Yesterday was my third half marathon of the year. It was actually an unplanned run (if one can truly ever have an unplanned 13 mile race.)

The original plan was that a few people from work and I would run the Inaugural Seattle Rock N Roll Half Marathon, but the race sold out, and I was the only one that registered in time. Instead, I suggested to them that we could do the Second Annual Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon. Small race (capped at 1,000 instead of 25,000) and maybe even better scenery - nothing quite like running from Gig Harbor across the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge into downtown Tacoma.

I made to sure to not register until one of the two co-workers had committed. I had already ran two halfs this year and wasn't planning on another.

Once I got the confirmation, we were set. Denise and Sean and I would run it. This race would be the first Half Marathon for either, and if I remember right, this was Denise's second ever run, and Sean's very first.

Originally the plan was to run it together, but after a few training runs with Sean, and hearing about Denise's training, I knew that Sean was going to leave us behind. Since I had a small hand in convincing Denise that she could run a half marathon, I told her that I would be right there with her every step of the way - I wasn't going to leave her behind.

As the day I got closer, I knew that all of us were getting a bit worried - especially due to this crazy heat wave the greater Seattle area was having - multiple days in a row of plus 90 degrees, plus that crazy ass Wednesday where we saw the highest temperatures EVER in the Seattle area. But the closer the weekend got, the temperatures were falling enough to not scare us much. Highs predicted to be in the mid to high 80s - still a bit warm for me, but at least it wasn't in the 90s, plus we were running in the morning.

Saturday morning finally comes and while it's not cold, it is much MUCH cooler - probably in the mid 50s and it's overcast.

The race started at the Tacoma Narrows Airport on the Gig Harbor side of the Narrows. It was kind of strange - and yet cool at the same time - that we were waiting in the airport's hangar next to airplanes that were in various states of repair and servicing. And then we ran down the runway - can't say that I have ever ran down a runway before.

Crossing the Narrows Bridge was quite cool - I've actually ran across it once when it opened, but was on the actual highway, not the pedestrian path, so it just felt like running on a road and not a bridge. Not the case today since you could see the water however many hundreds of feet below. Plus the fog was crazy thick and you couldn't see the second stanchion when you passed the first stanchion.

After the bridge, the biggest hill on the course loomed in the distance. I have said it before, I HATE running up on/off ramps since they're not designed for runners, and this hill was an exit ramp. After taking one walking break, we plugged up to the top and saw the next hill - I wasn't aware that we were going to go the way we did, but that way included a hill.

Denise was doing VERY well considering that she was feeling a slight knee pain (but not the knee she twisted) and developed one of those evil side stitches that us runners seem to develop at the most inopportune times.

We passed Sean on this little loop through a neighborhood (he was at about mile 6, we were at 5) and then we looped around onto a bike path (which we were going to run on for the next 5 miles.)

I think one of the coolest routes this race took us on was down the warning track at Cheney Stadium - how many of us can ever make that claim?

By this time, Denise's knee and stitch were really bothering her, and the temperatures were climbing, but we kept plugging along. I kept telling her how awesome of a job she did - especially since every step was a new personal record for her after the 8 mile mark. I told her that when I ran my very first half marathon, I did the same run-walk routine, and there's no shame in that.

The bike trail ended at the 10 mile mark or so, and we were back to the city streets, but it was all downhill at this point. When we passed the 12 mile sign, another runner commented on never seeing the 11 mile sign and we all made a comment about how we were almost done. The road turned to the left and we saw downtown and we were still running solidly.

There was one last little downhill bit (the downhills were causing the pain in Denise's knee to flair up a bit.) At the bottom of this last hill was the last turn turn towards the finish line a mere zero point two miles away. My brother was the course marshal there, so he did a little dance for Denise and we ran across the finish line. We ran that last mile the whole way - no walking breaks - and it felt AWESOME to finish this race.

Sean finished in 2:17:01 (his goal was 2:30 which he shattered! He actually bettered my very first half marathon's finish time), and Denise's time was 2:42:50 which was great for her first outing. I hope she sticks with this and blows that time away next time! She can do it, I'm absolutely positive of that.

It's very rare for me to run with someone during races, and even rarer still to be in the mentor role that I played during this race, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Denise said she couldn't do it without me and that gave me a nice feeling of accomplishment.

Good job you two!

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I only have one more race this year - the 12ks of Christmas in December - unless I can find enough people to make a team for the Winter Pineapple Classic in November. Crossing my fingers.

Finished!

Calling it an early night.

Tomorrow, Denise and Sean from work and I, will be running the second annual Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon.

We'll start in Gig Harbor, run across the new Narrows Bridge, around the warning track inside of Cheney Stadium, past my old house, and then at mile 12.9, we'll see Josh in a his scary bright canary yellow shirt telling us to turn left, and in a mere zero point two miles, Denise and Sean will have finished their very first half marathon.

Good luck you two!

