Seattle Half Marathon - Two Thumbs Up!

Organized and Ready!

Yesterday was another great race day! The weather was PERFECT (NO rain / NO wind), which is unusual for Seattle, especially at this time of the year! It was a chilly 38 degrees F to start with and didn’t get above 40. Gloves were a must for me. I even started out with my favorite hand warmers but before I finished mile two, I had taken them out and given them to a little boy standing on the sideline. Of course with any race, it doesn’t take long to warm up (as long as I am moving) so the cold was only an “issue” at the start line.

 

Sue and I ready to go... burrrrr....

 

 

The Seattle Half Marathon is a great route – starting at 5th Avenue and Harrison Street near Seattle Center, going south on 5th Avenue and then onto the I-90 eastbound express lanes, through the Mt. Baker tunnel, north along Lake Washington, through the Washington Park Arboretum and Japanese Garden, and then back into downtown - finishing at Memorial Stadium. The course elevation is “moderately hilly” but it felt "massively hilly" to me! The hills are peppered throughout the route and going uphill at the end of any race is never fun, no matter how small it may look on this chart! (Trust me... I was definitely moaning about it!)

Elevation chart from my Garmin...

The route was very well supported with plenty of water stations, porta-potties, medical aid stations and volunteers. It was well marked and police were at every intersection directing traffic and keeping us safe.

I haven’t been training (still trying to get past all of my foot issues) but I never doubt that I can walk 13.1 miles. My pace is the only thing questionable. With the recent purchase of custom inserts and “doctor recommended” shoes (my podiatrist is a marathon runner so I had to trust him), there is hope that I might FINALLY move forward again and be able to train like I should... and improve my overall time.
 

During mile two I felt some left knee pain and I worried that my shoes and inserts were actually over-correcting my foot problem, causing a whole different set of issues. However, when I noticed it, we were on the I-90 on ramp and were walking at a tilt, the left side being the downhill side. Sure enough, as soon as we flattened out, my knee pain disappeared. Whew.

My shoes - Brooks Addiction 10 - and inserts proved to be spectacular! I never felt any foot pain or had any problems. The shoes were easy to run in (I initially had my doubts!) even though they are shoes with maximum support (not very bendy!).  My right calf became quite tight towards the end but obviously lack of training has something to do with that and lack of stretching. Overall, my foot and Achilles tendon felt strong and basically, pain-free. I was pleased.

It was Mile 9 when I started to play the mental game – negative thoughts running through every vein in my body. I was tired. Sue and I were moving at a good rate of speed and I knew we were doing well (I refused to look at my watch and predict the outcome) but I wanted to stop… slow down… take a break. I truthfully wanted it all to be over with. However, knowing we had put so much work into the miles leading up to this point, I wasn’t about to let my mind overtake and lose everything we had worked for but I really, really wanted to.

I struggled mentally and physically (I was sooo TIRED) for the remainder of the race and although I was still able to run off and on, I was unable to sprint through the finish line. I gave all I had to give and was very glad it was over.

I finished 13.1 miles in 2:59:50, averaging 13:40 minute miles. It was the second time for me to reach my goal of finishing in less than three hours (I just barely made it!) so needless to say, I was VERY happy! All that effort paid off! Yahoooooo!!
 

After crossing the finish line, I received my super cool medal, my space blanket, and then walked hobbled very slowly to the recovery area. I grabbed a bagel and some chocolate muscle milk, found a chair, and plopped myself down with the idea that I would sit there all the way into next week if I wanted to! I removed my jacket and discovered I was soaked to the core – WE. WORKED. HARD. (Great Saucony jacket… I never knew I was sweating! I didn’t even get cold from being that soaked in 40 degree F temps!) After refueling and recovering a bit, we walked outside ready to brave the one mile walk back to our hotel. At that time a volunteer pointed us to a line of busses – free of charge – ready to drive us to the Westin, which was only a couple of blocks from where we were staying. I love you, Seattle Marathon! Not even Godiva Chocolate would have been better than that offer! ;) Thank you mucho!

We showered and then headed to the nearest Starbucks (less than a block away… of course… we were in Seattle!). We enjoyed our holiday peppermint mochas and then Sue went to walk around downtown (UGH!!!) and I headed out for the 2.5 hour drive home. My legs were sore and I was worried about sitting still for that long but the drive home turned out to be relaxing and enjoyable.

By 8:00 p.m. I was comfortably tucked into my cozy blankets and completely lost in my dreams ... no doubt dreaming of another race day! heh heh 

Zzzzzzz…

Fundraising Success!

Another fantastic fundraising event!

We raised a total of $618.00!

Mom and I set up our table again at the Firstenburg Holiday Bazaar today. The crowd wasn't as big as last year but it was quite successful for us. I honestly have to give Husband a lot of the credit though! Hudson's Bar & Grill donated a $40 gift certificate which we raffled off, raising quite a bit of money. They also donated desserts again this year and of course those are ALWAYS a big hit! (Who doesn't love an awesome pastry?!) To top it all off, Husband sold over two dozen $10 towel / dish cloth sets for us to people he works with by telling them it was "for the boobies!" Apparently, not only is he a great chef, he is also a great salesman! Thank you, Husband!

