jeffreypratt (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} jeffreypratt) wrote,@ 2008-07-01 10:02:00 |
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Seafair Half Marathon - Post Mortem
I'm not going to do a mile-by-mile breakdown this year because I just don't have time. But the official results are in, and I'm sorry to say that I finished 180th out of 186 in my age group, which means that I only met one of my three goals. My official time was 2:45:57, and the average temperature throughout the race was in the 70's. Numerous people have commented in the blogosphere and elsewhere that the course this year was significantly more difficult than last year, so I can take some pride in the fact that I was well-trained enough to basically match my time from last year on a much harder/hillier course in friggin' tropical heat. Nonetheless, I am DYING to go out and run 13.1 miles on a nice trail somewhere, just to prove to myself that I can do it in under 2.5 hours.
My hips are a little sore but my legs feel fine and my knees are in great shape. This is a huge improvement from last year when I limped around with an inflamed IT band for a week afterward. I had very sore shoulders immediately after the race, which means that I need to work on my posture. I'm hoping to spend the winter doing some strength training, and my core and shoulders could definitely use the extra attention.
The Seafair race organizers really botched it. They were out of t-shirts at the race expo, which annoyed me. How can you run out of t-shirts when you know exactly how many people registered and what size t-shirt they requested when they registered? The expo was tiny and held in a parking garage--not exactly fun. And then on race day, all hell broke loose. They apparently couldn't get UW to let them use the Husky Stadium parking lots, so they had shuttle buses running from Bellevue to the starting line. Sure enough, they couldn't get all of the runners to the starting line on time. I can't believe nobody saw that coming. They aren't refunding the registration fee for those folks who couldn't get to the starting line on time, which is bogus. Mismanagement all around. Oh, and the water stop at mile 10 was out of cups! Those poor kids were pouring water straight from the bottle into the mouths of passing runners.
On a sunnier note, the people who came out to line the course were awesome--as always. The community participation is always my favorite part of these events. We ran through a neighborhood in south Bellevue and people were out with garden hoses and Otter Pops, cheering us on and having a great time. One house with a big fence had a sprinkler shooting up over the fence onto the course. I yelled "THANK YOU" as I ran through the mist and from behind the fence, an invisible voice replied, "YOU'RE WELCOME!" The kids at the water stops screamed their guts out for us, and the police officers and firefighters who blocked intersections and dealt with angry Bellevue drivers all day are heroes.
I'm not sure what to do next. I know that I can do a half marathon in under 2.5 hours, even though I technically have never done that. I'm not sure what would be accomplished by going out and doing another half marathon just to prove something to myself that I already know. So I can either try to get faster, or try to run farther. I'm really not psyched about the idea of doing a full marathon. I think I just need to relax for a few days, get through my wedding, and use my fabulous Hawaiian vacation to decide what to do next.
I'm not going to do a mile-by-mile breakdown this year because I just don't have time. But the official results are in, and I'm sorry to say that I finished 180th out of 186 in my age group, which means that I only met one of my three goals. My official time was 2:45:57, and the average temperature throughout the race was in the 70's. Numerous people have commented in the blogosphere and elsewhere that the course this year was significantly more difficult than last year, so I can take some pride in the fact that I was well-trained enough to basically match my time from last year on a much harder/hillier course in friggin' tropical heat. Nonetheless, I am DYING to go out and run 13.1 miles on a nice trail somewhere, just to prove to myself that I can do it in under 2.5 hours.
My hips are a little sore but my legs feel fine and my knees are in great shape. This is a huge improvement from last year when I limped around with an inflamed IT band for a week afterward. I had very sore shoulders immediately after the race, which means that I need to work on my posture. I'm hoping to spend the winter doing some strength training, and my core and shoulders could definitely use the extra attention.
The Seafair race organizers really botched it. They were out of t-shirts at the race expo, which annoyed me. How can you run out of t-shirts when you know exactly how many people registered and what size t-shirt they requested when they registered? The expo was tiny and held in a parking garage--not exactly fun. And then on race day, all hell broke loose. They apparently couldn't get UW to let them use the Husky Stadium parking lots, so they had shuttle buses running from Bellevue to the starting line. Sure enough, they couldn't get all of the runners to the starting line on time. I can't believe nobody saw that coming. They aren't refunding the registration fee for those folks who couldn't get to the starting line on time, which is bogus. Mismanagement all around. Oh, and the water stop at mile 10 was out of cups! Those poor kids were pouring water straight from the bottle into the mouths of passing runners.
On a sunnier note, the people who came out to line the course were awesome--as always. The community participation is always my favorite part of these events. We ran through a neighborhood in south Bellevue and people were out with garden hoses and Otter Pops, cheering us on and having a great time. One house with a big fence had a sprinkler shooting up over the fence onto the course. I yelled "THANK YOU" as I ran through the mist and from behind the fence, an invisible voice replied, "YOU'RE WELCOME!" The kids at the water stops screamed their guts out for us, and the police officers and firefighters who blocked intersections and dealt with angry Bellevue drivers all day are heroes.
I'm not sure what to do next. I know that I can do a half marathon in under 2.5 hours, even though I technically have never done that. I'm not sure what would be accomplished by going out and doing another half marathon just to prove something to myself that I already know. So I can either try to get faster, or try to run farther. I'm really not psyched about the idea of doing a full marathon. I think I just need to relax for a few days, get through my wedding, and use my fabulous Hawaiian vacation to decide what to do next.
