I drove out early to LAX, early enough to not get caught in the morning work traffic. This was one of the few times that I've flown with Alaska Air. It could be my first time, but I don't remember. Anyways, once I landed at SeaTac airport, I made my way over to the light rail station. For a second, I couldn't remember the layout of the airport, but when I started walking around, everything started coming back to me. I got off at the Stadium station and walked over to the CenturyLink Field Event Center for the race expo.
Alaska Air
I went through the expo, taking a few samples here and there. I like the Larabars and Powerbar Performance Energy Blends. Those energy blends remind me of apple sauce in a pouch. I then made my way over to the RnR booth and signed up for next year's race. This race is one of the few races where I'm actually a legacy runner. Granted it's only in it's 5th year. I'll see how long I can maintain the status. Apparently I'm the only Cheng on their legacy list. Probably the only Emil as well. :)
Expo Special
5 year legacy runner
After leaving the expo, I took a walk over to the Ivar's Fish Bar to eat lunch. I got my usual jumbo prawns, but this time I got the red clam chowder. I still prefer the white chowder. It's pretty good decent inexpensive seafood and the seagulls love the fries if you don't want to finish all of them. If you want something fancier, they have a sit down restaurant next door.
Jumbo prawns and red clam chowder
After lunch, I took a very long walk along the Alasakan Way all the way up to Broad St before turning north to head up to my hotel in Lower Queen Anne. Normally the walk wouldn't be a problem, but I was carrying my bag with me. My shoulders were sore and I was pretty sweaty and tired by the time I reached the hotel. So much for staying off of your feet the day before the race. Luckily I was able to check in a little earlier than their normal check in time. I was given two old school keys, one for the hotel (they close at 10pm) and one for the room. They gave me a room on the third floor. They only have stairs, no elevators. The room was old, but nice and clean. It almost felt like the house that I grew up in. It had a small kitchen, a fridge, and a microwave. The TV was an old CRT. From my room, I could see the Space Needle, the location of the start and finish lines of the race.
I relaxed a bit while watching TV and going through my expo haul. I got a thin cotton t-shirt (I still prefer cotton for my t-shirts) for signing up for next year's race, a long sleeve tech shirt for being a legacy runner, and another Boston bracelet. I also picked up some über bars and a couple of those Powerbar Performance Energy Blends. The legacy runners were given green colored bibs.
3 different locks, rough neighborhood?
CRT
Bathroom
Kitchen and fridge
Bed
View of the Space Needle
Expo haul
I met up with a couple of Marathon Maniacs for dinner. One of them, I met for the first time. We walked over to the International District to eat at Fuji Sushi. We made a quick stop by the Uwajimaya supermarket before heading to the restaurant. I picked up a bunch of drinks for the weekend. At the sushi restaurant, we had to sit at the sushi bar because we didn't make a reservation which was perfectly fine with me. I ordered their deluxe chirashi. It was pretty good. Somehow I ended up eating my friend's seared ahi by mistake since the chef put the food right in front of me. It's always dangerous to put food in front of a foodie. :) I thought it was part of my "deluxe" meal. :)
Sushi bar
Deluxe chirashi and seared ahi
After dinner, we walked around in search of some dessert. I kept them company but didn't eat any since I don't normally eat desserts. Afterwards, the local Marathon Maniac among us dropped us off at our hotels. Before hitting the hay, I laid out my race gear. I decided to run with Team Red, White, and Blue.
Race gear
Saturday
I woke up, got ready, and walked pretty much across the street to the starting area. I picked up a banana and some water before making my way to the Space Needle to take the pre-race Marathon Maniac photo. We even took an Asian Maniacs photo. I ate the banana and one of the Powerbar Performance Energy Blends before heading over to the corrals.
Maniacs and Fanatics
Asian Maniacs!
Since I had a legacy green colored bib, I could start in any of the corrals. I started at the very back of corral 1 with a bunch of other legacy runners. If I had to do it over, I'd start further back. The left ankle was just uncomfortable from the very first step. The San Francisco Marathon was just last week, so I wasn't expecting a miracle.
Starting corral
This race unfolded pretty the same as the last two. A different city, but the same old race strategy. I was able to shave about 8 minutes off from SFM, but I could've cut and pasted last race's recap. I was able to hobble at a decent pace for the first two miles, but after that I had to slow it down to lessen the discomfort. There were some decent climbs running through the downtown area. Right before reaching mile 6, it was a welcomed break to be separated from the half marathoners. I still dislike races where they mix half and full marathoners. It's annoying for them as it is for us. During the loop around Seward Park, I pulled over to take a picture. For a road race, this course was very easy on the eyes.
Running around Seward Park
It was pretty nice to see my friends that were behind me along the course. On the way to the halfway point was my favorite part of the course. It was lined with flags and pictures of our fallen soldiers to honor them. I was glad that I wore my Team RWB shirt. I always get a little misty-eyed running through this section of the course.
