Rock n Roll Seattle Marathon

Leading up to the race
The weeks following the San Diego marathon, I started having to deal with lower back issues. I didn't want to risk a serious injury, so I switched from running to just working with weights and ran only 2 times in the two weeks leading up the race. So in less than a month, I put on about 10 lbs of muscle and whatnot. I knew the Seattle race was going to be a hard one no matter what strategy I used. I decided to wear my blue autism bracelet. It has a bunch of words on it that I planned to focus on during tough parts on the course. I also wore an orange Robeks bracelet because it went with my orange Worldvision shirt.

Planes, trains, and automobiles
I didn't realize that my flight was a 6:30 am flight until I checked 2 days before. That was fine since I'm used to waking up at 4:30am every day. But boy was I tired when I got into SeaTac. I finished reading The Outsiders while on the plane. I had to catch my bus to downtown and I was blocked by a bunch of TNT people before the race even started. Since they were in my way, I started talking to them about the marathon. I believe they were from Philly. I took the Gray Line to downtown for $9 each way. It worked out ok. I suppose I will try out their light rail next year. I got to my hotel, checked in, and hoofed it over to the expo really quick to pick up my race packet before I went to meet up with my friends for lunch.

Expo and FE
The expo was ok. It was pretty much like San Diego, but a little bit smaller. I did the usual walk up and down every aisle. And of course, I said hi to the girls at the Elite Racing table. They don't give me much attention these days. They already know that I'm going to sign up and sign up I did, for next year's Seattle marathon for $50. They must be doing their research and realize that nuts like me that are trying to cut back cannot pass up on such a deal! With that I got the heck out of there before I spend any more money. I headed up to the waterfront to meet up with my friends (Ryan, Cat, Aimee and her husband Miles) to eat at the Crab Pot. The last time I was in Seattle, I also ate there. Afterwards they were going to go sightseeing, but I left them to go back to my hotel and crash. And crash I did after buying some Powerbars, water, and Gatorade at a Walgreens along the way. I woke up briefly to go eat pho. Then I resumed the sleeping.

Race Day
I got ready and boarded the bus for the start at around 4:45am. It was nice to have the pickup spot right across the street from my hotel. I ate my two Powerbars on the bus and it was a pretty quick ride down to Tukwila. When I got there I hung out inside a Mexican restaurant that was kind enough to let us stay inside. Met maniacs #593 and #583.

The gun went off a little after 7am. They did something new with the corrals. After they release a corral, the next wave was held for a couple of minutes before they were released. It wasn't until about 20 minutes after the gun that my corral was given the green light. I got really antsy and took off a tad faster than I would've liked, mistake number 1. I passed at least 2 corrals because before I knew it I was at the heels of the 4:15 pace group. I slowed down so that I wouldn't pass them.
1: 8:34
2: 8:45
3: 8:58
5k: 27:16

There was a big downhill after mile 5, so I just took off and passed the 4:15 pace group, mistake number 2. Of course I would see them later. I knew that, but what the heck I might as well see if my right hip flexor was ok with me picking up the pace.
4: 9:21
5: 10:16
6: 8:24
10k: 56:16

I started to finally settle into the pace that I should've ran at the beginning. But I have a hard time doing that on a rolling course. Running around Lake Washington was nice. It was pretty much the main stretch where we got great crowd support.
7: 9:36
8: 9:27
9: 9:29
9mi: 1:22:54

First bridge across Lake Washington. It was nice to split off from the half marathoners and see those in front and those behind me.
10: 9:44
11: 10:15
12-13: 20:58
13.1mi: 2:04:50

Another good downhill, but my right leg was getting tired. Running through the tunnel around mile 15-16 was not very enjoyable. It was loud and stuffy. After we exited the tunnel it was a nice long gradual climb. By mile 18 my right quad was done. It was knotted up and I tried working it out with my water bottle... maybe I should start carrying The Stick with me. I thought this was a good a time as any to take a potty break.
14: 8:46
15: 10:18
16: 12:02
17: 11:42
18: 15:57
30k: 3:10:20

