Race Recap: Run Like Hell 2014 Half Marathon

Terrapin Events Run Like Hell!  was held on October 26, 2014.

I have a soft spot in my heart for Run Like Hell! since it was my first race ever.  In 2011, I signed up for the 5K with a zombie theme.  And despite the debacle with last year's experience with the train and delay, I wanted to give the race another go.  After all, the course was rerouted just to avoid that pesky Amtrak.  Trimet and general traffic however, could still cause possible delays, but I didn't have any issues with that.

This year's theme was "Under The Sea".  My friend Dayna wore a lifeguard uniform with a shark attacking her arm.  

I did not finish the race in time to participate in the costume contest, but I did run into a couple of runners who were the actual Titanic boat!  Catching up to them before they left the party was the complete highlight of the event and made up for my lack of competing in the costume contest...  I was dressed as a ghost of a Titanic passenger.  

I ran the race hollering now and then "Where are the life boats?  There are supposed to be life boats?!"  And at the aid stations I would request champagne because "I'm in first class."  Unfortunately I think my joke got lost in translation and I came across as an asshole instead.   I hope not.  When I did finally cross the finish line, my friend Dayna hollered "The life boats are here at last!"  (or something like that.  I was delirious.)  

Course:
This year, the half marathon went down Terwilliger instead of climbing up it and then looping back down it.  

Most of the climbing was done at the beginning and then a nice run down.  Terwilleger is slanted and causes my IT band to scream and my hips to ache.  This time around had me really contemplating my strength training routine.  

The Amtrak train rumbled by us and came to a stop on the track, but our paths did not cross.  Runners did have a Trimet MAX track to cross, but when I arrived, the MAX was moving on.  I had no issues with being stopped by traffic whatsoever.

At around mile 6 1/2 the half marathon joined with the crowds in the 5K and 10K run.  That was a lot of fun to see so many costumes, the fresh energy for just starting their race and the renewed spirit I had to see the crowds half way through my race.  Around mile 7 1/2 I came upon the "musical mile" that is 12 blocks of 12 unique Portland bands.  I was a little surprised by how few were playing when I ran by.  One banjo player was playing on her phone.  Oh well.  There were some really reat bands out there as well and loved the musicians who were playing.  Thank you!  

Race Theme:  "Under The Sea".  There were quite a few mermaids, but a lot more jelly fish and "kraken" creatures than mermaids.  Some of my favorites were the vintage divers with the huge helmets and the sea creatures they had running with them.  I saw someone wearing a fishing net with all sorts of shells and seaweed caught in her net and someone dressed as a crab and scuttled most of his 5K.  I think he deserves a medal for that.

Course Support:  There were five aid stations offering water or an electrolyte drink.  I didn't see any gels or goo or the like, but I always bring my own anyway.   There were plenty of porta potties and lots of friendly volunteers.

Race Beneficiary:  Molly's Fund

Race Perks:  The half marathoners recieved a finisher's medal that was also a bottle opener.  The design features a Kraken (or is it just a giant octopus?) descending on a cemetary.  The medals were also for sale before and at the event ("for the bottle opener aspect") to anyone for $12.  Terrapin reported on their facebook page that there was a miscommunication and a box of medals did not make it to the finish line... creating a shortage of medals for finishers.  If this is the case for you, please send them an email.  

I also received a rusty orange tech shirt with the same logo as the medal on it.  I am a fan of Halloween and love it.  

After the race, runners received hot (vegetarian) chili (THANK YOU!) and 2 free beers or soda if you prefer.  Live music was entertaining at the finish party and lots of vendors with free samples of various products.

You'll see me at this event again, but I hate to get there and the party is winding down.  I missed the costume contest and that was a bummer for me.  So, unless my strength training vastly improves for my hips to handle the crazy slant in the roads and my speed improves for a faster finish time, I think I'll stick to the 5K.  It was my first 5K ever, anyway.  

2011 "Umbrella Corporation" zombie

Do you wear costumes at any theme races?  What distances?  

