I was quite exhausted, but finished it anyway.

http://www.capitalcitymarathon.org/

I realized it’s not really optimal or enjoyable to run marathons in a week apart, so I don’t think I will do it again at least for now. I know there are people who run a full marathon 50 times a year, but it’s not for me.

The finish time was the worst in the series of runs this time, and it was 4:23:48. My stopwatch and the official time was exactly the same. It took me only ten seconds to reach the start line after the start time, so there is not much difference between net and gross times.  I guess that’s something I really like about a small event.  At big ones such as Tokyo marathon it takes forever to get to the starting point.

The hotel I stayed the night before the marathon event was very nice since it’s so close to the starting point. It’s only a few hundred yards away. So, not only I didn’t have to wake up too early in the morning, but also I was able to leave my car in the hotel parking and to come back for a shower after the finish.  Unlike yesterday I couldn’t take a shower until I came home last week.

The course had some hills, but I’d say it’s much easier than the one I ran last week in Tacoma. Maybe it was just a psychological thing as I had been told Tacoma marathon was a tough one, and Olympia marathon was a “nice and easy” one. I think it took longer for me to finish this time because I was just too tired to run without enough intervals.

Since I am not familiar with Olympia city at all, I had no idea where I was running during the race, but the course guide was very clear and no point of making any mistakes.  The last mile before the finish line went the capital buildings and I realized it’s really the capital city of Washington state. Otherwise, the rest of the city seemed quite rural and relaxed.  It was also the easy downhill, and I was able to enjoy the last mile running.  I got sick a few miles prior to that, and I even had to walk instead of running. Otherwise, I had no pain in my shinsplints or other parts of my body.

I was very tired when I finished it, and it was hard to even walk for a little while. The couple of slices of watermelon that I had there was sweet and very tasty. They had some food such as pizza, but there was no way I could eat pizza as my stomach wasn’t ready for a heavy meal.  After a short rest I went back to the hotel since I really wanted to take a shower.  The hotel had a Japanese restaurant called “KOIBITO” meaning “sweetheart” or “loved one” and I had dinner there on Saturday. I thought of stopping by for lunch again, but I decided to go home.

I will probably take it easy on running for a little while, and I may go for bicycle riding instead. I have my helmet in Tokyo, so I’d  have to get another one, and buying a helmet is probably what I am going to do after work today.