Seattle Rock N' Roll Half Marathon

Yes, this is another bragging post, but let's face it folks - this year is turning out to be a good one for me. Another resolution checked off the list. :)

Over the weekend, my sister, brother and I completed the Seattle Rock N' Roll 1/2 Marathon!!

The race was on Saturday morning and we could not have asked for better weather. It was low 70s with a light breeze. It was bright and sunny - I even have the sunburn to prove it. We saw a bald-eagle along the coast of Lake Washington. Claire took lots of pictures (which I will try to add to the blog when she sends them (hint hint)).

We started out faster than I was comfortable with and we paid for it at the end. The last hour, my hips were in such pain, I felt like I could barely move. Our pace went from brisk, with a nice jog every now and then; to slow as a snail but still moving, with a nice jog every now and then.

Our strategy was... power walk for most of it and run whenever we heard music. They have bands every mile along the course, so that seemed like a good strategy. Then we added running when we were going downhill, because as William said, "it would be ungrateful not to". And there was one long and lovely downhill slope that lasted for a couple of bands. That actually felt really good because it used different muscles. I think the combination was a great idea.

Training-wise, I was a little bit off. Fitness-wise I was great. I never got so tired I wanted to die or felt bad. My heart and lungs felt great the whole time. However, muscles-wise, well that was not so pretty. I wasn't ready for the repetitive motion over such a long distance. My hip-flexors got sore pretty quick and then by the end my hips just ached all over. I could barely walk after the race. Three days later, I am feeling good and wishing I had the time to workout tonight.