Saturday, November 24, 2007

Seattle Ghost Marathon


Killer Beast Poised to Attack

Our day started early with Rick and Jenny meeting us at 6:00AM. Our first stop was the local Starbucks for some coffee. Rick made the mistake of actually ordering a cup of coffee instead of some fancy schmancy double tall, no whip, soy mocha, extra hot drink. It took ten minutes for them to brew a pot for him. I should have used this time to drive back to my house and pick up my Garmin which I forgot but instead we all headed back to the house so I could pick it up. Always one person like that in the carpool. Unfortunately it had to be me.

As it turned out we ended up arriving at Seward Park in Seattle with plenty of time to spare. We had very little oxygen left in the car because Jenny was very talkative on the drive. I put every piece of clothing that I had brought with me on and we walked up the Mt. Baker Park about half a mile from the Seward Park parking lot. Michelle, Jenny, and I were running the marathon and Rick volunteered to work an aid station. He made that decision when I jokingly told him he was not tough enough to run the Seattle Ghost Marathon. So much for pushing his buttons.

Beavers
At the start we headed toward Seward Park and ran around the loop in a clockwise direction. We came out of the park and ran along the lake on Lake Washington Blvd. When I ran the Mayors Marathon up in Anchorage Alaska last year I saw two moose in the first three miles of the run. I saw two beavers in Lake Washington in the first few miles of today's run. The last time I saw a wild beaver was up in Canada when I was kayaking the Chilliwak River Gorge. I was nearly killed when it dropped a tree in front of me which my boat flipped under and was trapped on the branches. Luckily the water was deep enough so I could roll out and float down stream. Ever since my brush with death I've held deep hatred for the furry little beasts.
I've been thinking about setting a trap line along the lake and starting a beaver hat business. I'll need to check into the local laws to see what kind of hoops the city will make me jump through to get this business off the ground. Of course I'll need to raise some venture capital to provide seed money for payroll, computer, Internet, office space, trap lines, and such.

Ahh but I digress. I ran an easy pace averaging around 9:30 up to mile 16 when I kicked it up a notch. At the finish my average pace for the race was 8:35 with the last mile at 6:33. I was attempting to catch Van Phan but I ended up finishing behind her by about 8 feet. She heard me coming up behind her and she started laughing and picked up her pace so I couldn't catch her. The RD apparently made some mathematical errors when he wheeled the course because many of us with Garmins came up with a consistent 25 miles or 1.2 miles shy of a full marathon. Both Van and I ran separate directions but did an out and back to make up the missing distance. Michelle and Jenny also added the missing mile to the end of their run.
>Van cooling her jets

With the course being a double out and back loop you get the opportunity to see many if not all of the participants of the race. We had a fun day. Many of the Marathon Maniacs were going to run the Seattle Marathon tomorrow for a back to back double. I think I'll stay home and paint my office.
Nice work to Ray, Linda, Margaret B, Margaret G., Lisa O., Jenny, Jon, Jess, Janet, tc, and the many other runners out there today.


18 comments:

Backofpack said...

Oh, man, if you start running a trap line and selling hats, I'll have to get a second job to keep us afloat! Thanks for running the last 1.2 with Jenny and I, we appreciated the company.

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

Those beavers are some ugly Bastards (DAM ugly Bastards) ahhhh yes that PUN was Intended--lol

Good luck with ur WS lottery on Saturday, I KNOW you have some unfinished business there!! Now when you get in Eric, leave ur traps at home and get that Silver Buckle (DAM)it!!

Darrell said...

What ARE the chances of a beaver felling a tree on a kayaker on any given day.

Nice finish at the Ghost and I can't really believe you're not going for the double. Enjoy the day.

Wes said...

I am thankful you survived another brush with death....

Sarah said...

Awww....what a cute little beaver. I'm sure it wouldn't hurt a fly. : ) Sounds like a nice run.

King Arthur said...

I've always had a love - hate relationship with Beavers. They're a good time and all, but hard on the wallet! ;D

Unknown said...

If the Rattler was there he would've struck that ugly thing right out of the water and swallowed it whole :) Next time Van is yours. (Not literally Michelle. Get your mind out of the gutter. You too Eric.)

wendy said...

Sounds like a really great run, Eric! Great picture of Van, that's actually quite funny that she sped up. =)

Thanks for posting so many photos from the last week of running events, you do a great job of that!

Jenny, Maniac #401 said...

Love the beaver pic. It was fun seeing you in a bit of pain there at the end, working hard to catch Van. Good to see that you too, have to work hard! Thanks for the run in at the end, even though it was a good excuse to get to the bathroom!
Jenny

Olga said...

Good luck trying to catch Van:) We need some of those free runs here in OR too. Maniacs, anyone up to a task?

shawn said...

I'm starting to see a pattern...I think it's Rob's mind that is in the gutter.

Sounds like a fun time Saturday and nice job almost picking off Van.

Your beaver story reminds of the time when I, maybe 10-12 years old, somehow acquired a second-hand t-shirt that said "I ate beaver at (some city)." My dad had to explain to me why that was not an appropriate shirt to wear. Embarrassing I tell you.

Anonymous said...

I'm glad to see you have finally learned to pace your first half. But I think that may have been a little overkill. Maybe the shock of the killer Beaver threw you off for a while. I like the picture of Van giving you the rasberrries for beating you in the final sprint to the finish. I ran three with the Y crew on Saturday and six on the Y track today to start my recovery. In Hester training terms I think I'm ready for a ultra.

I'm concerned you seem to be having too much fun. Show a little respect and suffer a little Rattler Joy once in a while.

Laufenweg said...

love you posts!! great beaver shot. (sorry.)

Anonymous said...

I'm not quite sure I'm falling for that beaver, kayak, tree story. But, everyone needs a good story when they have a fear of something. ;)

Sounds like a good run. Funny that many of you had the need to keep going to get that perfect 26.2 You guys are diehards, aren't you? :)

runliarun said...

What a delightful picture! I mean Van Phan, not the bloated little creature.

Doris said...

OMG! That water Van is in looks COLD... a good replacement for an ice bath I guess... makes me shiver just looking at the photo!

Adelyn said...

but....they're so cute! :D I suppose not so much if they are trying to kill you...

Sounds like it was a nice day for racing :)

PNW Runner said...

Just cuz one beaver almost kills doesn't mean you should go after all the innocent ones that are doing what they're suppose to, being beavers out on the water.

I would have loved to take part in the run. Yay for Van! Good job to you as well. :)