Birch Bay Half Marathon Race Report

Getting ready to watch the sunset the night before the race

I'm so glad we decided to run the final race of the 40@40 project in Birch Bay! Though the race website left a bit to be desired, and, well, we had a little scare when they didn't have records of our registration (hooray for having the confirmation email on my phone), but we still had a great time.

We picked up our packets and this time I made sure to grab a map of the course -- hey, stranger things have happened, right? I even made sure to put the map into my race belt so that, even if we did get lost, we'd have an idea of which way we should go.

Even though the night before the race was glorious if cold, race morning dawned a bit drizzly. So we layered up with tights, a couple of shirts each, and LSD Lite Jackets. (Can't tell you how happy I am that this jacket is available in black!)

I'm not sure we've ever looked so happy before a race!

With a 9am start we had a very leisurely morning -- had a little breakfast, read a little -- before driving out to the state park for the start. I was kicking myself, a little, that I hadn't scouted out the start ... we basically drove into the park and pulled into an end spot, not realizing we were still half a mile or so from the actual start line! No worries, though -- we were in front of some sparkling clean restrooms, which meant we could take a last-minute pit stop before walking to the start.

I wasn't sure what to expect -- how many people would be there -- but there was a sizable group standing behind a line of paint in the road. Nice and relaxed. Someone was giving something of a course talk -- I heard instructions to "stay facing traffic", but nothing else as he was speaking in a normal voice and without a megaphone. Oh well, that's why I brought the map.

I guess this is the START!

Wil and I were still standing around chatting and taking pictures when the race started -- there was no countdown, no horn even... but everyone suddenly started running. Okay then!

We ran through the park and along the curve of the bay as the rain started falling harder. At the stop sign by the market we veered to run up the hill -- at the top of which I decided to get rid of my gloves. I did regret this a little while later, but I was still okay.

We ran on and on through the quiet roads, seeing very little traffic. We ran down a little hill and suddenly had a really nice view of Semiahmoo Bay (at least, I assume that's what the name of that water was...). We turned and ran along that bay for a bit, before reaching the course split. Full marathoners continued on, perhaps to make a loop of the little peninsula, while the half marathoners turned left up a little hill and made our was back inland for a while.

view of Semiahmoo Bay (I think...)

Wil and I were running pretty strong at this point, despite the increasing rain and wind. Wil even put his jacket back on because it was getting cold. A little ways longer along the road and we made a right turn to the out and back hill.

I had read race reports about this -- that there were two hills, that the second was bigger, etc. So I tried to psych myself up for this a bit. So up we went. I decided I wasn't all that interested in running up the hill(s), so I just walked briskly and enjoyed it when I passed people who were running. (That always makes me feel happy, I don't know why.) When it leveled out a little, we ran again, until it got steep. Now, it didn't occur to me that these were the two hills -- I kept expecting to see another hill looming in the distance. Especially after it was level and we were running again -- I was sure that we would now reach the second hill.... except that it looked as if people were turning around... oh. That WAS the hill? Okay then!

We hit the turnaround, grabbed a bit of Gatorade (purple!), and made our way back. We kept it steady on the flat, but then really opened it up down the hill. Awesome!

When we got to the bottom of the hill we were suddenly caught up with a bunch of people we hadn't seen in a long while (well, apart from already making their way back!). That was pretty great. Another right turn pointed us back toward Birch Bay, and I felt like we were really in the home stretch.

Umm, except that we hadn't even hit the 10 mile point yet, but hey.

We ran past our place, thinking longingly of the jacuzzi tub and massage chair waiting for us inside. A little while longer and we hit the 10 mile marker and grabbed a packet of vanilla bean Gu (my favorite!). (The Gu was perfect -- so cold that it had an almost chewy consistency. I LOVE that.)

oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

We probably faded a little as we ran back along the seafront. A young woman passed us (we had been leapfrogging with her) and we decided we didn't want to pass her again so she didn't feel pressured, which made us hang back a little. I wasn't thinking about much at this point, other than just getting done.

We got to the entrance of the park and started seeing people leaving. It was a little weird to run past people who had clearly finished, but who weren't cheering or supporting other runners. Oh well. Maybe no one cheered for them, either.

In the end, we got to the finish, held hands, and ran through the chute. It was then that the weird disbelief set it. We did it -- we actually did it. We ran forty half marathons in a year!

40@40!!!!

