Lake Washington Half Marathon
This was the final remaining race from the 2020 season, except it was originally supposed to be the Lake Sammamish Half Marathon in March as a build up to Boston in April. It was the first in a long series of race cancellations. So finally after a twenty-month delay, I ran the half marathon along a different lake than I originally anticipated. It was a very well organized race and it certainly exceeded my expectations for a road race.
The race got underway at 8AM on November 6th under misty cloudy skies from Juanita Beach Park. I started off fairly quick trying my best to stick close to the police escort bike. I started off in the lead and clicked off the first mile in 5:29. From there I settled into a more reasonable pace in second position. The course transitioned from Juanita Beach Park to Lake Washington Boulevard and we followed the road to Yarrow Bay Wetlands.
I ran the first 5 kilometers in 17:48 and around mile 5.4 the course ascended a steep hill to the Cross Kirkland Corridor trail. I ran the next 5 kilometers in 18:23 (36:11 10 kilometers). The Cross Kirkland Corridor trail was quite flat and smooth and I covered the next 5 kilometers in 18:16 (54:27 15 kilometers).
At mile 10 (58:22), the course returned to the slippery wet pavement en route back to Juanita Park. I began my kick along Forbes Creek, but a steep hill at mile 11.7 slowed my rhythm slightly. I got back on pace once I reentered Juanita Beach Park and followed the Old Market Street trail. I covered the final 5 kilometers in 18:11 (1:12:38 20 kilometers). The final 400 meters of the course was quite twisty and slippery, but I managed to stay upright and I crossed the finish line in second place with a time of 1:17:13.
The rain began to pour as I finished the race and I became quite cold during the post race cool down. I was quite happy with the result of the race, despite being about 4 minutes off of my half marathon personal best. I do feel that despite seeming fairly flat, the Lake Washington Half was a little hillier than I anticipated. I do also believe the course was a little harder than the Cleveland Fall Classic Half Marathon route where I ran 1:13:05 back in 2010.