Race Review: The Oregon Marathon and Half (in the heart of Oktoberfest!)

Race recap from the Oregon Marathon and Half on September 13, 2014.

I know that not every event can be a fantastic experience... therefore at some point or another there will be an event that just isn't so great that makes the other ones shine.  At no fault (or very little fault) of Uberthons, this even just wasn't the shiny, awesome, amazing one for me.  Why?  I was so undertrained.  

 I hadn't had much of a long run since July...  I knew this was setting myself up for a miserable time, so I went into it with no expectations for a PR, my only pace expectation to stay ahead of "the sweeper".  I went into this event to have fun, wear a silly costume for 13.1 miles and enjoy the company of my fantastic sole sisters who were willing to hang back with me (and my misery happy-go-lucky pace).

The fantastic women who ran with me.  Andie is in a wheelchair that requires someone to push it, so we all took turns to help her cross her first half marathon finish line.

Despite some of the setbacks I had placed on myself, the race was a great event with very few issues.  The course was beautiful and started in the cool of the day.  The day did heat up rather quickly though, but this (of course) is not to the fault of the race directors and the weather was pretty accurately predicted by our local meteorologists.  

 One request I have seen is that marathoners would like to start even earlier to avoid the heat. I felt bad for some of the finishers coming into the home stretch and were clearly exhausted by the heat.  Uberthons had plenty of aid stations fully stocked and lots of porta potties on the course, and there were opportunities along the course that a friend/family member could meet their runner to provide additional support and emotional encouragement for their runner.   (You would need to drive or bike to that location, as there was not spectator shuttles running on the course, but it was spectator friendly.)  Did I mention that one of the aid stations offered fresh watermelon and salty pretzels?  THANK YOU!!  What a great treat while trying to make our way to the finish.  It was ice cold and delicious.  

I also heard some complaints about the gravel sections of the race course... however, this was not a surprise that there would be gravel.  The information was provided on The Oregon Marathon webpage.  I can not at this time imagine what it is like to run 26.2 miles, nor the agony that may ensure for having some gravel stretches... but I think it is fair to point out that it is in the course description and runners were given the opportunity to either train for it or skip this event and avoid the gravel all together.  The half marathon course had no gravel.

There were some issues for me on the half marathon course towards the end.  It seemed that after the 11th mile, the volunteers were also exhausted by the heat and not giving as clear of directions as I would have liked to have for where to turn or where to actually run.  Which side of the road was I supposed to be on?  A friend ran back to mile 10.5 (after finishing her half marathon!) to help us take turns pushing Andie's wheelchair toward the finish.  Without her knowing where to go, I would not have been so confident about where we were going.  As it was, we had our choice to share the street with traffic or share the sidewalk with other Oktoberfest patrons walking at their own pace and unaware of people hoping to run by unobstructed as fast as they can.  That was a little frustrating.  We ran in the street for awhile, but it seemed that there were no "runner on road" signs and we better get back on the sidewalk.  

I never felt unsafe, I just wasn't sure which spot I was supposed to be on (or sometimes which side of the road to be on).  When we passed the 6 mile mark, we ran into one of the race directors (Darwin) helping runners to safely cross the street.  It was so encouraging to see him.  He is always full of good humor.  I heard he was "all over" the full marathon course as well and it helped encourage my friend to see him popping up here and there out there to cheer people on.

When we got to the finish line, we got to finish on a brand new track at the high school.  It was great to finish on the softer surface and it was easy to muster up the last bit of energy and run in with all your heart when so many are there cheering for you.  The announcer called our name over the intercom as we passed through the finish chute.  I'm a narcissist and love that.  I admit it.   

Some of my running buddies hanging out with Darwin.  Check out the serious hardware for this race!

The bling for this race is some serious hardware!  If you aren't prepared for the weight of it, it could knock you down when the volunteer puts the medal around your neck.  I might not be joking here.  

