Happy Saturday!

Last night Amy and I headed to one of Tom Douglas’ new restaurants, Cuoco, for a pre-race Italian dinner. As soon as we walked in and saw homemade pasta being freshly made we knew this meal would be amazing.

We started with a glass of prosecco to celebrate a wonderful girls weekend and Amy’s recent graduation from University of Indiana’s MBA program !

Their Dahlia workshop “house loaf” complete with olives, olive oil and rosemary lardo was a delicious way to start our meal.

Deciding on a pasta choice wasn’t the easiest feat though I was a bit disappointed to see that many of them were very heavy which isn’t always the best for pre-race dinner. But, thanks to their evening special, we were able to settle on two pastas which we shared-  wheat spaghetti with clams, garlic, bread crumbs  and along with a truffle pasta complete with an egg mixed into the pasta and mushrooms.

Both were divine but we couldn’t finish either portion.

This morning we woke up to overcast skies and a few drizzles, typical Seattle weather. Knowing that we’d warm up on the course, we both wore crop pants and short sleeve technical t-shirts for the race which was held at Marymoor Park out near Redmond, Washington. The race featured 8 mile, 4 mile and 1 mile races all within an hour of each other, between 8:30 and 9:30 this morning.

The lush park was the perfect setting for a small race as it had plenty a restroom area complete with 6 bathrooms, a small starting area, easy parking, and fed right into Seattle’s Burke Gilman Trail which served as our course. This out and back course was perfect for a PR- primarily flat, scenic, paved, and featured 3 water stations at mile 2, 4, and 6. The weather was around 60 degrees and featured a runners favorite thing; light rain drizzle which kept us cool.

They also had the perfect finisher’s fuel at the end- banana and Muscle Milk Light!

Once we finished I had a chance to review our splits on my Garmin which we’re pretty epic considering our fast start due to excitement and Amy’s speed.

8 miles- 1:14:37

• Mile 1      8:46
• Mile 2      9:12
• Mile 3      9:24
• Mile 4      9:48 (dying!)
• Mile 5      9:55
• Mile 6      9:57
• Mile 7      9:49
• Mile 8      9:20

Overall this was a great race that I’d do again in a heartbeat and recommend to anyone in the Seattle area! Even better it is a race with a cause, cardiac charities.