Race Report: 2009 Rock n Roll Seattle Half Marathon

Pre Race

I stayed with my Dad at his downtown hotel the night before the race because it made race day logistic much easier for me. The wake-up call came at 4am and I quickly got changed, made some green tea and headed out the door. I walked the six blocks to the Westin and immediately boarded a waiting shuttle bus (big yellow school bus) to the start line. It was about 4:45 am by the time I arrived at the start line. I did a quick walk around to get the lay of the land before things got too crowded and then settled down on the grass to eat my breakfast and relax. I checked my gear bag at about 6am, took one final trip through the porta potty line and then entered my start corral.

My projected finish time of 1:54 put me in corral six. I think there were about 35 corrals for the 25,000 registered runners (17,500 in the half, 5,000 in the full). This is definitely the biggest race I’ve ever run. I’ve heard that other runners had problems getting to the start line. My advice to future runners is to take the shuttle and get there early!

As I was waiting for the race to start I really had no expectations for the day. I just wanted to have a good time and enjoy my last Seattle long run. I’d done nine weeks of really solid training but then I finished my PhD and went on vacation so running took a back seat. In other words I did a two week taper of 3 runs for a total of 15 miles. I had no plan, no real goal pace and no worries.

Miles 1-5 (9:01, 8:26, 8:32, 8:22, 9:11)

The first mile was crowded but I didn’t really suffer any major bunching problems. I tried to keep things easy and I was happy this mile came in under 9:09 (the pace for a two hour half). The first few miles through Tukwila and Ranier Valley were new running ground for me so I never knew what would be around the next corner. There were a few small hills but nothing major and I was able to settle into a reasonably comfortable pace. The worst hill of the day came during the fifth mile. Almost the entire mile was uphill with approximately 150 ft of elevation gained. It was tough but nothing compared to Prospect Point in the Vancouver half. I ran up the whole thing and was pretty happy with the 9:11 split for mile 5.

Keeping with the rock n roll theme of the race there were bands playing every mile. That was a fun distraction. There were also cheer squads whose enthusiasm I greatly appreciated. The water stations and volunteers were awesome which was good because I chose to run without my own hand held water bottle.

Miles 6-10 (8:21, 8:07, 8:36, 8:31, ?:??)

During the sixth mile we recovered from the previous mile’s big climb with a very steep downhill. There was actually a volunteer warning runners about the downhill. It was so steep people were running with there arms out for balance. I tired to run relaxed like a rag doll and roll down the hill. I took my only gel of the race somewhere in mile 6. I thought I should get one down but I didn’t really feel like I needed it. Miles 7, 8 and 9 were very familiar to me. We ran north along Lake Washington Blvd. This section is part of the Seattle Marathon course and I’ve run it in training many times. There was good crowd support in this section. I still wasn’t too concerned about my pace but I knew that things were going pretty well. My legs were starting to get tight and tired but cardiovascularly I was still feeling strong. I could see I-90 in the distance and focused on getting there.

When we hit I-90 the half marathon and marathon courses split. As we were running through the tunnel the 3 hour marathon pacer went by me (they had run a few more miles than me at this point). Those guys were flying! I actually liked the tunnel mile because it was shaded and a little cooler. My Garmin lost its signal in the tunnel but I’m pretty sure the tenth mile marker was in the wrong place because there’s no way I ran 5:01 mile!

I should note that for some reason I decided not to take any walk breaks during this half. I did walk through a few water stations as I drank water but that was it. I really thought that if I slowed down my legs wouldn’t want to start back up.

Miles 11-13.1 (???, 7:34, 8:50, :50)

By the time I made it to mile 10 I was about ready for the race to be over. My legs were tired and things were starting to get tough. The eleventh mile was along the I-90 express lanes. It was exposed and hot and frankly seemed to last forever. Of course that might have been due to the misplaced mile 10 marker. I could see Qwest Field and knew I just had to make it there. There were some nice downhills in mile 11 and 12 coming down the off ramps. I have no idea how I pulled off a 7:34 mile 12. I was actually telling myself to keep it under control in this mile and prepare to turn it on for the last 1.1 miles. This was the first point in the race where I realized that I had the potential to set a new personal best.

The last mile was a physical and mental struggle. There were a couple of turns and the climb up to Aurora certainly slowed me down. I was pushing but my leg turnover wasn’t quite there. By the time we were coming off Aurora I was ready to be done. The finish was similar to the Race of the Cure finish so at least I’d seen it before. I saw the marathon 26 mile marker and new I was getting close. Eventually I passed the 13 mile marker. I looked at my watch and saw 1:50 on it. I knew a personal best was close so I poured on the best sprint to the finish I could muster.

After I crossed the start line I hit my watch and say 1:51:02. My actual chip time was 1:50:57 which is a new personal best by 1:02 over the 2007 Fall Classic.

Post Race

I got my medal and picked up some water, a banana and a granola bar. I downed my first 500 mL of water very quickly and then another 1L after that. The weather wasn’t that hot (maybe 15C) but it was sunny and I definitely needed the water. I picked up my drop back from the UPS truck and then met my Dad at the “C” sign in the family meeting area.

I’m beyond thrilled to have set a new personal best. I don’t have a half way time but I definitely ran a negative split (second half faster than the first). I can’t say enough about how well organized this race was. The Rock n Roll series of marathons is run by a corporation (Competitor Group, Inc) that I’m now referring to as the Starbucks of marathons. It’s all about branding, efficiency and consistency. I appreciate it when things run smoothly so I’d definitely consider doing another one of their races in the future.

Data

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     Cumulative   Cumulative
Mile    Split        Time         Pace
========================================
 1     09:01.3     0:09:01.3     09:01.3
 2     08:26.1     0:17:27.4     08:43.7
 3     08:31.8     0:25:59.2     08:39.7
 4     08:22.4     0:34:21.6     08:35.4
 5     09:11.5     0:43:33.1     08:42.6
 6     08:20.7     0:51:53.8     08:39.0
 7     08:07.0     1:00:00.9     08:34.4
 8     08:36.8     1:08:37.7     08:34.7
 9     08:31.9     1:17:09.6     08:34.4
10     05:01.5     1:22:11.1     08:13.1
11     11:33.7     1:33:44.7     08:31.3
12     07:34.2     1:41:19.0     08:26.6
13     08:50.1     1:50:09.1     08:28.4
13.1   00:47.9     1:50:57.0     08:28.2
     1:50:57.0
========================================
Overall place: 1506/15541 (90th percentile)
Gender place: 600/11339 (94th percentile)
Division place: 125/2089 (94th percentile)