Taking the day off tomorrow from work. It's going to be another hiking day for Olive and I. The plan is to hike up to Mount Si and see what we see. The hike has a fairly high difficulty rating (4/5) and when you factor in the high temperatures predicted for tomorrow, I have a feeling that the both of us are going to be beat.

Since I don't have an easy way to transport more than one camera lens with me, I'm going to leave my 55-200mm lens at home and just stick with the 18-105mm. Figure that I'll have the ability to shoot some closer items, and still have the benefit of a telephoto lens. I picked up some UV filters today per Jerome's recommendation - another layer of protection for my lenses (along with the hood.) Can't be too safe I guess. I really want to get a better neck strap, but Robi's closes at 6:30 during the week, so there wasn't enough time to get there tonight (especially since I needed to get to the dry cleaners before 6:30 too.)

No diving tonight - we were planning on it, but Jerome called and said he couldn't make it. It actually worked out well since it was 90 degrees this evening, and more than likely wouldn't be any parking down at Les Davis. Shoot! That reminds me, I was planning on taking all of my gear out of the car tonight, so that'll be a project for tomorrow morning - along with going to the grocery store to grab some fruit. Jason cannot live alone on water and trail mix.

Tomorrow's hike will be the maiden use of my new backpack. It's way overkill for a hike like this (or at least until I pack it better - right now it's just stuff thrown in that I think I might use or need.) I ordered my sleeping bag today (25% off coupon for a specific REI bag) so all that will be left is the tent and sleeping pad. The bag will be overkill for Hawaii, but I will have my liner, and I know I'll use the bag here (I didn't want to buy two separate sleeping bags since the differences in temperatures are so extreme.) Keep hoping that REI will have another 20% off member coupon before my trip so I can pick up my tent. Crossing my fingers . . .

No other big plans for the rest of my week - just work. Saturday though will be quite busy. I'll be heading up to Seattle for a Sounders game (ole ole ole) and then later that evening will be my second running of the Torchlight 8k. I ran this race way back in 2006. It was actually my second career race. The 8k distance was the perfect step from the 5k I ran a month before, and the perfect step to the 10k that I ran a month or so afterwards.

Based on how well I have been running this year, I am hoping to finish this year's race in less than 45 minutes (about a 9:03 pace.) It should be doable. If I can manage that time for Torchlight, it will have been my third personal record for the year - not too shabby! 2009 is proving to be a damn good year for my running.

The following weekend will be my third - and final - half marathon of the year. No time goals in mind since I'll be running with Sean and Denise from work. Sean is going to rock this race - as long as he doesn't hit a wall after ten miles. His longest training run was the ten miles we ran on Sunday, and comparing that to what I did when I trained for my first half marathon, I know that not doing anything farther really hurt me. I am a bit more concerned with Denise - but as long as she maintains a steady pace, she should be just fine.

Wow - never had to play the role of a coach before. :)

As stated in a previous entry, my goal was to finish today's race somewhere between 27 and 28 minutes. And if that time doesn't happen, I would love to still post my best 5k time yet.

Like the last three years I've run this race, there are a TON of dogs. If I remember correctly, the organizers said there were about 1800 dogs at last year's running. That number might seem large on its own, but when you see that many dogs all together, it's even more enormous. Dogs of all shapes, sizes, ages, breeds and colors. Everywhere you look, there are dogs.

Today's running will be my fourth, and only second with a dog. Last year, Olive and I ran it together - and that was her second run ever. After today's race, she and I will have logged just a bit over 275 miles together.

The beginning of this run is always crowded. There's always those who either think that they are faster than they are, or those walkers who don't understand that they are lined up with runners. I can't complain too much since it is for a good cause.

I tried not to pay attention to the time, just listened to my body. While running, I was able to tell that I hadn't pushed myself hard in a while - I actually think that last month's half marathon was a bit easier on me than on today's run - but of course, that would be hard to honestly compare.

Looking at my GPS watch, I posted the following lap times:

Mile 1: 9:12.74
Mile 2: 9:04.32
Mile 3: 8:22.32
Mile 0.1: 0:46.05

Total time for the 2009 Furry 5k: 27:25.54 (average pace of 8:50 per mile.)

While I didn't hit my time goal, I did knock of 39 seconds from my best time, and a new PR is always a good thing. Plus, this was Olive and I's best time together (my previous PR I was running solo.)

Looking at the times - I finished in 100th place (out of 224) for the male runners. That's kind of cool. For all timed runners, I finished in 188th place out of 549.

Upcoming races:

June 13 - Sound to Narrows 12k
June 27 - Seattle Rock N Roll Half Marathon
July 25 - Torchlight 8k
August 1 - Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon

Busy summer!

And another race!



This will be my third half marathon of the year.

Races so far in 2009:

5/3 - Tacoma City Half Marathon
6/7 - Furry 5k
6/9 - Sound To Narrows 12k
6/27 - Seattle Rock And Roll Half Marathon
8/1 - Tacoma Narrows Half Marathon