I have not done a remotely good job of maintaining this blog ... at all. Want to start off by doing some short and sweet race reports from the past 2+ years.
Christmas Rush - Dec 8, 2007
I have run the Christmas Rush three times and it has grown in popularity each year. I PR'd my 5k in 2006 with a 23:37 (and place 3rd in my age division). The course is built for PRs - it's flat, along the Green River and wraps a golf course and residential community.
In 2007, the race easily had double the entrants as the previous year and frankly the organization was not prepared for this. As a result the race started 15-20 minutes late. Unfortunately it was cold, cold, cold (low 30s) and it was difficult to stay warm. There was a lack of communication at the starting line as to when we would start.
Other than the start I don't recall much. I knew I didn't have the same speed I had the previous year but would still push for a strong race. The race is fun as it's out and back - you get to see the 5:30 runners after the turn then get a lot of support after you've made your turn from the other runners. Result: 24:11.
I really like this race despite the organization issues. I plan to PR in 2010 with a goal of sub 20:00.
Fitness for Vitality 5k - Dec 15, 2007
I totally found this on a lark - in fact as I recall I found it through active.com. What piqued my interest, of course, is that it was held in Lincoln Park which is down the hill from my house (and part of my normal training route). This is a small run series (three runs per park over three months, then move to a new park) which is appealing after running so many larger organized races. Lincoln Park is very hilly and the course took advantage of the hills - a quite steep one at the south end of the park which I took a little to fast. It was not so much the hill itself but the long, slow incline at the top of the hill. I lost a lot of time by taking the hill too quickly and not pacing myself well. As a result I worked more hills into my workouts in the coming months. 3rd in my age group at 25:00.
Seafair Torchlight 5k - July 26, 2008
I ran this race with the USO as her first organized run. Seafair is the several-week Seattle festival in the summer time. One of the long-standing traditions is the Torchlight Run which runs up on the top deck of the Alaskan Way Viaduct out and back. The highlight of the run was of course running with USO but otherwise was just an organized training run for yours truly at 31:33.
Fitness for Vitality 5k - July 27, 2008 & August 31, 2008
Back-to-back races again at Lincoln Park. The course changed with a brutal hill at mile .5 - this is a 1/4 hill with four grade changes. Learning from my previous ... over-confidence ... I took the hill slowly and managed my pace at the top of the run. The downhill is equally as brutal (if not worse) but managed that fine. In both races I had to hold pace for the final mile-and-a-half flat to the finish. 26:44 and 25:58 resp (which is pretty good IMO considering the course).
Fairhaven Waterfront 15k - September 13, 2008
This race takes place in Bellingham, WA (or just south in the village of Fairhaven) which has a wonderful running community by all accounts. The race is very nice - runs along the water out and back from Fairhaven. The only "tough" part of the run is coming back and running up the pier which is quite steep. I ended up running with a fellow Vitality runner at a reasonable pace. The best part of the run was spending a nice weekend in Fairhaven with the USO. Oddly I cannot find my results online as they are missing.
Fitness for Vitality 5k - March 29, 2009
I took most of fall 2008 off even though I had signed up early for the inaugural Seattle Rock N Roll marathon. I started my marathon training in earnest (and as it turns out a bit late) in early March and figured it would be good to get some race miles under my belt. This race was held at Seward Park which another of my typical running haunts. There is a nice 2.4 mile loop around the peninsula and for fun a brutal hill was added at the end of the run. I was a touch eager and started a bit fast - 26:50.
Lake Union 10k - August 23, 2009
Despite my enthusiasm after the Seattle Rock N Roll marathon I did precious little running during July and August. As motivation I signed up for this first-year run. The course is tight due to the limited path space around the lake but after the start this was not much of a problem. I paced myself well out of the gate as I was not looking to run a particularly fast race. It's a great route, by Tom Hank's houseboat, across the Fremont Bridge, along the Burke Gilman Tail, and back across the University Bridge. After the bridge the only "tough" part of the course led runners down a steep slope to the water, through a small neighborhood and back up a couple of steep hills. From that point on the final two miles were spent pacing other runners to the finish. I had enough gas to sprint in for a 52:00.5. Not enough gas to shave .6 off my time!
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