Seawheeze is hands down the best race I've ever run.
It's fun, well organized, well thought out and just head and shoulders above even Disney races.
What makes it so amazing?
1. The energy on the course. So many cheering people and cheer stations. I couldn't stop smiling.
2. The attention to detail. Meet your pacer before the race. Take a rolling class before the race. Get a massage after the race.
Yep, it was awesome.
The lotto
I entered the lotto to get into Seawheeze in January. I'd heard good things about it (everyone raves about it), so I decided to try. And I didn't get in. It's a 10,000 person race and probably 70,000 people want to do it. (And it IS worth the hype.)
Fast forward to June 23 when I get an email that I got in. (Thanks whoever asked for a refund!). And I said YES. It wasn't quite a full training cycle, but close enough and I was already doing 10 miles every Sunday. So I trained for this race and a mile race at the same time. I killed my legs during the hardest week, but I made it to the race. (I just want to say I trained REALLY hard for this race. I upped my mileage. I went from 4 days a week to 5. I started doing group long runs on a HARD route that killed me the first few times. I went up to 14 miles. I did lots of speed and tempo work. I worked hard. Had to ease off towards the end to not get injured. And I had great friends to get me TO the race and help me with pacing and long run company.)
Trip to Vancouver
Thursday
I flew in Thursday for the Saturday race. I picked up my gear drop bag, and chip timer (shoe chip not a bib) and a cool water bottle with a course map on it. There was no race bib, and no race T-shirt. (There is a custom store, so lots of Seawheeze merchandize).
Friday
I got in line around 6 a.m. for the Seawheeze showcase store, where they sell exclusive merchandize.
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| Line to the showcase store |
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| Showcase store |
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| My haul |
Later that day I met the pacers, did a rolling class (awesome) and a shakeout run.
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| Met my pacers. Eugene was from San Diego and Hollis from New York. |
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| Rolling class. One of my favorite parts of the race weekend. |
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| Shake out run. 2 miles. Fall leaves! |
I went to bed super early.
Saturday: Rainy race day
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| Nike Zoom Fly plus chip timer. |
I left the hotel and my shoes were soaked within 4 blocks because it was already raining. I almost went back to the hotel to change into my waterproof Nikes, but realized the chip timer was on my Nike Zoom Flys, so I couldn't change shoes. I went to the convention center, where I decided to stay inside as long as possible to stay warm and dry. I also got there super early to drop off my gear drop bag (filled with warm clothes). I've worked enough races to know that everyone comes at once and that earlier is better for lines and registration. Then I stretched and lurked by the door until the last possible second. (There was a group warmup. I skipped it. The walk from my hotel plus stretching was good enough for me.)
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| What to wear when racing in 55 degree rainy weather: My racing shoes, Features socks, Lululemon fast and free crops, Lululemon arm warmers, Lululemon hat and my Athens Road Runners singlet. |
I finally went outside and got in the area with my pace group: 1:50 and we walked up to the starting line. They sang the Canadian National Anthem. It was beautiful. Then a mindfulness ambassador told us to take a minute to appreciate our bodies and tell us about the native land we were about to run through. His speech was so moving, I almost cried. Yes, thank you body for getting me here!
After that it was race time, I was in the second wave. 1:40 or above was the in the first wave, 2 hours and below in the second wave.
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| My race goals! |
My plan was to stay with the 1:50 paces for 2-3 miles and then take off. I found the pacers and ran with them. (My goal going into this race was 1:50. That's what I trained for. A few weeks before the race people tried to talk me into a faster pace, so I set 1:48 as a stretch goal. My main goal was to finish without having a crying breakdown.)
The first mile of the course was really, really slow. There were so many people to move around. (Looking back, I wonder if I should have started with the 1:40 group to avoid this.) It was way more congested than a Disney race.
Mile 1: 8:44. 20 seconds slow. (It's fine, I'll do a faster mile at the end.)
Mile 2: 8:16, right on pace. I was still moving around people like crazy. (Pacer was reminding people to breathe and shake out the stiffness in their arms.)
Mile 3: 8:19 and I stayed with the pacer. I was a tiny bit nervous about going off on my own. But I did. "Make your move with confidence," the pacer said. And I did.
~26 minutes (I knew I was going to have a good race when I was less out of breath than the pacer)
Mile 4: 8:10
Mile 5: 7:58 (I looked at my watch and realized this was TOO fast so I slowed it down some. But this felt EASY).
Mile 6: 8:12
I hit the halfway point around 54:30. So I knew I'd have to speed up some to hit my 1:48 goal, but I knew I was on pace for 1:50 and it felt awesome.
This part of the race went down a bridge (slight downhill) and then back up it. So you could see the leaders which was awesome, but then I had a hill to climb. it was so gradual I didn't notice it honestly. I was trying to find people to stay with since my pace wasn't that all over the place, but I couldn't find anyone. I did my best to stay with the pack, to not fall behind and not not let people pass me. In general I was moving up in the race. I was still moving around a ton.
