I finished the Seattle Half Marathon yesterday well off my target time of 1 hour 35 minutes. My final time was 1:48:05, 123rd out of 515 in my division, 859 of 7277 overall. I made the newbie mistake of starting out too fast and also underestimated the hills, the worst of which were cruelly placed in the second half of the course. Between mile 9 and 10, I bonked. My lungs and legs were OK, but I had zero energy keep them going. I'm pretty sure I was experiencing "The Wall." I reached for a Gu packet that I'd stashed in my pocket just for this situation, but it was gone, apparently having bounced free of my pocket a few miles earlier. I had to slow my pace dramatically; I managed a few bursts of speed for the finish line and anywhere else there were lots of spectators.

Despite the agony of miles 10 through 12, the race was a lot of fun. All along the course, spectators were lined up clanging bells, yelling, and waving signs. I loved the support, though I felt a little bad that I was too focused on running to manage anything other than a weak smile as an acknowledgement. Runners took over the I-90 express lane from downtown Seattle to Mercer Island. Running through the I-90 tunnel and making a lot of noise was practically worth the price of admission all by itself. At one point, I took a cup full of Gatorade from a volunteer at a water station and tried to drink it while running; for as effective as that was, I may as well have just thrown the liquid in my face. From I-90, the half marathon course followed Lake Washington Boulevard to Galer Street. Galer was lined with sadists who'd showed up to watch us run up a two block hill much too steep to be part of any distance race (their cheering was still welcome.) Right after Galer was... another hill! A longer but more gradual climb up Madison to the Arboretum, veering onto Interlaken for another big, slow hill. The last couple miles of the course took us from Interlaken through South Lake Union and on to the finish line at Memorial Stadium. I was immediately a huge fan of the 'Victory Recovery Center' that had been set up in the stadium: palettes full of bottled water and energy drinks, boxes of bananas, fruit cups, massage stations, and a free space blanket!

I'm hooked on races. I'll have another go at the Seattle Half Marathon next year. Another one I want to try is the Vancouver BC half marathon at the end of June--the course is flatter and it stays very near the coast the whole way.