Saturday, June 30, 2012

Rockin' and Rollin' and What Not (Seattle RnR Part 1)

You guys!  Last weekend was one of the best weekends EVER!


There's no way I can jam it all into one post, so I will talk about the wonderful bloggy peeps I met in a separate one.  I am going to focus on the race itself in this very special two-part post.  Ready?  On your mark, get set, go!

PART ONE

The morning of the race, TriGuy was incredibly, wonderfully nice (well, he's usually pretty nice anyway).  He got up at 4:15 and drove Adrian, Ann Marie, and me downtown.  Much more on Adrian in the blogger post.  He stayed with us as we met up with Phuong, Rebecca, Stacie, Lauren, Pensive Pumpkin, Dawn, and a slew of other bloggers.  We took some pictures, discussed if it would rain or not, flitted around nervously, and eventually made our way to our corral.

Once the gun went off, we got into place and began the 25 minute shuffle to the start line.


The lady behind me whacked me about 50 million times.  I guess she was eager to start. 

While we meandered along, Ann Marie asked me how I wanted to run the race.  I responded very succinctly.



Yeeeeaaaahhhh, I hadn't put a whole lot of thought into it. I said I wanted to hopefully run the whole race, get in some negative splits (start slower and finish faster), and finish feeling okay.

My other goal was to not have my usual "death-warmed-over" look in every photo from the course.


I decided I would make an effort to smile every time I saw the fancy cameras. (Remember this for Part 2).

Ann Marie had said she was going to run this race with me, and she stuck to her word!  We started out slow.  I really wanted to pace myself, plus I needed to shake out the cobwebs.


Once we hit Mile 2, it was time to pick up the pace a bit, and settle in for a nice, long run.

The most notable thing about this race was that there were soooo many people!  Fantastic spectators, enthusiastic cheerleaders, incredible volunteers, and of course runners!

Fast runners.


Costumed runners!


Barefoot runners!!


There were bands every mile.   Some of the early ones were pretty motivating to keep us moving.


Poor guys; it was probably nerve-wracking.  They were trying, and I give them credit for being out there.

During the first part of the race we had been running for a few miles down a long and boring road, when we rounded a corner and came to a hill. A HILL.


I can't believe they didn't have photographers stationed there to capture everyone's first reaction to it.

I'm going to say it was around mile 5 because that's when everyone else's race recap said it was.  A few people were running up it but most were walking.

Now remember, I eat, sleep and breathe hills, so there was NO WAY I was walking up this one, and I told that to Ann Marie.


So up we ran!  Near the top I spotted Rebecca and said a quick hello.

Rebecca is not new to running but she is new to racing.  This was her first half, and she's running a full this fall!

Then, it was time to run skitter down the other side without breaking my face.  The rest of the course was a mixture of flat stretches, steady inclines, a few tunnels, and some on and off ramps.

Around Mile 7 I spotted Chelsea cheering in the same place she was last year, and I said hi.


Throughout the run I tried to pick up speed on the downhills to make up for the uphills, and for the walks through the water stations.  The water, by the way, tasted like liquid plastic.


But I guess it's hard to get delicious water to 20,000+ people quickly, so they did what they could to make sure we all had water.

When we hit Mile 10 or so, we had to run up a HUGE overpass.


Mostly not cool because I was ready to be done by then.   The final 3 miles held some surprises of their own, that I will discuss in Part 2.  Stay tuned!

Did you run the race this year? 


If so, what did you think of the hills?  The water?


What exciting summer plans do you have lined up?


UPCOMING POSTS: RACE RECAP PART 2, BLOGGY PEEPS, YOGA

Edit: I'm chillin' on the Yeah Write Hangout grid this week.  Click on the button for some fun reads and great writing!

read to be read at yeahwrite.me

34 comments:

  1. Love part 1!! The water was definitely hose water - some spots tasted super duper chloriney. The only spot with non-hose water was on the I90 bridge, maybe mile 17? 18?

