2012 RUM RUN 10K RACE REPORT

Tired near the finish line.

My first run in my hometown! It's like training super hard for the Olympics when they happen to be in your home country- there is a lot of pressure. Okay, just kidding, not really. While this race did start at the Tualatin "Lake," we actually hit three cities - Tigard, Tualatin, and Durham, with the bulk of the race actually being in Tigard.

The real important thing about this race was that it was my first non-5k race. Corvallis, Shamrock, and the Earth Day Run were all 5k. This was double that. I wasn't worried about the distance though; I had been training for it, upping my runs to 4, then 5, then 6 miles. I recently did over 6.5 miles through Fanno Creek all under 8 minutes a mile. Had I attempted this race previously I would have had a much harder (and slower) time with it.

I got the itch to do longer distances around the time of the Shamrock Run. I remember looking at this race before the Shamrock Run and being relieved there was a 5k too, I didn't want to have to do 10k. However, that soon changed.

For one, 5k was getting pretty easy and my runs were less than 25 minutes. Two, I started talking with other running friends and co-workers and the 5k was not really a respected distance. I had recently decided to become a "casually serious" runner and just doing 5Ks would not fly. Lastly, at some point I decided I was going to do the 2013 Portland Marathon, so I would need to train up. Oh, and Libbie also signed us up for some half marathon through rolling hills. Needless to say, the 5k distance was old news and it was onto bigger and better things!

This was a substantially bigger event than the Earth Day Run (same race production company) with about 1,000 participants compared to 300 (rough estimates). The pre-race routine was pretty normal except that the line for bathrooms was ridiculous. They actually pushed the start time back a little so more people could get through the line, but needless to say, I was glad I didn't have coffee this time around!

I lined up right near the front of the pack. I am NOT going to dodge people if I can avoid it, so I have been making this a routine. I'm not right at the very front, which is for the freaky fast people, but I like to be able to cross the line within a few seconds. That greatly reduces the amount of weaving one has to do. Got the usual pre-race jitters, basically just realizing that is 8am and I'm about to run my ass off. Soon enough we off, taking a quick left/right combo to get us running into Tualatin Community Park.

By the time we hit the park the field had thinned and there was plenty of room. There was a group of real athletes who shot off, but I was definitely still toward the front of the pack. Scaled up for field size, I was about in the same position I was at for the Earth Day Run. I could already feel my lungs burning... this pace, while sustainable, was going to challenge me.

Course map

Felt good all the way through Tualatin Community Park and then into Cook Park. Back up that hill from the Earth Day Run, not as much of a problem this time. Maybe I am really in better shape. Still wore me out a little, but I maintained pace without a hitch. We didn't go down Durham quite as far this time before cutting back into the park. This time, we were rewarded for that uphill portion, having a nice downhill break in the neighborhoods back to the park.

By this time I had really settled in a pocket, nobody was really passing me and I wasn't really passing anyone. I was slowly making up ground on a woman but she was a good 50 feet ahead of me. The route through Cook Park detoured from the Earth Day route, eventually having us run on a non-paved portion of trail. While it was nice to reduce the pounding on my legs, the trail was covered in barkdust and soft from recent rains, so it was more work to get through this part.

Eventually we headed out of Cook Park back on the path in which we came. It was in this portion I finally passed that woman in front of me (I had been breathing like a hippo in labor behind her for many minutes) and she said "good job" as I passed, which was nice. I told her good job back and looked ahead... not a person in sight. That would change soon.

The trail to Cook Park merged into the trail to Durham City Park and we joined up with the 5kers. Somewhat of a clusterfuck ensued. Unlike the Earth Day Run, when I merged with the 5 milers then at least they were running, at the Rum Run, people running my speed had to deal with the walkers of the 5k. Meaning the ENTIRE 5k field was in front as an obstacle course. Great. The 10kers were spread out by now, so as we passed we were somewhat of a curiousity to these people. They could hear you coming up from behind and would turn, looking at you funny. We were like a novelty item - "oh look, there is one of these crazy serious runners!"

By this time we were more than halfway done, so just imagine the last half having me do some weaving. Not too bad... eventually I caught up to the slow 5k joggers and then passed them and things were a little more spread out. We also had the whole road in the neighborhoods through Durham and then also all of Upper Boones Ferry. I definitely was not able to run a straight line though, at one point almost taking myself out with a bush as I tried to skip past someone.

The neighborhoods through Durham were TOUGH. They were all uphill and this hill was probably three times as long as the hill earlier. I was gassed at the top. I didn't quite maintain a brisk pace up this hill, but I was probably still doing a nine minute mile. Enough for the 5k racers to look at me like I was crazy for running that fast up it. Finally we hit Boones and it was nearly all downhill from there.

