a bit for them. I also saw someone proposing to their girlfriend just a few feet before the finish. I thought it was cute but then got worried about her time! She needed to sprint in and then come back to say yes! But you know, I bet she wasn't really thinking about that.
In the end, I completed the course in 3:13:56 for which I was happy! My splits were 1:31:46 at the 6.2 mile (10k) mark and 1:48:14 for the last 6.9 miles.
In 2006, the year it snowed! I finished the race in 3:32:09. In 2005, I did the race in 3:00:35 and in 2002, the first year I did the race, I finished near death in 3:16:49. While this year was not my best time, it was one of my BEST times! I just had fun and that is so important to me.
! It has helped me make the most perfect pies!
