Skip to main content

The Seattle Marathon +

The Seattle Marathon is a crappy crappy marathon. I've held this opinion ever since I ran the marathon three or four years ago. Besides having two out and backs (I detest out and backs) a good portion of the course is on concrete which just plain hurts. Add to that I'm used to running against traffic with my right leg slightly upslope from my left. This course ran a good portion on the right side of the road...which was fatiguing. Finally I would like to say that the course has a couple rather inexplicable route selections that are extremely steep. The first is a sudden uphill in Madison Park and the second is a steep downhill by the REI near the end of the course. I call these inexplicable because both are unnecessary and easily corrected. But of course what made this race epic was the heavy rain runners experienced for nearly the whole duration. (Also why can't the finish line be inside the Key Arena instead of outside in the crumbling ruins that are the Memorial Stadium?) On the upside I had no chaffing (to which I credit a very nice merino wool long sleeve shirt) and I did run nearly 34 miles with very little damage to my feet despite running with sandals on in very wet conditions. All hail Luna sandals. Unfortunately Luna comes out with their wet weather sandal this week. Bad timing. Despite my complaining I am very satisfied with my race experience and proud to have tacked on another 6-7 miles for good measure!


View 2011-11-27 07:07 in a larger map

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Injuries, babies, and running

Let's be honest here. I have very little expectation that many will read this blog. But these days it seems there is very little besides social media like FB, Instagram, and Twitter to chronicle a history of our lives. I wonder what we've lost when all we have are pictures on platforms that are mobile and perhaps impermanent. But then again what things about being a human have ever been permanent? It's all chaff in the wind. Jesus that was deep. Anyway, back to the subject at hand. It's been a minute since I've written in this blog and in that time I've had a platelet rich injection into my left heel after overtraining had left me with a serious case of bursitis. It was I suppose a blessing in disguise that made me rethink my orientation toward training. I've never been the 100 mile a week kind of person and this injury only underlined the fact that I may never be. And now I don't want to be. I've come to realize that at least for me qu
2 comments
Read more

Wy'East Wonder 50k "Fun Run"

I'm writing this more as a reminder to myself than anything else. I want to record that I'm proud of myself for what I accomplished in even starting this race. So without further ado here is the tale: Wy'East was to be my final distance push in training for this summer's 70 miler at FatDog in August. I did expect to be able to finish it was it profiled as an "easy" 50 mile course with buttery trail and a net elevation loss. And as expected the trail was beautiful and buttery, the climbs not too steep and the downhills all runnable and not too steep. What I didn't expect was to get the flu or something like it on the drive down to Hood River and be put in the position to ask my wife (who was already supporting both myself logistics wise and our toddler) to support me in my newfound illness. The last 60 miles from Vancouver, WA to Hood River OR felt like 200. This was the most unsatisfying of flu/food poisoning experiences I've ever had. Having evacuated
1 comment
Read more

R2R2R

I'm new to living in Arizona.  I've recently closed on purchasing a home.  My home in Chino Valley has beautiful sunsets and deck with extensive dry rot.  I'm dodging rusty nails that are backing out of the deck boards. I place my folding nylon chair down to enjoy the sunset. I still haven't started my new job since moving here a few weeks ago.  I've arranged my  new job to start the Monday after I'm to run this R2R2R thing.  My wife is on onboard for one final camping trip. ... But everything is new.  I've been ripping up carpet and finishing new floors.  My toddler, Kylan has been constantly adjusting to new surroundings.  We've driven across the country back and forth twice this summer.  We've lived with my aunt and uncle for a month while our new home was closing.  We've moved into a new place and just started meeting new friends.  Needless to say change is hard on my toddler.  He's doing great mostly...but this week he's been having
Post a Comment
Read more