I actually started this adventure on Friday. I made a 225+ mile round trip up to Mukilteo to pick up our race packets and purchase one of the parking passes for race day. With the weather and this being Makenna's longest run, I didn't want to risk missing a shuttle bus. This way we could just enjoy the experience and not be stressed about finishing in time. Have I mentioned Makenna is only 11? That's right, my sweet girl was actually going to be running her first half marathon. So exciting!
My alarm went off Saturday morning at a cruel 4AM. I quickly dressed and tried to get as much done as possible before I had to wake up Makenna. We had our outfits laid out the night before so that helped. I had all of our race essentials along with dry clothes for afterwards in our Team Bring It tote. Love it. We hopped in the car and headed North. We listened to the new Taylor Swift CD, Red, to help pass the time. It also helped to keep me calm once the heavy rain hit just past Olympia. Not a fun driving experience. I had some white knuckles by the time we made it to the parking lot.
Since we had some time to spare we made a porta-potty trip and then headed back to the warmth of the car when the rain started up again. I went back and forth on whether to run with my jacket. I always get so hot when I run. It's a pain having something hanging off me once I have to take it off. With the wind and the rain I decided I better just wear it.
Waiting In The Car.
We left the warmth of the car to brave to pre-race madness. My usual pre-race porta-potty trip was a half an hour wait. Due to so many people attempting to empty their tanks, the race was pushed back to an 8:45AM start.
I knew that
Melanie aka Tall Mom and
Alma (The Average Woman's Running Blog) were going to be there. I was lucky enough to see
Jennifer (Runner...Maybe) earlier :) I scanned the crowd and was surprised to see so many tall people. I quickly spotted Melanie in her pink jacket. Makenna was so excited to actually meet some of my blogger buddies. She kinda got shy as we headed over. Of course, I wasn't going to let a photo op pass me by. I quickly recruited a nice guy to take our pic.
Makenna, Me, Melanie, & Alma
See Mel in her pink jacket & white hat? We are behind her and to the left.
Before we knew it we were bunching up for the official start. I was glad we were finally going since Makenna was starting to get cold from the wind and rain. I knew once we started she would warm up.
Here We Go!!!
Mile 1 ~ The biggest part of the course was on a rural road that had been completely closed down for the race. Once we hit that, the wind and rain started picking up. It howled so loud in my ears I could barely hear my music, even with my Yurbuds. The wind kept blowing Makenna's earbuds out. I saw many people lose their hats the first few miles. My legs felt very heavy at first.
Mile 2 ~ More of the same. We saw the 10K turn around and Makenna was wishing we were turning around, too. She was feeling good though. The wind was the only thing bugging her. My legs had warmed up and were feeling good.
Mile 3 ~ Did I mention this was a mostly straight road with just a few turns here and there? That got a little boring. It had been awhile since I had ran with music so I was thankful I brought my earphones for my iPhone to help distract me. I had it just loud enough to hear so I could keep watch over Makenna. She had my iPod and was loving running with it. She questioned a few of the songs I had on it though. Probably songs before her time :)
Mile 4 ~ Out of no where there was suddenly the worst poo smell ever. It was terrible. That's saying something since dairy farms and other such stink doesn't usually bother me. That being said, we both tried our best not to breathe through our noses. At this point we were already seeing some of the lead runners heading back our way.
Mile 5 ~ It was roughly around here when we saw Tall Mom headed towards us. We were waving and Makenna and Tall Mom exchanged a high five. She was smiling a lot after that. Definitely a great time for a pick me up. Seeing friends and knowing the turn around was close helped us pick up a little speed.
Mile 6 ~ After we made the turn we were able to see other runners behind us. I tend to not look back during a race fearing there won't be anyone there. I was happy to see we weren't last even though we had been passed many times. We were happy to see
Jen again in a super cute running skirt. Soon there was a water station where Makenna took her first ever GU. I was worried it would make her sick or she'd get grossed out. She downed it quickly with some water and kept on going. It was crazy how well she was doing.
Mile 7-8 ~ At this point we were beyond soaked. After the turn around I had removed my jacket. I could almost immediately feel myself get faster. Things were good until around Mile 8. I could tell Makenna was feeling it and we were slowing down. She kept doing the math in her head and knew we had less than a 10K to go.
