1:56:30

so i took one of the muscle relaxers friday night. and wow, i slept great! eric said i tossed and turned all night but i was totally asleep. i had a tough time getting up in the morning but i was happy to have some good sleep for the first time in like forever it seemed.

we went for a a 3.5 mile family jog. heading back to the house is a hill and eric and i started sprinting it. we started at the bottom of the hill at an 8:34 pace but maxed out at a 5:42 pace at the top of the hill. we were dying but it was fun.

we watched a few episodes of Nip/Tuck season 3 and then I tried to go to bed at around 10:30. Yeah, that didn't work very well. I don't know when I actually fell asleep but I know that when te alarm went off my shirt was drenched in sweat. I thought that was a bit odd.

we all got up, I had PB&J and then we loaded the car. I drank some coffee and water on the way to the race. It took 21 minutes to get downtown and we avoided the mercer st exit and went to stewart instead. We wound up a block from the start about 40 minutes before the start of the race.

i got out of the car to hit the potty line but quickly returned to change my clothes since it was warmer then expected out. I had nickers, a running tank top, a long sleeve, gloves, and a throwaway t-shirt on top. I also wore a visor so the heat could escape out the top of my head.

i did a quick little jog to the starting line, like not even 2 minutes and felt great! i hit the potties then found some of the girls! then i went back to the potty line and then lined up for the race start. i found the 2hr pacers. i asked them if they were going to hold the sign up the whole time and she said no, they would drop ita few miles in but they would still be keeping the pace. last year i got screwed by the paces since i didn't know they were going to drop the sign and i got too far back. they dropped it not even 3 miles in and were never seen again. this time my plan was to stick to them like glue.
before the race even started i moved to the side and took the throwaway shirt off and then got back in line with the pacers. then we were off. it was tough to stick to them but did my best to keep right in line with them and dodge all the runners. not even two miles in i took the long sleeve and my gloves off. i tied the shirt around my waist and tucked the gloves in my pocket.
i saw eric and the kids in the international district rigth before heading up onto 90. i took the outside lane which was longer and steeper, i'll try to remember that for next year.
at some point i realized yet again that I don't know how to work my watch so i missed a split or two and the time on my watch was totally off.
we hit the 5k mark at about 27 minutes which was pretty much right on target.
the tunnel was hot and humid and i heard lots of complaints.
but then next thing i knew we were headed down onto lake wa blvd and 5 miles were done! those miles flew by. a bit after mile 5 i started to move ahead of the pacers. i kept looking back to see if they were right behind me or not. if they were i was just going to drop back but after a while they were no where to be seen.
then i saw the kids and eric again waving and cheering from up above! it was so fun to see them!
i hit the 10k mark in 54:08 gun time. i had fun along the lake and just did my thing. i don't remember seeing the lake. i remember leschi but nothing after that really. i vaguly remember running past kurt cobain's old house and making a right turn before the switch backs.
next thing i knew it was time to hike it up galer. i shortened my steps and bent at the waist and just went up it. then turned onto madison. one of the best parts of the race is the top of madison when you turn into the arboretum since its lined with spectators and everyone is cheering.
the arboretum is tough because its downhill and although i was happy it was no longer up hill, i decided its the arboretum that really does a number on me, not so much interlaken.
then to my surprise i saw eric and the kids again! i watched as people a head of me slapped hands with the kids and then it was my turn. eric said that lots of people were happy to see the kids there and it was almost like when you hold the door for people at a busy place - when do you just decide to leave? apparently people were crossing the road to get to the kids to slap their hands and one guy even slipped and fell right on his arse! i guess he was ok though.
then off to the right and towards interlaken we went.
one spectator was very misguided and told us that we were almost to the top. yeah, no we weren't we crossed the busy road and i almost lost it when i thougth i was the police man telling the runners to stop so the bus could get through but i don't know what was actually happneing there.
then into the real interlaken. i slowed it down and just ran up it. i was doing ok but when i would get tired i would slow it down a bit. then i would speed it up and get tired again so i would slow it down. it went on and on and on. i started getting the chills and got a little concerned but i kept going. i knew i would be too warm if i put on my shirt. then we hit the 10 mile mark. even though i messed up my watch i knew that i would really have to blow it to not get under 2 hrs.
i kept running past the water station (a first for this coarse!) and kept going.
onto lakeview and the false flat. it was killing me but then i saw eric and the kids AGAIN! at mile 11! i was so happy to see them!
right when we were about to head over I-5 i saw a woman wonder off to the right and just go down head first into bushes. i yelled for volunteers but kept running. i felt a little weird about that. then down down down and over and then down then past the 12 mile mark! a little later i saw a guy wonder off to the left, put his hands on his knees then he went down, too. after the race xtie said she saw 3 people passed out in those last two miles with EMTs all around them. I hope they are ok. my theory is that they weren't prepared for it to be as warm as it was. that is the only thing I can guess since i had never seen that any other year.
i kept running until i got to the last stretch where we dip under a road and then have to run back up the other side. i just couldn't do it. i was done. i felt horrible and i was tired. i stopped and walked about 5 steps then started running again.
i couldnt remember how the finish worked, i thought they made you run around the block but they didnt! so next thing i knew i was headed to the finish line!
and i saw a 1:!!! not a 2: but a 1: and i was close enough that it wouldn't turn into a 2: !! i crossed the finish line, got my medal, gave back my chip then headed to recovery. i downed a bottle of water in about 20 seconds. i grabbed a space blanket put on my shirt and gloves and grabbed some soup! eeewww, it had noodles, but i drank all the broth. then i had some chocolate milk and headed outside to find eric and the kids.
i walked to the meeting area and waited for like 1/2 hr then asked a guy who was waiting that entire same time if he had a cell phone. i called eric and found out they were on their way on the monorail! i met them when they got off of it and then we all got back on.
we stopped at westlake center and the kids road the carosele which was really cute.
then we came home. sirus had a hard day of spectating so he fell asleep on the way home and is still asleep right now!
i have to say that i am happy with my finish time but not happy with how i felt that last mile. but i did recover pretty quickly. i'm tired but not dead to the world.

all the girls that i had been on my long runs with did well. and everyone seemed to have a fun race.

i am happy to have the race over and the 2hr curse be lifted. now that the 2 hr mark is in the bag i can go out faster next time and see what happens!

also a big accomplishment for me is getting up to te 30 miles per week mark and realizing i felt better and less tired running 30 then when i was doing 15-20. guess that is why everyone was telling me to try to get to 30.

now off to some relaxing!