Seattle Rock-N-Roll Race Report

Pre-Race Pile

After our awesome blogger dinner, Jason and I made a quick stop at REI.  I needed to get some salt tabs since Cytomax pretty much kills me.  He were back in the car and made it to my friend Emilio's in no time.  The last 3 years we have been lucky enough to get to stay at his house.  I graduated high school with him and drug brought both him and J to the dinner last year.  He escaped this time :)

J was wiped and didn't chat long before heading to bed.  I stayed up a bit longer to visit.  I don't get out much :)  It wasn't long though and we all headed to bed.  I didn't sleep well, which wasn't a shock.  I wasn't nervous though since I knew I would be running this 4th race for fun and to help coach J along.

J & I before we left.

We left the house earlier this year.  I was excited since last year we got there with barely enough time to wait in line to use the porta-potty.  I was super excited to almost immediately see my blogger buddies in the Brooks VIP Potty Line.  I need to figure out a way to get my hands on some of these next year.  I was stressed worrying about time and potty lines.  I was sad to leave them but I was already in desperate need of a porta-potty.

There is usually a Marathon Maniac/Half Fanatic group pic before races.  I've never caught one of these.  On my way to find bladder relief I actually ran into the group as pics began.  I sucked it up even though my bladder was about to blow.  I wasn't about to miss it.  I was so excited to actually be a part of this, especially since this race would get me my 4 moon status.

Dave & I.  He's famous.

I thought the pics were over so I dashed off to get in a potty line.  Later I realized they took several more group shots that I missed being a part of.  Bummer, but at least I didn't miss them all.

 
It took over 20 minutes to get through this line.  It was terrible.  I seriously thought I was going to have an accident or dive behind any bush that was close.  It was touch and go but I managed to survive.  It's amazing how much your outlook on everything improves with an empty bladder.

We were in our Corral 18 before the race started.  I wanted to walk up and look for everyone but J was determined not to break any rules or miss the start.  Since I drug him into this, I didn't complain too much and we found a spot smashed in with everyone else.  There were three beach balls that everyone was hitting around.  They kept finding their way towards me and whacking other unsuspecting people in the head.  I was very thankful for the race to begin so I could escape them.

As our corral moved up to the start, J made some comment about starting out on a hill.  I laughed after the hills I've dealt with the past few races.  For someone with zero miles under their training belt, I'm sure it wasn't a fun way to start :)  Before I knew it, we were off and running.  I felt like going a lot faster but reminded myself that in order to get J to the finish alive, we would have to go easy.

Just One Of The Awesome Signs Along The Course


At the 5K mark we held hands and cheesed for the photographers.  See official photos below.  I don't know how to get them bigger.  Any suggestions???

J wasn't liking the hills through miles 4-6ish.  I kept reminding him that Chelsea would be around Mile 7.  Just keep going and we could have a mini break once we saw her.  Once we got to Mile 7 all I could focus on was finding Chelsea.  I finally saw her and was so excited.  I think she didn't see us until late so I don't think she caught any pics :(  So sad.  I think we both got a hug and we were on our way.

Not everyone gets to run with Elvis.

Dave Mari was out in force on the course taking pics.  That made me happy.  What a cheese ball I am.  This was a good distraction since J was slowly falling apart.

Basically from Mile 9 on, it was a struggle.  Not for me physically but for J.  I felt terrible that he was hurting.  His knees were killing him.  Any incline at all was brutal.  We made it up the hill and into the tunnel.  We were fast walking at this point.  Any time the course was level or downhill I did my best to pump him up and get him running.

I was so excited to see Mile 11.  So close yet so far away.

I kept coaching and cheerleading J.  As badly as I wanted to get us to the finish, I didn't want to injure him more than he already was.  I kept reminding myself to be patient and enjoy the experience.  It was exciting knowing so many of my running blogger friends were there.  It was really hard to remain calm once we were on the viaduct with less than a mile to go.  I just wanted to fly to the finish.  At this point J's right foot was also hurting pretty bad.  I was determined to drag him to the finish if I had to.

Finally we were at the corner with .2 miles to go.  It killed me to be moving so slowly.  We waited until the last .1 to "sprint" to the finish.  J wouldn't have been able to push it longer than that.  Right before we started running we saw Tressa & her sister.  It was great to see someone we knew at the finish.

We started to run and managed to hold hands at the finish.

Biker Boy was waiting for Fruit Fly to finish and caught this shot of us after we crossed the line.

We slowly made our way through the finish/recovery area and grabbed some water and food.  I was excited to get to our blogger meetup area.  J needed to sit for awhile so while he rested I hung out with my girls.

Amanda, Kerrie, & I Rocking Our CEP Socks!!!

Congrats to Kerrie & Zoe who completed their first marathons!!!!  They did amazing!

EMZ, Me, Mel, & Jess

I think I just about tackled EMZ.  I saw her in the bunch when I first headed over and I couldn't get there fast enough :)  Meeting her & Pita was a highlight of my day.  

Someday I'll have abs like EMZ.

Track Coach did great running his first marathon.  I'm so glad that he was still able to run with Tressa being so close to having the baby.  BTW~Congrats to Tressa & Jesse!!! Two days after the marathon they welcomed Riley into their family :)  See their post HERE.

Emilio & I

Fruit Fly & I

So glad I found Fruit Fly & Biker Boy before we left.  We hadn't seen them since Eugene.

I was super excited to get to hang out with so many awesome runners & friends.  Seeing Zoe, Kerrie, & Jesse accomplish their first marathons brought back all the emotions for me.  There's nothing like it.  I really hope I get the chance to run one again.

Emilio found a way back to his house.  He only lives a couple miles from the finish.  I knew there was no way we'd be walking back since my husband was broken.  Emilio was awesome enough to drive all the way back down in the chaos to pick us up and get us back to his house.  We were beyond thankful.  We took quick showers and were refreshed for the rest of our day. 

J and his finisher's medal.

I did it!!!  4 Half Marathons in 21 days!!!!  I'm officially a 4 Moon Half Fanatic.  Can't imagine accomplishing it on a better day with J and so many awesome friends.

We ended up having to take the ferry to get back to J's Mom's house in Shelton.  Way better than dealing with traffic.  I scored some Beecher's Mac & Cheese to eat on the ride over.  The best post race food, ever.

Goodbye Seattle!!!!

Jason walking the stairs on the ferry....priceless.

  

I made another quick stop after getting my Mac & Cheese.  The Confectional has the best mini cheesecakes.  We enjoyed these after a soak in the hot tub before bed.  An awesome way to end a great day.

Official Course Pics

Pre-Race

5K Shots

 Finish Line

Finisher Photos