I ran the Rock 'n Roll half marathon on my birthday

I run a lot but I don’t really like to run in organized races. I get all stressed out beforehand worrying about whether I’ll meet my time goals and I don’t need that. I run because it’s fun, not because I want to raise my blood pressure. This year though, the Rock 'n Roll marathon race fell on my birthday so I figured I’d give myself a perverse kind of birthday present and run a half marathon. :birthday: Smart!

Start line at the Needle

It was lovely weather the morning of the 17th but clouds rolled in by the afternoon and there was a steady rain all night. It did stop though by the time I got up at 5. There was some spritzing of rain for part of the race but it mostly held off until we were driving home afterwards. Temperatures were in the low to mid 50s. I saw on the news in the morning that we were forecast to be the coldest place in the US. Even colder than Anchorage! Not that that is a bad thing for running.

Staging area pre-race

The plan was to divide the race into three 40 minute laps and try to hit an 8:50 pace on each. I fell in at about 8:45 for the first two 40 minute blocks and felt pretty comfortable. I was a little concerned about the last lap because it had the biggest hill going up through the I-90 tunnel from Lake Washington. I ended up doing that last section at an 8:06 pace so I guess I was doing ok.

13.27 miles?

After you get out of the tunnel you can see the two stadiums (stadia?) in the distance which is where the race finishes up. Just a quick swing off the Interstate and into the finish line.


A new PR! :clap:

I felt pretty good overall afterwards. My feet hurt a bit but that should be fine in a day or two. Now I just need to worry about the Cascade Lakes Relay in late July :cold_sweat:

Here’s the bling.