Finished!

Done! Finished! Over! The marathon is finally over! And I completed it in a respectable time of 5:24:07. All the 6 month of training definitely paid off. I did not find the course that hilly, heat was also not that big a problem. Biggest problem was definitely the distance!

The part of course till mile 9 was quite good. We ran from Tukwila to Seward park. There was only one hill which I did not even feel until someone said you are almost at the top, and I was like top of what!! Having run the course once helped. From Seward park it was Lake Washington Blvd. Nice cool and in shade. I have run that multiple times and I was overtaking people left and right. It was great!

Then we went on I90 about which I was really excited. That bags both 520 and I90 bridges for me. I was exciting to see Rainier and other mountains around. The excitement was short lived though as I soon realized the full blast of sun on the bridge. It was getting really hot by now. Returning from the bridge we get into a tunnel which was nice and cool. Still looking good. From there we soon reach Qwest Field for the first time. It was around mile 14 and feeling great to be more than half way there.

From Qwest field, we go upto Aurora bridge. This is where I hit a rock and fell and grazed my knee on pavement. Luckily it was not bad and I could get up and keep running the same. By this time there were other aches and pains that knee did not even feel anything. Ran couple of miles till a medical station and got it cleaned. Tried to get a bandaid on, but it won't stay. Now was the really looong rolling hill stretch on Aurora Ave. This stretch was full of rolling hills and there was almost no shade. Definitely the worst park of the course. It was suppose to be beautiful, with views of Puget sound and view from high Aurora bridge. But there was no time to enjoy any of that. By the time we come back to Qwest field, I was really tired. It was already 22+ mile by then so its understandable.

Once back near Qwest field, there was another to and fro stretch. But before starting it, I could see the 26 mile marker, and it was all downhill. This felt great! But there were still 4+ more miles to go. The trip to was difficult but managable as it was mostly downhill. I managed to run it, though much slower. By now everything was hurting and I had decided this is the last full marathon. Then reached the final turn around point and it was about 2 more miles to go. This was definitely a stretch. I could feel that I am really pushing myself. I was focusing on somehow getting to the beginning of the downhill and then it will be done. It was mostly flat to 25 mile marker and I managed to run it. Just after 25, there was a hill. Well, we ran downhill before, so! But it was totally crazy, what sane organizers put hill at 25 mile! I ran walked this one. There was no way I could muster the courage to run it. By this time, definitely close to my edge. If I stopped, I could feel everything revolving. I have no idea what and who was around it. It was pretty much like, keep running, one foot in front of other and you will reach! After runwalking the hill, took my last sip of water and then decided to run the last one mile and finish it off. This was easier as it was mostly flat or downhill and 26 mile marker was visible.

Finally, 26 mile! And then around the block to finish line!

Splits: 5 Km 10 Km 9 mi Half Way 30 Km 24 Mile Finish
Times: 35:14 1:12:43 1:47:03 2:35:29 3:45:35 5:05:05 5:24:04
Pace: 11:21 11:43 11:54 11:52 12:07 12:43 12:22