The beautiful medal features the Mt. Angel Glockenspiel, a man in lederhosen and a woman in a dirndl... but the best part?  There is a pinback on the medal that can be removed so you can wear a piece of your bling all the time.  Under the pinback is a mug of beer inside the state of Oregon.  How cool is that?!  Pretty neat. 

My team was awarded the use of the VIP tent for having the largest team.  Unfortunately, this was not clearly marked "VIP" and was also used for the "non VIP" runners to claim their banana and sample larabar.  We quickly ran out of shade waiting for our marathon team mates to come in.  I would recommend putting the VIP members behind the tent (in the shade) and put the bananas and things for everyone up front (backwards from the setup that actually happened).   That wasn't a big deal to me... there was a bit shade, cold towels and juice... my issue was that our VIP gear check turned out to be our bags strewn on the ground and chairs for us to dig through to locate the bag with our bib number written on it.  I felt that wasn't very secure and relying a little too much on "the honor system".  A friend of mine who ran with me never did find her gear bag (with an expensive coat in it) and would be out of luck all together if she had decided to check her phone and keys.  At least she still had those items with her so she could go home?    

After the race you could claim your post race Oktoberfest packet within the festivities and partake in the activities there.  Packet included a bracelet into some of the beer halls with live concerts ($10 value)  and two vouchers for food at the plentiful food carts ($10 value) and $10 in token for beer or wine.  Very generous packet, especially given the price of the race... however I have heard from numerous friends that they didn't even know about the packet!  Oops.  Again, that info was available on the website but sometimes there is just too much info to sift through?  I'm not sure.  I happened on a link called "last minute news" and read through that.  Posting the link on my facebook page did not ensure that all my friends were aware of it.  Someone made a good point that mentioning it at packet pick up or even making the Oktoberfest packet available at packet pickup would have been helpful.

To get to Oktoberfest you could walk (just under 1 mile) or hobble... or wait for the shuttle.  We wandered all over, interviewing every runner, spectator and volunteer we could find and no one knew where the shuttle picked up.  Signs would have been helpful.  We waited in an area that appeared to be full of busses, but there was also a tournament of some kind going on for the kids at the high school... so we decided to hobble over to the party.  On our way, we ran into Randy (one of the race directors) who was driving the shuttle.  Oops!  His van was full, and he offered to come back around to get us, but we didn't meet up with him again.  (We hobbled off course to look at the festivities.)    

Overall, there may be a few things that could change to make the event run a little smoother, but it is a great race organization, beautiful course, well supported, great price and value with great swag (shirts were very pretty too) and friendly volunteers and race directors.  I would absolutely run this event again.   I do feel that the positives outweighed any of the negatives, though I do hope my friend is able to recover her lost gear bag. 

Race Review: Dogathon Fun Run

Dogathon Fun Run on Aug. 31st, 2014

at Bella Organic Pumpkin Patch and Winery

Beneficiary:  Oregon Humane Society

Participants for this event were large and small and the event had a little bit of something fun for everyone.  This is the first time I had been to an event that wasn't just "dog friendly" but doggie participation was encouraged.  It was so much fun to see so many different K9 companions.

Packet pickup was the morning of the event.  Start time for runners was 10am and walkers an hour later at 11am.  I admit that with two young kids in tow (without a running stroller to keep them moving forward at a good pace) that I queued up at the back of the 10am wave.

I think it would be safe to stagger the walkers 15 or 20 minutes after the runners, but an entire hour will make for a long event for those waiting for the walking event to start.

It is hard to believe that this is only the second year for this event!  It went off without any complications and was so much fun.  Goodie bags at packet pickup included a bag for dog owners to clean up after their K9 running/walking buddy should they go potty on the course, some doggie cookies, a cookie for the runner/walker, your race bib, a cotton t-shirt that is pretty darn cute and besides some coupons and ads for the event host (Bella Organics) a voucher for a plate of (two) pancakes.  

The start and finish line was located in the main courtyard of the farm, near the farm store.  Course map was a complicated looking drawing with lots of loops on a dry erase board.  I had my doubts about it.... but the course was very clearly marked with volunteers at every turn or fork in the road to help direct the runners and walkers. 

