March 22, 2015 - Mercer Island Half Marathon
Mercer Island Half Marathon. 22 March 2015
I was nervous about this race. Somehow I hurt my foot on March 13th, just 9 days before the race. I was out for an easy 5 miler and about 4 miles in, the pain was so bad walking was necessary. Walking was slow and painful. I rested the foot for a couple days and the pain subsided somewhat. It may sound strange but I really couldn't find the exact origin of the pain. I knew my foot hurt but why? A visit to the Dr and X-rays showed nothing definitive. The Doc called it an overuse injury (in other words I dunno why it hurts you) and said try it out and let pain be my guide. With that advice, I knew the state of Washington medal would we earned but hopefully not at a prolonged injury cost.
Julie and I flew into Seattle on Friday. The foot was sensitive but not really painful. We rented a small lake house on Lake Sammamish so headed there after we picked up our rental car. The house was small but had wonderful lake views.
On Saturday we walked around quite a bit. In the morning we visited Pikes Place Market. It was our first time so we were quite impressed and enjoyed the fish throwers, fresh fish, lots of tulips and fresh flowers, fresh fruit and veggies, and other crafts.
We found some arnica cream (thanks Jeff) at the Pikes Place Market. This would prove to be my secret weapon for this race. I think the highlight for Julie may have been to the birthplace of Starbucks! We waited in a long line but can now say we've been there!
Around 130pm we drove to the race Expo which was held at the Mercer Island Events Center. Parking was easy and free! The Expo was medium sized (about 12 vendors) and very organized. The only food vendor was Clif. I like their gels and bars so snagged a couple. The highlight was walking through a colon and seeing what polyps and cancer look like. Sounds gross but was really interesting to see. The race was raising money and pushing for colon cancer education. The race packet was basically a long sleeve technical shirt and the race bib. I like the shirt!
Next we drove the course. The course was beautiful, like running through a forest, but oh my gosh the hills... My foot had been sore most of the day but I noticed the pain subsided after applying the arnica cream. This made me happy. We came back to the lake house, enjoyed the views for a couple hours then it was time for dinner. Anyone that reads my blog can guess where we went for dinner. And...as always..Olive Garden was terrific! After dinner we came back to the lake house, watched a cool sunset and then retired for the evening. I was excited for the race and hoping my foot would get me through the race.
Race day arrived and we arrived at Mercer Island about 710am. There were different races starting in half hour increments between 730-930am. The half marathon run started at 9am. We found great parking at a garage about 5 minutes walk from the Events Center. The weather was cool so I chose shorts and a short sleeve technical shirt over a long sleeve technical shirt. In hindsight, the short sleeve shirt would have been perfect. My foot was tender but I lathered it in arnica cream several times before the race. Pre-race we hung out in the Events Center and were able to use real bathrooms instead of porto potties. There were a boatload of potto potties outside but I'd much rather use a real toilet. About 20 minutes before the start we headed outside. Julie signed up to walk the 5K. It started at 930am so she was there to cheer me on at the start.
There were 1599 people running the half marathon and the start line was organized into 1 minute pace groupings. I was hoping for miracles and started with my normal 8:01-9:00 minute per mile group. The race started on time and was pretty congested for the first mile or two. We started downhill and I decided to push the foot a little and see how it responded. Surprising it felt pretty good! I think the arnica cream was helping. I kept waiting for the foot pain but it stayed away until about the 10th mile. Check out the elevation chart, this was not an easy course.
The uphills and slanted road kept coming at me but the foot did pretty well. I also knew I was favoring the foot because my opposite leg started hurting around mile 10. In the last 3 miles I walked 2 or 3 hills but overall was thrilled with my performance. This race was like running through a forest but with beautiful lake views and views of Seattle. Kinda reminded me of running in Maui as the scenery took my focus away from the pain. Mile 9 and 10 kinda did me in. There were some downhills after that but my leg was really hurting so I could not take advantage. I was hoping to finish under 2 hours but the hills at the end prevented that. I just couldn't push through them. My finish time was 2:00:40. I really can't be disappointed because seriously I doubted I could run the course with my foot pain. After the race my foot swelled up and really started hurting. I have no idea what's wrong with it and so far the medical professionals don't either.
Julie met me at the finish. When she saw me finish around the 2 hour mark, she, said "oh my gosh, it's you!" I surprised us both as we thought with the foot pain my time would be much slower. The finishers medal was puny but Washington is now my 12th state completed! The post race area was good. They had water, bagels, bananas, Clif bars, cookies and other goodies. The course support was fair. One lady I saw cheering us on about every 3rd mile. Made it kinda fun to guess where I'd see her next.
The trip and race were a positive experience. If I were in the Seattle area I would definitely do this race again.
By the numbers:
Official finish time: 2:00:40 (9:12 per mile pace)
Overall finish: 797th out of 1599 runners
Age group (men 55-59): 25th out of 44 runners
Here is the Strava activity showing my run:
What's next for me? I really don't know. After 2 weeks in the boot, the foot still hurts. I think this week an MRI is gonna happen. The outlook for my summer and running is bleak at this point.
