Originally, this race was supposed to be a marathon. Due to health issues with the race director, the marathon was cancelled. We were notified via email on 2/15. We were given 3 options: switch to the half marathon, defer my registration, or receive a full refund. Since I wanted to visit Seattle, I opted to switch over to the half marathon. At first, I was instructed to do it myself on the RunSignUp. However, when I tried, instead of giving me a refund for the downgrade, it was asking me to pay a fee to make the change. Eventually, I had them do it for me and ended up receiving a refund for the difference in cost.
I got ready and headed out to Long Beach Airport to catch an early morning flight out to Seattle. I started my drive at about 5:15 am and arrived at the Long Beach Parking Garage B at right before 6 am. The current daily rate for Garage B was $20 per day versus $25 per day for Garage A. After finding a suitable parking spot, I walked over to the terminal where I got into the queue for TSA standard screening. I typically try to book my flights out of Ontario Airport or here. However, the bulk of the available flights to anywhere still remains at LAX. Per the usual, once it was time to board the plane, I headed for the back of the plane. This is one of the few airports where you get to do that. I was able to get a seat in one of the emergency exit rows.
LGB Parking Garage B
TSA standard screening
Boarding from the rear of the plane
Ginger ale
At about 9 am, the plane landed at Sacramento Airport for a relatively short layover. After using the restroom, I opened the Starbucks mobile app and placed my order for a grande blonde vanilla latte. I then waited near the designated mobile order pick-up spot at the left end of the counter. There were people there waiting for their drinks so I thought mine wasn't ready yet. Eventually, I checked one of the drinks already on the counter and sure enough, one of them was mine. I then found a seat near my gate to drink my coffee and eat the CLIF bar that I had brought with me. When it came time to board the plane, I was able to once again get a window seat in one of the emergency exit rows.
Grande blonde vanilla latte
Cran-apple
Bioengineered food ingredients?
The plane landed at Seattle-Tacoma Airport at about noon. After using the restroom, I headed straight for the SeaTac/Airport Link Station to catch the light rail. I took that all the way up to the Roosevelt Station. From there, I walked over to Road Runner Sports to pick up my race packet. It was a nice walk over, but I was wearing shorts and it was a bit on the chilly side at just under 50F. Well, it would turn out that the last day for packet pick-up from here was on Friday. I checked on the website as well as talked to an employee to confirm. I could've sworn that prior to this trip, it said that the last day was here on Saturday which would be the norm when the race is on Sunday. The employee advised me to show up to the race early to see if they had race day packet. I emailed the race director to make sure.
I then headed back to the Roosevelt Station. Before hopping on a train, I stopped by the Whole Foods Market that was just south of the station to buy some snacks and water. I ended up buying a gallon of water and a bag of Siete potato chips. The line for one of the self checkout kiosks was long, so I opted to pay for my items with a cashier. There was a 10 cent discount for not taking a bag.
Whole Foods Market
Siete potato chips and a gallon of water
Roosevelt Link Station
Roosevelt Station Area Map
I road the light rail down to the Capitol Hill Station to get lunch at Dick's Drive-In. I was there after 2 pm, so the lines weren't very long. Once I got to the window, I ordered the usual, 2 Dick's Deluxe burgers. I then found a spot at the counter to eat my burgers. I found it kind of sad that there was a hired security guy roaming around the area to keep the place safe for people to get some burgers in broad daylight! I wish people would learn to behave like decent human beings when out in public!
Dick's Deluxe x2
After I was done, I decided to just walk down to my timeshare rental property instead of hopping back on the light rail to ride it only for 1 stop. Also I was going to be a bit early for the 4 pm check-in time at the WorldMark Seattle - The Camlin. I was somewhat regretting my decision to walk as there were several sketchy people that I came across along the way. I just minded my own business and kept plowing ahead towards the downtown area.