The course was extremely beautiful.  The dirt road were soft dirt and in many places there were deep ruts from large farm equipment and trucks.  This would not be ideal for a running stroller, but I have been through worse with my behemoth stroller and saw some stellar moms councouring the trail with their strollers.

There were several aid stations providing water.  I forgot to turn on my garmin, so I can't tell you how close or far they were, but I can tell you that as soon as Bugaboo would whine "I'm thiiiiiiirsty."  There would be a water station!  Dogs enjoyed large wading pools full of water for them to take a dip or a drink from.

It was a hot, sunny day.

My only complaint would be that after about 2 miles in the course, my husband had to make a shortcut to rush Bugaboo to the bathroom.  Though i suppose there aren't many 5K races that need to put a porta potty out on course.  I think it was just over 2 miles, because when they went off course and back to the farm, Squeakers and I kept on walking for 15 or 20 more minutes and just as we crossed the finish line, my hubstud and Bugaboo crossed within 2 minutes of us.  

At the finish line, we cashed in our vouchers and enjoyed two HUGE pancakes dripping with strawberry sauce and strawberries and then whipped cream on top.  A band played some fun, jazzy tunes and if you wanted other food, wine, beer or beverages, the farm's food court was open along with other fun events such as the children's maze, activities with Radio Disney and other farm activities (such as picking blackberries or riding on the farm's "cow ride").

For more information the website for the event is Here.

I'm glad we found this event and proud of my family for getting out and trying (even if the hubstud and I ended up carrying the kiddos for a great portion of the "race").  I just wish the event was also when more berries were in season.  I always seem to miss the strawberries and blueberries.  

Have you done a "pet friendly" race?  Do you run with a K9 companion?  

Hood To Coast 2014 recap: Confessions of a first time relayer and first time team captain

A friend refered to me on facebook as "inspiring and intimidating" on facebook.... inspiring for how far I've come (losing 80 lbs and being able to go from a slow walk to a slow run) but intimidating because I am able to do a half marathon within a few weeks of each other and then go run "The Mother of All Relays" or "The World's Largest Relay" (full of people, not the world's longest relay).

I was surprised.  I didn't think of my athleticism as intimidating.  I don't do speed work.  I just started hill work.  I don't stretch before or after I run.  I'm lazy and don't see myself as serious.  Who the heck runs a mile warm up and then a mile cool down before and after 13.1 miles?!  The intimidating people do.  ;)  I'm just lazy.  Seriously.  If you are running 2 extra miles when you are doing a half marathon, you need an extra medal.  Those are serious people.   

And... maybe a bit of that lazy nature was how I approached Hood To Coast.  

After a death in the family, a note from our landlord to look for another place to live and then a friend going through a tragic stressful time... I sorta stopped running.  I hadn't done more than 6 miles since early July.  A team mate pulled me aside and was worried about me continuing to do Hood To Coast.  

I did it anyway.   And I lived to tell the tale.

I had no idea what I was doing as a team captain... and I was very lucky to be well connected in my little running community with lots of people who had run it before.  I still felt a little out of touch, but before long my friends who really are athletically intimidating volunteered to take the "hard legs" and I was given the easiest legs.

That isn't a bad thing.  I got to start the race off at the starting line, run through downtown Portland and then finish outside of Mist... the area is like running through a cold cloud.  

The race had lots of criticism and a couple blunders with traffic and safety that has left several people angry and frustrated (rightly so).  However, I'd like this recap to focus not on the unmoving traffic on exchange 24 and the runners left in the cold for several hours while neither of their team mate's vans had arrived or the scary gorilla jumping out to scare runners between exchanges 19 and 20... but I'm going to focus on my experience as a team captain and how my team did in this event (despite my leadership or the lack thereof.  Certainly a lack of experience.)  