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  2. I'm going to sign up for the rock and roll in Dublin in 2013-think it is the first one to be held in Europe

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  3. Haha!! Love it! Oh, the HILL!! BOO! When I ran my first (and only) half, my buddy said he scoped out the course and it was pretty flat the whole way. Turns out, he was a big fat liar face and the first 19k was a gradual pitch. Like you, every picture taken of me during the race was "death warmed over." Except at the finish line, where I made a bee-line to the bagels. Now that was a big smile. Haha!! Can't wait for part 2!

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  4. This day I learned "negative splits". Fun and informative. It is my dream that one day, someone will run a marathon ( I'd take a 5k fun run) dressed as a pickleope.
    I'd also like to hear your take on barefoot running. I saw a dude run on a busy city street barefoot. Not even skeletoes, barefoot. It just seemed dangerous.
    Looking forward to part 2! You always make me laugh.

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  5. yayy so excited you posted the first part!! That is a VERY accurate depiction of the hill at mile 5. Megan and I felt the same about wanting to run up it. We did but I think we only said 4-letter words the whole time. Still so sucky about the plasticy water for you. So crucial during a race and I know that would have really bothered my stomach too. Can't wait for part 2 of the recap!

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  6. After reading all the recaps, I really hope that I can run this race next year and not just go to hang out (even though that was a blast too).
    I always look like death in my official race pictures even when I try to look cute. Usually if I do so a good one, I buy it because I am so excited that I look cute. Yes, I am a dork!

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  7. giraffy: I only ran the half, so it was all chlorinated for me. I was hosed. Congrats on running the full--it seems sooooo far to run!

    Robyn: That is so cool!! I would love to go to Dublin! (I realize it's a little further away from me, but it would be fun.)

    jennie: Big fat liar faces are the worst! I also had a huge smile at the end of this race when I was handed a smoothie :)

    Pickleope: Who knew I would be educational? My take on barefoot running is that it is highly personal to each person's abilities and body types. My feet are flat and I could not do it without hurting my ankles, as well as probably lots of other body parts. Lots of Kenyans win races running barefoot, but I think they train that way from the start and have nicely calloused feet. Basically, my first instinct is "ouch!", but it seems to work for some :)

    MegO: I was huffing and puffing at the top of the hill, and actually cursed about the way down! It would have been fun to see you guys pre-race...I guess it just means we have to do a small race together :D

    Tasha: Race envy is the worst, isn't it? It was great that you still came to hang out at the pre-race events and to cheer the day of! See you at the next one :)

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  8. YAY! I've been dying to read your recap. Literally. A priest came to read me my last rites the other day, but then you posted! WIN!

    Your depiction of that first hill was spot-on. In fact, RNR should think of incorporating that illustration into their course elevation profile.

    Looking forward to reading part two (and I'm usually not a fan of such posts, but yours means that I get to see more hilarious pictures!) and hoping to race-hangout with you again soon!

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  9. hills: boo!

    bad water: boo!

    and I love that you left us at a cliffhanger right where Jen and I were being stalked by homeless penis.
    DID HE STALK TRIGIRL TOO? TUNE IN NEXT TIME!

    LOL

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  10. I ran with PensivePumpkin this year. I actually loved the course, but that could be because I was running slower then normal and actually enjoying myself instead of racing and wishing I never started.

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  11. Bad water is just WRONG!!!! Love this recap. I hope to run this some time - but not this year.

    I can't wait to hear if you accomplished your negative splits. Or did I miss that somewhere? I ran a 10K that i woke up for at 4:00 - I'm a little foggy.

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  12. Megan: Well thank goodness I posted when I did! We should definitely post-race hang out again. You all need to move closer :D

    pensive pumpkin: Yeah. Boo x2. I read your recap last week, and I will tell you that the flasher was not there for me. He must have waited around for your lovely face!

    Runner Maybe: I read your recap too :) I was trained for hills, but there were just so many that led to highways.

