Disclaimer: I received a free entry to the Rock ‘n Roll Seattle Half Marathon as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro (ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review find and write race reviews!
As this post goes live, I’ll be on a plane headed to Seattle, Washington! It’s my first time visiting the city, and I’m extremely excited to be running my third half marathon of 2017: The Rock ‘N Roll Seattle Half Marathon!
This race will be the grand finale of my spring racing season – it’s definitely the busiest I’ve been, I’m grateful that my body has been able to handle it without any injury! Since I’ve already nabbed a PR in Buffalo, I can really focus on having fun in Seattle – check out my goals for the race!
[bctt tweet=”So excited to race @runrocknroll Seattle half marathon this weekend! Will you be there? #RNRSeattle” username=”Janelle_RWNR”]
Goals for the Rock ‘N Roll Seattle Half Marathon
It really has been a long time coming for this weekend. I have run SO many races this year, and I have to be honest…I really need a racing BREAK! Rock ‘n Roll Seattle is my last race until late September(!) and I plan to keep it that way!
So the main goals for this half marathon are to have fun and reflect on what an amazing year this has been for me so far. This race is all about the love of running. I’m so proud of my accomplishments this year and while it was a lot of hard work, it was worth it. So I want to be all smiles as I rock my way through Seattle!
Logistics
This will actually be my first solo racecation so I have to make sure that I dot all my I’s and cross all my T’s. Flying from Philadelphia to Seattle isn’t exactly a quick trip! I’m hoping that the long flight and time change doesn’t take too much out of me, but I’ll be getting into Seattle early enough to have plenty of time to recover on Friday!
I plan to go to the race expo sometime on Friday afternoon – I have quite the story to tell about that, but I’m saving it for the full recap! I look forward to meeting some of my fellow BibRave Pro’s – thank goodness there will be someone there that I kind of know!
The rest of the weekend will be dedicated to enjoying Seattle as a complete tourist. I want to see and do as much as I can – as long as I don’t tire myself out before the big race! I am still accepting any advice on places to visit while I’m in town…I don’t have a single thing planned!
Getting to the race shouldn’t be too complicated – I’m going to take the Link Light Rail to get to the race start and back to my hotel from the race finish. Hopefully, I don’t get lost!
Racing Strategy
Coach Laura has given me the simplest racing plan that I’ve had since we started working together, here it is below:
- Have fun with this race – start out a bit conservative to stay strong through the early hills (first one is at 1.5 miles). From there, focus on an even effort on the uphill and downhill and enjoy the scenery of Seattle!
Oh, how nice it is to not have any pressure for a race! I’m still on the fence on whether I will “go for it” or not – I’ll let my body be my guide. I’d be content with a 2:15 finish time, but we’ll see what happens!
Fueling and Hydration
For this race, I’ll be fueling and hydrating the exact same way that I did at the Buffalo Half Marathon – Honey Stinger Chews and Vitalyte Natural Electrolyte Powder (affiliate link). One packet of the powder will go in my 20-ounce water bottle (Orange Mud Hydraquiver) so that I have the electrolytes I need with every sip. 
As of Thursday, the weather looks absolutely perfect for Sunday’s race! The race starts at 6:30 am and the temperature should be in the mid-50’s throughout the race – it doesn’t get much better than that! Coach Laura tells me that humidity shouldn’t be a factor, so I’m excited to see how things will turn out. More than anything, I really look forward to running in a new place and enjoying the energy around me! I’ll be posting updates on Instagram over the weekend so check me out over there! I hope you have a great weekend. 🙂
Are you racing this weekend? How did/will you celebrate your last race of the season?
I hope that you have an awesome race weekend in Seattle! Can’t wait to see your photos and race recap from the weekend!
This race is still on my bucket list but I just need the airlines to cooperate with me ($500 for a flight from NY-Seattle is not in my budget, lol). I’ve wanted to visit Seattle ever since watching The Real World season there (yup, from waaaay back)
Thanks a lot, Kimberly! I know…this race was super expensive to get to, but I’m glad that I went. Seattle is awesome, I think you’d love it!
I hear you. It’s been a lot of travel for me over the last year & a half frankly.
Enjoy Seattle. It’s a beautiful (but hilly, bwahaha) city and this is a good time to visit (unlike my mudfest in April!).
Have a great race — can’t wait to hear about it!
Thanks, Judy! It really is a beautiful city!
Are you going to meet Laura while you’re there? I loved Seattle and I’m looking forward to your report!
I didn’t get to see Laura, unfortunately :(. Seattle is great though, I need to plan another trip back!