I tried to take advantage of this stretch as much as I could but I wasn't running quite as fast as I would have liked to, as I was really drained from the hill. I was still running a good clip, but I wasn't about to go into a full on sprint. Before I knew it we leveled off into the Tualatin streets and headed back toward the lake.

Slightly rested up from the downhill, I knew we would be doing almost a full lap around the lake before hitting the finish line. It was pretty uneventful, I was pushing it but it wasn't a full on sprint like in Corvallis. As I crossed the finish line I made a mental note of my time (a clock, hallelujah) which was around 47 1/2 minutes. I really didn't have a goal for this race except maybe maintaining my recent 5k results for an entire 10k (which I was able to do).

Oh, one more thing of note. That girl who I passed earlier was sprinting at the end and almost caught up to me. In the picture at the top of the post you can see her white shirt some distance behind me, but by the time we crossed the finish line (right), I had only beaten her by one second (finish line was that pad between the two cones). I picked it up at tad bit at the end because I could hear her closing in. Nice try! I like my face in this picture... oh running. You can also see I switched out of my running gait pretty damn quick!

No dry heaving after this one. I grabbed a water then circled around to cheer on Libbie. Her arrival took a bit longer than I was used to (about twice as long... weird, huh) but before long she charged across the finish line. She just missed her goal of less than an hour at 1:00:18 overall.

After the race we picked up some free food and drinks (Jamba Juice!) and then headed toward the beer garden. Everybody got a free beer and a free mojito. We stood in the beer line first and got one. Mine was delicious! We then stood in the LONG mojito line... it took probably half an hour before we got our mojito. It wasn't very strong at all and somewhat of a disappointment. We then got free shoyu chicken at the adjoining Hawaiian cafe. That was really yummy.

Once we were done eating we headed home. Upon checking the official results we saw I wasn't even close to placing this time, so there was really no point in hanging around after we got all our free stuff.

Overall, this was a very successful race for me. Can't complain at all - did really well on my first non 5k!

Official chip time: 47:31, 7:29/mi pace, 6/27 M2529, 38/548 overall.

Splits

Mile 1: 7:05

Mile 2: 7:29 (hill 1)

Mile 3: 7:22

Mile 4: 7:10

Mile 5: 7:29 (hill 2)

Mile 6: 7:23 (end of hill 2)

Finish: 3:31 (extrapolated 7:07 mile pace)

Course was a little longer than 10k. Splits above are from Endomondo on my phone but should be pretty accurate.

2012 EARTH DAY RUN 5K RACE REPORT

And we're off!

Finally, a race I didn't have to get up at the butt crack of dawn for! Okay, I still had to get up early for a weekend (about normal work time) but still, it was nice to have one so close to home. This race, the Earth Day Run, would be taking place at Cook Park, just down the road from my apartment.

For some reason, which I don't remember at this point, I was set on having a donut for breakfast before the race. So I left the house fifteen minutes earlier than I needed to (I know, shocking) and headed down the hill to Safeway. To get to the donuts I had to walk by the in store Starbucks, and hey, that sounded good. So five minutes later I had a glazed old fashioned and a Venti Skinny Vanilla Latte. A delicious way to start the day!

Anyways, I drove up the hill, picked up Libbie, then headed toward Cook Park. We initially parked behind the football stadium fearing the park lot was full, but then received word from Jeramy (Libbie's ex-brother in law and employee of the race organizer) that the lower lot had room. So we parked a lot closer.

We went to get our t-shirts and bibs only to find out they ran out of safety pins (which are ironically named considering the amount of times I pricked myself with them). Anyways, they were scrambling for more but never found any. Luckily I was able to spot one strewn on a nearby table and grabbed it. So my bib was attached with one safety pin in the center. Actually worked out, but come on guys!

If you didn't see it coming already, I really had to pee. I had peed once already but as the race was gearing up to start I had to pee again. I was able to find a bathroom near the start line that wasn't crowded and relieved myself again. Maybe that coffee wasn't a good idea.

Upon exiting the bathroom I couldn't find Libbie. I started wandering toward the front of pack to the start line and apparently Libbie had the same idea because we found each other once again. Shortly after that the race started. Lib shot off like a gun along with most of the people at the front of the pack. I matched their speed because I wanted to run a hard race, I had been running at lot at this distance and really wanted to push myself. My goal was to beat my Shamrock time.