Some of my favorite Hood To Coast moments:

Seeing the start line and THE mountain for the first time.  We watched the very first wave of runners start the relay.  Seeing the setting sun put Portland's skyline to a silhouette.  The relief of seeing the finish chute.  The exhilarating feeling of running my first leg down that steep mountain.  Meeting the friendly...mime at exchange 12.  My team mates crossing the finish together and one enthusiastically doing a cartwheel across the finish.  My sign on the windshield to remind us all that the van was our home for the next 36+ hours... not just home, but a "sweet" home?  Perhaps.  Seeing the Panda at the finish line party!  I saw him at exchange 24 waiting for his runner to come in.  I wanted to ask him for a bear hug to keep me warm.  I asked Bob Foote for a hug at the start line.  Hanging out in Seaside and reflecting on the event while my team mates journeyed home.  And sitting on the balcony of a hotel 4 stories up above the party below with my finisher's medal. 

Page 13 of the handbook states that when registering your team is making a commitment to average as a whole no slower than 9:45 minute mile pace or 32 1/2 hrs in total time.  We averaged a 10:31 min./mile pace and finished in 34 hours and 50 minutes.

Here are a few tips when you are a captain to a relay team:

* Get ready for surprises and don't get stressed by them.  Team members will quit, at the last minute.  Even if they don't want to.  Have back up runners available up to the day of the event.  Volunteers will quit.  Have back ups of those too.  

*  Reward your volunteers well.  Hood to Coast has them standing out there for 5 hours (on average) with little to no supplies.  Show them some love.

*  Reserve a hotel or beach house.  Everyone just ran a relay!!  I don't care how close y'all live and how much y'all want to sleep in your own beds, kick back with each other for one last bonding session, smooth out any wrinkles, enjoy a beer and chat about each other's personal experiences.  

*  Have a plan of when and where to go get food together.  Van 2 is going to be exhausted and need replenishment after the finish line festivities.  As soon as the "hangry" (hungry/angry) episodes can be avoided, the better.  

*  Relax.  Take it all in.  Enjoy it.  

I'm sure there are lots of other great tips out there, but it all boils down to just have fun.  Just because all your teammates are your friends and like you, doesn't mean they will all like each other.  Make sure personalities are going to mesh and people can be at peace instead of at odds with each other.  

One other thing, pack comfort foods.  Even though I ran less than my long run distances, my gastrointestinal tract was not happy with it. I loved my chocolate milk, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (Thanks Dave's Killer Bread!) and salt and vinegar chips.  That was all I ate.  And Orange ricotta pancakes.   Take what you know, what you've trained with and under no circumstances should you try something new.  Even if your next run is in 6+ hours.  You can't always get to a bathroom when you need one. 

Eating my third PB&J with Dave's Killer Bread

Have you ran a relay?  What advice would you give a new team captain?

Race Review: Hippie Chick Quarter and Half Marathon

For this recap, I'm pleased to share with you not just one runner's review of events... but two!  As you may already know, my co leader for my Moms RUN This Town club is also a guest blogger on here now and then... and I am so proud of her as she not only tackled her first half marathon, but did so with speed and strength! 

We both took on the "Hippie Chick Quarter and Half Marathon" put on by Better Series on Saturday May 10th.

Mariah's first half marathon experience:

On Saturday I ran my first half marathon! It was a long time in coming as I had gotten plantar fasciitis 8 days before what was supposed to be my first half in February. By the time Hippie Chick Half finally rolled around in May, I was chomping at the bit!

I met with Robin and some other friends in our running group for a group pic in the morning.  Then I headed down for some quick warm-up drills and to the start line. There I found my coach, Nikki Rafie, who introduced me to the pacers for the 8:18 pace group and gave me some last minute advice. I wanted to run about 8:12-8:15 so I was planning to ditch them after 4-6 miles. The gun went off and I started thinking they were going kind of fast. My Garmin beeped for mile 1 - 8:03! WTF? My mantra for the first half of the race was "Keep calm, run on" and I started using it at this point. Mile 2 according to Garmin: 8:00. *#$&#*! If I wanted to blow my wad too soon I could have done that on my own!! I was starting to get worried. Mile 3: 8:00. My mantra was no longer effective so I decided to say it with a British accent. There, much better.

