My First Half Marathon Part 2

So now I finally get up to the starting gate and my heart is pumping with antici . . . . . pation.  My ipod is playing.  The music is playing over the loudspeakers.  The emcees are doing their best to get the final group pumped up. 

10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. Go.

We are all off in a cheering mass of humanity.  I have to tell myself to consciously take it slow in the beginning.  I know that I do not want to use this burst of adrenaline right out of the gate and hit my wall too soon.  After about the first mile I find my rhythm and a pace that feels good. 

At the first mile marker just under an overpass (around Aurora and Denny) we come across our first band.  I wish that I had stopped to take a picture of the band names and other groups along the way but I was too focused on just keeping my legs moving.  The band however sounded good, it had a very Seattle, grunge type sound to it. 

I continued my way up Aurora Ave turning slightly onto Battery St in order to make my way onto the Viaduct.  Interestingly this will be one of the final races that will take place on the Viaduct before they demolish it in favor of the tunnel that may or may not get finished.

The view from the Viaduct was amazing.  Running along the water and seeing all the shops as well as the ferris wheel was a pretty cool experience.  I hit my second mile on the Viaduct and continued my pace all the way to the turn-around point just near the stadiums.

This was the first of many opportunities the course designers took to lead everybody one way just to turn them around and back track.  This first time wasn’t that bad because there was still a fairly large pack running both directions and everybody’s spirit was still high.  A lot of cheering and high fives across the lines as we made our way either up or down the road.

I hit my three mile mark just before getting off the Viaduct at Seneca St and I was still going strong.  I was still steady with the pace that I had set for myself before starting this adventure.  Now the challenge of Seattle hills was in front of me.  I traveled up Seneca St and turned onto 2^nd Ave. 

Once again there was another local Seattle band keeping up everybody’s spirits but to be honest I barely heard what they were playing.  I was so focused on my own playlist that I was not really paying attention to those bands. 

While travelling down 2^nd Ave I hit my 4^th mile just after Main St.  So far so good.  I knew that my training was paying off because I still did not feel much of a burn yet.  I was making sure to eat my energy gummy’s along the way.  I also tried to get a little water at each of the stations I passed.  I knew that keeping my energy up and my hydration up was going to help me finish.

Further down 2^nd Ave and we turned onto 4^th Ave before making our way onto Dearborn St.  This was the part of the course I was looking forward to because I knew that Lukas would be waiting for me (along with mom and dad) somewhere on Dearborn. 

As I made my way up Dearborn I spotted the motley crew yelling and screaming for me along with a bunch of other Team World Vision people cheering.  I was able to low five Lukas and get a burst of energy to help me make it up the hill until I got to mile marker number 5 just before our turn onto Rainer Ave.

Incidentally it is amazing how much getting high fived by a bunch of high school cheerleaders will help raise your spirits when you are tired.  Travelling up Dearborn I spotted the good ol’ BHS Cougar logo with a bunch of girls waving blue pom-poms.  I high fived the young girls only to realize just how old and how far removed from high school I actually was.  None the less I did not have time to dwell on it because it was time to head down Rainer Ave. 

Rainer Ave was where I first found myself getting a bit tired.  Partly because the rain started to fall and partly because of how long we were on that same street with no end in sight.  We passed mile marker 6 and 7 before coming to Genesee St where we would finally turn off. 

There were more cheerleaders to high five and a band or two playing but by this time I was too focused on keeping on track.  I knew that if I allowed myself to slow down or take a break I was done for.  I needed to push on and stay focused on the goal of finishing before my brain could tell me to quit. 

Now I was more than half way done.  I was feeling tired and sore but I was still moving.  I knew that from this point forward it was all downhill, well downhill figuratively because I knew that there were still a few uphill battles in my future.