Marathon #2: Rock N Roll Seattle

I can't believe it's been over a week since I ran my second marathon; it's past due that I get a recap up! So, without further adieu, here is the Seattle Rock N Roll marathon, from the view of a 2nd time marathoner , who runs slow & steady, but has a great time while doing it and is ready for #3!

I am not going to focus too much on it, but because it was part of our adventure, I would like to share that getting to Seattle was nothing short of a nightmare! After getting only 3 hours of sleep the night before, and getting to the airport at 5am, we waited for 8 hours {yes, we could've drove there faster} for a flight to Seattle {our plane was having mechanical issues, and they ended up bringing in another plane}.  At 1:00pm I got the last seat on a flight up, leaving my parents and 2 other friends who were also running the marathon, in the airport, waiting for a plane to come in! I'll be honest, I got a little emotional and was afraid they wouldn't make it {which wouldn't be unheard of for the Medford airport}, which was NOT how this weekend was supposed to go down! We all finally got there {exhausted, starving}, cancelled our dinner reservations {due to traffic it was nearly impossible to get there} and joined the rest of our group for dinner at The Cheesecake Factory...and all was well again! 

Here we are, at about 5:40am, heading to the race and our photographer has already started snapping shots, and we haven't even left the hotel!

The group {ALL soon to be marathoners} before heading to the monorail! 

Group Cheer!

"FINISH!!!!!"

It was SO wonderful to finally meet two more of my Ragnar NUUNKOTB teammates Stacie and Dawn

I missed the blogger meet-up at the expo, but made it for the picture on Saturday before the race! Afterwards I was embarassed because I was standing by people I tweet with all the time, and never even introduced myself! I'm blaming it on the marathon nerves! 

NUUNKOTB!!!

My dad & I, pre-race

NUUN Team Fun...Ok, we we are always "team fun" when we hang out, and Parker had heard me talking about the NUUN team, so he came up with the brilliant idea of NUUN Team Fun! 

JFDI....Just Focus and Do It! Our friendship started almost 3 years ago, when we all met at Rapport Leadership International, which we had all been sent to by our employers! {Lindsey and I work together, and Heidi & Heather are sisters from  Missouri}

Our amazing cheering squad! 

And we're off!!!

Entertaining themselves while we ran! 

And he did it!!!! 

Happy to be finished! {sorry its blurry}

The rain hit just as we were finished, which is why there are no pictures of the rest of us crossing the finish line! But yes, I still cried, even though there was no one to cheer for me! {I am such an emotionally runner, ha}

It's a tradition...Chipotle for post-race fuel! 

BLING!!!

I loved {almost} everything about this race...the organization, weather, route, etc.  I ran the entire race solo, with no music {until mile 18}, which was actually pretty nice! I got into a zone and went! I absolutely LOVED the marathon portion around the lake...SO BEAUTIFUL! I started off feeling really strong...saw my dad around mile 8, and then Heather, Heidi, Lindsey and Phil as I was running up the ramp to the bridge around mile 15 {and again after the turn after mile 17}, which was nice and gave me a little pick me up! My main complaint about the race was the out and back on I-90 {I think thats what hwy it was}...for me it was extremely tough mentally, in addition to losing GPS signal in the tunnels {and my phone saying mile 50, mile 51...I got so frustrated I just turned it off} the grade was horrible and annoying to run on, and I just wanted to make it to mile 20, and get off the darn bridge! Once I made it through the tunnel at mile 20, I felt much better and got a lil burst of energy {its all relative, I WAS at mile 20! ha}, and loved running back towards the Seattle Center. Unfortunately, around mile 23 it started to rain...it was cold, windy and raining sideways! I just wanted to be DONE!!! I ended up with a 25 minute PR and a desire to do another! 

I am always impressed by Rock N Roll events, and am looking forward to running the half in San Antonio! In terms of my next marathon, if I can find someone local to train with me {which I am working on} I will be doing CIM in December! 

First 20 miler {of this training}

The Seattle Rock N Roll marathon is 49 days away!!!! And on Saturday I ran my first {of 3} 20 mile runs! I have been so fortunate & have always had people to run with {or sherpa} on my long runs.  Well this week, none of my usual training partners were available, so I joined two girls {who I have never ran with} for a 20 mile run. All I knew was that I was meeting them at 5:30am...they had the route planned out, made arrangements for someone to drop off water at the 10 mile point, etc.  Well little did I know, {and it was probably better that way} one of the girls is quite a bit {ok, A LOT} faster that I am {3:20 marathon} and LOVES {and I mean LOVES} hills.  So we started off on our run and Ann asked, "So what's our route!?" Krissy said, "Well we're going to start by going up Coal Mine and over to Barnett {panic mode kicked in for me} and then we'll head over to Cherry Lane and run up Cloud Crest etc {now I'm completely freaking out}  These are the two major hills in Medford, that most people run for a hill workout, NOT as part of their 20 mile run {I aim to find the flattest route for my long runs, and work in the hills during the week}!! And they're the kind of hills, that at some points, it feels like you can walk faster than you are running.  I knew I was going to have to dig deep and just get it done... and that is exactly what I did! I stayed with the girls until mile 16, and at that point I told them to go ahead...I walked it out for a minute, got my music set up, and refocused for the last 4 miles of the run.  At mile 18 I ran by a friends house...she was out working in the yard, so I  recruited her to throw on her running shoes and run the last 2 miles with me! Overall is was A GREAT RUN, and I surprised myself with how well I did.

WHAT I LEARNED {or was reiterated} FROM THIS RUN:

• I love running with a fuel belt {as opposed to a hand-held water bottle}
• Hills make you a stronger/faster runner & I need to do more of them!!!
• Consistent, encouraging, and supportive running partners are PRICELESS
• I am capable of more than I realize

FUEL/HYDRATION:

I hydrated with NUUN and fueled with SportBeans.  I had taken other things to fuel on, but felt as if I wouldn't be able to keep anything down if I ate it.  AND I didn't feel like I needed to eat. I felt hydrated the entire time

ELEVATION CHART:

DID YOU RUN THIS WEEK? HOW DID YOU FUEL AND HYDRATE?