You run like a river runs to the sea

-U2 (“One Tree Hill”)

November 25, 2007. A day I'll never forget:

4:40 am – I awake (after getting about 2 hours of sleep) to find my alarm had not been set for 4:30am, but rather 6:30am
5:00 am – I finish my breakfast of toast and a banana
5:45am – Leah finally crawls out of bed
6:00am – I take my first ever shot of espresso...followed by 2 more
6:15am – The running clothes go on
6:20am – I start to get nervous
6:21am – I begin to pee out those two liters of water I have drunk in the last 1.5 hours
6:25 – and again
6:30 - and again


6:35 – and again
6:40 - and one last time
6:45 – the troops head off a little later than we had hoped for the Seattle Center


7:20 – Alan, Leah and I arrive at the starting line (I have to pee like a racehorse, but the lines are so incredibly long that I know I won’t make it, so I hold it)
7:25 – Leah realizes she has no safety pins for her race number
7:28 – a few last pictures
7:30 – the gun goes off
7:35 – We finally cross the START line (6,000 people take a long time to get through!)
8:30 – I nervously try a few Clif Bloc Shots and take my first feed successfully!
8:45 – I get a little sick of all the geriatric runners passing me like I’m standing still
9:00ish – oh the hills...(one glove lost in the process)...not too bad
9:10 – people on the streets start offering donuts and gummy bears to the runners...gross...one guy right next to me grabs a Krispy Kreme and shoves it in his face
9:30 – I know I’m close and I pick up the pace in a serious way
9:54ish – I cross the finish line in a sprint, feeling awesome (and lose my hat)!





So, there you have it, friends. I can finally call myself a runner! Even though my time of 2:19.16 certainly does not indicate I have found a sport I can excel at, I am very happy that Leah and I both made it, I felt amazing, made my time goal, and finished feeling like I could run further. Adrenaline and training at elevation are two amazing things.

For all the unbelievably stupid things I did leading up to the race (only ran less than 10 miles in the two weeks prior, gained a ton of weight “carbo loading” for about 3 weeks, etc), I did several things right: ate on the run (thanks to my wise bro and dad), wore the perfect clothes, paced myself at the beginning, handled the hills right, drank enough water and had a blast! The Clif Bloc Shots assuredly saved my life – I highly recommend them.

The weather was awesome, and I even got to see several SPU friends who were running or watching! A great day and a fitting end to a fun week at home over my favorite holiday. It’s amazing what a person can do when they have motivation and put their mind to it...a good life lesson.

Oh, and I ended up running the whole race with a full bladder.