Then we start running into a headwind and I was thinking, ok, if we're going to run this fast I will try to draft off of the pace group leaders. Unfortunately, they're all so petite that's just not happening. They are from Team Athena, but I was the only Athena in sight. Plus their balloons kept bonking me on the head. Abort mission. At least we slowed down to around 8:05 with the headwind. 

We turned in a direction I was not expecting to go. I had told my hubs and everyone else who was cheer-leading when to be where based on the course that was posted on their site, which they did in reverse. My husband was supposed to hand me a bottle of Cocogo at mile 8 since I can't tolerate gels or most sports drinks, but no Cocogo for me. *Sigh*. Keep calm, run on.

Miles ticked off around 8:04-8:08 as we hit some small hills. About mile 7, Nikki popped out of nowhere and paced me for about a mile. We sped up a bit, because well, you don't run slow in Nikki Rafie's presence. Beep: 7:59!! Nikki made a comment about us being ahead of schedule. The pacers asked if I want to slow down. "No!" I shouted emphatically, then I thought "Did I just say that?" At the 9.3 mark I looked at my Garmin and saw that I hit a 15K PR. I wasn't sure whether to be excited or very, very afraid so I was both. At the 10 mile mark we were down to only 2 racers and 3 pacers hanging with the group, so the pacers said we could split up and go at whatever pace we wanted. I turned on the full and absolute beast mode and pulled slightly ahead with my 2 personal pacers the rest of the race. At the 11 mile mark I asked one of them to tell me a joke. She told me a story about a friend who ran a marathon and thought she was eating Gu, but instead she ate Vasoline. That distracted me for 30 seconds and then I got back to being miserable.

Next thing I know it's mile 12 and there is a friend of mine with her cowbell! I was thinking "Draw energy from the bell" and then tried to keep thinking of the bell but then all I could think about was how many minutes until I could stop running. And then I started counting breaths and going through my various mantras. There was the finish line! I beat my husband and daughter there by about a minute. I had no fuel but a few sips of Nuun and water but I seemed to do ok with that. My official time was 1:47:09 which came out to 8:10 per mile. My Garmin said I ran 13.27 at 8:04 avg. Apparently I was weaving a lot.

I found my family and got some food, and then I had the chance to see Robin cross the finish with MaryAlicia, right on her stretch goal pace!

After the race I enjoyed the food but I had a hard time finding water. Every station seemed to have only Nuun, so I ended up getting water from the bathroom sink. It reminded me of a scene from Idiocracy. "Water? Like out the toilet?"

Mariah at the finish!  (photo credit to her lovely husband)

My take on the event and festivities:

I was under trained and dehydrated from being sick earlier in the week but neglect to mention those things as I my friend Maryalicia (from Run Oregon) who had generously agreed to pace me for this race.  :)  I have always been too slow to be in a race where a pacing group was available for my race pace.

I had ran "Run Like Hell" in October with a 2:38 finishing time and wanted to go for a 2:30 this time.  :)

Let me just say, that if you haven't heard of or tried the Galloway Method, you have got to give it a try!  She set her timer for intervals of running for 30 seconds and walking for 15 seconds.  It took some getting used to, but before the race was done, I was certainly looking forward to those walk breaks (which really aren't a break... I was busting my butt to move forward towards the finish!).

We picked up a couple people along the route and they joined us too for a bit on our adventures with run/walk intervals.  I have to tell you though, when you are going to start walking, get to the right so faster people can pass on the left and watch behind you so that you don't cause an accident of people running into you when you suddenly stop running and move to a walk.  We would raise a hand in the air and shout "walking now!"

We skipped the long lines at the porta potties and queued up for the race.  Before I knew it, we were off and running!  Weeee!  (okay.  Maybe I should have gone and risked a later start time?)

There was a porta potty at the first aid station, but the line was already way too long.  "That's okay"  I told myself... "I probably really don't have to go anyway. Just running nerves..."

