Saturday, February 29, 2020

Fort Ebey Kettles Half Marathon


Last Saturday I ran the Fort Ebey Kettles Half Marathon, for the third time I think. It was a terrific morning to be out, with an early chill and later warming up into the 50s. That's about the best you can hope for in February. I like this event, because it puts me on Whidbey Island by the ocean, and the trails are really runnable.

Morning coffee at home with Deb. The race starts at 10:10 for the second wave, which gives folks a lot of time to make their way up to Fort Ebey from southern ports of call. For me, its about a 50 minute drive, and a beautiful one at that, with the flats of Skagit, Deception Pass, and Whidbey roads along the way.

On Monday, I was scheduled to go down to Seattle for a litigation training, which is actually kind of intense. So, for most of the run, I was switching between thinking about my running flow and then how best to present an opening statement for a company defending a specific sexual harassment claim. I didn't get to pick my side--they split the participants up. Anyway, for much of the run I was basically talking to myself, rehearsing statements. This is unusual, as typically when I run I'm not thinking about much more than observing the nature around me.

Maybe that all helped me keep the run going, as I ran an improved pace over the last time I did the event in 2015 or so. I can't remember--I probably walked a bunch that time. All was going well, but frustrating enough--I rolled my tricksy ankle with a quarter mile to go. So now, I'm typing with a still sore ankle, one week later.  A bit of concern with Chuckanut coming up in a few weeks. I imagine I should see a specialist, or a physical therapist, and maybe I will, but I think I'll take up some stretch band exercises, and make sure there's some ice in the freezer.




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