I arrived at about 2:40 pm. Thankfully, they were able to check me into my unit as it was already ready. I was given a one bedroom unit #707. After I was given my room keys, I made the usual stop at the concierge to get my wristband room key as well as being invited to yet another owner update. I wasn't going to resist since she was offering me either Wyndham Reward points or a gift card. I opted for the $100 Tango gift card. Also as a VIP owner, they offered me a choice of wine, umbrella, or a coffee mug. Since I don't drink and already own an umbrella, I took the coffee mug. She allowed me to go upstairs to drop off my bags before coming back down for the update. I guess it was good to get that out of the way. I had a good conversation with the salesman that was assigned to me even though he knew right off the bat that he wasn't going to get a sale out of me. Since he told me that he was originally working with Club Wyndham before coming to the WorldMark side, I did have him explain to me more about being a dual owner in the case that I want to purchase Club Wyndham points instead of more WorldMark credits. Once we were done, I went back down to the lobby to get some hot cocoa before going back to my room. I relaxed a bit before going back out to pick up dinner.
The Camlin
VIP Owners
VIP check-in gifts
For dinner, I walked over to the nearby Li'l Woody's to pick up my usual pre-race burger. I thought about eating it there, but I decided to get their Big Woody to-go and just enjoy it back at my room. It was a quarter pound Royal Ranch all natural grass fed beef patty, Hills bacon, Tillamook cheddar, chopped onions, diced pickles, tomato slices, lettuce, ketchup and mayo. Not bad, but I still prefer a burger from Dick's.
Li'l Woody's
Big Woody
It looked to me that the PCRF half marathon race that I would normally run back home would be a wet one tomorrow! The forecast for Seattle showed that it would remain sunny for the remainder of my trip, but a bit chilly. The rain would return after I head home. I must have brought the sunshine with me. :)
Sunday 3/24
At about 6:30 am, I walked over to the Westlake Station to take the light rail up to the University of Washington. While waiting at the platform, I started talking to a guy as he was wearing a race bib. Since we were both headed to the race, we stuck together. His name was Seth, a theater technician from Philadelphia. He was in town for a conference. After a couple of stops, we got off at the University of Washington Station. We then walked along the perimeter of the E1 parking lot towards the E14 parking lot at the southern end of the University of Washington Golf Range. There we would find the race packet pick-up tent as well as the gear check truck. Near there, the starting line was set up on the Canal Rd trail.
Check-in tent near the start line at University of Washington
Long sleeve race shirt
Bad ass design for the back of the race shirt
After getting my race bib and the long sleeve race shirt, I walked over to the gear check truck to see if I could check-in the shirt. I tore off my gear check tag on my bib to help identify my shirt after the race. Shortly thereafter, my local Seattle friends started showing up. After taking the usual pre-race photos, I headed over to use a portapotty before it got too busy. I then headed over to the Canal Rd Trail to get ready for the start of the race.
Sabrina
Lorinda
Pre-race group photo
Portapotties
This way to the start line
My legs were not fresh coming into this race having run the LA Marathon just this past weekend. The fatigue was definitely starting to accumulate. The race started along the wet Canal Rd Trail, connecting onto Walla Walla Rd, then onto Ship Canal Trail. That took us out to Montlake Blvd where we ran up the overpass ramp to go onto the University of Washington campus. We would run onto Mason Rd before hopping onto the Burke Gilman Trail. The bulk of the race would be on this narrow trail which looked to have fallen under disrepair.
At about mile 7, we made the turnaround at NE 97th St. Now running it in the other direction, we would have to dodge people still heading out. The gradual incline for the next 2 miles just wore me out. I ended up taking a short walk break after reaching mile 9 and again after reaching mile 10. The last 3 miles would be quite congested as we would have to weave through the 10k walkers. At mile 12, it was a short steep climb back up to Mason Rd. The real climbing didn't happen until we got onto Jefferson Rd followed by Stevens Way. Thankfully, it was a nice downhill stretch down to the finish line after turning onto Memorial Way.
Finish: 1:54:45
Click here for my Garmin data.