1: 8:27
2: 8:38
3: 9:49
4: 10:30
5: 10:03
6: 9:54
7: 10:17
8: 10:30
9: 10:07
10: 12:39
11: 11:04
12: 11:34
13: 12:09
Half: 2:16:40
The second half of this course is usually rough for me especially on the long out and back on the I-90 bridge. This is where it gets nice and warm. This year was the same. The sun just starts beating down on you with no cover over head except when you make it to a tunnel. I like that the race ends at the Space Needle. In the first 3 years, it ended at the Stadium. You pretty much could see how far you still needed to go in the last few of miles. But then again you could see the Stadium as well. But I prefer the Space Needle. It's just a better spot for the finishing area. Too bad the course ends on a good steady climb. I had to slow to a walk until I saw the mile 26 marker. I guess I had to run/jog the last .2 miles. I guess I could've finished under 5:20 if I hadn't walked so much during that last mile. :)
14-15: 23:28 (11:44)
16: 14:28
17: 14:17
18: 13:34
19: 14:12
20: 13:33
21: 16:11
22: 15:48
23: 14:35
24: 12:13
25: 14:33
26: 15:42
26.2: 2:09
Finish: 5:20:24
I was pretty exhausted. But as slow as I may have been, I'm glad to see that I had improved my time over the last 3 marathons. The ankle has been getting better, but I really need to stop running marathons on it. After grabbing some drinks and various food that they were handing out, I made my way over to the Heavy Medal booth. The line was long, so I went over to the UPS trucks to grab my gear bag first. After picking up my Rock Legend medal, I headed over to the beer garden to meet up with some of my friends. After trading stories over a beer, we eventually made it over to the Space Needle to take a post race photo. We parted ways and I walked across the street to my hotel. I'm glad I had picked a hotel so close to the start and finish lines. Instead of eating a late lunch, I just drank a bottle of Gatorade while watching the TV.
Rock Legend!
For an early dinner, I walked across to street to a bar called Red Papaya Ale & Spirits. The weather was pretty warm, so I drank a bunch of IPA's and had a very good green papaya salad with rib eye. It was one of the best salad that I've ever eaten in my life! I also ordered some shrimp rolls. They were good as well. I'll have to come back here to eat again next time. I then went back to my room and ended up drinking some more beer. I felt kind of stupid since I had forgotten about buying this beer. It was a bottle of Flying Monkey Dogfight Pale Ale. It was a local craft beer and I wasn't about to let it go to waste.
Iron Horse IPA
Green papaya with rib eye salad
Amnesia Damnesia IPA
Shrimp rolls
Silver City Whoopass IPA
Sunday
In the morning, I ate and drank the rest of the post race food that we were given. I had a banana and a chocolate drink. After packing, showering, and slapping on the compression socks, I was ready for another hike around town. I dropped off the keys at the front desk and I hiked it over to my favorite post race restaurant, Elliott's Oyster House, to eat lunch. My waitress was a newbie, but she made a pretty good recommendation with the appetizer. The Scallop Crudo was very good. I love scallops, especially when they're raw. I also love the Pacific Northwest for their seafood, particularly their salmon. I didn't get any oysters this year. I didn't run a well enough race for me to justify a big splurge. :) The big imperial sized mug of Mac and Jack's African amber ale was really good. Even though I've been drinking a whole lot of IPA's lately, my favorite kind of beer has to be an amber ale.
Mac and Jack's African Amber
Scallop Crudo
Yukon River Keta Salmon grilled
After lunch, I stopped by two famous tourist spots along my way to the movie theater. This was actually the first time that I've actually stopped by the infamous gum wall. It was pretty disgusting looking! The other spot was from the movie Sleepless in Seattle. "So how's my butt?" "Are we grading on a curve?" :)
Infamous gum wall - yuck! :)
How does my butt look?
I then hiked it over to the AMC Pacific Place on Pine St to watch Monsters University. The whole movie theater was just kids and their parents and me, a big 'ol Disney fan. It was a good movie. Lately I've been trying to see feel-good movies that would help improve my mood and a Disney movie never disappoints... well at least for me they never do. :)
After the movie, it was a short hike to the nearby rail station. The train was pretty crowded, but I was able to find a seat. Once at the airport, I almost got in line for the TSA without first finishing my water. So I stood around charging my phone while semi-chugging the water. The TSA questioned me about the medals in my bag. I guess the Rock Legend medal was a little big. Maybe they thought that it was big enough for me to use it as a weapon. After I sat down and finished charging my phone and Kindle, I made it over to a bar to have a beer while I continued to wait for my flight. While drinking my beer, a girl walks up to the bar and orders a double shot of Glenfiddich single malt whiskey and asked the bartender to close her out as well because she had a flight to catch. Good taste in whiskey... either she just had a really bad flight or wants to knockout in her upcoming flight. I like a girl that can shoot whiskey. :)
Pike IPA
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