I ran a couple of short runs after my St. George marathon and felt
fantastic. My quads were never sore after the 3,000-ft decline race, and my
calves felt the effect just a tad. My conclusion is that my legs’ training was
perfect: hills sprints, high-speed downhills every three/four days, legs
extensions at the gym three times a week. All paid off.
I was ready for a race comeback as I honestly believe I
couldn’t race my marathon, I simply ran it. I had Poulsbo Half Marathon
scheduled for the week after the marathon which was part of the Silver Strider
Grand Prix. I needed the run for my hunt of the Half Fanatics Sun status by
February. However, I was hesitant of running it as my brother Freddy, who I
haven’t seen for 9 years, was coming to town with his wife, Nelly. As one of his main hobbies is photography and that’s what he wanted to do during his 10-day stay,
I found the way to make it work. I told him: “I have a race in a town founded
by Norwegians that is really pretty. If you want to come with me you need to
get up very early, we'll leave at 4ish and drive around the Sound (the ferries don’t
start early enough). While I run you can wander around downtown; then we can
visit Chief Seattle’s grave located just minutes from the race, and take the
ferry back home”. He, as a very
easygoing person, said: YES.
So, that’s what we did. We left about 4:45 am, drove down
South to Tacoma and back North to Poulsbo, all along Puget Sound. The memories
I had from this race were a long and hilly 20-miler run I had to do in my preparation
for New York marathon in 2010. I remember I ran the Half, grabbed my medal and continued
the marathon course for 7 more miles, but it was so hilly that I turned around
at some point and to finish the 20 miles I ran the last mile in the school parking
lot for my entertainment and pain. This time those 7 miles were not scheduled!
My brother Freddy and I before the start of 2012 Poulsbo Half Marathon |
The course was changed since the last time I ran it. We had
to do a loop, twice around the school what I found annoying. Then we went on
the course I remembered. The run was good with its hills up and down. When we
approached downtown I was hoping to see my brother and indeed he was there. He
took a picture of me, and it was so nice seeing him there.
I continued through
more hills with gorgeous scenery. The last 2 miles were uphill; I was running
slower than my pace because I was definitely feeling the tiredness from my
marathon, but I felt strong. I never felt spent, or exhausted. I had a great
race. I clocked 1:55:52, and my brother was there to capture the moment. I placed
4th in the 50-59 division but as the three first ladies were 50 and
51, I captured the 10 points given to the 1st place in the 55
division for the Silver Strider Grand Prix.
From there we visit Chief Seattle’s grave (Chief Sealth) to
pay our respects and then took the ferry in Kingston to Edmonds just a 20 min
drive home.
Chief Seattle "Sealth" grave in Suquamish, WA |
The rest of the week was awesome. I still had my early runs
and during the day we did visits around town where Freddy shot thousands
(literally) of pictures: Seattle downtown, Pike Place Market, Queen Ann
neighborhood, our beautiful Needle, the EMP, Shilshole, Ballard, Fremont, Gas Works, Lake Union, Lake Washington, UW
Campus, Sammamish River Trail, Woodinville Wineries, Mukilteo Lighthouse and
beach; Mount Rainier National Park. He and Nelly also had the opportunity to visit with my son Diego, and know my granddaughter Peyton.
I decided to skip Salty’s, the following weekend's race. My
brother was leaving that very night and though he would’ve loved to photograph Alki
and Seattle from the west side, we decided to spend the whole day with my hubby
and a nice lunch at home. The vacation ended with a large file of beautiful memories (and pictures). We drove to the airport without missing on our
way, the memorial of our great Jimi Hendrix.
The menu: Ivar's Clam Chowder as first course, followed by a nice Flat Iron Steak cooked by my adorable Hubby, accompanied by a nice radicchio salad from my garden and garlic bread.... and WINE!!! |
4 comments:
Dang it! I missed you! I live in Bremerton! We could have had a mini bloggy meet up! :)
Love U so much
Feliz Dia del Ingeniero !!!!
That sounds like a perfect weekend! And your racing never fails to amaze / impress me. You are FAST girlfriend!
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