We got our medals, had our pictures taken, took some pictures ourselves, and then wondered if the tub of Red Vines and little place of banana slices was for finishers, or for a private group. We couldn't decide, so we just decided to head to the car and back to our place. On the way, of course, we actually CHEERED for the other runners. Yep,

2013 Birch Bay Half Marathon medal

Would I run that event again? Probably not. But it was something of a rare breed: a February half marathon that isn't all that far from our home. Especially given the late start (9am!), we could have gotten up early and driven north for the day. Of course, we do love an excuse for a weekend away!

The real question now is what's next? What project will we work on now? Frankly, I have no idea. I will continue to chip away at my 50 States project, but that will still take me years. A smaller goal is that I want to run 13 half marathons in 2013, running one each month from now on. (Well, okay, at LEAST one per month...) In 2012, February proved to be the difficult month, so it's good to have run this race. In fact, I'm pretty much set (well, registered, anyway!) through June. So I will try and continue with that.

Forty @ Forty!!!!!

We did it!!! Finished the Birch Bay Half Marathon in a respectable 2:18, despite hills and rain and gusting wind. Now back at the Birch Bay Getaway, me warming by the fire, Wil enjoying the massage chair (!!!!), and getting ready for a dip in the massive jacuzzi tub. Heaven!

Groundhog Day Half Marathon

This one is totally my fault.

Absolutely, totally my fault.

Since the beginning of the 40@40 project I had wanted to do at least one silly run. How silly? A track half marathon. 52+ laps around a track.

Wil was totally opposed to this idea.... and I just tucked it away. Heck, running 4+ times around Green Lake is boring enough, and at least there you've got a bit of variety.

But as we approached the end of the project, I realized that Groundhog Day would be the perfect time to run a track half marathon... and as luck would have it, this year Groundhog Day fell on a Saturday. And for whatever reason, Wil consented to the madness.

We did not have an auspicious start. I had said that we should set our alarm for 6 and get up -- after listening to "I Got You Babe", of course. But I was kidding. Wil, however, got up and 6 and would not hear of getting back in bed. I pleaded with him -- it was dark, the track would still be locked, it was FREEEEEEZING, and could we PLEEEEEEEAAAAASE wait until sunrise?

No. The groundhog waits for no man.

So I bundled up -- two shirts, a jacket, long tights, a pair of gloves. Wil wore pretty much the same stuff, but added a hat (clever boy). We both brought music, but decided not to use it until we really needed it.

We got to the track -- still very dark -- while I halfway hoped it would be locked. Nope -- gate was open. So we walked in, got to the track, looked at each other, and just started running. The time was about 6:30.

It was a good half hour before I didn't feel like we were running in total darkness. We decided to switch directions every three miles -- just to break things up a bit. But, wow.

I started trying to distract myself by marching up laps with years of my life. "Let's see, when I was 9 I went to Indonesia and started 5th grade in the fall. My teacher was Miss Kemp. She had long nails and took a cake decorating class...." But once my school years were done things got a little blurry.

And on we ran. What does that look like? Oh, a bit like this:

Or perhaps like this:

Over and over and over again.

Until we hit the 6-mile point, I kept thinking about how 10K runners do their races on tracks. But we sailed past that point... and decided to start listening to music. I think this was a big help -- for a little while. We arrived at 9 miles relatively unscathed.

But I think the laps, the lines, the boredom were all starting to weigh on us. I began daydreaming about fleeing the track and running out to the lookout and back for the final four miles. Wil quite rightly put the kiebosh on that. If we were doing this -- and clearly we were -- we were going to do it ALL.

When we only had about 3 laps to go, some soccer players arrived. By this point we were absolutely plodding along grimly. I bet they thought we were pathetic. WE thought we were pathetic. We must have looked pretty awful. My hips hurt (Why would my hips hurt?! All the turning?), my hands were cold, and I was just done.

I can't pretend we finished in good cheer. But we finished.

You would look dreadful, too. I promise.

 At the end I made Wil pose with the "3" on the track, and hold up 9 fingers. So this is supposed to say "39" rather than "please don't make me do this again".

How many? THIRTY-NINE!!!!!!

I am told that Phil didn't see his shadow... we certainly didn't. So come on, Spring!

Oh, and this one just makes me laugh. The look on that groundhog's face....

Tinker Bell Half Marathon Race Report

I don't always read the race info anymore for Disney races, but luckily I did -- the start was 5am, not 6am as we expected. FIVE A.M.!!!!! So we had to get up earlier than we wanted to... but staying so close to the starting line meant we really didn't have to get up until 4, and head out by about 4:20.

