A Tale of a 1/2 Marathon

In the darkness of the night of November 30th I rolled out of bed with the plan to run 13.1 miles with a great friend of mine. Eight weeks ago we thought this was a fun idea. The morning of it still felt like a fun idea. We were on our way of checking a "To Do" off our lists.

Our training consisted of interval and circuit training with a sprinkle of running each week. Today was the day we were going to test this method of training. Our goal was to complete it in under two hours. Little did we know what the day had in store for us.

When we arrived in Seattle it was blanketed with fog and the temperature was a warm yet wet 49 degrees. Decked out in shorts and a technical shirt (not cotton) we hopped out of the car and followed the masses to the start line. After stopping by the "honey pots" we found our way to a very crowded start line. We heard the race start but all we could do was stand still. Five minutes passed before we even crossed the start line.......

The race had begun. People kept coming and coming and coming. We were passing people and people were passing us. Around mile 4 we finally decided to stop for a sip of water while in the I-5 tunnel......

At mile 4 my brain reminded me that we needed to stay hydrated or in 6 miles we may regret not staying hydrated. We made our way to the table and "POOF" before I could blink my eyes I lost Shasonta. Panic struck me and I froze looking frantically around. I ran to the end of the water table thinking that maybe that's what she did but I knew it would be impossible to find her in the sea of people. I started to run and felt like crying but I knew the longer I stood around my chances of finding her were getting closer to zero. When I emerged from the tunnel I stopped and looked for a good 30 seconds before accepting that I would be completing the race on my own with hundreds of strangers. It became a game of how many people can I pass after that point. For two miles I ran a great tempo. The crowd was pushing me along with little effort. Mile 5 and Mile 6 came before I knew it. (Wow, I just ran a 10k and I did not have the psychological slow down that I normally do when I have done 10k races in the past.) I stopped to watch the crowd one more time hoping that Shasonta would be there while I sucked down a Mocha flavored Gel Shot loaded with caffeine. It was one of the nastiest things I have ever had but that was all I had. (Yes, poor planning on my part.) Now, I knew I was on my own for sure. It was time to get serious.

Shasonta was stopped on the course for a photo opportunity about 4 minutes in front of me. At the time I did not know this but now that I do, I think... how long did I stand around and freak out. It must have been longer than I realized but if you think about it if she was running and I was standing still it really would not take that long to get 1/2 a mile ahead of me.

We kept running.....

and running.....

and running....

and running...

... yes, we are still running...

I have no clue what mile marker this was but we were still running....and still happy. I felt amazingly well and so did Shasonta (as you can tell). I felt like I was floating down the street. However, I was so ready for it to be over.

It was the home stretch. The stadium was the last part and the finish line. It felt sooooo good to see this line. I cruised in trying to pass as many people as I could.

I crossed the finish line and stepped into another journey. It was a mass of chaos. I had no clue where anyone was. After standing on the back of some industrial truck and looking into the sea of people I decided to head to the recovery area. With hopes of finding them standing on the side I was quickly disappointed that my efforts were giving me no return. I slowly made my way through the massive crowd of people. I could hear over the PA system people's names being called to the red balloon/computer terminal area to meet up with their lost ones. I made my way over there and gave the wonderful women on the mic my friend's name. With in 2 minutes Robby walks up and saves me and my world stops swirling around. It was then that I learned I was not alone at the finish line. They all saw me come in and they even got pictures. I was ready to get out of there. We headed back to the car and I was happy to see Shasonta and Dale on the way back. We loaded up and got out of Seattle. Stopping at the first rest stop out of Seattle I "fell" out the car. My hip flexors were seizing up and my legs were on strike. After convincing them to cooperate with me I changed and we headed to Boundary Bay for a beer and lunch.

It was a wonderful day and I am ready to try it again. However, I will choose a smaller race.

Lessons learned for the day that others may benefit from.

1. Have a plan of what to do if you get seperated.

2. Know the phone numbers of the people you are with. (I had no clue of how to get intouch with anyone on this coast. I only know numbers by heart of people in GA. That does no good.)

3. You really don't have to run alot to be able to finish a 1/2 marathon. Ask me about my training if you want to know more.

4. Have Fun... I did and it worked.