After the turn around, it was nice to run downhill for a change. I licked some salt at an aid station. I'm sure it helped a little with the cramping, but my stomach was not feeling good. It could be from the Cytomax. Next time I should just carry two handhelds with Gatorade for the entire race. Anyways it was back into the tunnel for miles 21-22. I was hating life right after that and just didn't even feel like wogging or slogging. Good thing they don't put benches on freeways or I might have planted myself and not get back up.
19: 11:44
20: 12:23
21: 12:39
22: 14:14
23: 14:47
24: 13:14
24mi: 4:20:15

I was passed by a guy wearing a shirt where he wrote, "If you're reading this, that means that I am not last." We leapfrogged each other for awhile and one time when he passed me, I yelled out, "crap! I'm last again!" During the final stretch I kept looking back to see if someone was going to burn me in the last 50m. My legs were locking up and all I had left was a pretty pathetic trot across the finish line.
25: 12:27
26: 14:22
26.2: 2:16
Finish: 4:50:49

Post race thoughts
Again I felt like passing out soon after crossing the finish line. After I ate half a bagel and drank some water, I felt better. I think I need to adjust my food intake when the weather is on the warm side. Beers taste very good after a marathon, especially after running a horrible one. I'm going to see if I can drop back down to the low 140s before San Francisco.

How Badly Do You Want It?

Goal: Qualify for the Boston Marathon (3:15:59 - 7:28 pace)

Sticking to the Plan
Ever since I got back into running, I wanted to qualify for the Boston marathon. But things have not gone the way that I had hope. My first marathon nearly took 7 hrs to complete. Sure I was injured, but that was way beyond slow. Then after that, I managed to put in 3 marathons that were worse... all of them 7 plus hours. I shouldn't have been out there, but I just couldn't stay away. I'm glad to have been able to walk those marathons, because I got to mingle with the back-of-the-packers. But being the stubborn person that I am, I never really gave up on the idea of qualifying for Boston. Sure I only need to shave off 4 hours. I had to do a few things to make some improvements. Slowly the marathon times have dropped with IT band issues to slow me down along the way.

Changes
Nothing has ever come easy for me. I have a decent sprint, but I lacked endurance and mental toughness. Once it gets tough, I usually just shut things down. Also I played too much tennis on hard courts which were starting to wear out my knees. So I gave up tennis, a sport that I really loved. I've made changes to my eating habits. I've changed my workout routine. I've abandoned heavy weights and started focusing more on the core muscles. Let me tell you, I really hate working out the core! But, man it has made running much easier!

Refocus
One day, I'll get there. This year is just another setback. But I've just changed my focus. I really should be running 3:30 marathons by now, but instead I'm running them in 4:30 and trying to see if I can run 19 of them before the year is over. If you were to ask me a couple year ago if I can run 1 marathon in 4:30, I would've said no because I was still completing them in about 5:30 plagued by injuries. I have made improvements, but they are not happening as fast as I would like. My hip flexor has been bothering me as well as my lower back from time to time. But that hasn't stopped me from making adjustments and getting back on the horse.

The Future
I plan to run the Seattle marathon this coming weekend in about 4:30. My lower back has been bothering me lately, so I'm not sure what my body can handle at this point. It'll be my 8th marathon this year. If I feel good, I might push for a sub 4 (9:09 pace). I think it's about time that I give the hip flexor a little stress test. Anyways I'm looking forward to 2010, where I'm going to scale back on the racing and start focusing on running faster and longer. I'm attempting to run my next half marathon in under 1:50 (8:23 pace). I still can remember when for the life of me I could not run one under 2. I just have to keep in mind that if I want it badly enough, I'll need to put in the necessary work.