We had half a bagel each (no time to digest more), got dressed, and headed out. It was surprisingly chilly at 4am - made us wish we had another set of disposable clothes to put on - but we made do with garbage bags.

We made our way to the starting area -- across the big plaza, through Downtown Disney, and then a loop behind the Disneyland Hotel to get into the corrals. We didn't really have a plan for this race -- just get through it -- which made it feel like we were waaaaaay more relaxed than our fellow runners.

Again, I moved back to corral C so that I could run with Wil - and we didn't have any grumbling about men in the corral. In fact, when it was almost time for our corral to start, the announcers started talking about how C was the corral with all the men. I wonder if there were men in other corrals, too? Or if just all of the faster men were there?

The only glimpse of Tinker Bell -- a digital image far in the distance

I do feel like this race needs waaaaaaay more Tinker Bell in it. I mean, I didn't see Tink or any of the fairies out on the course. It seems like Disney could put up a "Pixie Hollow" sort of area where all of the runners are "shrunk" to pixie size, so that we could then see her and her pals. Sure, it would take some effort, but it would be such a nice idea. Maybe next year, RunDisney!

Go!

That said, this course is much, much nicer than the Disneyland Half course. I like spending the first six miles basically in and around the parks -- wouldn't it be great if we could just do two loops of that? And starting the runners on the big roads, allowing us to space out a little before the parks is very smart.

We started by running around the outer edges of the park -- up the "big hill" (slight incline at a freeway overpass) and then back along the edge of the park and into a backstage road I had never noticed before. (Cooool!) Then we ran behind California Adventure for a minute, before popping out into the park in Cars Land, running through there (pretty!), around the lake, then back by the Grizzly River Rapids entrance, and then out onto the plaza.

Tower of Terror!!!

California Adventure? Main Street? Who knows?

Yet again, we were met by silent crowds, all looking just for their own runners. We did our usually "hey! Give us a whoop!" sort of thing, which got them to make a little noise, but it was still weirdly quiet. I really really really need to earn some race karma some day by going out to cheer for runners I don't know!

Then in to Disneyland, where we got to run up Main Street. Always great to run up there! And I think the spectators were perhaps a little more enthusiastic... Somehow we didn't stop for a castle pic -- heck, I don't think we even remembered to take a post-race pic! -- but then runed to run through Tomorrowland before looping back around to go through the castle.

It's funny to run in both the Magic Kingdom and Disneyland so close together -- because, in essence, the course is the same. In the park "backstage", the turn on to Main Street, running toward the castle, turning off for a loop through Tomorrowland and Fantasyland, then back through the castle before turning to Frontierland and then backstage across the train tracks.

This time when we ran through Fantasyland, I heard the carousel operator say,  "Hold tight, Lost Boys -- carousel is starting up!" -- which made me think they had needed to take a break for some reason. Still, nice to actually have characters on the carousel, as opposed to having it stopped.

Of course, the minute you leave the park at mile 6, the energy drops a lot. But at least in this race, we were nearly halfway done. We ran through a surprisingly cute street of houses (so close to Disneyland!), then out to Muzeo in downtoan Anaheim, and then back. Easy peasy. I was feeling a little tired, a little footsore; but Wil was having an awesome day. I just feel bad that I held him back!

"Proof" that Wil dragged me over the finish line!

I just tried to keep up with Wil -- but my feet were hurting and I was struggling. Still, in the last mile or so I felt like I was able to pick it up and we finished strong in 2:21. Not anywhere near a PR, but not bad for a Disney race -- and a race after we spend a week on our feet in Disney parks on both coasts.

We got our medals, our snack boxes (different stuff inside!), and then our Coast to Coast medals. It was so early -- not even 8am -- that we couldn't go into a park or anything, so we decided to just head back to the hotel. But along the way we stopped at the 12 mile marker and cheered for the runners still coming in. We must have stood out there for 15 minutes or so -- earning a bit of race karma, and hopefully inspiring people to finish strong. Best line? "You're so close to earning your wings!" I sort of wish I had spent more time out there, but I was tired and sweaty and desperate for a shower.... and maybe a nap.

Later in the day we met up with Gretchen for a fantastic veggie lunch at the Green Door Cafe in Orange, and then went back to the parks for a little more Disney fun. The weirdest part of the day was going to the Mad T Party and watching the crowd completely enraptured by what can only be described as a wedding / covers band. Is it a fun show? Sure. Are the songs well performed? Of course. And the band plays with the kind of swagger you'd expect in a famous band. But the fact that the crowd KNOW THE CHOREOGRAPHY and SING ALONG with the band is a little weird. 

