.JPG)
I'm proud to say I finished my fourth half marathon yesterday!
This was my first Rock 'n Roll event. There were some things I really liked about this particular race, and there were also some things I found incredibly annoying.
Let's start with the good:
::The weather was perfect! Seriously, I don't think I've ever run a race in better conditions ever. Upper 50's, low 60's, cloud cover...perfect.
::The course was mostly flat. Maybe you'd disagree with me if you were an out-of-towner, but as far as Northwest courses go? This one was pretty tame.
::The music/entertainment was great! I'd recommend this race for anyone with a super short attention span. There was ALWAYS something keeping you going on this course...bands, fans, water stations, and the like.
Now for the things that irked me:
::The pre-run stuff was not fun. The race starts in Tukwila and ends at Qwest Center in downtown Seattle. However, you had to park at Qwest and take one of the shuttles down to Tukwila. This took a long time. From the time we parked until we got to Tukwila? One hour.
::The corrals. While the race started at 7, it didn't start for me until near 7:30. UGH. I don't think I've EVER been in a race where it took so long to get the runners through the start line.
::My knee and hip! About mile 8 or 9, my left hip and knee started to feel buggy. I ended up having to walk a good chunk of the time the last 4 or 5 miles....which resulted in a not-so-good overall finishing time for me.
That being said, here's my stats...
Time: 2:47
Place: 12,879/17,593
Gender Place: 8,634/12,560
I finished before 39.5% of the people in my division
This is definitely a far cry from my PR of 2:10 (in 2005), but I am glad to have finished this race and added another medal to my collection.
Of course, I had to pull all my medals out tonight. I'd forgotten my first half marathon was in 2003...to think I've been doing half and full marathons for seven years now surprised me!
This was my first Rock 'n Roll event. There were some things I really liked about this particular race, and there were also some things I found incredibly annoying.
Let's start with the good:
::The weather was perfect! Seriously, I don't think I've ever run a race in better conditions ever. Upper 50's, low 60's, cloud cover...perfect.
::The course was mostly flat. Maybe you'd disagree with me if you were an out-of-towner, but as far as Northwest courses go? This one was pretty tame.
::The music/entertainment was great! I'd recommend this race for anyone with a super short attention span. There was ALWAYS something keeping you going on this course...bands, fans, water stations, and the like.
Now for the things that irked me:
::The pre-run stuff was not fun. The race starts in Tukwila and ends at Qwest Center in downtown Seattle. However, you had to park at Qwest and take one of the shuttles down to Tukwila. This took a long time. From the time we parked until we got to Tukwila? One hour.
::The corrals. While the race started at 7, it didn't start for me until near 7:30. UGH. I don't think I've EVER been in a race where it took so long to get the runners through the start line.
::My knee and hip! About mile 8 or 9, my left hip and knee started to feel buggy. I ended up having to walk a good chunk of the time the last 4 or 5 miles....which resulted in a not-so-good overall finishing time for me.
That being said, here's my stats...
Time: 2:47
Place: 12,879/17,593
Gender Place: 8,634/12,560
I finished before 39.5% of the people in my division
This is definitely a far cry from my PR of 2:10 (in 2005), but I am glad to have finished this race and added another medal to my collection.
Of course, I had to pull all my medals out tonight. I'd forgotten my first half marathon was in 2003...to think I've been doing half and full marathons for seven years now surprised me!
Pictured: (from L-R: 2003 Seattle Half Marathon, 2004 Vancouver Full Marathon, 2004 Seattle Full Marathon, 2005 Federal Escape Sprint Triathlon, 2006 Seattle Half Marathon, 2007 Disney World Full Marathon, 2010 Seattle Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon)
Not Pictured: 2005 Mercer Island Half Marathon. They did not give out medals for this race, and it's a crying shame. That's the race I got my 2:10 PR on!
I have a couple more things I want to share soon as I've reflected on marathoning. They deserve their own posts though...so stay tuned.
Not Pictured: 2005 Mercer Island Half Marathon. They did not give out medals for this race, and it's a crying shame. That's the race I got my 2:10 PR on!
I have a couple more things I want to share soon as I've reflected on marathoning. They deserve their own posts though...so stay tuned.
Posts
3 comments:
Nice collection! Congrats!
BTW, I PRed at Mercer Island, too! Wish they gave medals. I'd pay a few buck extra for them.
Just found your blog...and 100% agree with your "irks" on the RnR. I did my first 1/2 Marathon last March at the Dallas RnR and was frustrated that it, like yours, took 30 minutes before I even began the race. Argh!
I'm so glad you included a link to this blog in your coupon blog! I've been a subscriber to that for awhile and had no idea you also were a runner! I actually did Saturday's RnR too and the 2003 Seattle half you did (but I didn't really run then!). I was lucky and got to get dropped off at Tukwila, but that sounds annoying! Way to go anyway!
Post a Comment