Eventually I passed Libbie and settled into near the front of the pack. There were a few people out way ahead of course, but I was with all the fast non-athletic freaks. I should mention that this event had two races, a five mile race and the 5k, so a lot of the better runners might have elected the 5 miler. So while it felt good to be near the front, the field was nothing to write home about.

After 3/4 of a mile in the flat park, the course switched to city streets and had you climbing a small hill. Nothing like the hill at Shamrock, but still, sizable. I passed a few people on this as I was really charging up it. I was going to leave everything out there.

At the top of the hill we took a left and ran along Durham on the sidewalk past Tigard High. At this point our race mixed in with the five mile race, which had started earlier. It seemed like most the 5 mile runners at this point were about 10:00 mile pacers, so I was needing to pass them and the sidewalk wasn't super wide.  Luckily, there were TWO sidewalks for a while (dunno why) so I was able to take the SLIGHTLY longer sidewalk route and bust past them. I then settled into a pretty empty pocket, although I passed a  few more people while on Durham.

After about a mile on Durham we turned left into the neighborhoods. After that first hill everything was pretty flat and this was no different. At this point I was TIRED, I was running a really fast clip for me, a pace I never ran at home, and I was starting to feel it. I was hoping the neighborhood would give me back some elevation from that hill, but no dice.

All that elevation was given back in the course of about 50 feet. There was a STEEP downhill after leaving the neighborhood streets to go back into the park. It had been rainy and was mossy, wet, and slippery. I shuffled down it slowly. If it was dry and non slippery I probably would have walked faster down it. One guy bolted past me and ALMOST bit it. Barely hung on. Another guy blasted past me and didn't almost face plant like the other. I think most took it safe like me.

Once at the bottom I resumed my quick pace, if anything I was running faster. I knew the end was soon (we were back in the park!) so I was really pushing it. I guess I misjudged how much I had left because that fucking finish line would NOT come. There were TINY hills in the park that seemed murderous. I was running on fumes at this point but keeping that same fast pace. Here finish line finish line finish line. Where are you?

I will say I passed those two guys who blew past me on the downhill. So HA to them.

Anyways, finally we rounded a bend and the finish line was in sight. I crossed it with all I had. The race lacked a clock, so I had NO idea what my time was. After finishing I put my hands behind my head and just wandered around, eventually planning to weave back to near the finish line to cheer on Libbie. I was exhausted. I had left everything out there. I dry heaved a couple of times. Within a minute or two I was okay and went to watch Libbie finish.

Afterwards we went to the beer garden and enjoyed a beer. We also had a garden burger. They were good. We were hanging around because after looking at the results it turned out I had finished 13th overall and 2nd in my age division.

The awards finally came and I was announced in FIRST place for males 25-29. I guess the overall winner was from my division, so he wasn't considered in the age awards. So, alright! I got a "gold" medal out of the deal and adoration from the crowd (yeah right). Anyway, that was cool. Again, shitty field, but still, felt good!

I didn't quite remember my Shamrock time so I was a little disappointed when I saw that I was a few seconds slower. However, there are factors to take into consideration:

• This course was over .10 miles longer than a 5k
• The up on the hill was never rewarded, in fact, I lost time in the "down" part
• I had to weave through the five milers on the upper sidewalk after doing no weaving at Shamrock

I don't get fixated on raw numbers so I wasn't too disappointed. I ran harder and faster than I did at Shamrock. Just because the time was a few seconds slower doesn't discount that. I rocked this race!

Official chip time:  23:41, 7:37 pace (based on 5k mileage, I mapped the actual route with my time and it was 7:18), 2/13 M2529 (I'm not going to say I was really first), and 13/279 overall.

 My "where is the fucking clock?" finish line face.

2012 SHAMROCK RUN 5K RACE REPORT

 Laurel, Amanda, and me at the finish line.

Again, this report is being written a few months after the actual race, so the details might not be as sharp had I written it shortly after the race.

Looking back on my Endomondo training log, I didn't really train super hard for this race. I was running a 5k twice a week... that was about it. I was running good times, I had recently brought my average 5k time down from the low 30s to the low 25s (it was this strange thing where I would shave 30 seconds off, match that time the next time out, then shave 30 more seconds off, match, shave 30, etc.). By this time I had kind of plateaued from that improvement and I was pretty much okay with that, I had the ability to run sub 7:30 miles and that was pretty good.

This was also my first race since my first ever race, the Corvallis Fall Festival Run. So I knew I would smash that time. I believe my goal going into the race was sub 25, but I didn't think about that too much. Unlike some, I don't focus too much on those things; yes I want to PR, but as long as I run hard and feel like I did my best, then I am fine with it. The results will come.