Two Towels / two dish cloths per set - $10.00

(They make great gifts for the holidays!)

Mom crochets the dish cloths... I crochet the little tie you see binding them all together! haha That's ALL I can manage to make - a string! It's hard work for me! Seriously. I need to learn to crochet so I can help more with the crafty items. Mom makes these as well as knitted baby blankets (I can't knit either!!) so she spends a lot of her free time making items for us to sell so I can reach my fundraising goals. Her support is boundless! Thank you, Mom!

At the end of the day we were approached but a woman asking us to set up a table at another bazaar on December 8th. She said they were looking for people who were raising funds for a cause. (That would be us!) We signed up and now MOM has to get busy replenishing our stock! Oh sure, I'll help too... I can make more strings! Sooooo glad I can contribute! ;)

I will post more information about the December 8th bazaar as I get it.

Thank you to my friends who showed up today and made some nice purchases! It it so nice to be so loved and supported!

Today's winner of the raffle drawing was Clarice Waitkus! She and her husband were thrilled with the win and can't wait to visit Hudson's at the Heathman Lodge for their first time!

Holiday Bazaar and Fundraising

The Firstenburg Holiday Bazaar is tomorrow from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. here in Vancouver (700 N.E. 136th Avenue).  Mom and I will have a table there again this year to raise funds for the 3-Day for the Cure event. This is a non-profit table – all money made will be donated to the cause.

We have lots of pink fun items, knitted baby blankets (made by Mom), crocheted dish cloths (made by Mom), and DESSERTS (made by Hudson's and a bakery that services the Heathman Lodge). The desserts were a BIG HIT last year!

We will also have raffle tickets to purchase – $1.00 each or 6 tickets for $5.00 – for a $40 gift certificate to Hudson’s Bar & Grill at the Heathman Lodge! We will have the drawing at 3:30 and you do not need to be present to win. I will call the winner and will post the winner’s name on this blog as well as on my 3-Day for the Cure page. I hope it's YOU!!!  ;) 

Come see us and donate to a great cause!

Marathon Training

I did it again - I signed up for another year of marathon training! Big deal, right? I've been doing it for three years! Well this time it is a much bigger deal (to me!) because I signed up as a RUNNER! My goal has always been to run a half marathon and I've run off and on during past halfs but I have never been able to run the full 13.1 miles. I've talked about "becoming" a runner but never fully committed. Until now. I made the commitment and I'm going to do it! I'm scared - very much so! - but I BELIEVE in my ability to do it.  I will have to follow the training schedule one-hundred percent and I'm committed to doing that because I really want to succeed. And, to take it a giant leap forward, I not only signed up for the half marathon training program, I extended it and signed up for the FULL marathon training! I've not dreamt beyond running a half but I'll see what I'm capable of accomplishing! You don't know until you try, right?! I have walked three full marathons and numerous half marathons (not to mention walking 60 miles in three days for three years in a row) but I want MORE... I'm ready to take it a leap further and really start running.

I have made another big change this year too. I'm not signed up with the same program as before but have decided to try a different one. A smaller group and one where I will get more individualized training. I have joined Max Muscle, the Official Training Team of the Vancouver USA Marathon! Trevor and Tracy Bryant, owners of the local Max Muscle store (on Facebook), have helped me for the past three years. Not only have they taught me about fueling my body during walks / marathons, they have always been there with an enormous amount of encouragement and praise. They always make me believe in myself and my own abilities. I love seeing them any time I'm out there training or during an event. They motivate me. I have been a work in progress for a long time, never really getting to the finished product, but it is time (past time, really) to make it all happen. With their training and expertise, I know I can accomplish it. They will provide all the tools - I have to provide the effort! Official training starts January 6th. The Hazel Dell Half Marathon is February 24th (sign up here). The Vancouver USA Marathon is June 16th. Great dates to look forward to!

With so much improvement in such an unbelievably short amount of time because of my spendy custom orthopedic inserts (I got them two weeks ago!), I can finally look ahead again and know that my marathon days are NOT over! I was pretty depressed and discouraged there for awhile because of the ongoing, never ending pain but not anymore! My foot obviously is not completely healed but I am definitely on the road to recovery with many, many more walking/running miles ahead of me!

My back seems to be a sleeping giant again. I never have a backache and the leg (nerve) pain has calmed down quite a bit. I'm no longer taking high doses of Ibuprofen (I refused to take anything stronger!), no longer taking Neurontin (thank goodness... fuzzy head and lack of ability to think were major side effects!), and am not currently getting acupuncture treatments. I really only suffer when I'm in a vehicle, sitting for long periods of time. I've jogged off and on and although it sometimes makes the nerves irritated causing leg pain, it really hasn't become a major issue again.  Keep sleeping, giant, keep sleeping...

I'm healthier and stronger than ever before and I continue to keep my weight under control. OF COURSE I still need to lose the rest of my extra weight (blah, blah, blah... ongoing story of my life!) but that's all part of this "work-in-progress-going-for-the-final-finish-line" goal sitting right in front of me now.

I can do it. I'm going to do it!

Lets go, Bullseye! It's time to run!

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"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort." ~ Jesse Owens