Mile 9 ~ We kept speeding up and slowing down. You could see a water stop way up ahead. Whenever we had something to run too, Makenna picked it back up. At this point she was wanting to be done. I was starting to feel cold and thirsty. That has only happened once before. Not sure why since I hydrated very well leading up to the race. It was a crazy feeling being thirsty in the middle of a rain storm.
Mile 10-11 ~ Just another strip on the road, past the parking lot, and then we turned in to start running on the trail. It was covered in leaves and very uneven in some places. I didn't want Makenna to wipe out now so I made sure and tried to give her a heads up whenever I spotted a dangerous spot. The trail was narrow and an out and back part of the course. It was fun to see other runners again.
Mile 12 ~ At every water stop I made sure Makenna took something. I usually always take a water and whatever electrolyte drink they are providing. Even in the cold and rain I knew I was sweating like crazy and I needed to keep everything in balance. Makenna was beyond excited when we turned and she knew she "only" had to make it back to the finish line.
Mile 13-Finish ~ Once we made it back to where we first got on the trail we were so happy. It was kind of a pain to have so many random people on the trail to dodge and go around. Knowing we were so close, we just wanted to go. I suddenly spotted
Tall Mom & Alma heading back to their car on the trail, right before the last corner to the finish. I was so excited we were able to see them again and that they would get to witness Makenna finish her first half. Makenna and I held hands on the whole straight away to the finish. My tracker had quit around Mile 7 so I really had no idea what time it was. I was just enjoying the experience with Makenna and was shocked to see the clock and realize we were finishing under 2:30.
Makenna & I right before the finish.
FINISH TIME ~ 2:23:51
After crossing the finish we had them clip our timing chips off and grabbed our medals. I had her walk around a bit before jumping in line for the post race food. They had water, chips & salsa, bananas, oranges, 3 kinds of soup and bread. It was a bit of a wait which gave them time to get finish times up. They had just posted our times on the board. After looking I discovered that Makenna placed first in the 18 & under age group. What??? First time running a half marathon and she wins something. So cool for her. We walked over to the award table where they presented her with a very big and very heavy beer mug. They quickly told her it was for root beer :) The rain was still coming down so we took our soup to the car. Luckily I brought towels to save our seats. I was hoping we'd find somewhere to change clothes fairly close.
Waiting In Line For Food
Makenna With Her Prize
We made it back to the freeway with no issues and were very surprised and relieved to see a Rest Area sign almost immediately. We took advantage of that and laughed and giggled as we tried to change in the big stall together. For some reason we had the hardest time getting Makenna's dry socks on. It was hilarious. Nothing like dry clothes to brighten your day.
We stopped at Mongolian Grill on the way back home. It's one of our favorite places but we hardly get to go since it's so far away. We both got a warm treat (Caramel Apple Cider) from Starbuck's and hit the road for the long drive home. It wasn't long and it got very quiet in the backseat. She didn't wake up until we were about 2 miles from home.
Makenna & I with our medals and her mug.
Pretty Cool.
Still smiling before falling asleep. Love her!
Considering this was the first ever SRR, I think overall it was a great experience.
Pros
Flat course. I'm not going to lie. Huge bonus for me.
Very friendly volunteers. At every water stop and course change they were always smiling and friendly.
Great selection of food at the finish. There was 3 choices of soup and it was delicious.
Pretty course on the trail by the river.
Cons
Poo smell at Mile 4 and again on the way back.
Needed more porta-potty's.
Had to wait in line to get water from a dispenser after the finish. They needed to have bottled water, etc. that you could just grab quickly afterwards.
Since the course is closed, no spectators for most of the race.
Photographers needed to take more pics, especially because of the closed course and lack of family/friends being able to do this for you. Also more than one pic at the finish. Wish I had more pics of us together.
Lack of covered areas to escape the rain at the finish. I had a hard time keeping my food dry.
The race medal only says Snohomish River Run??? I admit, I run for the bling. In this case Makenna was very disappointed that her medal didn't say Half Marathon. I might get it engraved on the back for her so she feels like it's not just an ordinary medal.
That all being said, those are all very easy fixes...except for the smell :) I'm not complaining at all, just some suggestions on things that I think would help make it even better. I would totally sign up for this race again. Even with the wind and the rain, the experience I was able to share with Makenna was priceless. I'm beyond proud of her. She even stated that she might run another one as long as it wasn't raining :) She might have caught the racing bug :)
A special thanks to Melanie (Tall Mom) and Alma for not just sharing in our day and helping to make Makenna feel special but also for including her in your race reports. You can check them out below.
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