We headed to Portland Saturday afternoon for a race Tammy and I signed up for almost a year ago. The Portland Rock and Roll Half marathon. We didn’t realize how huge the race would be. We went into it thinking maybe 5000 runners? Think again. We found out at the expo that there would be over 14,000 runners racing. Holy cow. This made me nervous but on the plus side, lots of runners for me equals more adrenaline which helps me perform better as a runner.
We drove the course the day before and to our dismay it was lots of climbs. There was a total elevation of close to 400 feet over several miles. But what could we do? We knew we would have to just go for it.
The day before the race we went out to Red Robin with our friend Alexis. She helped calm our nerves and we all had a blast.
The morning of the race we woke up at 5:40am to drive to the max. The race was at the water front of downtown Portland. And it was a zoo with all the runners and spectators.
The race itself started out great. I started at an 8:30 pace and tried to hold that for the first 3 to 4 miles. After that the hills came. A long one first, then several steep short ones. What goes up must come down though, and so I slowed a bit going up and sped up going down to compensate. I sweated like no other and poured water on myself at nearly every water stop. One thing I try to avoid when racing is getting so out of breath that I start to hyperventilate. I have become good at knowing my limits, but at mile 5 after a steep climb I started to feel like I wouldn’t recover. After slowing for a bit and breathing deep I was able to regain control.
At mile 11 things got all together better. The course started to go mainly downhill. This was a huge relief to my tired sore body. I gave it my all and ran as fast as I could without killing myself for the last two miles. I came in at 1:55:48. A slight PR from my Eugene race 1 year ago. Unlike Eugene, this race was much more grueling. However, It was such a great experience running with so many people who had the same goals as I had...finishing. I saw a lot of the same people along the way because we all ran about the same pace that day. It was a warm fuzzy feeling knowing we were all in this together, for our own individual reasons.
After the race Tammy and I watched and cheered on other runners coming in. And later that day we continued to see people. It occurred to me how proud I was of all the people who ran that day. Fast, slow, and slowest. They were out there accomplishing something great. It was a great feeling.
I’m proud of Tammy for giving it her all as usual. She continues to amaze me with her goals, and determination. Running with her has made us even greater friends, if that’s even possible.
After the race we located a 24 hour fitness and soaked in the hot tub and took a shower. It was pure bliss.
I was happy to come home to my family. Chris is such a support to me in my desire to run. Running makes me happy. Running makes me smile.
