Well, I forget where I left off….somewhere after the Dirty Dash I think. After that we had the See Jane Run half marathon. That was Morrie’s birthday run and you’d think it would have been warm considering it was mid-July. No. Not so much here in Seattle.
We arrived at Gasworks Park early enough to get into the Half Fanatics group photo. We had hit the port-a-potty line just before that when it was relatively short and by the time we were done it was rather lengthy. We found other Fanatics and took several photos then we decided that another bathroom break was in order. Problem was: the line was even longer now and we wouldn’t have time to wait in it and still make the start. So, we did what apparently many other people were doing and we headed toward the trees.
I’m not sure why, at an all women’s event, you’d only order a handful of Honeybuckets but I suppose they didn’t consult me. Anyway, it was overcast and kinda chilly that day. We headed out at the start and ran into a bunch of walkers who started at the front and, as is standard, walked 4 abreast down the path. We got by most of them by the time we were out onto the street. We headed across the Fremont bridge and then onto a portion of the trail that was blocked off. When we were getting toward the turn around we started running into the faster runners coming back. The trail isn’t very wide here, about three feet or so, and when you are trying to pass someone and another person is coming at you trying to pass someone on their side it can get kindof exciting. Lots of shoulder brushing. We turned around and eventually broke out of the out and back portion and headed south along the west side of Lake Union.
Soon we were around to the other side of the lake and there was a honeybucket so we hopped in line. That took about 20 minutes to get through and then we were off. It was a nice little jaunt after that. I’d never been to that part of the lake before and it was interesting to see other areas from that angle. Soon, we were up on the University bridge and almost back to the finish. My legs were getting sore and tired but we finally crossed the finish line. One of the things you get for finishing is a champagne flute with a few chocolates in it. Then you can get champagne in your flute. Yay! 
After the See Jane Run, Nic talked Morrie and I into signing up for the Fat Glass 50k. We weren’t going to sign up because we knew there was no way we could finish the whole 50k. But then the organizers decided that DNF’s were ENCOURAGED! What kind of race was this? So the basic idea was that we would run about 5+ miles through Bridle Trails park and when we got back to the start we had to drink a glass of Mac & Jack’s Amber beer. When the glass was finished we would head out for another loop and when we got back to the start from that one, we had to drink another glass of beer. And so on until you either dropped out or finished the 50k. 
Since Morrie and I were undertrained we figured we’d only do two loops and let Nic run his 50k. But we didn’t tell him our plans because we didn’t want him to feel like he needed to drop. So we pretended to go along with him thinking we were doing the whole thing. All that was fine until the end of our second loop. I had nearly finished my glass but didn’t want Nic to show up and have him hurry because he’d head out with us. So, I went ahead and filled up my glass again. But then he didn’t show up and by the time that he did, my glass was close to empty. I was going to have to come clean. When he got ready to head out we broke it to him and then he squirted us with his water bottle. We grabbed a handful of pretzels and walked him up the hill then sent him on his merry way. We went back and dished up our heaping plates of bbq. They got some bbq place to cater and they had brisket, ribs, chicken, corn bread, mac and cheese, etc. I was sad that my stomach could only hold so much food.
We ate, and drank, and ate some more while Nic continued running. He finally finished and grabbed something to eat. It became apparent that no women were going to finish the 50k so he went and asked if he could have the first place women’s trophy: a large mug engraved with “Queen of Beers” on it. And they gave it to him.
After that we went down to Portland for the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5k that we have run the last three years. 
At our annual bbq our guests generously donated $100 to the cause. We run the 5k every year and then walk with the team. This year was special because my cousin Deb, who is a breast cancer survivor and our team’s captain, decided to run it. She trained for several weeks and finished with a very respectable time. She decided after that to do the Komen in Eugene the following month and did that one all on her own. She’s also signed up to run a Turkey Trot this Thanksgiving.
And that reminds me. Apparently I’ve had a serious lapse in judgement and have signed up for not one, not two, not three, but four, count ‘em, four 1/2 marathons over Thanksgiving weekend. So stay tuned to hear all about that! It is my hope to write about them after each run but I’m not sure how I’ll feel so I’m giving myself up to a week after to get them posted. See you soon!
