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November 28, 2004
Another day, another half-marathon 
Well, I'm back home again. Seattle was great. We pricelined an expensive hotel, ate the most incredible sicilian dinner, and today, I did the half-marathon.
It was a beautiful day. Sunny for the most part, and towards the end it was warm enough to make me want to peel a couple of layers off.
Seattle has run and walk divisions for both the marathon and the half. It's amazing how many of the walkers ran. And, I'm sure, how many of the runners walked. Running versus walking seemed like a really tenuous line in the sand.
Anyways. My belly was still very upset this morning. The race began and while I stayed slow, I had a hell of a time trying to bring my heart rate back down. I wanted to pass people and just generally hot rod around, and it's hard holding back. The course is beautiful--the beginning goes through downtown, past the new library, into the International district, and then onto the freeway; then you walk through several affluent neighborhoods along Lake Washington, and then you go through the arboretum. Oh, and there's some hills.
So, long story short, I tried to keep to a 65% heart rate for the first seven miles, and I did great, except for the hills. Then I started passing folks, and that went great, except for the hills. The hills felt like mountain climbing. Now mind you, I know they aren't that bad, but I just couldn't do a decent speed and a decent heart rate. I had hoped to finish in about 3:30, but I finished 3:53:43 without a negative split. This isn't the PR I wanted. In fact, it's no PR at all.
But, it was a lot of fun, even though I was slow. In comparison to Portland, there was no music. There was one case of drumming, and there were several cases where homeowners stuck stereo speakers out of their windows, but no live bands, until you got into the Recovery Area. The Recovery area was great. There were oranges, apples and bananas, and you could take what you wanted. A smoothie company offered tasters, and Ivar's offered clam chowder. (Man, clam chowder was the best post-race meal. It was so delicious!) Krispy Kreme was giving out donuts, and someone else coffee.
I dropped by to see my friends who were tending a booth for their magazine Walk about, who told me that Philip Dunn, the Olympian racewalker, had just been by. By the sounds of things, he and his family were doing various events. He had told them that the hills killed his time. There, I feel better!
I got a quickie 15 minute massage, and then went looking for the buses that went from the Seattle Center to the Westin. I was never able to find them, so I walked the mile back to my hotel, got my icebath, and then hit the road. Well, almost. I realized I had left my shoe pocket at the masseur's table, which has my brand-new (from Friday) drivers license, so back to the Seattle Center.
Runners and walkers are just great. My shoe pocket remained on the ground where I had left it, with that single dollar still left in it(!!). Walking out, I saw Mela, who had run her pal Cory in. Yay!!
Anyways, from this I learned: I am not ready for hills, and I am not in good shape yet. More work awaits. Tomorrow.
Posted at November 28, 2004
Comments
Sorry that your race was all sorts of no fun but, hey, free donuts. So that can't be all bad. Good luck working on those hills!
Posted by: Richard at November 29, 2004 4:41 AM
But you did it! Way to go.....and there are always more roads to walk or run:)
Posted by: susan at November 29, 2004 11:34 AM
Congratulations! A race is always a good race as long as you finish. But even more importantly, a race is always a good race when there are doughnuts on the premises. :)
Great job!
Posted by: Rebecca at November 29, 2004 1:02 PM
Thanks guys!!
Posted by: vj at November 29, 2004 4:09 PM
Huh. From this I learned: you rock! Congratulations on finishing a long and challenging course. - Mia
Posted by: mia at November 29, 2004 4:43 PM