Raising the bar

First I wanted to see if I could run a marathon on back to back weekends. Then it became running 3 marathons in one month. I survived and the bar just keeps going higher! I've even thrown in a trail ultra into my schedule. Currently the goal is to see if I can complete 19 endurance events that are at least a marathon in length before 2009 is over. So far I have completed 7 this year. I'm trying to keep my finishing time for all marathons under 5hrs.

I've been setting my 2010 race schedule and trying very hard to keep myself from signing up for too many races. I must say that logistics is the hardest part in running so many races. Money management ranks really high in priority especially since my job doesn't pay very well. I guess it's all part of the challenge. Please refrain from telling me about new and exciting marathons that you'll be running. Because chances are that I'll go visit the website and the next thing you know, I'll be registered for the race. But feel free to tell me all about it after the online registration has been closed. With that being said, I just signed up for the New Orleans marathon just because someone brought it to my attention that the race was only $50 and it is being put together by Competitor Group (formerly known as Elite Racing). Anyways, no use crying over spilled milk. I've never been to Louisiana. I love to travel and I've heard that they have some good eats. So won't you sign up too and join me?! LOL :D

Register here: http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/mardigras/

Rock n Roll San Diego Marathon

Background
This race may not be the best marathon out there, but the race has special meaning for me. For one thing, I ran my very first marathon here back in 2003. Little did I know then that I would be back here for my 7th SD RnR, 7th marathon of the year, and 25th overall. There are definitely bigger badder marathon maniacs out there, but believe me that's plenty enough for me! My overall marathon experience for this race was the best out of all that I've ran to date!

Expo
I drove down earlier than I had originally planned when I realized that Ryan Hall was making an appearance. The drive was uneventful until it started drizzling. When the roads get slick, car accidents are bound to happen in the always sunny southern California. There was a pretty good accident that happened which felt like it was going to threaten me making it in time. But I was able to make it in time. I checked into the lovely Motel 6. I was trying to save some money, but seriously it's really not worth it. The location was great though. It was walking distance to everywhere that I needed to go. I walked over to the expo and made a bee-line for the featured speakers and grabbed a seat near the front. It was very cool to see Ryan Hall in person. It was pretty much a Q&A type forum lead by Bart Yasso. Ryan of course explained what happened at Boston. Seems like he took a lot of heat for rushing out so fast at the beginning of that race. One quote he mentioned was that "if your memories are bigger than your dreams then you are already beginning to die". He encouraged us to continue dreaming big. They announced that Ryan will be signing autographs later at the Nissan booth, so I rushed over to pick up my race packet/shirt and made my way over there to line up. I had Ryan sign my bib. He is such a mellow guy.

I then made my way back to the speakers, to listen to Michellie Jones, Elite Racing's medical director (forgot his name), and Frank Shorter. Michellie was very cool, listening to her makes me want to go out and train for a triathalon. She mentioned that she had some of her best races eating a burger beforehand. That's awesome because I sometimes "carbo-load" the night before with a steak. Frank Shorter talked about how athletes back in his days didn't have the special drinks and such that we have today. They had to try things like de-fizzed cola and if it worked, it worked. He told us that everybody is different and that we have to go with what works based on what our own bodies tell us. Salt may taste bad at the beginning, but when your body is low on salt, it will taste really good.

FE
I went back to my room and just crashed. I woke up and was late for the FE. I was just plain tired all week starting with the completion of the LA marathon. I walked over to the restaurant and everyone was pretty much all there and chowing down. It was great seeing everyone, but it felt very short. I definitely did not get to talk to everyone. Now I owe RoarinRyan at least 2 drinks. He was going to crash at my place, but there just wasn't enough room in my rat hole of a room. I was glad he was able to go with plan B and stay with Mr. 261. Many thanks to SMD and Charlie for organizing and running the show.

