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| Post race celebration. Was I really happy? Find out below! |
The only thing I was worried about was the slight feeling of having "to go #2." I got in the line for a port-a-potty but with the limited number of potties I didn't think I was going to be able to go in time. Someone got some "inside info" about a pod of potties down a hill that didn't have a line. By the time I heard this and wandered down there, the line was just as long! Oh well, after a bit I gave up and just lined up to start. Hopefully it could wait!
THE FIRST LOOP (8:07, 8:17, 8:11, 8:06, 8:53*, 8:22)
After the national anthem and some final instructions, the race went off right at 8 o'clock. It was a little congested at first, as most races are, so there was a bit of weaving and holding back at the beginning, but as you can see, I still ran a pretty fast first mile. With my goal of beating Corvallis, I knew I had to run 8:30 miles or below. I decided I would try to run somewhere between 8:15 and 8:20s and see how far that could take me. All told the first few miles were a little fast, but nothing too tragic. I was feeling pretty good all told despite the lack of a proper taper for this race.
That 8:53 mile is not accurate. So we get to the turnaround for the first loop (which would total 10k) sometime during the 8:06 mile preceding it. On the way back to the start line somewhere in the forest paths my watch lost the GPS signal. I didn't realize it until I looked down at my watch to check my pace and saw it as "--:--." Great! Not. Anyways, I was in a rhythm so keeping up the appropriate pace wasn't too hard. I knew at some point my watch would kick back in and I could use it again, the mileage would just be off. It wasn't too long before the signal was acquired again. My watch, which was hitting the mile markers dead on, was now .25 miles behind at the next marker. Annoying, as my overall pace was now jacked, but whatever, my race was unaffected.
For those of you not familiar with Champoeg Park, the race is along paved trails through lush forest along the river. It's very pretty and great scenery for the race. The paths weren't too wide, but wide enough for two way traffic to proceed without issue for a race this size. There was one foot bridge that was under construction that had room for only one person going either way. Luckily, whenever I hit this bridge I didn't have an issue with oncoming traffic. The course itself was pretty flat, although there were definitely some hills toward the turnaround point.
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| A flavor of the trails I ran through in Champoeg Park. Screencap of this video, credit YouTube user NatureCyclist. |
THE FINAL LOOP (8:10, 8:36, 8:16, 8:40, 8:19, 8:36, 8:24)
The finish line was up a small hill for about a block. Someone was shouting instructions out, if you were running the 10k you were done, if you were running the half, cross the mat and then turn around and go back out for another loop. Honestly, it felt kind of good to not be finishing, I made the turn around with maybe 33% of the other runners around me. Let's get this done! I was still feeling good, so far it was the perfect half marathon pace; my lungs were burning a little, the pace was challenging, but my legs felt good and I was confident I could go the distance without a major breakdown.
This loop was a lot lonelier, mostly it was just me and my thoughts running through the streets and trails of the park. I was in a rhythm and just plodding along. This loop would be slightly longer than the last one, as they added some distance past the first 10k turnaround to make sure we hit our 13.11 miles. Unfortunately, this extra distance was not flat and required a big hill climb on the way back. As a result, you can see the 8:40 mile. I knew I had a lot of extra time to play with at this point so I wasn't worried and just kept plodding along. I was doing the math in my head and now that my watch was off, I knew the pace reflected on there was about 10 seconds a mile too high. Considering my watch pace was still below my goal pace, I was in great shape.
On the way back to the finish I definitely starting to feel the subtle uphills that I didn't feel on the way back on the first loop. My legs were definitely tiring now, about mile 11 they started to complain a bit, but that's normal for a half marathon. I was able to keep going without issue although I was definitely ready to be done. I had also spent the whole race with that slight urge "to go" still there, so I was looking forward to taking care of that. Luckily, it did not require my attention during the race, which was quite the relief! Anyways, I rolled up that final uphill and through the finish.
POST RACE
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| Photo credit: www.runoregonblog.com |
The post race part included a burger and a beer, both delicious. I checked the results and unfortunately I placed 4th in my division (out of 5 - ha!) so no awards ceremony for me. I was 15th out of 125 though, so that was cool. Once I was done eating I didn't really have any reason to stick around, so I drove home and took a warm bath. I then crawled into my bed and took a 3 hour nap. Oops.
Overall, a very successful race! I'm glad I signed up as it was fun to test my progress and come out feeling pretty good about how my training was going. I think I'm going to sign up for the Crawfish Crawl 5k in August - that will be my next official race. Will be good to get a baseline 5k time to work off of, although I won't taper or anything for that so it could be painful. After that, my next race will likely be the Boring Half Marathon followed by the big daddy... the Marine Corp Marathon!
Official Chip Time: 1:47:33, 8:12/mile. 15/125 overall, 13/61 male, 4/5 M30-34.
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