Seattle Rock 'n' Roll Half-Marathon 6.22.13

Anemia sucks.  My mood and energy level feels like I should be in my last trimester of pregnancy, less the excuse of being pregnant.  Increased demand on my body from training has wiped me out.  Back to iron supplements…goody, goody.

Despite my sucky attitude and exhaustion, surprisingly my body keeps performing well for me.  My training appears to be paying off despite myself.

 

I’ve upgraded from the Snail to the Turtle Division in racing; ran sub 10-minute miles on my recent 5K race (smokin' fast for me), improved my marathon time by over an hour, and beat my last Seattle Rock ‘N’ Roll half-marathon time by almost ten minutes!

Speaking of the Seattle RNR half, I need to start with a confession.  I’m burned out.  I’ve been trying for two and a half years to get back into shape and I’m tired and frustrated.  Due to life and illness, my training has been spotty; I haven’t been able to complete a whole training plan.  I’m trying to stay positive and look forward to something…usually that is my upcoming race but not in this case.  Honestly, I didn’t want to run the Seattle RNR (although when I signed up in January I thought I did).  Seeing friends and family was fantastic and getting a medal at the end of a workout was great.  But truth be told, I’m not a fan of running hills, freeway, or tunnels especially when they are all in one race including half a mile uphill to the finish. 

Holy hills, Batman!  Seattle race elevation map. 

The Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll half-marathon is a great race, but my attitude sucked.  Plus, the start/finish line had a ton of police officers and bomb-squad officers/dogs/trucks which created an eerie feeling.  I felt like a sitting duck and it made me sad for Boston; so much for pre-race excitement.

Based on many things, I knew this wouldn’t be a PR race for me so I made a commitment to instead find inspiration in this race.  Despite the hot day with people getting medical treatment about every other mile (one guy had fallen and was a total bloody mess) here is the inspiration and kindness I experienced:

Kerrie (Mom vs. Marathon) (a fellow mother, runner, blogger, and Facebook friend) picked me up and gave me a ride to the starting line.  Thank you Kerrie, you have NO idea how grateful I am for that!  Click the link above to check out her blog or find her on Facebook Click HERE.

Photo with Kerrie!

 

Mile 7-8ish honors fallen soldiers.  I have no words to give this experience justice.  I still had tears despite trying to prepare myself knowing it was coming.



Thank you for your ultimate sacrifice for our country. 

 



 

I watched a military veteran running with two lower-leg prosthetics cross the finish line.  The crowd’s cheers of support were LOUD and amazing!  

 

Plane with a "Run Happy" banner.

 

My friends, Amy and Jon, let me crash at their house plus went out of their way to pick me up after the race.  They took me to see one of my best friends from college then back to my car.  I cannot thank you two enough!

A woman working at the Renton Community Center (where my car was parked) allowed me to use their locker room to clean up and change so I didn’t have to sit in my sweaty ripeness for my 4.5 hour drive home.




Congrats to first-time half-marathoner in our group!

My bling!

I’m determined to flush this negativity out and go into my Missoula race this weekend excited, optimistic, and ready.  I had my personal record run there last year and I'd LOVE for a repeat event.  We'll see....