Woolley Runs Marathon

On Saturday, I walked the Woolley Runs Marathon in a downpour, mixed within winds, holding up an umbrella for much of the day.  I wore four layers up top, including a Marmot rain jacket, plus two hats (OR sombrero), a buff around the neck, and long running tights. I wore the wrong socks (Smartwool), in some old shoes (Montrail Masochists), and blistered bad under the foot and on some toes. My back was stiff going into this, and it hurt more as the day went on. I never seriously thought about trying to run, but there was some shuffling going on, now and again.

It was an ok day, notwithstanding.  This is an out and back on the Cascade trail out of Sedro-Woolley, put on by NW Ultras (Terry, Delores, James, et al.). Thank you all! The Woolley Runs are a terrific way to get out on a flat, rails trail in Skagit Valley in February.  The start line is about 15 minutes from home.  The trail parallels the Highway 20 corridor, from a distance. You pass fields upon fields, some with snow geese, Canadian geese, and swans. There were some bison.  Some horses and some cows. I think I saw some Alpacas. Definitely some sheep.  The hills and mountains on either side had snow in them. At some points, the trail parallels Lyman Slough and the Skagit River.

Indeed, the weather was miserable. I almost bailed, but I really wanted a long walk to clear the head, and so that's what I did. Basically, it was a hike with support at miles 4, 6, 13, 20, and 22.  There were great eats at the finish line (chili, chicken noodle, hot dogs, et al.), and soon enough I was home and watching the Olympics. The memory will last longer than the pain and discomfort. Walking for miles on end, with rain and wind my constant companion, is a good way to re-connect with myself and nature, at least in measured doses.

Seattle Marathon

This year's edition of the Seattle Marathon was foggy and chilly. I was reminded of the phrase, "thick as pea soup," which is cliche for fog, but really makes no sense to me. My pea soup is almost always green and thick, but I don't reckon it to fog. There has to be a better way to describe fog.

I suppose it was pretty good racing weather, overall. 40 degrees or so, most of the time, a bit of a headwind coming back out of Seward Park, and I was cold. I dumped my top layer too soon. However, if I had been running, instead of mostly walking, as was the case, then it probably would've been fine.

My leg basically did a meltdown. This on top of being unprepared. Shade of blogposts past, I know, but this was really bad, and I attribute to more than fitness. Worst marathon ever--I pretty much had to walk the second half, and the first half wasn't winning any dating contests. Thought about dropping.  I'll get the appointment already.  The back of my left knee doesn't feel right, so I can't kick after a while. I'm reminded of that song, "Your Body Is A Wonderland." My body is a disaster site, or at least my leg is. I'm just not used to seeking medical care on this sort of thing, but need to.

It was great as always to see the familiar faces out there, and share a bit of road with some friends. Kurt and I knocked out the first mile, catching up. Great to see Ray G. at the 6.5 area or so, and then at the finish--haven't seen him in three or four years. Craig for a bit on the bridge. Many others--Terry, Kevin, Adam, Allen, Leslie, Van et al.--good running!

I felt like the race was better organized this year. Volunteers everywhere--seemed like more than usual. Police and medical aid all over too. The medal is a little different--it's curved, probably as a nod to the EMP starting line. I had bib number 2000. I didn't request it or anything, and didn't do it justice. Folks on the sidewalks often opted for "Good number" over "Doin' good!"

So, for better or for worse, that's ten years in a row.  I am happy about that. So much to reflect back on.  I'll probably stop the streak there, unless I'm running a whole lot better next year. Plenty of time to think about it. Not so much to think about Deception Pass, which I'm registered for in a couple weeks. I may have to opt for the 25k or nix it--I'll see how this week goes.

Seattle Marathon

We had good marathon weather today. It was probably 45 degrees or so, overcast but temperate, little wind except heading west on the I-90 bridge, and no rain except on the drive down. I ran a 3:57. I seem to have a way with Seattle of just doing enough to come under four hours each year. Not particularly fast, but four hours is sort of a benchmark I like to keep up as the years go by. This was my seventh Seattle in a row, and ninth overall. I ran a 1:56 first half and a 2:01 second half, which is about even on this course, since the second half has many more hills. The pavement is not my thing, but I keep signing up. I did fine aerobically, rarely breathing hard, but the pounding was tough on me. I miss the Ivar's clam chowder afterwards.
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On to other adventures. I hope to stay busy this winter, maybe focus a bit more on fitness and diet, get out in the snow, and start next year better than this past year. I haven't been too happy with my running this year, even though I know I've done a lot of cool things. My favorite runs have been backcountry non-events. I'm hoping to pick an event or dream up an adventure that I can spend a few months training and looking forward to.