Not sure when we'll be back in Anaheim again, but we've already decided to run the Tinker Bell Half again next year -- and we're going to convince Suz that it should be her first half, too!

Tinker Bell Half Marathon pre-race report

After a great week in Orlando we flew to Anaheim on the Friday before the half. Our plane had several Goofy runners on it -- most of whom were also going to run the Tinker Bell half. Nice.

Landed around 2:30, so we decided to drive straight over to the expo. First we picked up our bibs, pre-ordered pins (just the one each), my necklace, and our Coast to Coast wristbands. (yay!) They had a cute system to check the bib tags -- they had everyone cross a set of mats while some eager and excited volunteers cheered. So Wil and I held hands and ran over the mat, which they loved. Super cute.

no "track" carpet, but special Tinker Bell carpet instead

Then we headed over to the other expo building. We picked up our shirts -- pale green long sleeve shirts with a much nicer logo than last year. Wil tried to swap his men's large for a men's medium, which was a bit challenging. In the end we went back the next day and got lucky. :)

We looked at the merch -- nothing too special. No pint glasses again -- just wine glasses. Now, I have nice wine glasses -- I don't need cheap ones with a race logo. And don't they know that plenty of women drink liquids in pints? I looked for pins, but didn't see any hanging. So after a quick look at the shirts and hats, we got in the line (of 2 people) to go to a register.

We asked them about pins -- but apparently they didn't make medal pins for this race -- the only pin was the one we had preordered. A little odd, but okay. We also noticed that they had the little Vinylmation figures by the registers, so we asked if they had the tiny Tink medal. Oh, yes, they did -- in boxes behind the counter.

Now, I think the Vinylmation figure and matching medals is genius. But I can't believe that they were behind the counter. Unless you had seen them in Orlando, you wouldn't know to ask about them, I think. I wonder if they sold more than 10 of them?

Later it also occurred to us that there might have been a teeny tiny Coast to Coast medal -- but we didn't think to ask for it, so maybe they didn't tell us about it? Now I'll wonder about it for weeks. :)

As we were getting ready to leave, we heard them announce that Jenny was about to speak -- so we decided to sit down and hear her talk. Not too many folks in the audience (after all, it was 4:00 on a Friday afternoon) but as she talked, it filled in. We sat right up front to be supportive.

Afterward we had a little chat with Jenny, and made plans to meet up for a Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Tiki Rum at Trader Sam's on Saturday after her last talk.

We spent the rest of Friday getting groceries, settling in to the hotel, and enjoying the parks. (Despite a very uncharacteristic Disney error and some annoying runaround involving our annual passes.... still, we were in Disneyland!

Saturday was much of the same in the morning, then we met up with Jenny. Trader Sam's was crowded, and we had a hard time finding places to sit. First we perched at the corner of the bar near one chair. Then we upgraded to a small tall table near the door with one chair. Then we moved over to the bar, where there were two stools, and grabbed another chair. Then, finally, we sat down at a proper table. This probably took, oh, 30 minutes... and during all that time no server approached us or offered us beverages. A little odd.

Once settled, we each decided to try the Shipwreck. Why? Well, it's made of bourbon. And it comes in a souvenir glass. Nice. We sat around and talked about ideas for running tours. Jenny really wants to do something U.S.-based, so I told her about the five races in five states in five days guys. Wil also suggested doing a staged run where one of the races was a half marathon. I piped up that I'd love a New England series -- the leaf peeper series. I also told her that I hoped that one day they'd need a highly paid brand / email / e-commerce consultant. :)

We talked so long that we ordered a second round of drinks -- this time the Shrunken Zombie Head. Why? Because it's served in a shrunken zombie head souvenir glass, of course!

It was a little funny watching the bar empty, fill up, and empty again while we sat and talked. An unpleasant family crowded around the small two-top next to our table essentially willing us to leave for, oh, at least a half hour. Luckily for them I didn't notice them until I stood up. Had I noticed them, I would probably have lingered longer. :) In fact, when we got up, an argument ensued between them, a small group standing with no table, and another guy who was standing by the door.

As we left, Jenny offered us her extra park hopper passes, which we knew we would be able to find homes for, along with VIP wristbands for Sunday. It was great to see Jenny again -- hope we get to see her again soon.