And there were a ton of aid stations. I was taking SO MANY gels. And at some point I accidentally poured Nuun into my water bottle, which I later had to pour out since stevia does not agree with my stomach. (Also I ran with my hand bottle for some weird reason.)
Mile 7: 8:27. I was worried about going too fast so I slowed it down too much. Oops
Mile 8: 7:56. And this felt so easy.
Mile 9: 8:21. Speeding up and slowing down. Still going with the pack here.
Now we were running along the sea wall. The path was more narrow. It was still crowded, lots of movement. The mile markers were not in the right place at all. There wasn't as much crowd support at all. Just the grey rainy sky, and the occasional sidewalk river/puddle to avoid.
Mile 10: 8:20 (I didn't realize I was slowing down at this point. Not really watching my watch)
Mile 11: 7:56. Another sub 8 mile. (It feels so easy that I feel like a 1:45 might be in reach.)
Mile 12: 8:18. (Speed up, slow down. Guess I'm not a metronome.) My calf started cramping with 1.5 to go. I told my calf to shut up and tough it out. I knew I could finish. And that I needed to speed up. My plan was to do with last 2 miles fast, but that didn't happen
Mile 13. 7:50. Calf was cramping every minute or so. I was ignoring it. I knew I was close to finishing. I had no idea my cumulative time. But thought I'd hit my goal.
Last .2. My Garmin measured this course long which is not surprising given all the weaving. I felt like I was slogging around barely finishing. 7:16 pace
My final time was 1:48:15. Which is my stretch goal. And almost 7 minutes faster than my last half marathon. I average 8:12 a mile, which was my stretch goal.
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| Finish line. Way in the distance. |
Someone had told me to think of a half as 4 5ks. So if it was 4 5ks: 26:14, 26, 25:24, 25:31. Which is a nice negative split.
I am super proud of how I did. I met my stretch goal. I didn't give up. I didn't cry. I felt strong, like I could do this. It made want to sign up for another half to get my time down to 1:45. Because those 7:55 miles felt easy.
After the race, we walked up a hill and kept getting race swag: space blanket, sunglasses, hat, more Nuun, boxed brunch. And then Mecca—Feel Better Bay. Can every race have this?
I got my gear drop bag and changed out of my wet clothes (into shorty shorts and a long sleeve and yelped while taking off my shoes. Calf pain!). And then there were free massages, and chiropractors. I really wanted my leg worked on, but didn't have time to wait in line. The line wasn't bad but I had to check out of my hotel soon, so I got on an exercise bike. Then a guy told me about the theraguns. Sold.
Could I have broken 1:48?
I'm honestly not that critical of my performance. It was a 7 minute PR. I did well. I ran hard and didn't give up. I didn't cry. I didn't hit the wall. My calf started cramping and I told it to stop. (Which IS mental toughness.) I willed it to do another mile and a half.
Would I have liked more even splits? Probably—but I went with the flow of the race and didn't have my own pacer. I didn't get left behind. I gradually moved up in the race. Should I have looked at my watch more? I'm not worried.
• If I'd know about the first mile congestion, I might have started at the back of the 1:40 wave. It might have helped?
• Volunteer. I did like the volunteer shirts.
• My hotel was too expensive. I would stay someplace else next year.
• And don't do 11 a.m. checkout right after the race. (I asked for a late checkout and they were hesitant. For what I was paying an hour late checkout should have been fine.)
• I would go to the sunset festival if just to shop.
• Try more restaurants. I was way of what I ate before the race, and didn't try new foods until after the race. So maybe more time after the race next year or research clean eating places before I go. (I did really like Freshii).
What I didn't like
• Honestly, I spent too much money on the race. The registration fee is actually a value. it's not much more than normal half marathons and you get a ton of swag. But the airfare, hotel and shopping made this race expensive!! Could I have done it cheaper? If I had gotten in at the normal time (not six months later), I could have gotten a seawheeze rate at the nice hotels. I didn't buy TOO much.
• I got in through the lottery. So I didn't get a pair of shorts. :( I didn't like the design this year, so I'm not too devastated. But Seawheeze did an online pre-sale and the tracker shorts I would have purchased weren't available in the U.S. And I didn't like any shorts in the Seawheeze shop. I didn't like that lotto entries didn't get shorts.
(So if you get in during the lotto, you don't get the perks that people who get in first chance do.)
• There was no bib. Not a deal breaker, but I would have liked a Seawheeze bib. (I heard Lululemon doesn't want anything covering up their clothes or putting holes in their clothes.)
• The rain. It was pretty dreary and rainy the entire time I was there. My luggage was even slightly damp when I got back. I got the authentic experience, and a little rain never hurt anyone. But more sunshine (and fewer puddles) would have been nice.
Overall
The Seawheeze half marathon is amazing. And if you have a chance to run it, you should. I really want to go back for next year.
