Rachel
06-30-2009, 11:24 AM
Race started at 7am and athletes were advised to arrive via shuttle or be dropped off an hour early or more. Unfortunately, they neglected to inform athletes that there would be no police directing traffic at the major on/off ramps, intersections, stop lights, etc. that morning. My hotel was only 10 minutes from the start and it took us an entire hour to go the whopping 6 miles. Long story short, traffic was at a stand-still. Many people were getting out of cars and started walking the remaining 3+ miles to the start. I ended up making it in the nick of time, by a chance encounter w/ a hotel shuttle we saw make a turn onto a side street w/ a couple of "racer-looking people" in back. We figured it was our only chance of making it there on time so quickly made a u-turn and chased the shuttle at high speeds through windy back roads. It paid off big time as we arrived at the back side of the race start w/ 5 minutes to spare. Unfortunately, hundreds, perhaps thousands of others weren't as lucky and didn't make it.
Anyhow, I flew into my pace group corral right as the national anthem began and the next thing I knew the gun went off! I realized as I began running that I never had a chance to use the porta potty before the race...this is going to be interesting, I thought. Sure enough, mile 2, I relucantly jumped out of the herd to get it out of the way. Bummer, it probably added at least a minute or two to my race time. But I quickly got back in and continued on w/ the race. I kept on pace and could see my 1:45 group up ahead a short distance from me. Then the stomach started cramping a bit. I didn't have to stop again, but it certainly made it more difficult to settle in and really enjoy the race as much as I would have liked. So, I finished in 1:47, tying my PR from Fit for Life in Boise last July. Dang!
The weather was PERFECT...mild and 70 degrees all weekend! The course was beautiful, albeit hilly. Ran along Lake Washington through the I-90 tunnel, and into downtown. Course had sweeping views of downtown, the Olympic mountain range, TONS of supporters, cheer stations, live bands every mile and aid stations up the gazoo. Rock n Roll knows how to put on a large, well organized event. Highly recommend it (assuming the traffic thing is corrected)!
Anyhow, I flew into my pace group corral right as the national anthem began and the next thing I knew the gun went off! I realized as I began running that I never had a chance to use the porta potty before the race...this is going to be interesting, I thought. Sure enough, mile 2, I relucantly jumped out of the herd to get it out of the way. Bummer, it probably added at least a minute or two to my race time. But I quickly got back in and continued on w/ the race. I kept on pace and could see my 1:45 group up ahead a short distance from me. Then the stomach started cramping a bit. I didn't have to stop again, but it certainly made it more difficult to settle in and really enjoy the race as much as I would have liked. So, I finished in 1:47, tying my PR from Fit for Life in Boise last July. Dang!
The weather was PERFECT...mild and 70 degrees all weekend! The course was beautiful, albeit hilly. Ran along Lake Washington through the I-90 tunnel, and into downtown. Course had sweeping views of downtown, the Olympic mountain range, TONS of supporters, cheer stations, live bands every mile and aid stations up the gazoo. Rock n Roll knows how to put on a large, well organized event. Highly recommend it (assuming the traffic thing is corrected)!