Seattle Locks Fat Ass Half Marathon race report

We were looking for a race for the last weekend of the year -- I had considered the Yukon Do It race on the 31st, but then decided I didn't necessarily want to spend the money. I saw the Seattle Locks Fat Ass Half Marathon -- and that it was free -- and that the race started at Woodland Park.

We rolled up this morning, joined the small crowd at the picnic shelter. We got our bibs, listened to the course description (essentially, run out to Stone Way, down to the Burke-Gilman, and then out to the turnaround, almost all the way to Golden Gardens. 

Not really much to report about the race -- we just ran out, turned around, and ran back. At the end, we received a medal, had some hot cider, cookies, and jelly bellies, and then nibbled on them as we stretched. We ran pretty smoothly today, but we did decide to walk up the hill on Stone Way rather than run it. After all, we're supposed to be in our taper...

Happy Christmas Half Marathon

We woke to a dry morning, and were dressed and on our way around 6:30. I insisted on wearing our Santa hats, which we discovered bounce around quote a bit. No matter, we were on the road and running!

We decided to run a simple route, down to the Fred Meyer, on to the Burke-Gilman, and out past tHe university. It was very, very dark when we set out, so we were both decked out in our high-visibility NightLife gear. We had considered running with headlamps' but couldn't find any, so we decided to go without.

The trail -- and indeed the roads -- were pretty empty, but everyone who was out was cheery, and we exchanged a lot of hellos. We reached the turnaround pretty quickly, and were well on our way home before the rain started. By the time we got home, it was pretty wet, and we kept feeling pleased with ourself for getting up and going -- knowing that if we had contemplated going out at 9, we would have let the rain keep us indoors. Heck, I admit I would have whined and pleaded not to have to go out.

Then home, hot showers, a FaceTime visit with Beck, Steve, and her family; a quick breakfast; a Skype call with Tony and Sue; and then the festival of presents. Now napping on the couch -- a perfect Christmas.

Lighthouse Loop, Winter Version

Cold and wet half marathon .. Number 32 complete!0

Doing the splits...

So I don't usually have runner tracking at races -- I just don't think it's worth paying to have my splits texted to me while I'm running... especially if I don't know how many splits I'm going to get. But it was offered at the Runner's Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon for free, so I figured I might as well. (Plus it gave Wil a way to track me remotely...)

Anyway, they were super generous with the amount of splits they recorded... and I'm pretty thrilled to see that I got faster and faster as the race went on:

Split	Time	Estimated Finish	Average Pace	Notes
3.1	33:21	2:20:40	10:44	Walked for a minute early on in this split, before joining the group.
6.2	1:03:48	2:14:36	10:16	Big jump here!
10	1:42:05	2:13:50	10:12	Was running slightly ahead of the pace group here.
12	2:02:24	2:13:43	10:12	I'm proudest of this split -- got through my normal head game here without slowing down!
13.1	2:13:06	2:13:06	10:09	Ran the last mile at a 9:43 pace -- fantastic!

Wil now wants us to run a 2:10. Eek. But I think we could definitely get to that sometime next year if we keep at it!

Runner's Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon race report

After a bit of chaos trying to pick up my bib (in the pitch dark morning, along with several hundred other runners and six panicked volunteers...), I stood around trying to relax and stay warm before taking off my long sleeve and leaving it at the bag drop. I noticed that the race had pacers for 2:07, 2:15, and 2:30. I idly wondered how long I could hang on to the 2:15 group, but then just laughed that off.

I made my way to the starting area, where I lined up on the right-hand side (the slow lane...) and a but behind the 2:15 group. But when the race started and we all had to funnel through the timing mats, things got a bit jumbled and I was running with the 2:07s. Yeah, not my tribe.

I ran the first two intervals without the walk break -- we seemed too bunched together to stop. I did decide to walk the next break, however, which is when the 2:15s passed me. But when I started running again, I caught up with them quickly. Given that I struggle with my pace over even short runs, I decided to experiment with joining a pace group.  Crazy, right? But I figured I would just run with them until I ragout of gas.

Marie was the pacer. Holding her balloons (2:15 ROCKS!) and wearing a Santa hat, she kept up an almost constant chatter.  She asked members of the group if they wanted to dedicate miles to people, told funny stories about being a pacer all over the country, and sang songs. At every mile marker she would sing,, "Do you see what I see? It's mile marker number ________". And then the group would shout "2:15 ROCKS!!!"

Never having run with a pacer (umm, besides Wil...), I didn't know what to expect, but it was okay. All I had to do was keep close to them and let the miles and minutes click by.  It was sort-of the real-world version of running on a treadmill.