Another early morning, albeit not as early as Corvallis. Libbie and I drove to Lloyd Center, who roped off their parking, so we parked a few blocks away. A stream of bright green was headed toward the MAX stop. Obviously a lot of other people had our same plan. The race had over 30,000 participants, so trying to park downtown would have been a challenge. I remember the MAX being packed and people chattering about the race.

We got to the event with plenty of time to go. It was COLD, upper 30s I believe, and threatening rain. Libbie and I went potty and then just kind of bounced around, trying to stay warm. Eventually we lined up as the 5k was about to get underway (there are three races, the 5k, an 8k, and a 15k). I also vaguely remember something about start times being pushed back due to an Amtrak train. In fact, I think I specifically remember us being lined up to go and them announcing to a collective groan it would be another 5 minutes because the 8kers hadn't cleared the turnaround point or something.

This was the first race I ever did that had you line up by mile time. Good thing too, as there was a shit ton of people. I lined up with the 7-8 minute group, which was far more sparse than the 8-9 minute group. In fact, I was toward the front of the entire field, in the first 500 or so of the maybe 10k in the race. This race does draw a lot of "casual" runners, so I am glad I didn't have to weave in and out of them. I talked with a guy and we bonded over leaving our running counterparts behind in the slower mile time corrals and also how fucking cold it was.

Finally, we were off! My 'group' shot out at about the speed I wanted and we weren't too densely packed so I was in a grove right away. In fact, within a few hundred yards we had plenty of room and seemed almost spread out (we also had the whole road and there were 9,000 behind us). I fell into a nice pace that was pushing me physically but wasn't going to burn me out.

It was fun running downtown. Before I knew it we had the switchback and started back toward the finish line. The only obstacle left was a sizeable hill along Broadway that was very ominous on the MapMyRun route. I hadn't really done any hill training, the 5k route I ran at home had a gradual uphill during the final mile that you could definitely feel, so I was hoping that prepared me well.

Finally it was hill time and it was definitely steeper than the hill at home, but I ran up it with surprising ease. I was passing a decent amount of folk at this point, so either I was more trained for hills than I realized (unlikely), or I hadn't burnt myself out in the first 2.5 miles and actually kept a sustainable pace that didn't cause me to die at this point (likely). Anyways, by the top I wanted it to be over as I was definitely gasping for air, but I managed to keep a good clip up the hill.

Immediately you then start downhill. I seemed to remember that you went downhill and then turned to the left and the finish line was maybe three or four blocks from there. I was having some pain in my left knee recently that was super aggravated by downhill running, so my plan was to keep it in control down the hill (still fast, but not unleashing myself) and then sprint those final few blocks to make up for not gunning it down the hill.

So down the hill I went, no pain at all, but there were certainly people passing me who were gunning it. I was probably doing 7:30/mile here. I mentally had to check myself, it was a little discouraging seeing all these people fly past me, but I knew I had to run my own race.

Quickly the bottom of the hill came and around the corner I went. Now to bust past those people in the last little stretch... here we go! Or not. The finish line was half a block around the corner. Oops. Oh well. I also forgot to look at the clock (I was a little disoriented at this point) so I had no idea how fast I ran it. I knew I had a good time, definitely sub 25, so I didn't worry about it too much.

I ran into Laurel at the finish line, which was a total surprise. We were all wearing the green official race tee (along with 75% of people) so we thought we had no chance of actually recognizing each other other than arranging a meet up via cell phone. So that was cool. We took our picture with the finish line in the background and chatted about our respective races.

We didn't have the same luck finding Libbie, the stream of people going through the finish line was considerable, so we ended up going to find her based on the designated meeting point we had set up pre-race. Unfortunately the start and finish line were like eight blocks apart so it was quite the hoof. Eventually we found each other and then wandered toward the beer garden. There I had myself a beer and a DELICIOUS cup of Salmon Chowder. My God it was so good. Really rich, but son of a bitch. I had Libbie's cup too because of the dairy.

Eventually we split from Laurel and Co. because they wanted to go out for a normal breakfast while Libbie and I had our hearts set on Violetta burgers as a reward. So we maxed up there and indulged. Yum! Surprisingly I think we were the only Shamrock people there and were one of the first customers (they opened at 11). After that, we MAXed back to Lloyd and the car and drove back to Tigard.

Overall I was happy with the race. When I finished I wasn't really tired at all because I was pacing myself down the hill. So there was no climatic finish where I stumbled across the line gasping for air. So that did leave me feeling like I could have pressed it harder, but in reality I really couldn't have. I ran a perfect clip to the hill, made it up the hill well, and then ran down the hill at just the right speed as to not screw my knee up. So really, what else could I have done? The positioning of these events didn't leave me exhausted at the finish line, but it's easy to see why.