Race Day
I woke up pretty early out of habit. Took care of business. Showered and was ready to go. I checked out and drove my car to the airport authority parking lot. I relaxed a bit in my car and wondered why everyone else was in such a hurry to get on the bus to the starting area. Man, there are a lot of N*Sync songs on my iPod. When I heard the Rocky theme, I knew it was game time. I got my stuff together and took the bus to the start. Ate my Powerbars and headed over to the photo op area, but didn't see anybody. When I walked over towards the UPS trucks, I was immediately spotted by Shacky. We shoot the breeze for a while before heading over to the potty lines. Then when we were headed to our corrals, I spotted RoarinRyan in his super bright yellow maniac singlet. I wished him a good race and I headed way way back to my corral. As soon as I entered my corral, I was spotted by Ingrid. She moved further up and I just settled into an open spot. Then it was the national anthem and we were off. I heard and saw Amuse right at the start. It's still kind of weird to know so many of these people at these mega races. Back in 2003, I started off not knowing a single soul.

Somewhere in the first few miles I followed a few bunnies that were clearing the way for me and I caught up to Jorel. I talked to him a little bit and I told him that most likely I will see him later. I powered on to see what I had in my legs. It wasn't much, my left Achilles was already protesting. I spotted NYCParkrunner and ran with him a little. He was planning on running the race based on feel... see, no need for a Garmin!
1: 9:34
2: 9:17
3: 9:06
4: 8:58
5: 8:50
6: 9:21
6.2: 57:09

I was rather nervous at this point. It was very early in the race and it was already feeling hard. I wasn't running as fast as I normally do and I'm sweating profusely. Going up the 163 was where I was spotted by James. I think he attached an invisible rope to me because I would see him over and over again. I was glad that I didn't kill myself by running a sub 2 on the first half.
7: 9:49
8: 9:35
9: 9:16
10: 10:20 - passed James on the uphill
11: 9:09 - James caught up to me on the downhill
12: 9:35 - James lets me go ahead
13: 9:48
13.1: 2:03:47

This section has always been hard for me. It is usually when I switch from Shotbloks to Clifshots. Clifshots tastes better to me during the later stages of a race. There were a few changes to the course due to construction and it looks like the course gained a hill around 17 and 18.
14: 9:52
15: 9:57
16: 10:55
17: 10:24
18: 10:27
19: 11:40
20: 10:54
21: 11:16
21: 3:28:25

My brain was getting hazy at this point. Good 'ol Frontage Rd. I always walk a good portion here. But I knew it was going to be over soon. I was passed by Jorel and soon spotted by Chic runner as I passed her. I would have stuck with her but I had to duck in for a potty break. I guess I'm different from everyone else because I really liked the out and back at 22-23. It was like a huge block party. Soon thereafter James passes me for the last time. Halfway to mile 24 while I was walking through a water/Cytomax station, I spotted Cheezmo sitting on the curb. I walked with him a little bit and gave him some advice on how to work out the cramps. Somewhere after crossing mile 24, I spotted both Chic runner and Wadiasoft. I ran with Chic runner a little and told her what's left. It was kind of hard doing math in my head at this point. I told her to run it in when we got to mile 25 and that I was going to walk and take my last Clifshot. I stepped on the gas and was going for broke, but I was feeling pretty gassed with the legs starting to cramp up. When I crossed the finish line I felt very light headed, almost blacked out a few times. I saw Wadiasoft and Cheezmo finish not too far behind me. It took me a moment to recover and get my bearings straight. I ran into RunnerInParadise as I was walking back to my car. I was kind of fading in and out as he told me that he ran a 2:54, first in his AG! I hope to be that fast when I stop marathon maniacing!
22: 11:48
23: 11:07
24: 12:19
25: 11:34
26: 11:00
26.2: 1:49
26.2: 4:27:47

And here's my happy ending: I went and had a big bowl of karamiso ramen! I could've had at least 3 bowls. That really hit the spot. I got home, took a shower, took a little nap, then woke up to devour 4 Hebrew National hotdogs. The End!