I have been running intervals for years now, and other than occasional long treadmill slogs, I really haven't run more than 30 minutes straight for a long time, if ever. So I kept thinking that eventually I would just crash.  But the pace was fine, I felt good, and I just kept going.

Then at a water stop somewhere around mile 8 I somehow ended up behind three other women from the group, but ahead of Marie.  I figured we would all shuffle back together, but we never did.  For a while I could hear Marie right behind me, but I stuck close to the three lively ladies and soon we had gapped them. I also knew that I should try to eat up some road while I was feeling good mentally and physically... And that I could let the 2:15s sweep me up later.

After another little stretch we did a loop to turn onto a bike path. As we wound our way through a park, I thought the ladies were slowing down, so I scooted around them and ran on my own. I kept picking out a runner to join, but I would catch them and keep going. I should remind you that this is a very unusual phenomenon for me!!!

The organizers had placed lots of water stops toward the end of the race -- one at mile 10, 11, and 12. This was great for me because it gave me a chance to have a sip of water, walk for a few moments,, and then move on.

At mile 11 -- always the toughest mile for me, mentally -- I decided to just think about things I love... Wil, Kiki, Bub, half marathons... ;) I thought about how great this year has been, how much Wil and I have accomplished, and how proud I am of us.

Then came mile 12 -- such a relief! I dedicated the final mile to Wil, my favorite running buddy, and wishing he was there running with me. The day had been nperfect -- coolish temperatures, gorgeous blue sky, no wind, flat course.

Every so often I looked at the elapsed time on my watch. But seeing that stat meant I didn't really know where I was on the course. So I started just thinking in terms of minutes. Fifteen minutes of running left... Fourteen minutes of running left...

I had looked at the course map before and noticed that there were three 90-degree turns in the last little stretch: right, left, right, finish. That was hugely helpful because I knew that I wouldn't see the actual finish until I was almost there. So I was ready for that.

It was interest ting -- and shamefully satisfying -- to pass so many people in the last couple of hundred yards. But I knew a PR was on the line, so I went for it.

As I was running in I got a shout out by the announcer, which made me wave and whoop. No one responded. But who cares?!? I had just finished in 2:13:06!!!

I felt wobbly and winded and gratefully took the medal and cup of water from the volunteers. At a bit of a loss for what to do next, I just picked up my gear bag, called Wil, and walked back to the hotel.

I already don't remember much about the race. No signs, no sits, just running behind and with a little group of strangers for a couple of hours.  Nice volunteers. Good course markings, including big, honking mile markers. Tons of police helping direct traffic. Plenty of water stops. A handsome medal. OH, AND STATE #17!!!!

A new PR!!

Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon - Finish Results

Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon:

Sunny Delaney at the Finish in 2:13:06.

Pace 10:09 min/Mile.
Time of Arrival: 9:44:13.

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Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon - Split Results

Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon:

Sunny Delaney at the 12 Mile in 2:02:24.

Pace 10:12 min/Mile.
Estimated Finish Time: 2:13:43.
Estimated Time of Arrival: 9:44:51.

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Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon - Split Results

Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon:

Sunny Delaney at the 10 Mile Split in 1:42:05.

Pace 10:12 min/Mile.
Estimated Finish Time: 2:13:50.
Estimated Time of Arrival: 9:44:58.

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Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon - Split Results

Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon:

Sunny Delaney at the 10K Split in 1:03:48.

Pace 10:16 min/Mile.
Estimated Finish Time: 2:14:36.
Estimated Time of Arrival: 9:45:43.

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Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon - Split Results

Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon:

Sunny Delaney at the 5K Split in 33:21.

Pace 10:44 min/Mile.
Estimated Finish Time: 2:20:40.
Estimated Time of Arrival: 9:51:48.

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Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon - Start Notification

Runners Den Fiesta Bowl Half Marathon:

Sunny Delaney has started.


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Seattle Half Marathon race report

Wow! The Quadzuki is over... and I feel both happy and relieved.

We found good street parking on the northwest corner of the Seattle Center -- perfect for an easy escape after the race. We walked in to the Armory for a potty break and to get warm. It was 37 degrees -- colder than I expected -- but I was wearing an warmer top layer today, so I figured I would be okay.

We stayed in the warmth and looked at the "Centerville" train set until 10 minutes before the start, when we headed out onto the street. I put us on the far side of the street again (though we walked around the median rather than through it...) -- made for a much less crowded start.

