Last weekend I ran my first in person half marathon since the start of the pandemic, and it was at the beautiful Putney Woods on Whidbey Island. The race was hosted by one of my favorite organizations, Northwest Trail Runs.
Native Land
Whidbey Island is the ancestral lands of the Lower Skagit, Swinomish, Suquamish, Snohomish and other Native American tribes. When we recreate in these spaces, it is important that we treat the lands with the respect they deserve and commit to experience the lands in a way that is centered in mindfulness.
The Course
The race took place at the Putney Woods Trails on the southern part of Whidbey Island. The trails were a fun mixture of medium wide gravel, twisty and occasionally rooty singletrack, and a brief spell through an open grass field. There weren’t any large climbs or descents on the course, although the trail was quite frequently rolling up and down small inclines. There were probably only about two short steep climbs on each lap of the course, as well as a couple of twisty descents. The course itself was two laps around the 10k course, although the actual total distance was about 21.4km. The total climb on the course was about 1230′.
My Set Up
For my running set up, I went with my Merrel Nova 2 Rainbow Shoes, Brooks Drive 3 Pocket Bra, Salomon Agile Tank, Brooks Carbonite Shorts, Dirtbag Runner Bandito, and Balega Enduro Quarter Socks.
Race Day
This was my first live half marathon since the pandemic began so I was super excited to get back out. I started the day by riding the ferry over to Whidbey Island with my mom Judi. Originally we had planned to catch the 7am ferry, but Katie had told me there was a fair going on so we decided to hit the 6am ferry just in case we missed one. I also had a rough night with the kids waking up, so I was a bit short on sleep. It was an absolutely beautiful ride over though, as well as a nice drive to the Putney Woods. Getting there early meant a nice spot inthe parking lot to just hang out while waiting for the race time.
Even being vaccinated, I’m still being cautious about physical distance and wearing a mask, so it was nice that there was plenty of space to spread out while waiting. Everyone I spoke with was incredibly fun and kind too. Having volunteered with Northwest Trail Runs in the past, I also got to say hi to some of the staff while waiting to begin the race.
I was used to the older way of starting the races, with a big announcement about how to follow all the course markings followed by people getting into their starting waves. Around 8am (I had an 8:20 start), I saw some runners walk up to the start line, hang around a moment, then take off. So I figured that for at least this race, the starting procedures were a bit more low key. With that noted, I got prepped and ready to race.
The Race
I walked up to the starting line at about 8:10 to take off. After fumbling a bit with my GPS watch, I was good to go and took off into the woods. The first mile was mostly a wide track with a slight downhill grade, so I cruised at a pretty good pace. Since I hadn’t been doing a training plan for this race specifically and I had done 400m intervals two days earlier, I planned to treat it as a fun long run. The first mile was hard to not pick up the pace because it was so much fun. After rounding a couple of bends though the course turned onto single track and got quite twisty, forcing me to slow the pace down. At this point, I really just tried to take everything in. The number of small animals scurrying around in the undergrowth the near the trail was absolutely delightful, and occasionally startling.
In the first few miles, I passed quite a few other runners. Since we don’t all start at the same time, it wasn’t the usual competitive feeling during other races of trying to pass someone close to yourself. Also, several of them may have been orienteers who were more focused on getting to the right spot rather than running fast. But it still gave me little bits of excitement as I was able to catch people.
Near the middle of each lap was a brief open field. Here I decided was a great place to take a picture, before continuing on. On my first lap, I forgot how the course was set up (that it was two laps), so I also didn’t want to forget the area. Since I did take a mental note on the first lap, it was useful on the second lap for trying to pace myself since the GPS distance on the watch is always short on these kinds of trails.
After the field, the run went through several more single track trails that were wonderful to run down. Closing in on the thend of the first lap, the trail widens back out and becomes a gradual uphill climb. This wasn’t too bad on the first lap, and at the start/finish line there was an aid station with some snacks and water. After grabbing a quick snack, I went out on the second lap.
Second Lap
Not too much was different the second time around, mostly just a bit slower. As the race went on, I started seeing more orienteers, and frequently going in the opposite direction. I passed one control point that was hidden around a blind corner to see a couple with their map out about 50 feet away. As I ran past I heard one of them say that they had gone too far and needed to turn back. I should have stopped and said something, and will have to live with the shame of not doing so.
With about two miles to go, I tried to start picking up the pace for a strong finish. My legs told me that was a bad idea, but still I tried, thinking I had plenty of energy left. While I may have felt great emotionally, the GPS says that I, in fact, did not have any extra energy for running fast. Despite picking up my cadence, my last mile was still my slowest. Oh well, the effort was still fun!
The Finish
My official finishing time was 1:54:32.5, good for 9th overall. This was about 3 minutes faster than when I ran the half marathon at the same place in 2018. The course was a little different this time, but there was pretty significant similarity. Overall, I was proud of this run. It wasn’t spectacularly fast, but it was fun and considering I hadn’t been building up to it, it still felt really strong.
There was also an unexpected medal waiting at the finish line. These are always fun, and they make excellent baby activated windchimes for your house if you hang them up together.