Final results: 23:39, 7:37 pace, 42/482 M2529, 275/9290 overall

A not so great picture of me at the finish line.

2011 CORVALLIS FALL FESTIVAL 5K RACE REPORT

I'm trying to think back some eight months later on this race, so forgive me if the details are fuzzy and I don't remember things quite right.

I don't even remember how we got signed up for this, I think Libbie wanted to do a 5k and thought Corvallis would be fun since I went to school down there. Anyways, I never really thought I would do an actual race. I had run on my own, sure, but races were only for serious people (later found out that wasn't true, especially a 5k).

My training for this run included running to Hall and back from my apartment a couple of times (I believe that is something like 2.5 miles). I had been working out on the elliptical regularly for almost a year (due to my hatred of running) so my cardio was decent, but I hadn't really built up my "running muscles." I was fairly confident I could run the whole thing, it would suck, but I could run. I set a goal of under 30 minutes to complete the 5k.

I had heard of this run before when I was in school and part of Circle K. It is staged by the Kiwanis International, parent organization of Circle K, and I had always had the chance to volunteer. The only problem was the race started at 8am and back in school I was NOT going to get up at 8am even if I had a class then, let alone to volunteer.

Since we had to drive down to Corvallis I believe I woke up that Sunday morning at 5:45am or some other god awful hour. It was all a blur. I remember thinking we were crazy for doing this, but oh well. I had just been in Corvallis the day before for a football game (took my Little Brother, Brandon, from BBBS... they lost of course).

We parked (McNary lot) and then walked to the starting area. We picked up our bibs and shirts and I saw Harold, the Kiwanis member who would come hang out with Circle K. He was busy though and I didn't want to bother him (it was also 18 months since I last saw him and he was nearly blind, so I didn't want him to not recognize me and then have it be awkward).

So we started to walk back to the car to put our shirts away (they should always have an AFTER the race shirt pick up!) and we heard some announcement about starting in a few minutes. Turns out it was for the 10k, but we didn't realize, so we found a nice big bush in a nearby yard and tucked our shirts away. Quite genius actually.

Eventually we realized it was for the 10k, but our shirts were safe so we just hung out near the starting line. Stretched a little, scoped out the competition. Shortly after we lined up and it was our turn to go.

The gun started for my first ever race and I was off. It was crowded at the start (what race isn't?) so I took to weaving in and out and going on the sidewalk and whatnot. By the time we hit campus it had thinned and we were running on the road. I saw Jason, a fellow Circle Ker, and he recognized me and cheered me on. I had lost Libbie at the start so I was all alone.

I kept up a decent pace but when training I certainly wasn't running this fast. I was in "race" mode now and my body wasn't too happy. I was enjoying running through the OSU campus but at the same time, running was enough of a challenge I didn't really take it all in.

Most of the race is a blur, I remember just wanting it to be over but trying to keep my pace up. There was a mom and her son, who was about nine, pacing me. I couldn't let this middle aged mom and her little tiny son beat me, right? If they weren't there as motivation I probably would have dropped off a little.

Finally the finish line was in sight! I had skipped the water station a half mile back and passed mom/son but I could hear them on my tail. I shifted into a full on sprint for the last 300 yards or so, easily beating them and passing a few others along the way. Through the finish line I went, 28:30 something. I had beat my goal! I had finished a race!

Well, that was fun. I got my chip cut off my shoe, grabbed a water, then went to watch for Libbie. She surprised me by showing up at like 33 minutes or something, I believe her goal was under 40. I cheered her on and then we went to snack on some free bread and honey.

That's about it. We headed back shortly after, feeling very accomplished and proud. It seems so quint now looking back, but at the time it certainly was a huge achievement. It was the start of our running "careers" and will always be special because of that.

Official chip time: 28:01, 9:07/mile. 12/17 M2029, 122/370 overall.
 

5k Course Map

My official 2008 Presidential Prediction. So far I am 0/1 so here's hoping that turns around tonight! :)

Final Electoral Votes:
Obama: 353
McCain: 185

Final Popular Vote:
Obama: 53%
McCain: 46%

Big night tonight! Enjoy it safely.

UPDATE: Added map since it was hosted on now defunct OSU student website. In retrospect, I only missed Indiana and the NE-02 electoral vote. I did predict the popular vote exactly (if you rounded) so that was pretty on point!

Heyyyy everyone, how's life? I really wish I still posted to my blog. It was fun to go back and see what was happening in my life. Maybe I'll pick it up again some day, we'll see.