It still took us a couple of minutes to get across the starting line -- it's the first time the horn and the "woo!" happened without us at least walking a little... But once we crossed the line, it was pretty smooth running.

We ran all the way up and down Fifth Avenue, down to the International District and on to the I-90 express lanes. This time no one slipped and fell. Still not sure what happened two years ago to those people.

I still prefer running through the tunnel at the beginning of the run rather than the end... even if it gets weirdly warm running through there. Then, of course, the worst little ramp in the world. I guess any and all Seattle races require a trip down that little walking path... Steep, narrow, and slippery when damp. Neato.

It is, however, nice to hit the bottom of the ramp and turn left -- rejoining the Ghost course from yesterday. It was also nice to run out in the street rather than along the sidewalk. That said, it was a little sad not to be able to pick up some Ruffles and jelly beans at an aid station in Leschi...

But we kept running along the lake, past the Ghost turnaround, and then up up up up up the hills. Ooof. But Wil kept us moving.... sometimes walking (faster than a lot of runners), and sometimes running (potentially slower than walkers!). I was sad not to have seen any Hashers out with beer on the hill. Not sure if they weren't there, or if I just didn't see them this year? Maybe next time.

Then back down Madison and into the Arboretum, which is my favorite part of this course. I think my brain sorta fuzzed out at this point, because I don't remember all that much, other than that, at some point on the closed-off road through the woods, someone called my name. Wil and I turned around to see someone waving at me. I smiled and waved back... but had NO IDEA who it was. I'm really sorry to whoever it was... but I sadly don't see super well, and often have a hard time recognizing people outside of their street clothes. But thank you for cheering at me. And I hope you had a great run! :)

I was't sure how far we'd run today... when we got to mile 8, I thought we might stop... nope. Mile 10 in the woods? Nope. After mile 10, it just seemed like we should just keep going, so we did.

We popped out near Roanoake Street, which always surprises me, crossed 520 and I-%, and then turned toward downtown. The trip back under the freeway, along the road past the tilting townhouse (again, does ANYONE else remember that?) and one last trip over the freeway.

We turned down the steep hill by Cafe Venus -- which we decided to walk, rather than bang up our knees even more. After that it was pretty much straight ahead, across one block to get on the Mercer underpass, and then up into the stadium. I had the strange realization that I felt better at that point today than I did running the Rock 'n' Roll Half... weird.

We turned down the road into the stadium, said "God Save the Queen" at mile 13, and then sped down the ramp and across the turf to the finish line. Huzzah!

After we collected our very handsome medals, we went into the Recovery Area -- nightmarish again, and already very picked over. (No Muscle Milk... sigh.) And freakishly hot. So we quickly escaped, walked the 3 blocks to the car, and came home.

Still a little surprised that we've finished the Quadzuki... but as I sit and type my knees do feel as if they're seizing up. So I guess that's proof as well.

Seattle Half Marathon 2012 medal

Seattle Half Marathon 2012 medal - back

Ghost of Seattle Half Marathon race report

Was thrilled to wake up this morning to the sound of silence.. by which I mean, no rain!

Got up, got dressed, and was out of the house quickly. Got to the start and jumped in the line for bibs. Nope, that was the porta-potty line. So bib pickup was super fast. We also found the Quadzilla guy and bought a glass. He said if we don't see him after the Seattle Marathon, that he'd mail us our medals. Cool.

We headed back up to the car to drop off our bags and glass, and ran into Ian, who had come down to say hi to Lauren and us. But basically we got back to the start and had to start running. At a minute and seven seconds in, we were probably the last people to start, but who cares. Our goal was just to finish.

The course starts out around Seward Park, and it was a beautiful morning. We ran around the park, chatting with other runners and admiring the view. Then back past the start, and out along Lake Washington Boulevard.

They allowed marathoners to start at either six or seven, so we saw some of them heading back toward us as we went out. It was a little disconcerting to see people so far "ahead", so it must have been weird for people to see us during the Widdle Waddle.

We were both pretty achy from yesterday's trail run -- so decided to let discretion be the better part of valor and only ran half way rather than the eight miles we had planned. All I can say is that those 6.55 miles were supremely easy compared to yesterday!

We passed the Leschi aid station, headed out to the turnaround, and then back. I told Wil that I loved this race because the aid station had Ruffles and gummi bears. Got there and -- yay! Ultra kibble! Had some jelly beans, some Coke, and some Ruffles and headed back out. Awesome.

The way back was pretty uneventful, except that I started to get cold so took Wil's jacket. We cheered for our fellow runners, smiled and waved at a lot of folks, and happily finished in something like 2:50. Pretty slow, but still okay.