Nookachamps

Before the Nookachamps Winter Runs

I ran the Nookachamps Half Marathon this morning. The start line is about three minutes from my home, and so this was the easiest way to put in the weekend miles and see some friends. I run this course all the time, or some variation of it, and this was my 3rd or 4th Nookachamps race. Lots and lots and lots of runners--probably 600+-- doing the 5k, 10k, or 1/2 options. Everyone hangs out in the gym before the race, which are the pics here. There was a thick fog this morning--an aggresive mist---hanging over the Skagit farm fields, which made barbed wire fences, the occasional horse in a field, and the quiet ponds and standing water all a bit more mysterious.
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I ran horribly--I have no speed right now, and the all-you-can-eat spaghetti deal at the Co-op is inadvisable before any race shorter than a marathon. Living, and learning! Actually, I'll probably go back. I'm not too bright on these things. Really, I'm not. Some Homer Simpson in me, I'm afraid. Anyway, my hip also hurts these days ("You should stop running!"), and my hamstring is a tad too tight, and it was about 32 degrees starting out this morning. Then, also, I chose not to wear music, which was a total mistake, and my SHOES are getting older, and my socks, they were poorly chosen. Also, my hair is ALWAYS growing and I hadn't shaved, which is a total rookie error, with the wind drag and all. Whatever. It's January. I foresee more aerobic exercise in my future, and yoga, which scares me way more than it should. In the big picture, I ran with a herd in the foggy Skagit this morning, and I'm living well.

Skagit Valley College Bleachers

The Finish

Seattle

Conditions were perfect for the Seattle Marathon this year. The Space Needle looked almost alien in the morning, with fog circling it, and the temperature sat arond 50. My time was 3:59, and I think I ran poorly, for where I’m at right now. No big deal, but still, it's hard to get too far away from the clock. The reasons were several---I think my pre-race eats were off—no more Teriyaki combos the night before; my shoes were a half size too big; and I ran a bit too much the days before, though not marathons like some. Notably, I just hurt, a bit in the hip, some in the feet, and I was never inspired to push through the pain. I’m a trail guy--roads beat me up. All that said, my main issue was I didn’t really focus on how I wanted to run in the first place—I just went out and ran, and figured I’d see how it went. Hoping for the incidental good time.
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This is a mistake--if I want to be completely satisfied with my race day efforts, I should prepare better mentally. I know this. Visualize success, and all that. The four C’s: Commitment, Compsure, Confidence, Concentration. (: That's from a sports psychology course I took a while back. (: I have a number of phrases I’ll repeat to myself when I’m on. I didn’t do any of this, which usually isn't a big deal, but now and again I leave a bit dissapointed, and that was the story with this year's finish at Seattle. I know I could've pushed through the pain, changed my tempo, but I wasn't mentally prepared to do so. Life is still good--no big deal. Live, learn, live some more. This paragraph is breaking the cheese meter.
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My first half was totally lame, roughly 1:58, for all of the above reasons. Somewhere around mile 16, I decided to try to keep it under 4:00, which required sub 9s. I did it, but I had to work for it a bit, because the course is much harder in the second half. This wasn't that lame, although even here I could've ran faster, and was going just fast enough to come in under 4:00. I was totally geared for something longer. One thing I noticed was that when I thought about running faster, I was able to speed up considerably, but if I just ran, most of the time I wasn't kicking too hard. Age. If only I had more commitment, composure, confidence and concentration. Oh well. I finished strong and feel good now--obviously, something went wrong.
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My favorite thing about this year’s Seattle had nothing to do with the run. I totally dialed it in for getting in and out of the race. I left MV at 6:20, sort of late really, and then stopped at Marysville McDonalds for coffee. I took the U. District exit, hopped onto 99, and parked immediately at the Seattle Center for $8. The whole trip took less than an hour. In past years, I’ve sat for endless minutes coming off I-5, worried about missing the start, or had trouble locating parking, or waiting in line to pay for parking at a machine. Also, leaving the race this year was a snap, with the garage sitting across the street from the finish line, and then one right turn out of the garage, and from there a straight drive on to I-5. Hassle free marathon!
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Also, of note, this was my 8th Seattle, going back to the old Burke Gillman route in the 90s; my 6th in a row! what’s going on there?; and I’m pretty sure this was my 50th marathon. I might also say that I thought this year’s version of Seattle seemed a bit better organized than in some recent years, with lots of GU on the course, great volunteers, nothing to complain about. I do miss Ivar’s clam chowder not being at the finish. That’s a good Seattle tradition—there ought to be some distinctly Seattle touch. Maybe it was there and I missed it.
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Up next—well, my calendar’s pretty open. I expect I’ll do the Fairhaven Frosty 10k next week with some friends, which is becoming a bit of a tradition for me in its own right. After that, maybe the Lake Samish half in January, probably the Bridle Trails 50k, and almost certainly the Honeywagon half in Everson in February, definitely a tradition. I’m tossing around all sorts of longer distance things for 2009, but nothing’s inked—it’ll be a challenge to match this year, which has been great.

