Seattle Marathon 5k (8-26-2017)

The Seattle Marathon 5k. It started with a simple text to a speedy friend of mine a week before the race: "Thought I'd give you a heads up that the Seattle Marathon 5k/10k is back at a new location (Seward Park) and has prize money for both events!". He had been winning some big races this year so I wanted to let him know about the opportunity. He told me he wouldn't be able to make it, but that he heard one of the fastest master's women in the country (Janet Mcdevitt) would be racing the 5k. Uh oh. At least one person would be giving me a run for my money! HA... Ha.... ha... get it? Run for my mo-... Ok, ok! We joked a little bit more about how I should call it on my office job and follow a lucrative career as a pro runner if I managed to podium. 

Friend: "$25 could go a long way."

Me: "Ya, if I invest aggressively, I could make back the registration fee in like a year!"

Friend: "Clutch."

Both of us: Proceed to spam text money emojis at each other... (not really)

After a low key July and August, I wanted to fit in one more race before the end of the Summer. I knew that the Seattle Marathon 10k was held in late August, and learned that the 5k race option would be returning this year after a long hiatus. I also learned that they would be offering prize money for the top winners of both the 5k and 10k! I love races with prize money. Not because I expect to win any, but because it means the event is taken seriously, will be well organized, and will draw out some super fast runners to the race!

After registering for the 5k race, I looked over the course map. I’ll now let you in on "Carl's Racing Tip #42": Studying a race course before you actually get out there is f***ing amazing! Knowing the uphills, downhills, turns, terrain changes, and geographic markers of a course will allow you to form a race strategy tailored for that specific course (and help keep you from getting lost, even if the course marshal mistakenly tries to misguide you down the wrong path...). For me, it also provides an outlet for my anxiety leading up to a race. It lets me feel like I am in control and proactively preparing instead of passively waiting.

Fun fact, a lot of my racing tips are actually taken from Zombieland's Rules. No, I'm dead (haha... zombie... dead... ha...) serious. I mean it's quite logical if you think about it. Running a race like you are running for your life away from zombies will inevitably yield impressive results. Check this out.

Applicable Zombieland Rules:

Rule #1: Cardio... Obviously. Check!

Rule #3: Beware of Bathrooms... Ever used a porta potty at a race? Definitely Check!

Rule #7: Travel light... Check!

Rule #18: Limber up... The pre-race warm-up is a definite must. Check!

Rule #20: It's a marathon not a sprint, unless it's a sprint, then sprint... LOL!

Rule #28: Double knot your shoes... Agreed. Check!

Rule #32: Enjoy the little things... YASSSS! Check!

Pre-Race Warm up.

Fast forward to race day. I arrived a good hour early, and went straight into my pre-race routine. I did a light warm-up run along the first mile of the course, turned around, and headed back to the start line. On my way back, I came across a rabbit on the side of the path, just chilling and snacking on some grass. I stopped and we stared at each other for a good awkward minute. In my head, I was thinking: "IT'S A SIGN!". Although I can't tell you what the rabbit was thinking, I like to believe it was something along the lines of...

Anyway, I reached the start line (with one minute to spare... yikes!) and closed my eyes, taking deep breaths, trying to relax. I looked around, taking note of the Club NW singlets and checking race bibs, making a mental note of who was racing the 10k and who was racing the 5k. I spotted Janet and another fast Club NW runner named Megan Heuer and moved up along side them at the start line. The race announcer started the countdown and we were off! The super fast 10k Club NW guys took off and I let them go, instead staying with Megan and Janet who I knew would be racing around my target pace. Megan and another guy (I would later learn was a Seattle Running Club member named Bryan) took the lead of the 5k. The 10k course split off up a hill (suckers), and suddenly the front pack of the 5k runners were alone. I felt strong throughout the first mile, but Janet edged out in front of me, pushing me in to 4th. The course was an out-and-back along the outside path of Seward Park, and was pretty flat as it remained alongside the water of Lake Washington the entire time. By the halfway mark I was still in 4th, and used the turnaround to assess how far ahead our front pack was. I noticed that I had a good lead on the next runner, and that definitely gave me a morale boost. I used this motivation to push forward and by the end of the second mile I was right on Janet's heels.

With one mile left, I found one last gear and stepped it up. I could feel my form beginning to break down, but I was determined to push and test my limits in this race. With about half a mile left, I managed to pass Janet and realized I still felt like I had enough to close. Everyone dreads the end of a race, but every once in a while, everything aligns. You feel strong. You have confidence. In the middle of the racing chaos, you realize you are having so much fun! That's how I felt at the end of the Seattle Marathon 5k! I flew around the final turn and kicked the last 200m past the finish line in an official time of 17:59, placing 2nd in the Men's division and 3rd Overall!

I went over and congratulated the other top finishers. The race director pulled me aside and told me to stick around because they would be awarding prizes to the top finishers in about 20-30 minutes. I nodded and got in a quick cool down run, picked up my bag from the gear check, and headed back to the finish line. The top 10k finishers came through and awards were handed out as results were finalized!

As the race director called out the names of the race winners and their times, I heard my name suddenly called out. I went up to the podium and was handed the 2nd place award for the Men's 5k! Cha-Ching!

All in all, I had a blast at this race! I went out and showed some #brooksrunning and #darkhorse spirit, proved to myself that I could still turn out a sub-18 5k, and was able to follow my dreams as a pro-runner for a day! LOL!

Thanks to those of you who have made it to the end of this blog post! Run Happy!

Post race thoughts:

1. The Seattle Marathon hasn't to my knowledge offered prize money in the past, so it will be interesting if they post prize money for the Half and Full Marathon races this Fall.

