Thursday, November 13, 2014

#49--North Olympic Discovery Marathon

Port Angeles, WA
June 1, 2014
4:46:17

This was the Sunday marathon of my weekend double.  Port Angeles is in far northwest Washington, so it was a 6 hour drive from the Mt. Hood area in Oregon.  Needless to say, spending six hours in a car right after a difficult trail marathon was not ideal!  My wife drove most of the way, so that at least allowed me to recline and rest a little.

We got into town around 8PM and found the hotel.  There was a great Thai restaurant right across the street.  After carbo loading, we checked into the hotel.  I laid my stuff out for the morning and then as soon as my head hit the pillow, I was out.

We stayed at the host hotel, and they started breakfast at 530 for runners.  After fueling, I walked across the street to catch the bus to the start of the race.  There, I was able to pick up my race bib.   Allowing packet pick up on race day is almost a must for doing a double weekend, and usually only done by smallish marathons.  I am grateful when they allow this.

The race started promptly at 730.  Weather was perfect.  Overcast, no wind, cool, and dry.  The course was a point-to-point run.  It was run on the Olympic Discovery Trail, a paved trail near the Olympic mountain range.  It was generally flat and fast.

I started out slow, as expected.  I felt surprisingly strong, and was actually able to pick up my pace as the race went along.  I ran the second half faster than the first, and my last 6 miles were the fastest 6 miles I ran all weekend.  The finish area was right in front of our hotel.

The hotel offered late check out for runners.  I had 15-30 minutes to shower and change before checking out.  We left the hotel right at 1PM and headed to Seattle, to catch a flight home the next morning.

I felt an unusual satisfaction after this weekend.  I knew this would be a major challenge.  With this double weekend behind me, I have only four more states to reach my goal.

No comments:

Post a Comment