Rock 'n Roll Seattle 1/2 Marathon Race Report

After hearing about the Rock-n-Roll series, I have always wanted to do one of the races. This was also the year for our 1 year Anniversary and we had talked about going on a mini vacation. So, I started looking and we settled on Seattle for a few reasons. 1^st and most important reason – my husband’s brother and his family live outside of Seattle and I had never met them and my husband hadn’t seen his brother for 10 years. They weren’t able to make it to our wedding, so we thought we would go to them. 2^nd reason – we could use this trip as our 1^st Anniversary trip. And 3^rd reason – I could run the RNR Seattle half while we were there! So, we just celebrated our anniversary a little early (in June instead of August), I ran a race and we got to spend time with family. Very productive 5 day vacation! I’ll give the race report first and then post some pictures about the rest of our trip and all the fun things we did.

The race was on Saturday, June 25^th and I booked our stay in one of the hotels that sponsored the race. This was the best thing I could have done! All I had to do on race morning was get up, get ready and walk out of the lobby and get on the bus. The bus then shuttled us to the start in Tukwila which was about a 25 minute bus ride. I’m not a morning person, so not having to worry too much on how to get to the start was a huge plus for me!

The morning was overcast and chilly, but not unbearable. There were tons of people doing the race – I think around 35,000 – 40,000 people! I was toward the back of the pack and there was a lot of waiting. I actually crossed the starting line about an HOUR AFTER the actual start time. That is how long it took for them to get through all the different corral starts! But, there were great people to talk to and great music to listen to while waiting to start, and it definitely made the rest of the race better. I didn’t feel like I was weaving in and out of people and I didn’t feel like I was running in a huge crowd of people. That was what was nice about the corral starts.

The scenery was beautiful! The spectators were amazing and encouraging! The bands every mile were great! Since the race started in Tukwila and finished in Seattle, we ran in little neighborhoods, ran by a lake, ran in non-populated areas, ran on major highways, and then finished in the city. It was all different areas throughout the 13.1 miles. The neatest thing was getting closer to the city and seeing the skyline getting closer and closer until you were there at the finish! The best thing about the whole race is that I got to see my husband on the course! He was about a mile from the finish line and seeing him so close to the end gave me the strength to finish strong! It was the first race of mine he’s been to and I loved seeing him supporting me on the course!

I didn’t feel like I was completely prepared for this half marathon like I was the one in April. There had been so much going on and I did have some injuries that made me skip training runs, or cut my distances back. I felt pretty good while running the race. I had some soreness in my knee while running, but nothing major. It was about an hour after the race when I noticed my foot was really hurting. It hurt to walk on it even and it made the last 2 days of our trip a little difficult if I had to be on it for long amounts of time. Once I got back from Seattle, I went to the dr after a few days of it not feeling better. They didn’t find anything wrong with it but wanted me to wait a couple weeks and come back if it was still hurting. I stayed off of it (very hard for me to do) for 2 solid weeks and at that time it was feeling much better. Then the pain was completely gone after another few days. I never went back to the dr and have no idea what was wrong with it. It hasn’t acted up since. I usually run in Saucony’s, but I trained for this race and ran this race in Mizuno’s. I didn’t like them as well as my Saucony’s, but gave them a shot. It might or might not be the shoes, but that race was the last time I wore them and I went back to the kind I know that have worked for me in the past! Even with not being as prepared as I would have liked, I still did the 13.1 miles in 2 hours, 27 minutes and 54 seconds, so I was pleased. My pace was 11:14.

Everclear (one of my favorite bands from my college days) performed at the post race party and it was awesome to see them in person and hear some of their great songs! We hung around the party for an hour or so, then headed back to the hotel to rest a while before going to meet up with my brother-in-law and his wife. I did love my first experience with a Rock-n-Roll series race and can’t wait to do the Las Vegas one in December!

I wrote this blog post a month or so ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting it. Since writing this, I have actually finished my 2nd RNR event, but that race report will come a little later. Below are some pictures from the race and the overall trip!

I also wanted to add the website for the Rock 'n Roll Series events. If you haven't checked it out, you should! They have so many different sites all over the country!

http://runrocknroll.competitor.com/

The view from our hotel room

The best salmon I have ever had!!! YUMMY!

All the fresh seafood at Pike Place Market!

David eating his crab legs!

David and I at the Expo

All the people waiting for the race to start

Start line!

Big blow up "rocker" at the 1st mile marker

Beautiful scenery to run through

Runners in their reflective gear in the tunnel!

Getting close to downtown

Even closer...

Finished!

Eating after the race and showing off my medal

At the post race party

Everclear performing at the post-race party

Overview of the post-race party while we were heading back to our hotel

Really neat bling!

David and his brother Travis before we went in to the Mariners game

Space Needle

View of downtown Seattle from the restaurant at the top of the Space Needle

Last picture of us before we had to get on a plane later that day. We had a great time in Seattle!

Mini Vacation starts tomorrow!

I need to get caught up! I have 2 race reports to write and will have another one after this Saturday! June 4th, I did the Hospital Hill 10K in Kansas City, June 11th, I did the Fredonia Flag Festival 6K, and this Saturday I will do the Rock-n-Roll Seattle Half Marathon! I promise that I will get caught up after our vacation this weekend.

My husband and I are heading to Seattle tomorrow for a few reasons:

1 - We wanted to go somewhere for our anniversary. Our 1 year anniversary isn't until August 28th, but we decided to do the trip a little early and we decided on Seattle! I have been to Seattle once for work (8 years ago this month) and it was only for 1 day. I've always wanted to go back.