2. Great season for the Brooks Beasts! Follow their twitter @beaststc ! Also, if you want to hear me fanboy over the Brooks Beasts, you can follow my twitter @CLLaviolette

3. Not sure what my next race will be. I might just call it a season and dive back into base buildup phase!

Tenacious Ten Elite Challenge Race Recap (4/22/2017)

It was a typical Friday afternoon when I received an alert on my phone saying I had a new Tweet directed at me. I opened up twitter and found I had been called out to the Tenacious Ten Elite Challenge by my friend Keith Laverty. After an absurdly cold winter, it has been a slow climb trying to get back to my pre-winter running fitness. My first thought was to turn down the challenge. 10k! I might as well be running a marathon... I have only done one marathon in my life: the Game of Thrones Binge Watching Marathon... You may laugh, but I did actually learn two invaluable life lessons from my marathon experience. First, ALWAYS hold the door for friends! Second, the shame that follows when

And so I accepted the call.

The Tenacious Ten had two distance options (10k and 10 mile), but the elite challenge was only for the 10k. The course consisted of a clockwise loop around Lake Union, starting and ending at Gasworks Park. With $500/$250/$125 prize money on the line for 1^st/2^nd/3^rd respectively, for both male and female divisions, a fair amount of local and even non-local running talent showed up. There was an especially deep field on the women’s side, including Tara Welling (Sketchers sponsored who trains with High Performance West), Christine Babcock (Oiselle), Collier Lawrence (Oiselle), Lyndy Davis (Oiselle), and Caroline Austin (SRC). Some of the faster dudes on the Men’s side included Jordan Welling, Yon Yilma (Run 26.2), Keith Laverty (SRC), Lance Thompson (SRC), and Joe Creighton (SRC).

The elites had their own start coral in front of the rest of the runners. With the elite field in attendance, I wasn’t expecting to place, much less come close to placing. However, my goal time lined up with the elite coral pace cutoff so over I went to this isolated corner of the universe. It definitely felt kind of awkward - like when you can sit at the grown-up table for the first time at Thanksgiving. You feel small and aren’t sure who to talk to or what to talk about so you just sit there silently minding your own business…

I haven’t raced the 10k distance in a while, and my goal for this race was just to get in under 40 minutes. I knew the front pack would likely be aiming to finish close to 30 minutes so I would make sure to run my own race. Keith and I hit a few last strides and lined up with our coral. With a final countdown followed by the signal of a cowbell, the Tenacious Ten Elite Challenge was underway.

The first mile was surprisingly controlled throughout the elite group. How do I know this? Because I could still see the front pack by the end of the first mile. I was personally feeling pretty good as well. Knowing that I had twice the distance to cover than what I usually race did a fantastic job of keeping my pace in check. Partway through the second mile, I lost sight of the front pack as they made their move and picked up the pace considerably. By the end of the second mile, I had fallen in with two or three other runners and we formed a small pack. The second mile provided a long downhill stretch, so by the 5k mark I was feeling better than expected. I passed by Lake Union Park at the South of the lake, and picked up the pace. Everything was great until I hit the uphill section leading to the Fremont Bridge with about a mile left. I finally reached the bridge and knew I was in the final stretch. At the beginning of a race, I try to focus on my running form. I usually lose focus at some point but there is a specific threshold of pain that triggers my mind to refocus back on my running form. I was definitely hitting that level of pain at this point. I suddenly realized I was over striding. I realized my shoulders were hunched. I noticed my breathing was off. I focused on correcting these specific issues in the last half mile. By the time I corrected my running form, I was rounding the corner in Gasworks Park and flying through the finish.

I have been racing without a watch lately (instead just going by feel) so I didn’t know my exact time as I crossed the finish. Luckily, they had a results tent at the recovery area and I headed over to check my results. My official time clocked in at 39:13 (6:19 pace) for 22nd overall. Made it under 40 minutes but man was that a painful rust-buster. I saw Sarah Robinson (runningstarfish.com) at the recovery area and introduced myself to some of the SRC screw. Caroline Austin (SRC) managed to podium with a 3^rd place finish, running 34:02! I also learned that the power couple, Jordan and Tara Welling, swept the podium with 1^st place finishes.

Fast forward a week post-race, and results have been updated and my new official time is recorded at 38:13 (6:10 pace) and have been bumped up to 21^st overall… I really wish I had a watch, but through talking to other friends who ran the race, it looks like the timing officials incorrectly adjusted everyone’s time by about a minute. However, there have been no changes since then, so I guess we shall never know.

If you have managed to get to this point, you must really care about me. Or have a real lack of other interesting things to do right now. Either way, thanks for sticking to the (almost) end.

Post-Race Thoughts/Future Schedule/Unrelated Shout Outs:  

1. Currently, my Summer race schedule will be Brooks Fremont 5k (June 2), Seattle Rock N’ Roll 5k (June 17), Firecracker 5000 (July 3) and/or Point Ruston Independence Day 5k (July 4), Seafair 5k (July 29), and possibly some track 5k’s at the Club NW All-Comers Track Meets.

2. Big congrats to Keith Laverty who ran a major PR and won 1st in his (our) age division! You can follow his ultra/racing adventures on Twitter: @KeithLaverty and Instagram: trail_lightning

3. If you follow my twitter account (or even if you don’t), you know I am a Brooks Beasts fan fanatic. Big congrats to Katie Mackey for winning the USATF Road Mile Championship at the Grand Blue Mile last week! Also big congrats to Cas Loxsom and Brannon Kidder who ran the first and third legs of the 4x800 meter relay at the IAAF/BTW World Relays, helping to secure gold for Team USA.

You can follow the Brooks Beasts on Twitter: @beaststc and Instagram: brooksbeaststc.