2015 ROCK N' ROLL PORTLAND HALF MARATHON RACE PREVIEW

Never thought I would sign up for a "Rock N' Roll" series event, but they held a special discount last June for National Running Day. Only $60 instead of the normal $90 or whatever it is. Now, $60 is still a lot for a half marathon, but for a "full-featured" one such as this it's not too bad. Plus, this race is hugely popular and attracts 12,000+ runners. Other than the Shamrock Run, it is the largest non-relay event in the State of Oregon, even beating out the Portland Marathon. So I was in!

Haven't thought a ton about this race and I really don't want to. Normally I'll neurotically check the course on Google Street View, plan my pace on certain parts, etc. I'm just going to wing this one. The hubbub of the whole spectacle should keep me interested and I'm in decent enough half shape I don't really have to worry. Indy went pretty well and I feel like I can do about the same in Portland.

SPOILER ALERT: I signed up the next day.

I only looked up the elevation just now in preparation for this preview. There is one major hill in the race, it occurs at mile 3.5 as competitors climb from Interstate to Mississippi. About a gain of 150 feet in half a mile. Nothing to sneeze at. I'll want to take it easier up that so the tail end of my race isn't torture. Now, that isn't the only hill, there are plenty more, but that is the only "sizable" one. This is Portland, so there are rolling hills, bridges to climb, etc. Overall the course isn't too bad though and you could get a relatively fast time on it.

You more or less maintain the elevation gained in that hill until mile 9.5, where you fly downward on Hawthorne. You give it all back in about a mile, but the downhill is more gradual than the uphill, which is just the way I prefer it. Apparently last year they ran a similar course except in the other direction, and this now downhill was quite the bear to climb up. After that mile long downhill it flattens out, you go up and over the Hawthorne Bridge, and then finish downtown on Naito. Some ups and downs there but nothing major.

That's about as much effort as I'm going to put into figuring out the course. It should be fun to run east of the river... haven't really done that yet during a race. The whole spectacle of the event should be fun too and keep me motivated. The course will be full of people, just like the Indy Mini or Shamrock, to keep those judging eyes on me and keep me running. I'll know some people at the race so it will be fun to meet up with them after and talk about the race. Too bad the beer garden is Michelob Ultra... AGAIN. That fucking beer.

I'm in corral A with all the fast people. I don't know how many people are per corral, but hopefully everyone in there is mostly my speed. They don't have a wave of elites or celebrities, so I'm hoping that'll cut down on the amount of weaving and passing I'll have to do compared to Indy. If everyone is seeded right, it shouldn't be too bad and similar to Shamrock... that usually shakes out in a mile or two. One of my main goals is to have better pacing... no more 7:20s at the beginning like in Indianapolis and hopefully I can finish a little stronger.

RACE GOALS:

"A" Goal: 1:40:59, 7:42/mile or faster. Now, that's on a perfectly ran course, so realistically I'll have to run a 7:40 average or so. Not sure how possible this is, but I feel like if the stars align and I feel good I could hit it. I'd give it a 20% chance.

"B" Goal:  1:42:25, 7:47/mile or faster. Really my main goal. This would beat the Indy Mini time from two weeks ago and also beat my first half marathon ever.

"C" Goal: 1:44:59, 8:00/mile or faster. Have to admit, anything over 1:45 and I'd feel like a failure. I can be happy with anything below this but if I get over 1:45 that either means I had an historically bad race or I didn't try hard enough.