2014 PINTS TO PASTA 10K RACE REPORT

The course is a point to point.

For the second straight day I woke up at 6:30am for something running related. The day before it was for my terrible twenty mile brunch run with PMC, today it was for Pints to Pasta, a 10k race I did last year as well. I was originally supposed to do this race with Laurel but her foot is in a boot (get well soon!) so I went solo on this one. I did know people going to this race but I had to take off right after I finished so I didn't even try to find them.

This race was taken over by the Better Series this year, which has managed to mangle a number of former Run with Paula events. They didn't fuck this one up too bad. A little less professional "presentation" but overall it was pretty similar to last year. I got to the Old Spaghetti Factory around 7:00am, walked a long ways to the shuttle bus, then shuttled to the start. Not as great of food selection at the start this year, but there was still food. I waited in line and used the bathroom just in case.

Eventually the race started. Like last year, I didn't try to move my way to the front, I was happy to shuffle across the start line with people I knew would probably run it slower than me. Since I had the twenty mile death march the day before I wasn't sure how my legs were going to respond and I didn't want to put any pressure on myself. I was a little stiff at first but eventually my legs warmed up and felt decent. I had to weave a lot in the first mile or so but I had that coming... plus, it was fun to pass people and motivated me while my legs didn't feel the greatest.

The first two miles are mostly downhill and if I were actually racing this 10k they both would have been below 7:00/mile. Instead, they came in at 7:26 and 7:20. Again, I wasn't really racing this event... I was running it hard, but I wasn't going to injure myself. Unlike last year, there were no pacers with balloons, so I didn't have those to chase down and motivate me. I mostly just focused on running a hard, sustained effort. My third mile came in at 7:21 so I was running a very steady pace. I was good with a 7:20 something average.

Finish line!

After crossing Broadway Bridge you are about halfway done. The rest of the race is through downtown and the south waterfront. My fourth mile came in at 6:59... I don't know why I sped up that much, but I think the downhill from the bridge had something to do with it. I also think my legs were finally loosening up. Took awhile given that I had ran twenty miles the day before, but by this point I was feeling pretty decent and knew I only had a little ways to go.

I remember when my watch beeped at four miles telling myself I only had two more miles and that was only like fifteen minutes. Basically, I had sped up a little and was working hard, but it would be over soon. Nothing much to note those last two miles, the course was altered a little bit but only for a quarter mile or so. Didn't change the complexion of the race at all and I actually liked the change because it kept us on the roads instead of a smaller path shared with non-racers.

The final two miles came in at 7:15 and 7:12, so a little faster than the first few miles and these were flat as opposed to downhill. If I had the downhill terrain of the first half of the race I'm certain they would have been in the 6:50s. Anyways, I definitely picked up the effort towards the end and ran it harder. I still wasn't going nearly 100% race speed, but I was giving it a solid effort.

Double fist like a boss.

The finish line didn't seem to take forever to come like it did last year. I rolled up kind of in my own little pocket without anyone around me, so my name got called. My official time was 44:45, which would have been a record for me before May of this year. Hell, last year on Thanksgiving I raced a 10k and got 45:00. Now, that course was much more challenging, but still, it was nice to not totally kill myself and still get a sub 45 and average 7:12/mile.

Afterwards I hurried to the beer garden and got my two free beers. They were actual 16oz pints, so that was awesome. I think they were 12oz last year. I chugged one and then went to get my free pasta, salad and bread. I ate that and drank the other beer. It was kind of gross how fast I was scarfing it but I needed to get out of there. Brandon and I were doing the flag ceremony at the Timbers game and needed to be at the stadium by noon.

So after gorging on food and beer, I made a quick pit stop at the bathroom and then headed back to my car. All told a very successful race and a good experience again. I look forward to doing it again next year and hopefully won't have a conflict that leaves me fleeing after the race.

Official Chip Time: 44:45, 7:12/mile. 145/1582 overall, 109/574 male, 16/51 M25-29.