Run.Mind.Matter: RocknRoll Seattle Race Recap

I've ran 3 marathons (All 3 were the Portland Marathon). All of them I have finished in over 5 hours. My fastest marathon time was 5:03:30. And each marathon left me a MESS, (Broken toe nails, blisters galore and severely dehydrated) taking at least a week to recover. Saturday June 18th I went out and ran the Seattle Rock N' Roll Marathon with under 3 hours of sleep. I ran an Ultra marathon about a month and 10 days before that and did a few extra speed works than I shouldn't have during taper week.

Saturday morning I woke up after an unfortunate night of very little sleep and headed towards the start line. After being dropped off about a mile away due to traffic, I jogged toward the start. I dropped off my gear and then went in search of the very celebrated inside bathroom facilities. By this time it was 6:15 AM...And all 3 floors of bathrooms had HUGE HUGE lines. lucky for me the start time was changed from 7 AM to 7:15 AM and honestly my corral didn't even start till 8 AM.

First time wearing Stance running socks and I loved them!!!!

First thing I noticed when the race officially started was that I was definitely in the incorrect starting corral. My corral was for the 4:50 pace finishers. I had severely underestimated my abilities. I spent my first 5 miles weaving in and out of people to get into a comfortable pace. This was the first thing that felt so very different than my other marathons. I felt fine. I felt like I could go way faster. But, since I was not used to that feeling, I didn't want to get tooo crazy and go too fast. So, I stayed at about a 9:15/mi pace for the first few miles.

There were so many amazing things about this run, but, the thing that left me in awe was the Blue Mile. A mile of pictures of fallen soldiers and people hold flags with the names of fallen soldiers. It took everything I had to not totally and completely lose it during that mile. Very powerful emotional mile. Then, there was the stroll around the lake, the trek across the bridges and the unsettling tour in the tunnels.

But, let me skip ahead to the part I ALWAYS struggle with during a marathon. The final 5 miles. Exactly on time that wall definitely showed up in all of it's glory. Biting at my ankles and pulling at my quads. Pouring insecurity thru my eye lashes and rib cage. For a brief minute I had no idea why I was there and how I got so disgustingly fat. My feet were too big and my shoes were too small. My arms were floppy and knees kept knocking. "Why am I so sweaty? No one else is sweating like this. You are so gross." As quick as it arrived, it was gone. Suddenly, I was flying. It hurt more to run at a slow pace then it did to run faster with good form. So, I sped up. I took a selfie, turned on Eminem -Til I collapse, and ran my heart out. At mile 25.5 my ankles started cramping. A runner I think saw me start to slow. We had talked about how I was on pace to PR by 50 minutes. He knew I was wanting to finish strong. As I started to slow I saw him come up on my right and he gestured with his hand for me to go. It helped! It got me through the rest of the race. As other people were doing the "zombie shuffle" to the finish line...I was flying....My fastest mile of the entire marathon was the last mile. Where others were walking up hills I was cruising up them. I used to struggle so much with hills. It was amazing to see the hard work I have put in finally pay off.

As I came up to the finish line I wanted to cry. I had just finished a Marathon in 4:15:04 and still had fire to keep going if I had to. As I walked thru the food area, I was handed low fat chocolate milk (lame I wanted full fat) ... and I headed out to get my finisher jacket that I earned... I had one thought on my brain. "I can totally get under 4 hours for the Portland Marathon in October."
One of the best parts is right after I finished my husband James sent me a text asking how everything was going. He wasn't going to be there till 2 so that he didn't have to wait around for me to finish and enjoy the after extravaganzas. I told him that I had finished and PR'ed and he says " You are already done?!" Apparently, he had showed up with the girlies early to see me finish but I finished so much sooner than we expected that he missed it. Not too shabby....and I love that he was trying to be there to see me finish:)

This race will forever be one of my favorites. The energy was amazing and so were the runners and volunteers. I am so grateful to Alaska Airlines and Athlete IQ for the race opportunity. It will be hard to beat that racing experience! Oh yes, and thank you to Brooks for the awesome finisher jacket!

PS: I find it important to add that according to Garmin I had 14 Personal Records....including a PR on my half marathon, 10 k and 5 k times. AKA it was a good day!

PPS: It does seem like this blog should just be titled..."How Awesome Am I" lol

Pre-Race:
Coffee
Picky Bar-Smooth caffeinator

GEAR-

Nike tank

Bur'ts Bees Peppermint chap stick

Garmin forerunner 225

Momentum Jewelry-Wrap Bracelet w/ Live Fearlessly Charm

Run Goo- No Blisters whoop whoop!