The Seattle marathon started June 21, 2014 at 7:00 AM sharp on a cool Saturday morning.  After grabbing coffee and a bagel from our hotel, we walked the few blocks to the start line.  The temperature was in the low 60’s; perfect running weather for me.

As I waited outside the portable toilets, commonly known as Port-a-Potties, I met a fellow runner from Seattle.  We visited and spent about 15 minutes discussing the best angle to take a picture of the space needle when you are directly below it.  As we said goodbye and left to find our corrals, she asked where I lived.  I responded, “Texas.”  Laughing she said, “I could tell you weren’t local, you have a strong accent.”  I laughed too and said, “I was just about to say I knew you were local because you have an accent!”  Smiling, we both headed to our corrals where we lined up with more than 14,500 eager athletes.

One of my favorite parts of running a marathon is meeting new people and making new friends.   After you’ve run a few marathons, you start seeing familiar faces.

Lining up in Seattle, I stood near a group of Team and Training (TNT) participants from the San Francisco area.     TNT is an organization, that in exchange for training and support, you raise money towards cures for blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.  As an alumni participant I am always watching for the bright purple shirts.  Participants are always so upbeat and energetic.

The starting gun sounded at 7:00 AM and the first wave of runners were off.  Since I was in a corral several blocks from the start line, my start was about 30 minutes after the elite lead runners.

My plan was to run 4 minutes and walk 1 minute, a method developed by Jeff Galloway.   I finally made it to the start line, and John Bingham, also known as the Penguin, started us on our way after announcing this would be his farewell tour.  He is a champion of the non-elite runners.   I set my Garmin (watch) on intervals and pushed the start button.  I was officially off!  I was able to maintain the 4:1 ratio for the first 18 or so miles and still felt reasonably okay.

At about mile three, I met more TNT runners from Texas.  There were two ladies from San Antonio, whose name I didn’t get.  Then I met Tom from Dallas.  Tom was run/walking  for Team in Training and on the out and back paths where we passed each other, Tom would call out to me “Go Texas!”

The course took us down Ranier Ave and through Seward Park both offering a beautiful view of Mount Ranier.  By the time I hit mile 15 it was starting to warm up significantly.

At mile 20 when I was starting to wonder if I had enough cash for a taxi, Tom spotted me again and yelled, “Go Texas!” so I did.

I finished about 45 minutes after my husband based on time, but since he started almost 20 minutes before me, he had quite a wait for me to finish.  Still moving forward, I crossed the finish line much faster than I had expected.  I was thrilled to have the finishers’ medal placed around my neck and a cold bottle of chocolate milk to drink.  I wanted food and rest, in that order!  Marathon number 16 was done.

Finisher’s medal

We were too tired to participate in the post marathon festivities, so we opted for a bath, a nice meal and pajamas for the evening.

On Sunday, we scheduled a tour of the Pike Place Market.  The tour started at 10:00 AM.  We booked the tour through Public Market Tours.  We walked about 12 blocks to meet our tour guide so we could stretch our muscles after the run on Saturday.  We were a few minutes early and went for coffee while we waited.  We skipped the line at the “original” Starbucks and ducked into Tully’s for a delicious cup of coffee.  We were the only two signed up, so we had a personalized tour.  I won’t spoil the tour for you in case you ever make it to Seattle, but it was a great guided tour with a lot of historical information and laughter.  It was just what we were looking for and the highlight of my day.  I even managed to view the gum wall without getting too grossed out!

We ate lunch at Maximilien which sits in the heart of downtown Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market.  Maximilien is a charming restaurant located with a view of Puget Sound, Elliott Bay, West Seattle & the Olympic Mountain.

Before heading back to our hotel, we visited the Lionheart Bookstore, located in Pikes Market.  The owner likes to respond to questions by singing his answers.  He told us he wasn’t just an owner but was the sixth custodian of the bookstore.

I love bookstores and Lionheart did not disappoint. We wandered in and out of the shops of Pike Place market exploring the shops at each level.  In the afternoon we headed back toward our hotel, tackling the steep hills leading away from Pike Place Market.

We stopped in at Cherry Street Coffee House where I had a piece of Ginger Peach, Gluten free bread with a Coffee Latte.   It was a lovely treat!

 

 

When we reached our hotel, we put our feet up, and snacked on some fresh cherries we purchased at the Market.

All in all it was a wonderful trip!