    Meghan: Yeah, the water was icky to me. You didn't miss the negative splits talk yet. Congrats on the 10k today! 4am wake-up calls are rough!

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  13. Sounds like fun! Okay, not true. A marathon sounds like hell to me. But an activity with friends and live music? THAT sounds like fun.

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  14. This is the most amusing recap ever :) Very fun to read - and it sounds like a mostly good race so far!

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  15. My legs crapped out on my just looking at that hill. I feel the need to tell you (again) how in love I am with your drawings. They are da bomb.

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  16. Adam: Pretty crazy. I can't imagine he lasted the whole race in the costume!

    Gia: A marathon would be insane. I did the half :) But hanging out with friends is always a good time!

    Kari: Thanks :) It started out well.

    The Sarcasm Goddess: Well thank you again :D That hill was ridiculous.

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  17. Yay! Love that part 1 is up to read! And you aren't kidding about that first hill - totally redonkulous for sure. I was sucking wind like it was my job getting up that thing.
    Sorry about the water thing too - that's no good at all :( And sad we didn't catch up pre-race but yay for seeing you after and Saturday night AND Sunday! Best. Weekend. EVER for sure!

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  18. I love this recap!! I ran a trail run the day of the R&R, was it raining in Seattle? It started to rain in Issaquah around 11.

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  19. Erika: Yeah, I have actually been up and over that hill before, pushing a bike to get to the Danskin (actually, TriGuy was probably pushing the bike). And the hill up onto I-90 is also in the Danskin for the bike leg. It was so crowded at the start and your corral was way ahead of me :) Glad we got to hang out so much after though!

    Brittany: Thanks! It started to rain on some of the marathoners in the afternoon; luckily, since I only ran the half I didn't have to deal with that. Running in the rain on a trail? Yikes!

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  20. I'm one of Chelseas... I love watching marathons but I have never done it :P

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  21. Hilarious! I especially love the pictures. Good for you for getting out there!

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  22. Lol, so true about those pictures!

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  23. I'm currently training for a 1/2 marathon, not a fan of hills and I remember seeing a hill like that one when I did my first triathlon... ahhh! Feels so good when you make it to the top though! Looking forward to part 2!

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  24. I feel sick just looking at this! What a great and funny post! I love the sketches, especially of the band 'motivating' you guys. :)

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  25. jamiey writes: That's fun too!

    Michelle: Thanks so much :)

    Laurel: Right? They are bad.

    Jess: It does feel good! I'm drawing part 2 already :)

    Heidi: Hehe, thanks :) They sure kept us going...going away from them!

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  26. Awesomeness and hilarity all sketched up into one! Ellen

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  27. For some reason when I first read RnR I assumed it meant rest and relaxation. Since this is a post on your blog, I should have known better. Sheesh. Love the cobweb picture and I'm mentally giving that hill the finger for you.

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  28. running? for a long time? up a big hill? wow. i read your post and am exhausted. kudoes, is what I mean, actually, and dang, am I impressed!

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  29. Vapid Vixen: Today is all about the other RnR :) There were many hills on the course. If I wasn't used to them I would have really hated the race.

    mannahattamamma: Thanks :) Being a mamma is exhausting, and for a much more prolonged period of time, so kudos to you too!

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  30. I'm not a great runner, but I ran my first 10K this year. In Kenya!! It was... well.. ill advised and seriously embarrassing. I wrote about it here http://www.mamamzungu.com/2011/06/inaugural-run.html. Would not normally like to a post, but your reminded me of it. Loved the pictures! Looking forward to hearing about your last 3 miles. (I ran to my house and km 8 and didn't even finish my race!)

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  31. Kim S: Oh my gosh...running in Kenya. Home of the *Kenyans*. I'll have to go read your post--Kenyan runners (at least the ones who are at the elite level) are superhuman!

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  32. The art work cracked me up. I hate hills when I run, just not my thing.

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  33. Jack: Thanks :) I hate running in the heat--not used to it!

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