I walked and ran around Seattle a bunch today, in the Seattle Marathon. This was the 50th edition, which is well noted on the medal and shirt. My first Seattle Marathon was in 1997, which math says was the 28th edition. In between, I've gotten much slower.
I had a really hard day out there. I'm not sure what the problem was, but my legs did not want to run. It was kind of cold out--around 34 degrees at the start. Sometimes that's a good thing, but I guess not today. I never got it together, and each mile was a slog.
Last year, the Marathon modified its course considerably, basically trading out Mercer Island and Seward Park for I-5, the U-District, Sand Point, back to Gasworks and Fremont, and then the Aurora Bridge. The course had a few more changes this year--nothing major, but the route went through GasWorks and took a different turn to get up to Aurora. There are a few hills on this route, with a pretty big climb up to the Aurora Bridge, and then the Bridge is also a climb. The last two miles are a relatively quick descent to Memorial Stadium.
I've seen a few completely different courses since 1997. Back then, the course went from Marymoor to the UW. For nearly 20 years, the route has included a trip out to Mercer Island and a loop around Seward Park--basically the other side of town. This route is better, I think, as its kind of cool to run on I-5 into the U-District, the Burke Gilman is flat and fast, and the view at the end on Aurora Bridge, looking back towards the I-5 Bridge where I was earlier, is kind of cool. I'm not sure where the current Rock & Roll course goes, as it has changed course a few times as well, but I ran it one year over the now deceased viaduct, and that was probably my favorite route.
At the finish, someone handed me a CBD tea mix as a freebie. Washington State.
During my slow tour of the city, I couldn't help but notice how much Seattle keeps changing. It really is startling. The tunnel is open. New condos and hotels are everywhere. South Lake Union is unrecognizable. I saw tents in a few places. It is somewhat disorienting.
I think I'll probably try one of the other T-day weekend races in the coming year. Two trips to Seattle (expo and race) is kind of a pain, and the race is getting a bit spendy. Gone are the $40 early registration days. We were stuck in traffic returning home the other day for an extra hour or so, after picking up my bib. Also, the race now starts at 7 AM on Sunday morning, which has its pros and cons, but I miss the days where I could leave the house at 6:15 or 6:30.
I didn't really have a good time today, and I ache, but I'm glad I did it, just the same. I'm guessing this was my 15th Seattle Marathon.
2 comments:
Little Seattle is not so little, and very much not the same city it once was. As much as I'd love to return, working in the same field would have me working in Seattle, but having to live well out of Seattle. Given the COL and the commute have only gotten worse a return, at this point in time, is highly unlikely. It's a bummer the Seattle marathon course has changed so drastically. Maybe you need to run the Ghost or, as you mentioned, find other races that weekend in other locales.
The commute time from Tacoma to Seattle this morning was over 2 hours. Smokey Point to Seattle can get that way too now. I have neighbors who do the commute from Mount Vernon, but they tend to leave before 6 AM sometime. I find it aggravating when we run into slowdowns on the weekend, but still I end up down there too often, for this and that. I'm thinking Ghost. All this said, I actually like this course route for the marathon. The first four miles go north on the a closed down I-5 expressway, giving some great views over Lake Union. Finishing over Aurora Bridge also has great views. Sections of the Burke Gilman are kind of boring for getting miles in, but not much different than the latter part of the return from Seward Park.
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