After the race we indulged in the great post-race food -- veggie dogs, chili, and of course, some tasty beer. Oh! And the medals were very cool -- a combination trophy, medal, AND bottle opener. Sweet.

Ghost of Seattle Half Marathon Medal

Happy to have gotten three races done... just one more to go!!!

Half Bone Half Marathon race report

It was, in a word, WET.

Got up early for the drive to Gig Harbor... where we got a bit lost trying to find the start, but arrived with, oh, 15 minutes to spare? I liked the set-up for this "not-a-racc"... a couple of porta-potties on a front lawn, a gaggle of runners in a living room, paying a $20 cash donation to the food bank, then picking up a number that was left over from a previous race... Perfect.

We made our way to the start and joined a small group of folks who looked just as wet and a little worried as we did.

But everyone -- at least everyone who put themselves toward the back of the pack! -- was friendly, chatty, and full of a "we're all in this together" spirit. Hmmm... maybe that's the endorphins talking...

A few words were spoken... but I couldn't hear them. There was a request for walkers to start at the back, so we hung back a bit, but then realized we weren't starting off as walkers, so joined the line of people.

bundled up before the race

Much of the race was on single-track trails... so we actually walked for about the first five minutes. Fine by me -- it was brisk and got me used to the feel of the trails in my new shoes. Then we set off at a trot. Not super fast, but a nice trot. I felt like I could run all day at that pace. The trail was narrow, the plants on either side were soaking, and I spent most of the time running looking down at Wil's feet and legs so that I didn't trip, slip, or stumble.

We ran for the first 3 miles with a nice Maniac twosome, sometimes trading leads after wider paths. I was feeling pretty good about the day -- like I could run and run.

And then we hit our first big, big puddle. Now, we'd been through a lot of puddles so far, sometimes jumping over them, sometimes skirting the edge of them in the mud. But this one was a doozy -- all the way across the path and well into the woods beyond. This brought all of us to a screeching halt, as we tried to find the shallowest way through. Jumping ahead to our second loop, I watched a woman -- who was completely soaked already -- just walk straight through it, and the water was nearly up to her KNEES.

Wil and I were wearing our Adrenaline ASR GTX shoes, so we were dry -- unless water went over our ankles. I think I actually stayed almost perfectly dry for the first loop of the course by remembering to walk on my tippy toes to keep the top of my shoes above water.

The course was pretty -- lots of gorgeous autumnal leaves, red ferns, mushrooms, huckleberry bushes. But the rain just kept pouring down so I didn't want to stop and try to take any pictures.

The course was marked with fluorescent paint arrows indicating turns. We were running with a small group when we caught up with a nice German guy standing next to a small path with an arrow. He said, "it's a turn, yes?" and we all agreed --- and tried to call after the people who had run straight past it. As we know from the Birch Bay Road Race, all it takes is one person to go the wrong way and everyone follows. So vielen dank to our German friend!

Before we knew it, we had reached the end of the first loop, so ran out to the aid station at the start/finish to warm up a little. I ate a very delicious pancake and the nicest hot boiled potato you could ever imagine. We weren't sure if we were supposed to go back out to the start/finish, but I'm very glad we did.

We then decided to just walk the second loop. This had the advantage of making it less likely that I would trip and fall, but had the disadvantage of making for a loooooooong day out in the rain. And it was raining ridiculously hard... so hard that every hill turned into a small stream, small puddles completely overwhelmed the path, and dirt turned to ankle-deep mud. Multiple times we had to pick our way across a deep pool. And, of course, at some point I managed to get my feet soaking wet. Oops.

I also got really, really cold... so cold that my hands went almost numb. Not good. Wil ended up pulling my sleeves over my hands for me and then velcro-ing shut my sleeves so I could try and get some feeling back into them. Sadly, this was at mile 12 or so... and he accidentally bumped my GPS... so it stopped recording. Still, small price to pay for avoiding hypothermia, right?

Never has anyone been so pleased as I was when we reached the turnoff for the start/finish... unless perhaps it was me when I remembered that we had only signed up for the half. Yay us!

We got to the finish, gave them our numbers, had a bite to eat, picked up our medals, and then hurried to the car, where it took me a good 15 minutes to thaw out my hands enough to drive.

wet and relieved... and a little bit manic

make that VERY manic

That's day two, then. Tomorrow and Sunday may both be rainy, but they won't be muddy!

and the cutest half marathon medal in the world