Hi Everyone,
Hope you all made it through the heat wave last week okay. Man, I was glad to be flying off to Seattle then! I must say, if you haven't been to Seattle, you should try to get there, because it's just beautiful! We had a great time! I will upload pictures later - tons of gardens & shops & parks... Very fun! But they do have some STEEP hills there! Luckily the marathon route didn't take us on the steep ones, but believe me, there were plenty of hills. :)
As far as the marathon goes, it went okay. Phoenix (my first marathon) was ideal conditions and a nice flat course. I felt great through the whole thing, and it was just a blast. Seattle was a different story. The first half of the course was gorgeous - along the lake and through neighborhoods and by bike paths - very scenic. However, in my opinion, the second half wasn't nearly as interesting. That involved several out and backs, which I don't really care for, and much was on these elevated freeways or tunnels, which were difficult for spectators. The water stops and cytomax stops were great - the Rock 'N Roll series is so well organized and well put together. I just have to complain that the second half was kinda lame compared to the first half.
Maybe my opinion is tarnished by the fact that I totally bonked at mile 14 or so. Like, BONKED. I mean, I was feeling great, on my 10-minute pace, on track for my secretive goal of a 4:20. Then I just hit a wall way to early!! I wasn't even sure I'd be able to finish. It has to be one of the most physically and mentally challenging things I have ever done. I managed to finish in 4:35:20, which is still a PR, but at the time I thought I was a minute slower than my first one, which would have been a bummer!
But, like I said, at least I finished! At the time I was thinking I didn't want to do a marathon again for a long time, if ever, but now that I've had a bit of time I do want to hit that 4:20 mark someday. I guess I just wasn't fit enough for it. Probably didn't help that Amy, Ben and I walked all over Seattle on Thursday and Friday and probably overdid it. But that's just an excuse - I just started too fast and couldn't keep the pace up.
Mom and Steph cheered us on - they flew in late on Friday night, so they were a bit sleep deprived on Saturday for the marathon! Ben of course was cheering us on as well - the three of them got me and Amy beautiful bouquets of flowers from Pike's Market - so fun! They smelled great!
I am so proud of Amy - she finished her first marathon!! She did great - although she did run into some major stomach problems because she took a gel (without training with gels). From mile 11 on she was in major pain and stopping at every stop. She has already signed up for the Fox Cities Marathon in September because she wants to see what her "real" time will be - she had to stop so many times, but was really doing great up to that point! Otherwise, she did good - didn't have any major knee or foot problems during the run.
Anyway, there's the update! Hope you all are enjoying the summer, and I'll keep in touch on whether there's any marathon or run in the future!
Thanks for your support!
Katie
Hope you all made it through the heat wave last week okay. Man, I was glad to be flying off to Seattle then! I must say, if you haven't been to Seattle, you should try to get there, because it's just beautiful! We had a great time! I will upload pictures later - tons of gardens & shops & parks... Very fun! But they do have some STEEP hills there! Luckily the marathon route didn't take us on the steep ones, but believe me, there were plenty of hills. :)
As far as the marathon goes, it went okay. Phoenix (my first marathon) was ideal conditions and a nice flat course. I felt great through the whole thing, and it was just a blast. Seattle was a different story. The first half of the course was gorgeous - along the lake and through neighborhoods and by bike paths - very scenic. However, in my opinion, the second half wasn't nearly as interesting. That involved several out and backs, which I don't really care for, and much was on these elevated freeways or tunnels, which were difficult for spectators. The water stops and cytomax stops were great - the Rock 'N Roll series is so well organized and well put together. I just have to complain that the second half was kinda lame compared to the first half.
Maybe my opinion is tarnished by the fact that I totally bonked at mile 14 or so. Like, BONKED. I mean, I was feeling great, on my 10-minute pace, on track for my secretive goal of a 4:20. Then I just hit a wall way to early!! I wasn't even sure I'd be able to finish. It has to be one of the most physically and mentally challenging things I have ever done. I managed to finish in 4:35:20, which is still a PR, but at the time I thought I was a minute slower than my first one, which would have been a bummer!
But, like I said, at least I finished! At the time I was thinking I didn't want to do a marathon again for a long time, if ever, but now that I've had a bit of time I do want to hit that 4:20 mark someday. I guess I just wasn't fit enough for it. Probably didn't help that Amy, Ben and I walked all over Seattle on Thursday and Friday and probably overdid it. But that's just an excuse - I just started too fast and couldn't keep the pace up.
Mom and Steph cheered us on - they flew in late on Friday night, so they were a bit sleep deprived on Saturday for the marathon! Ben of course was cheering us on as well - the three of them got me and Amy beautiful bouquets of flowers from Pike's Market - so fun! They smelled great!
I am so proud of Amy - she finished her first marathon!! She did great - although she did run into some major stomach problems because she took a gel (without training with gels). From mile 11 on she was in major pain and stopping at every stop. She has already signed up for the Fox Cities Marathon in September because she wants to see what her "real" time will be - she had to stop so many times, but was really doing great up to that point! Otherwise, she did good - didn't have any major knee or foot problems during the run.
Anyway, there's the update! Hope you all are enjoying the summer, and I'll keep in touch on whether there's any marathon or run in the future!
Thanks for your support!
Katie
Congrats on a PR! You can totally hit that 4:20 on your next one. All races are different and just look at it as a building and learning experience.
ReplyDeletecongrats on th pr. Seattle is a beautiful place. I have never run there, but have visited. Next time I think your secretive goal might be a 4:15.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on your PR! I agree totally with you that the 1st half was much better than the 2nd half. I loved Seattle too, it was so beautiful. Keep in touch once you figure out what your next marathon will be.
ReplyDeleteCongrats!!!! And I love the photos -- looks like you all had a great time for a great cause!
ReplyDelete