My second marathon was an interesting experience. I chose to run in Seattle Washington. The race is the Orca Half Marathon which is along the banks of Puget Sound for multiple reasons. My cousin Anne lives in Tacoma, just outside of the city. The race would be almost totally flat along the course, which I am always a fan of. Also, I had never been to Seattle and really wanted to see the city. The race was also for a good cause, The Whale Trail. Who doesn’t like whales, right?
My first full day in Seattle was very cool. I spent the day on foot exploring the city. Pikes Place Market is a must see. There were local vendors selling their crafts and so many beautiful flowers. Then I made my way to the Museum of Pop Culture! This was my favorite part of the trip. Science fiction is another love of mine, so I might have spent longer than a grown woman is supposed to checking out all the exhibits.
The next day, I spent in Tacoma with my cousin. She recently re-located from the city out to the suburb and was eager to explore her new town. Unfortunately, she had broken her wrist just prior to my arrival, so the day after, when I went to check out my race course and go to packet-pickup, she was unable to accompany me as she was getting her arm placed in a cast. None the less, I explored the race course and got a feel for the route. It was mostly along the banks and past homes. I was surprised at all of the different plants people had growing outside. There were also so many interesting restaurants and shops I didn’t have time to check out. I ended that evening in the Space Needle with my cousin.
We stayed the evening at one of her friends homes who lives in the city. They were very hospitable and I am so thankful they allowed us to stay. My cousin got up early with me and took me to the start. What a wonderful family I have… Not a lot of people would want to get up that early to drop someone off at a race.
We started at Lincoln Park. It was dark and cold outside. The trees were so massive compared to the ones I see in Georgia. People were walking down a path to the start line. People were running in and out of the woods, emptying their bladders before we ran. I suppose they could have had more porta-pottys.
Before I begin describing the race, I just want to put it out there that I did not train as much for this race as I had for my first. I also was traveling and therefore, not eating right.
We started running, there were no corals, there weren’t enough people for that. I was towards the back. At the very beginning of the race, we had to climb a bit of a hill before we made it to the flat part. That was where I knew that I had not trained sufficiently. I didn’t give up or anything, but a lot of time was lost early on.
To my delight and surprise, when I made my way out of the park area, and onto the sidewalk my cousin, her boyfriend, and her friends were all in a car driving by cheering me on! That was so cool! Randomly, I’d see them along the way and they would scream, “Go Ashley!” and honk the horn. Considering how out of shape I felt, that was really motivating. I really looked forward to their cheers!
Around mile 9, I passed the park where the race would end. My cousin and crew were there. I felt tired and requested in the nicest way I could at that time (which was not nice), to please not take any more pictures of me. I’m sure they were probably wondering why I was so grumpy. After running 9 miles while not having trained much and eating garbage, one tends to lose control of her usually polite demeanor.
The rest of the way, I did some walking. I was just wore out and no amount of energy gel could help me. Although I finished and wasn’t the last person, it was a slower finishing time than my first run. This race served as a good lesson that I should not slack in my training again if I was going to be concerned with my finishing time.
Overall, the trip was great! The city was interesting. It was my first time just exploring a new city on my own and being able to see what I want to see at my pace. Great suggestions from my cousin of where to go were readily followed. We went out one evening and I had the best salmon ever. The museum was my favorite place in the city as well. The race was not overly crowded and scenic. I didn’t see any Orca on my trip and was informed that they aren’t spotted all that often anyway. It was also so awesome to have Anne there supporting me along the way, I think that was my favorite part of the race!
