Society Life Magazine

Team Geslani made its long-awaited debut in the Pacific Northwest, and we couldn’t have asked for better race conditions or a more pleasant destination to visit.  First off, the missus slayed the half marathon.  She even had time to stop and take pics.

Your hungry blog-meister, on the other hand, had a few difficulties.  Okay, so maybe I wussed-it over a blister on my left foot, but spraining my right ankle after stepping in a pot hole is another matter.  So maybe I walked the last eight miles, but at least the city was beautiful, and I managed to smile through the pain.  It neither rained nor shone, and the temperature was early 1990’s-grunge-scene-cliché perfect – just a touch gray, and way too cool for Top 40.  And I finished (not last)!

A final burst of adrenaline kicked in for the final point-2 miles, so I’d like to think I finished strong.  Crossing the finish line was sublime, and I’ve never felt such a wave of conflicting emotions: elation, relief, humility, pride.  The sum of it all was like a tingling euphoria that may be the closest I’ve come to that fabled runner’s high.  And then I was hungry.  Too bad they packed up the free beer tent by the time I finished, but at least the good folks at the Team in Training tent had potato chips, PB&J, and bars of Hershey’s milk chocolate (the big ones) ready to hand out. 

I wish I had seen a lot more of Seattle’s storied neighborhoods.  We didn’t rent a car, so we were confined to Downtown and Belltown.  Still nice, but a look of the places I looked forward to trying were too far to hoof it.  We ate well nevertheless.  Highlights include:

·         Breakfast pastries, macarons, and meringue at Le Panier, Pike Place Market

·         Worth-the-walk-and-wait artisanal doughnuts at Top Pot

·         Fish and chips at Ivar’s Acres of Clams’ walk-up counter

·         A sweet bun topped with orange confit at Belle Epicurean

·         Flash-fried Beecher’s handmade cheese curds at Steelhead Diner

·         Authentic Liège waffles at Sweet Iron

·         Killer muffins from Macrina Bakery

·         Surprisingly good (free) coffee at the lobby of the W Hotel (no, I didn’t succumb to Starbucks despite its omnipresence every 10 feet)

·          Generous samples of Fage Greek Yogurt with honey at the Rock ‘n Roll Seattle’s Health and Fitness Expo

·         Carbo-loading (with a side of emotion) at the inspiration dinner the night before the big run.

I consider this trip a brief introduction to the Greater Seattle food scene, but I’m already itching to visit again.  I’ve heard a lot about great neighborhood joints in places like Ballard, Capital Hill, and Wallingford.  Didn’t get there this time, but I’m saving my appetite.