Race Report: Amica Seattle Marathon 2010

I capped off my gluttonous Thanksgiving vacation in Seattle with the Amica Seattle Marathon on November 28.  I had randomly decided to tack on this marathon after I found out I was going to be in Seattle for Thanksgiving.   I knew the race was hilly so I decided early on that I would just try to take it easy and enjoy the sights as much as possible.  I'm holding off on trying to BQ til next year.

I was pretty diligent about a high-carb, low-fat, low-sugar diet the week before the NYC marathon, but I didn't follow any sort of diet before the Seattle marathon.  There was no way I was going to hold back at the Thanksgiving buffet at Ray's Cafe or stop myself from ordering two desserts at Poppy.  Basically, I followed a high fat, high carb, and very high calorie diet up until marathon day.  I don't recommend this if you're trying to run fast - I felt heavy and sluggish pretty early on during the race.  During the early miles I was like "Hey, I'm running off that turkey and stuffing!  Hey, I'm running off that barbecued pork rib!"  Later on, it was "Fuck, I shouldn't have eaten that creme brulee" or "Gee, I had too many helpings of mashed potatoes."  Thankfully, I didn't have any stomach issues during my run!  That said, the 4 days of excess eating in Seattle were sooooo worth it that I would do it all over again if I could (more on food to come in a later post).

Anyway, E and I went to the expo Friday afternoon.  The expo was crammed into the ballroom at the Westin downtown, but there were some pretty good deals.  Road Runner Sports were selling returned shoes for $50 per pair.  I contemplated getting another pair of Adrenalines, but decided against it since my 2 pairs were still relatively new.  Some other retailers were offering 25%-50% off running gear - I got a black and neon yellow reflective headband from Brooks to wear on race day.

At the expo!

Bib pickup was seamless and easy.  Up until pickup, I was strongly considering switching to the half option, but decided against it for three reasons:

1. The half started at 7:15am, whereas the full started at 8:15am. I wanted the extra hour of sleep!
2. I had already paid for the full option and I ain't gonna get no $ back. 
3. We ran into 2 of E's friends at the expo who were also doing the full and I didn't want to look like a wimp.

The race uses Winning Chip technology, where the chip is attached to a velcro strap you wear around your ankle.  Yes, like a prisoner and yes, can cause chafing.  I prefer D-tags or Champion Chips.  Directions said only the "special white bags" provided by the race could be checked.  The white bag turned out to be a Hefty bag they dispensed fresh from the roll.  We were instructed to mark the bag with a Sharpie - I decided not to check any of my stuff.

Race morning

The next morning E dropped me off 50 feet away from the start line and before I knew it, I was off.  I lucked out with race day weather - though it was cold (38 at the start, went up to 40) and overcast, there was no rain!   The first few miles were relatively easy through the city.  I concentrated on taking in the sights and trying to keep good form.  The marathon is small (only 2200 in the full) so there was no crowding to deal with at the start and I was able to hit my pace right away.  However, by the 3rd mile, I knew I wasn't going to have a fun run. I just wasn't feeling strong and running wasn't easy.  When I ran NY, I felt like I was consciously holding back during the early miles but in Seattle, I didn't think I had much in the tank.  By mile 4, I was ruing my decision to stick with the full marathon.  Mile 4 also took us through a tunnel where my GPS lost reception (this happened twice during the race because we had to run through two tunnels) so I got a bit disoriented because my mile splits seemed off.

There are two out and backs on the course, the first and longest was on I-90 across to Mercer Island.  It was sort of pretty running by the water, but I was also kind of bored.  I had been spoiled by the crowds in NY!  To entertain myself, I waved and high-fived other runners wearing the same Marathon Maniac singlet as myself (and there were a lot!).  The miles slowly ticked by and I saw more trees and more water.  Aid stations were evenly spaced every two miles and the mile markers were tacked to porta-potties at every mile.  There were plenty of half marathon walkers and we started passing them around mile 3.  They stayed off to the side so there was no crowding.

Race photo courtesy of Steve Yee (yes, Marathon Maniac #1!)

 I'm not going to lie - every time I passed a first aid station, I thought about how easy it would be to call E and get him to pick me up.  I had my phone with me and no bag check to run to.  E later told me that he would have not been surprised to get a dropout call from me.  I kept running into Seward Park which is very green and very pretty.  The course along Lake Washington is actually really beautiful but it's better when you're in a quiet and calm type of mood, not when you're struggling to keep down the second chocolate croissant from brunch the previous day.  When I crossed the halfway mat, I thought it would be a good point to quit but somehow I just kept going.  The desire to quit finally subsided at mile 16 when I realized I only had 10 miles left.  Some part of me also didn't want a DNF while I was still ambulatory.

That said, I pretty much fell apart in the last 6 miles (my Garmin doesn't lie).  I can go on about how the hills are all in the last 6 miles (including one motherfucker that caused me to walk at mile 22) but the drive I had in NY just wasn't there in Seattle. I wasn't having fun and I just wanted the race to be over.  There were no crowds cheering for me so I felt pretty dumb with my name pinned to my shirt.  I did chat with Marathon Maniac #1 (Steve Yee, I think I said "Holy shit!" when I found out who he was) and #25 (Mark Looi) during the later miles of the course, but I was really in too much pain to be cordial (sorry).  By mile 25, I was back in the city and I picked it up a bit.  Then I ran into a big hill right at mile 26 and I swore a lot in my mind.  I was able to pull myself together to sprint across the finish line at the Seattle Memorial Stadium.  Done!  Chip time: 3:47:13, splits: 1:49:49 / 1:58:02.

There was no concentration camp death march after the race like there was in New York.  I walked into the Exhibition Hall from the stadium, picked up some water, hot chocolate, and a banana and waited for E to come pick me up.  He was there in 5 minutes and I limped home to shower, rest, and recover.

Victory sign celebrating the end of marathon season 2010!

I'm done with marathons until next year.  Actually, I'm done with running for the next few weeks.  Each marathon after Yonkers has successively broken me a little further and I could barely walk after Seattle.  E witnessed me yelping each time I had to walk up or down stairs.  I'm a little better now (48 hours after) but when I woke up this morning, my insteps just wouldn't bend.  I'll be icing for the next few days.

Front and back of the marathon medal

Special thanks to E for chauffeuring me to and from various locations this weekend and supplying me with much needed coconut water & Powerade.  You're the best!  I think I'll opt for the Rock 'n' Roll option if I run Seattle again.  I heard that course has more entertainment.  If I'm going to do more hills, there better be music on the sidelines!

Final stats:
3:47:13 (8:40 pace)
550 / 2301 overall
107 / 864 females
28 / 180 age group

Links: Garmin   Results   Race Site