Frost Bites: See Jane Run Seattle Recap

Happy Monday!

How was your weekend?

We got back from Seattle last night after I finished HM #3. Boo. Yah.

Here's a recap of the weekend....

Friday
We left Spokane Friday morning just before noon and got in to Bellevue just before rush hour. We checked in to the hotel (Hilton Bellevue) which I do not recommend but we got it cheap through Priceline. It was an old, dated, "musty smelling" hotel. But since we were only staying for 2 nights...it served its purpose.

We went to Blue C Sushi for dinner/happy hour.

Saturday

We slept in until 9 am -- glorious! Hubby and I got some coffee at Tully's in the hotel then got ready to check out all our *usual* places ☞ Costco, Title Nine, Whole Foods, Uwajimaya, Performance Bike.

Uwajimaya is an Asian market located in China Town (although they have several locations throughout Seattle now).

I bought Asian snacks and treats that I normally can't get or find in Spokompton (shrimp chips, shrimp crackers, and hopia which are kind of like Chinese cookies). They all remind me of my childhood.

Lunch was at Blue Fin Seafood Buffet... it was only so-so...

(source)

...then we headed to the See Jane Run Expo. It's a small'ish race so I was not surprised that the expo was small as well. They must've had less than 10 tables/vendors throughout. My packet did not have safety pins included either (had to find some at the hotel). They also had the "ankle chips" as timers.

Sunday
The race was set to start at 8 am. I set the alarm for 5:30 but I really didn't get up until about 6. Pre-race breakfast of English muffin, peanut butter and banana... got dressed and away we went.

I took of my arm warmers when I got to Gas Works Park ( I knew it was going to be warm), although I did put on a throw-away shirt just in case. Temperature was in the high 50's at the start line.

The race is supposed to be an "all-women" race but a few men were there to run it, too.

I felt really good with my first 3 miles below 9 minutes (which proved to be too fast too soon for me).

I saw hubby and DD around mile 6 and again around mile 9. Honestly, I don't know if that helped or "hurt" me more...I saw their smiling faces ☺ and I just wanted to be with them instead of running another 4+ miles. This is about the same time I realized I forgot my inhaler ☹.

By mile 8, my time was getting slower and I was fatigued already. I downed some Gu with water and soldiered on.... the course was mainly flat but had 2 or 3 hills (not too bad) but they were still
H-I-L-L-S ☜ (enemy)!...crap...need inhaler....

The view was so nice around Lake Union. It never really did get too warm...it was just perfect in the mid 60s...then it started to "sprinkle" around mile 11...I just wanted to finish before it started pouring.

My official time was 2:02 (44th in my age group). Same time as my #2 HM three weeks ago.

My goal: I was slightly disappointed that I didn't finish in less than 2 hours (which was secretly my goal) but nevertheless, my time was NOT worse...and I still had FUN! I'm pretty sure I could've done better considering that the course was relatively easy but I knew it wasn't gonna happen that day.

Lessons learned: Do not sign up for HM 3 weeks apart. My body was fatigued from overtraining, eventhough I gave it enough rest (or so I thought). Most of us push our bodies to the limit and I really believe that you should listen to what your body is telling you. I want to keep running and I want to enjoy running so I should treat my body with lots of TLC.

We were handed our champagne glasses and chocolates (3 pieces) after the race...but I personally didn't feel like drinking champagne after running for two hours at 10 am. DD also said that the chocolates were *yucky*.

I probably wouldn't sign up for this race again ($102.61 registration). Although it was fairly easy and a small'ish race, I don't think it as worth the cost of registration. It's a great race for "first-timers" especially women but if I'm going to pay that much, I'd rather it be a *bigger/popular* race.

Just. Saying.