Still, I ended up having a pretty good time.
The weather was the big question in the days and hours leading up to the start. Weather predictions had a high for the day vacillating between 40° and 50°, and the chance for precipitation between 10% and 30%. If the drive up Saturday morning was to be any indication of what the race would be like, it was going to be wet. Fortunately, it wasn't.
I arrived at the Energy Solutions Arena (formerly the Delta Center) and boarded TRAX and headed east to the starting line. I found myself alone amongst hundreds of other runners and bikers. Oh well, I've been "alone" since February 23, 2004. I can handle it.
The Bike Tour got started at 6:00 and I was a casual observer of that. One poor guy was clipped into his bike raring to go, but got stopped due to the ebb and flow of the crowded start. My guess is that he unclipped his right shoe but leaned left. With his left foot still clipped in, he couldn't get back up. With the help of others he managed to almost get back up twice only to fall back down each time. Finally, he got all the way up and humbly exited the scene.
By the time my race began, I had run across 3 persons of whom I have an association. One of which was going to allow me to run with her for as long as I could. (I made it one mile.) We lined up close to the 4 hour pace group and listened to a lovely rendition of the National Anthem performed by the One Voice Children's Choir. America's Mayor, Rocky Anderson, the biggest freaking idiot around these parts, said a few words and then they started us.
I almost made it a whole mile before I had to peel off and find a tree. I'll note here that it was the exact same group of trees, if not the same tree, that I peed behind in 2005. I lost my running buddy at that point and ran the rest of the way, all 25.2 miles, all by my little old lonesome self...
My splits:
- Mile 1: 9:36
- Mile 2: 7:38
- Mile 3: 8:18
- Mile 4: 7:33
- Mile 5: 8:07
- Mile 6: 8:36
- Mile 7: 8:41
- Mile 8: 11:27 (Port-a-potty stop)
- Mile 9: 8:49
- Mile 10: 8:30
- Mile 11: 11:53 (Port-a-potty stop #2-way early in the mile)
- Mile 12: 10:11 (Port-a-potty stop #3-way late in the mile)
- Mile 13: 8:49
- Mile 14: 8:29
- Mile 15: 8:44
- Mile 16: 9:06
- Mile 17: 8:48
- Mile 18: 11:01
- Mile 19: 8:51
- Mile 20: 10:01
- Mile 21: 9:40
- Mile 22: 10:00
- Mile 23: 10:26
- Mile 24: 9:52
- Mile 25: 10:46
- Mile 26: 9:37
- Mile 26.2: 2:50
- Total: 4:06:25
The cool thing about wearing a Garmin Forerunner is that it will tell you what your actual time moving was and, according to Garmin, I "ran" my marathon in 3:58:49! Seriously sweet!
I guess.
I won't allow myself to use that time for anything. Still...
So, there you have it. Happy now?
1 comment:
great run. i am glad you ran it. and you even got a "perk!" one correction though, you have not been alone since February 23, 2004. as i recall, i have been with you!
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