2 - David's brother lives about an hour away from Seattle and I haven't gotten to meet him and his wife yet, and David hasn't seen him in about 10 years. So we are really excited for them to come to Seattle on Saturday and hang out with us!

3 - We decided on this weekend because it is the weekend of the Rock-n-Roll Seattle Marathon series. I was looking for races to do on vacation and I've always wanted to do an RNR race, so the timing was perfect!

We will be there 4 nights and hopefully will come back refreshed and full of the fresh seafood Seattle has to offer!!! Once I get back, I'll give a vacation recap and also get caught up on all the race reports I need to write! Have a great weekend everyone!

Catch-up Post

I promise I’m still here and I’m still running. I’ve just been busy doing tons of other things as well! After my last post of the race recap back in March, I got a cold and didn’t do much of anything, let alone running, for a couple weeks. I got back into it and have since then done my first half marathon of the year. I have a race recap for you later, but right now, a post of catch-up.

First and foremost, here is an update on our lab Maverick. He had ACL surgery 4 months ago (you can check out the post-surgery post HERE). We had 8 weeks of basically no activity at all (aside from walking outside to do his business). He had to stay on our main level in our house. He couldn’t go upstairs, nor could he go down to the basement. There is a door to our basement, so that was easy keeping him off those stairs. We used a baby gate for the stairs going to our 3rd level. This was a baby gate I used when my Shih-Tzu was a puppy to keep him corralled in the kitchen. This is also the same baby gate my husband said we should get rid of when we moved because we wouldn’t need it for anything. Yet another situation where I was right! Just kidding! If we weren’t home or weren’t able to watch him, he stayed in his kennel. Otherwise, he chilled on his massive pillow on the floor.

After 8 weeks was finished, we started physical therapy. The first 3 weeks was walking him slowly short distances and increasing the distance when we felt he was comfortable enough to go more. He couldn’t jog or run, and was on a tight leash right beside us. It made him jealous that his brother, Bode, could run ahead of us, but Maverick did exceptional. The next 3 weeks, we kept walking him, but he could jog or go as far as the leash would let him. This helped him get front, back and sideways movements in helping his knee to heal and gain strength. The next 2 weeks, we still went on walks, just longer ones, and he also got to spend time running around in the yard off the leash.

I took him to his final appt last Friday and the vet was amazed at how well he had progressed. For one thing, the major accomplishment was getting him to lose 15 pounds! He is now 74 pounds and the vet is pleased at where he’s at. Being smaller will give his joints relief, so that he doesn’t injure that knee (or the others) again! He said his range of motion is good, his knee feels secure and all around, he is healing great! He can resume normal activity and can use the stairs again. No more of us stepping over the tall baby gate to go up or down the stairs!

2nd major thing is that my cousin, Matt, and his wife, Jessica, had their first little baby on April 4th. A little girl named Kinzley Scott, and she is a doll! I have enjoyed all the time I’ve had to love on her so far and I can’t wait to watch her grow up through the years! Isn't she just precious?
Last weekend was Easter, along with many other activities. I got to see some wonderful friends from high school and their kids. Sara and her daughter, Allison, were in town from Houston, so it was great to see them and see how big Allison is getting! I know it looks like Allison is scared slightly, but she really likes me, I promise!

My 4-year-old nieces had their first ever gymnastics clinic and I can’t even describe to you how much I enjoyed watching them. I started gymnastics when I was 9 and I did it until I went off to college. I did dance and all kinds of sports growing up. Aside from basketball (I loved the team aspect of that sport), gymnastics was my favorite and something I absolutely loved! I loved how strong I felt doing it, how accomplished it made me feel when I learned a new trick, and how much it helped me in the other sports I played. So, even though they are 4 and aren’t doing massive huge tricks, it made my heart very happy watching them do gymnastics. And I hope they continue to have fun and love it as much as I did! This picture below is V in the pink shirt and blue tights. You can see T in her pink shirt toward the right of the picture.

This next picture is T (pink shirt and green tights) doing a somersault.

We also had a dinner celebration for my grandparents. It was their 60th wedding anniversary on April 14th, and this past Saturday we celebrated with their friends and family, and everyone had a great time! Below is me and my brother with my grandparents.

These pretty ladies are my nieces!

Between seeing old friends, watching gymnastics, celebrating anniversaries, hunting Easter eggs, going to a wonderful Easter church service, celebrating Easter and eating lots of good food with family, I am worn out!

But, there will be a race recap of my half marathon coming soon. I have to get it done because I have another race coming up this weekend. 5 of us are going to Oklahoma City to do the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon Relay and I’m so excited as it’ll be a lot of fun! I’ll recap that race after we get back.

Valentine's Day

I am not a Valentine's Day fan. I never have been and it doesn't stem from "not having a special someone." I have a very special and completely wonderful husband who would pamper me the whole day...if I would let him. It's not that I don't like Valentine's Day, because I really have nothing against it, but I could do without it. I would rather get flowers on a random day than on the day you are "supposed" to get them! And I really don't need an extra day where it is "okay" to eat chocolate. I do that perfectly fine on my own on a normal day.

But, when you get home from a long day at work and you find these Valentine's in the mail from your nieces, it sure makes the day extra special.

My 4 year old twin nieces and their sister, my 2 year old niece, worked on these at my Mom's house and she made sure to get them in the mail to us. I'm sure they had a great time coloring them at Grandma's house and I loved skyping with them tonight to thank them for the wonderful pictures! It made my Valentine's Day super special!