The finish line was a bit chaotic as I had crossed the finish line around the same time the bulk of the 10k participants were also finishing. After receiving my finisher medal, I continued straight ahead into the Red Square looking for the post race food and drinks. Eventually, I came up to the end of the long queue. Once I finally reached the table, there were water bottles, Shine water, bananas, bagels, and Nutella. After that I went searching for the gear check tent. Eventually, I found it along Spokane Ln and the east side of Kane Hall. I checked out the beautiful cherry blossom blooms before I started heading out. I used my race shirt as a makeshift hobo bag to help carry all of the post race goodies. Before heading into the Link station, I stopped by the Husky Statue to take a quick selfie.
Finish line
Finisher medal
Spinner
Medal of Honor Memorial
Post race food in the Red Square
Post race spread
Post race food and drinks
Cherry Blossoms in The Quad
Broken Obelisk
Drumheller Fountain
Husky Statue
Who's a good dawg?
Back at my room, I vegged out a bit while I watched some TV. I drank one of the Shine waters and ate the banana with Nutella. After a couple of hours, I finally dragged myself into the bathroom to take a shower and get cleaned up.
Eventually, I headed out towards the Pike Place Market. Since it was the weekend, it was packed like sardines inside. From there, I headed down the ramp towards the exit. From there I walked towards the waterfront. I headed down to Ivar's Fish Bar to eat a late lunch. I got in line and ordered the usual, 3 pcs cod and a bowl of white chowder.
Paramount
Public Market
Ivar's Fish Bar
3 pcs cod, bowl of white chowder
Public Market Center
Rachel the Piggy Bank
On my way back, I stopped in at the H Mart to check it out. Besides just snacks, they had a pretty good selection of prepared food. I just might have to stop here more often on future trips to Seattle. I wanted to buy a lot more, but I only left with a bag of gochujang flavored shrimp crackers as I was craving something salty.
Toro sashimi
Snacks
I was craving something salty
Banchan
Protest
Bob's Burgers S3E12: Broadcast Wagstaff School News
One of my favorite episodes!
Monday 3/25
Even though my flight home was later in the morning, I woke up early and took my time getting ready. I was packed and checked out of my room before 7:30 am. I walked over to the Westlake Station to catch a train down to SeaTac Airport. I arrived at the airport at about 8:30 am.
After getting through TSA security screening, I headed over to concourse B. I stopped at McDonald's to get some breakfast. I cashed in some reward points for a free Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich. I didn't have a very good boarding position, but I was still able to get a window seat in the second row only because there was just enough overhead bin space for my duffle bag.
Breakfast at McDonald's
Sausage McMuffin with Egg sandwich
Ginger ale
Once again, I had a layover in Sacramento. It was a bit longer this time, so I decided to get something to eat. I walked from one end of the terminal to the other just to check out my choices. It would seem that almost all of the restaurants were different, but all sold burgers around the $16-18 range. Thanks Biden for the inflation pricing. I was going to get something at Starbucks, but they had turned off mobile ordering. The line wasn't moving, so I guess they really didn't want my business. I settled for getting food at Cafeteria 15L which was next door. After getting seated and looking over their limited menu, I ordered their Border Burger. It came with guacamole, cheese, roasted peppers, and mayonnaise. While the flavors were good, the patty tasted like it was precooked and heated up for the order. I know they have a restaurant in Downtown Sacramento. I would hope that this place was not a very good indication of their restaurant's food quality.
They sell Legos at Sacramento Airport?
Cafeteria 15L
Border burger
Border burger
When it came time to board the plane, I was waffling between wanting a seat in the back of the plane or in one of the emergency row seats. In the end, I opted for a window seat in the emergency row as I couldn't pass up the seat with the extra leg space! It turned out to be the better choice. As we landed in Long Beach at just before 4 pm, my row mate and I wondered if we wanted to exit from the rear or the front. Since the rear exit was completely backed up, we exited from the front of the plane. When I reached the tarmac, I saw that there was a passenger stuck on the stairs as she had mobility issues plus her luggage! I don't know, but some people are just pretty darn clueless in life!
Lots of leg room!
SAC > LGB
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