Marine Corps Marathon

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I did so much in Virginia over the past 10 days or so, that I think I'm going to toss up a few posts. Starting with the USMC Marathon. The pics tell the story--lots of sites to see, big crowd. The marathon was fun, my second one. I started late--it took me at least ten minutes just to cross the starting line. Once I got going, it was a dodge and swerve thing, jogging mostly, through a cattleherd, stopping to take lots of pictures, and to pass out campaign literature. I had no intention on taking this race seriously. I called home, which the folks got a kick out of--"No one's ever called us during a marathon!!!"--well...imagine that! There I go, representing in the gene pool. My biggest regret is I didn't stop at the hot dog or falafel stands. One of my favorite race stories is buying fried chicken at a corner store with my friend Steve and eating it during Bloomsday, circa 1992. That was cool. This was one of those races. DC is made for it, with so many great sites to see. I ran the final ten miles or so, to keep my time under 4:30, b/c something in me refused to commit to the really large time. Whatever, I still hurt afterwards, and I am officially not into pavement much anymore.

Eugene Marathon

Terry S. and Bryan R. came by this Saturday morning, bright and early at 6 AM, to head down for the Eugene Marathon. Coffee sounded good once we made it to Seattle, so we hit Pike Place Market and the "original" Starbucks. Pretty cool--we drove right up, said hi to the vendors setting up, ordered a coffee and then went next door for fresh baked piroshkies. Yes.
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Five hours later, we make Eugene. Mostly country music on the road. Lots of running talk. How to run a race. How to organize a race. What races suck. What races rock. What to eat at a race, etc., etc., etc. The expo (at the race) was cool, although the Exposers were unsuccessful in separating This fool with his money. The Saturday Eugene Street Market proved much better at this, with its 750 vendors and real live drum circle. I had the good fortune to meet a local "artisan" who specializes in twig craft, and perhaps other personal medicinals. I Just had to purchase the twig bird feeder--only $16! It looks sort of witchy. Score!
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After that excitement, we went looking for Pre's rock, which is a memorial rock to Steve Prefontaine, pictured above, marking the sight of his tragic car wreck. Prefontaine has become a legend, as far as running goes, and he made his name running for the University of Oregon. People leave shoes in tribute. We found the memorial, but it didn't come easy. 45 minutes of seriously comical head scratching, driving in neighborhoods, and looking around. Totally worth it. We followed this up with a visit to Hayward Field, sight of several Olympic Trials, including the this year's trials in a month or two. They wouldn't let us in.
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Fast forward to the marathon, 7 AM Sunday morning, with the start outside the same Hayward Field. The race DJ played C&C & the Music Factory's Gonna Make You Sweat. They always play that. Race DJs are really clever. OK. Eugene is now OFFICIALLY one of my favorite road marathons. This race is awesome, maybe the best marathon in the northwest.
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The marathon is sponsored by Krusteaz, because it is "flat as a pancake." There's a couple small hills, but it is a PR type of course. It is a little crowded starting out, because they start the halfers, fullers, and 5kers at the same time, with about 8000 total. The course is absolutely beautiful, starting through quiet neighborhoods (with ankle burning potholes--watch out), and then the last 13 miles are along the Willamette River. I saw some really cool birds with big feathers over the river. The time of year is right too--the temperature reached the 60s by the end, but overall it was just about right, especially after all the cold we've had.
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I ran pretty well, without going all out. 3:48. No stomach challenges. The night before was mashed potatoes, soup, and broccoli. Need to remember that. New shoes, Asics Nimbi. My one mistake was having chocolate milk and bananas after the race. I almost lost it. Need to remember that too. My mile splits were usually within 10 seconds or so, with the half marathon splits only a minute or two apart. I had to focus to keep the pace steady for the last three, so there was effort, but that just made for a good run. I don't want to go all out, as I'm looking to things further on. What I want to do is stack some good long runs week to week, and this was a good start.
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The finish was awesome--you cross the river, take a turn, pop out of some woods, and come right up the backside of Autzen Stadium, with the big O for Oregon. Everyone ran terrific, including Skagiteers Dr. Rob and Shawna W., who also made it down. All around a very cool weekend. Next up, NB2V, unless I decide to do North Face. Trail work for Wasatch in two weeks.