I was nervous about this race. Somehow I hurt my foot on March 13th, just 9 days before the race. I was out for an easy 5 miler and about 4 miles in, the pain was so bad walking was necessary. Walking was slow and painful. I rested the foot for a couple days and the pain subsided somewhat. It may sound strange but I really couldn't find the exact origin of the pain. I knew my foot hurt but why? A visit to the Dr and X-rays showed nothing definitive. The Doc called it an overuse injury (in other words I dunno why it hurts you) and said try it out and let pain be my guide. With that advice, I knew the state of Washington medal would we earned but hopefully not at a prolonged injury cost.
Julie and I flew into Seattle on Friday. The foot was sensitive but not really painful. We rented a small lake house on Lake Sammamish so headed there after we picked up our rental car. The house was small but had wonderful lake views.
On Saturday we walked around quite a bit. In the morning we visited Pikes Place Market. It was our first time so we were quite impressed and enjoyed the fish throwers, fresh fish, lots of tulips and fresh flowers, fresh fruit and veggies, and other crafts.
We found some arnica cream (thanks Jeff) at the Pikes Place Market. This would prove to be my secret weapon for this race. I think the highlight for Julie may have been to the birthplace of Starbucks! We waited in a long line but can now say we've been there!
Around 130pm we drove to the race Expo which was held at the Mercer Island Events Center. Parking was easy and free! The Expo was medium sized (about 12 vendors) and very organized. The only food vendor was Clif. I like their gels and bars so snagged a couple. The highlight was walking through a colon and seeing what polyps and cancer look like. Sounds gross but was really interesting to see. The race was raising money and pushing for colon cancer education. The race packet was basically a long sleeve technical shirt and the race bib. I like the shirt!
Next we drove the course. The course was beautiful, like running through a forest, but oh my gosh the hills... My foot had been sore most of the day but I noticed the pain subsided after applying the arnica cream. This made me happy. We came back to the lake house, enjoyed the views for a couple hours then it was time for dinner. Anyone that reads my blog can guess where we went for dinner. And...as always..Olive Garden was terrific! After dinner we came back to the lake house, watched a cool sunset and then retired for the evening. I was excited for the race and hoping my foot would get me through the race.
Race day arrived and we arrived at Mercer Island about 710am. There were different races starting in half hour increments between 730-930am. The half marathon run started at 9am. We found great parking at a garage about 5 minutes walk from the Events Center. The weather was cool so I chose shorts and a short sleeve technical shirt over a long sleeve technical shirt. In hindsight, the short sleeve shirt would have been perfect. My foot was tender but I lathered it in arnica cream several times before the race. Pre-race we hung out in the Events Center and were able to use real bathrooms instead of porto potties. There were a boatload of potto potties outside but I'd much rather use a real toilet. About 20 minutes before the start we headed outside. Julie signed up to walk the 5K. It started at 930am so she was there to cheer me on at the start.
There were 1599 people running the half marathon and the start line was organized into 1 minute pace groupings. I was hoping for miracles and started with my normal 8:01-9:00 minute per mile group. The race started on time and was pretty congested for the first mile or two. We started downhill and I decided to push the foot a little and see how it responded. Surprising it felt pretty good! I think the arnica cream was helping. I kept waiting for the foot pain but it stayed away until about the 10th mile. Check out the elevation chart, this was not an easy course.
The uphills and slanted road kept coming at me but the foot did pretty well. I also knew I was favoring the foot because my opposite leg started hurting around mile 10. In the last 3 miles I walked 2 or 3 hills but overall was thrilled with my performance. This race was like running through a forest but with beautiful lake views and views of Seattle. Kinda reminded me of running in Maui as the scenery took my focus away from the pain. Mile 9 and 10 kinda did me in. There were some downhills after that but my leg was really hurting so I could not take advantage. I was hoping to finish under 2 hours but the hills at the end prevented that. I just couldn't push through them. My finish time was 2:00:40. I really can't be disappointed because seriously I doubted I could run the course with my foot pain. After the race my foot swelled up and really started hurting. I have no idea what's wrong with it and so far the medical professionals don't either.
Julie met me at the finish. When she saw me finish around the 2 hour mark, she, said "oh my gosh, it's you!" I surprised us both as we thought with the foot pain my time would be much slower. The finishers medal was puny but Washington is now my 12th state completed! The post race area was good. They had water, bagels, bananas, Clif bars, cookies and other goodies. The course support was fair. One lady I saw cheering us on about every 3rd mile. Made it kinda fun to guess where I'd see her next.
The trip and race were a positive experience. If I were in the Seattle area I would definitely do this race again.
By the numbers:
Official finish time: 2:00:40 (9:12 per mile pace)
Overall finish: 797th out of 1599 runners
Age group (men 55-59): 25th out of 44 runners
Here is the Strava activity showing my run:
What's next for me? I really don't know. After 2 weeks in the boot, the foot still hurts. I think this week an MRI is gonna happen. The outlook for my summer and running is bleak at this point.
Congrats on the finish, Bob! That's a great time, foot injury or not. I hope you heal up soon.
ReplyDeleteNice race report. That is one of the worst feelings in the world to be waiting for the pain to set in. Hopefully you get a diagnosis soon.
ReplyDeleteIt's a relief that the pain you felt on your foot was not as bad as you thought it would be. But I advise you that you go to more than just one doctor. Maybe in another hospital or clinic, the injury would surface. You cannot really be sure, though the X-ray findings is a good sign.
ReplyDeleteAnisha Cason @ U.S. Health Works
Thanks Anisha! That is good advice I will use next time. The foot is finally doing better but it took a couple months.
Delete