my makeup may be flaking

A five minute PR, not spectacular, but solid nonetheless.

Strangely I can't find my watch so I can't give mile splits. The milemarkers were grossly inaccurate anyway (5:04 mile 14!, hahaha). But that's part of the story.

With 25000 people converging on one spot, I had to get out of my car while I was still on I-405 (my mum had driven me) and jog to the start line (about 2miles). I reached the start line with about 20minutes to spare and couldn't go to the bathroom. (A recurring theme in every big marathon I've done except for Boston). I wasn't desperate to go, so I just went to my corral and sucked down a Gu. I looked around for people with low numbers and introduced myself and asked what pace they wanted to do. I found a guy who had run 2:38 and was hoping to run 2:32 to 2:35 perfect.

At the start the weather is wonderful, I'm feeling fresh but a little tight. I tick off a couple of 5:45 miles (which are hilly, I thought this was supposed to be the flat bit!). I slow down a little and start to run with the 2:38 guy and two other guys who I hadn't talked to. I push the downhills and relax and let them lead on the uphills. It's getting steeper and we go just under 6 for miles 3 and 4 (just what I was looking for). Mile 5 has significant uphill and I only do 6:18 losing more time than I wanted. At this point I drop the group I'm with and accelerate on the downhill. I hit 5:19 for mile 6 which is a little surprising. I'm starting to reel in some half marathoners. We are now running along the Lakeshore and so the course is flat. I know that on these miles I need to get into a rhythm. I feel fatigue begin to settle into my legs but my pace feels manageable. Then things start to go pear-shaped.

I get to mile 7 in 5:33 which felt natural to me, but is clearly way too fast. I relax a little but I'm not feeling good. I take my first Gu during the next mile and begin to feel a little queazy. Up ahead I can see two guys I know are running the full leading some half marathoners. I'm keeping a consistent distance. Mile 8 is 6:00 on the nose for a completely flat mile. How did I just go from 5:33 to 6:00?!!! I begin to get very concerned that I've gone out too fast. Mile 9 and make up alot of ground on a half marathoner and its still only 5:52, but it includes a steep climb. I'm beginning to get a little confused.

Now we start the hardest part of the race (this was my prediction and I was right). The marathon and half split, with the full marathoners running the entire length of the floating bridge and back. I count the guys ahead of my as they come back the other way (11). Mile 10 is low 5:50s again but mile 11 is well over 6. I see alot of people close behind me and I worry that people are about to start picking me off. I don't think I can pick it up reasonably and the last mile was well over 6 minutes. Negative thoughts fill my head but I keep running.

Coming of the bridge we enter the Mt baker tunnel and rejoin the half marathoners again. This is really nice as I have some company and there's less wind. Also, I'm catching up to some guy which is always nice. Mile 12 is in the 5:30s again. This split I know is wrong! Mile 12 was uphill and mile 11 was down and at the same effort, no way mile 12 was 1 minute faster! There's a band playing inside the tunnel, they're punk rock and I have to say it sounds pretty good. Emerging from the tunnel I start to come out of the bad patch that started around mile 8 and feel good, despite the climb. I get to half way in 1:17:04, which is about a minute slower than ideal and decide that I can still run 2:35 if I grit my teeth. A few strides later I move into 11th for the first time.

Now I'm heading downhill into downtown and I'm starting to need to go to the bathroom. Mile 14 is 5:04. At this point I decide that I'm going to ignore all mile marks from now on. I feel quite uncomfortable heading through downtown which is unfortunate as its downhill and I couldn't really use it. Then there's a steep drop that really took it out of me before I climb on the Alaska Way Viaduct. Somehow that mile is 5:52. Now that I'm on the Viaduct I can't see anyone ahead of me, it's just a big lonely road. Then I hear my mum cheering from an overlooking park. I'm really not feeling comfortable at this point and mile 16 is another terrible split.

I'm now at the base of the biggest climb on the course, the next few miles are either going to make or break my day. At the next aid station, I dive into a port-a-potty. I'm back on course 45 seconds later but I'm in 12th place again. I feel like a million buck now though (relatively) and I start my charge. Mile 17 with the break is 6:51. I realize that I'm 17miles into what has so far been a very tough run and I'm still finding energy reserves. Suddenly, I start to think positive thoughts and I begin to push it hard. Mile 18 is 6:09 on a major up which is very good. I hit 30k with a new PR of 1:50:26. At this point I'm only about 1 minute ahead of my boston pace, which is pretty nuts. We turnaround during mile 19 and I see a Kenyan guy struggling.

There's still a punch of people behind me at this turnaround, but I'm not as intimidated because I feel good. On the downhill I really start to roll (it would have been nice to get some accurate splits). Mile 21 is 5:47 and I've caught up to the Kenyan right before we had back onto the Viaduct. He sticks right on me when I pass. This makes me think that he was not done. I try to push the pace to drop him but I'm getting tired, somehow mile 22 has a ton of uphill.

Now I'm running along the waterfront and I know that I'm going to PR and forget about the Kenyan guy and just push. Somewhere in the 23rd mile I drop him. The next guy to catch has been running very strong (Joe Darda) and its clear I won't get him when he passes by on the final turnaround. Mile 25 is 5:40 but now I'm going uphill again into the wind. I'm cramping up pretty badly and run mile 26 in 6:26 before finishing strong in 2:35:19.

I was very emotional after the race, I almost burst into tears but I didn't want to make a scene. I was just so proud of all the work I had done. I had so many opportunities to quit in this race, but I didn't and it makes me feel very good.

Unlike the Boston Marathon, this one was tough for me from mile 7 onwards but I actually ran very even. If you take out the 45 second bathroom break my splits were (1:17:04,1:17:30) which is awesome.