Run Like Hell 13.1 Race Report and Pics

Run Like Hell Race Report

It was a great day for a race and I'm happy with the results. I did not PR, but I am very satisfied with my time, especially considering the climb.

Friday I did an easy 5 miler: 46:43/9:21 average pace. My legs are feeling very good lately- no pains or hot spots. I walked around a lot on Friday with my in-laws and also rode my bike along with Zach on his evening run.

Saturday I tried to stay off my feet a little more to rest up for the race. We drove over to the Foot Traffic store and picked up our race packets and shirts. There were a ton of people there and I realized this was going to be a pretty big race! We walked over to 23rd st for lunch and then stopped at Goodwill to get throw-away shirts for the morning. After that, I spent the afternoon resting and then we had a yummy pasta dinner and played some cards. I took a bath and went to bed early.

The alarm went off at 6:00 and it felt like the middle of the night. A reminder: I am unemployed. I get up at 9 or 10 usually. I drug myself out of bed and made some oatmeal. I put body glide all over and got dressed and used the restroom. We walked down to the start which was a first for me. It was so nice to avoid the driving and parking and all that. It took less than 15 minutes and we arrived before 7:00, plenty of time to spare before the 7:30 start. I hopped in the portopotty line and then we did a warm up jog of about 1/2 mile. We lined up together and ditched our sweatshirts (actually handed them off to Zach's parents, so we can use them again)

We counted down to the start and took off. It took about 30 seconds to cross the timing mat. I ran right behind Zach for the first few blocks down to the waterfront and then I lost him. I felt very comfortable and picked a couple of people to run near. I watched my Garmin to see how I was doing- it can be so hard to judge your pace early in a race- and was happy to see I went through a half mile in about 4 minutes. Sure enough I hit 1 mile at 8:00 exactly and maintained that pace or so for the first few miles. The course went north on Naito Parkway (adjacent to waterfront) for a couple miles then did a kooky maze through the neighborhood before heading back south on Naito. There were lots of people in costumes- superman, hula dancer, bee. Nice and distracting!

1 8:00

2 7:57 (ave)

3 7:57 (ave)

4 7:56

5 8:08 (ave)

6 8:08 (ave)

I felt good but had to actively work on staying calm. I was worried about how far I had to go, and I was worried about the hills. I was glad to finally start up the hill! I passed Zach's parents just before the start of the climb and they got a couple pics.

The hill/hills (it was basically a continual climb) was tough. It was a gradual climb but it was non-stop for 3 + miles. I knew it would slow me down and it did. I tried not to push too hard because I didn't want to break that comfort zone. Sometimes on a hill I have trouble breathing and after that it is hard to relax, so I was trying to avoid that. I ate my Chocolate-Mint Gu about mile 8 and drank some water. I only ate about half of it because I was breathing hard, but that's better than nothing.

I should mention this whole time I was having tummy troubles. Nothing major, but I was feeling uncomfortable. I considered stopping every time I saw a portopotty but would talk myself out of it. It was distracting and I think it cost me some time. Mostly because I was afraid if I ran faster I would have a problem. I know you all know what I'm talking about so I'll leave it at that!

I saw Zach at some point and he looked very strong. I ran to the center of the road and gave him a high-5! I finally saw the turn around and was so happy to be heading down the hill and toward the finish.

7 8:41

8 8:48

9 8:24

10 7:51

The tummy thing was worse on the downhill because my body was jostling more. I otherwise felt great! I paced with a girl for a couple miles than finally dropped her. I was enjoying the downhills and tried to run fast. I was doing math in my head about my finish time and knew I would do good, just how good was the question. Unfortunately, the last half mile or so was back up a slight hill to Pioneer Square so I didn't run that last mile as fast as I'd hoped. Still, a strong finish!

11 7:39

12 7:35

13 7:41

0.1 0:43



Official Finish Time: 1:45:33
(8:03 average pace)

AG Place: 15/172

Overall Female Place: 60/654

Overall Place: 190/1009

Whoo hoo!! Definitely happy with that. :) I'm not even sore today and am ready for another big marathon training week ahead.

Check out Zach's blog for his race report- will be up soon. I won't spoil it but let's just say he blew away his (already fast) PR. Who is this guy?!? I feel unworthy to run with him, but I'm going to do my best to hang on. Maybe his speed will rub off on me.


Pre-race in our warm up sweatshirts:

Freezing waiting for the start:
And we're off!
Runners zooming by:
Mid-race, just before the hills start:
Feeling good:
Bracing for the hills:
Zach finished and waiting for me with his mom:
Here I come!
Strong finish:

We did it!
"Is my neck chafed? It hurts"

"Uh, ya"
Post-race breakfast:

Congratulations to Maritza on an amazing finish at the Nike Women's Marathon yesterday. Her fourth marathon was a success and she's already planning her next one. Congrats to everyone else who ran Nike or another race this weekend too!

Thanks for reading. :)