I packed my Nathan QuickShot  for the race, but planned to rely on the ample water stations the race webpage had described on the course.

The first aid station, the volunteers had the water in large bowls and they were dipping the cups into the bowls... getting their ungloved hands into the water!!!  EWWW!

The marshy, farm land smell did not help my gag reflex on that one.  

Keep moving forward.  We passed a couple more water stations and I tried to ignore if there were pitchers, bowls of water or large coolers.... I just needed to stay hydrated.

By mile 5 there is no denying I need to pee.  Next port a potty, I'm getting in line.  

Where are the porta potties?

The next aid station around mile 7 is just getting a truck load of porta potties dropped off!  If we had been any faster, we would have missed them and had to wait until the finish line.  The speedy racers missed out if they had to go...

Likewise, those of us with an 8 minute mile pace or greater had no water at the next station.  Mile 8 was out of water.

The volunteers up and left their station and the resident who owned the farm behind the aid station had come out with a water cooler on the back of one of his vehicles.  We grabbed a dixie cup and got in line as he filled our cups and I thanked him profusely.

That hiccup aside, the course was very beautiful, a few slight hills and lots of people to cheer and be cheered by!  i loved that aspect of it.

If there was one thing I could change, it would be that at the finish through the parking lot to get to the finishing gate, there are too many zigs-and-zags.  It isn't a straight shot from the road and into the stadium track.  I had to dig deep to finish and I could hear in Maryalicia's voice that her encouragement "Almost there!"  also was saying "It's just about 2:30:00 now... can you dig any deeper?"

Then, running all out, as hard as I can, I have to also slow to turn and weave through the parking lot and the curbs.  GAH!  But....   digging as deep as I can and asking Maryalicia to drag me to the finish if i should fall over and try to die....

photo credit: Mariah's lovely husband with his super neato camera

I made it through the finish line!!  Maryalicia warned me not to get discouraged when I saw the clock... "Gun Time" I mumbled between gasps of air.  But when I approached the timing pads on the ground, my heart leapt as I saw the time read 2:30:00.... the next timing pad was sooooooo far away...... MILES!  Would i get to it in the next 60 seconds?

Logic would have reminded me that this was the gun time and that anything under 2:38:00 was a PR, but I was illogical at that point.  I made it!  Official chip time is 2:29:45!!

Our finisher's medals are a bit on the underwhelming side, but the event is geared towards ladies (men can register but their times and results are not tracked and they are not offered any awards.) and so being geared towards the female population, the race gave out necklaces with a 1 1/4 inch charm (including the hoop) and approx 1/4 inch wide.

I don't know if I'm being a spoiled brat, but for pushing so dang hard to cross that finish line, I wanted some bling!!  If the bling is so tiny, it had better at least be silver plated.  This is not.  oh well.  

From a male spectator point of view, the husband had a lot of fun with the kiddos as they waited for mommy to finish.  A clown provided entertainment and kids who were in the kids' dash could partake in the pancake breakfast that was also available for the finishers for the quarter and half.

Bathrooms were all converted to women's restrooms except one small men's room outside of the stadium.  The husband found this terribly inconvenient as he needed to change a diaper while I was out on the run.  And there wasn't a changing table in there anyway once he got in there.   So, making the event a little more "dad friendly" would have been nice for a women's event held on mother's day weekend.  All in all, the kids had fun.  I ate my pancakes and drank half my free beer before the kiddos kicked it over as i got my free massage.  I enjoyed myself and am over the moon with my PR, running with my friend and future Hood To Coast team mate and making new friends out on the course.  (This event happens to be hosted by the same company who puts on Hood To Coast.)

 Would I do it again?  likely not.  The event is a little pricy for the overall experience.  But I am so glad I got the experience to do this and owe my amazing PR to Maryalicia and her experience and advice on my (lacking) running form and showing me the ropes with the run/walk method.

Thanks Maryalicia!!

Race Recap: Archer Series Stinger 5k &10K

Race Recap for the Archer Series "Stinger 5K and 10K" on January 19, 2014.

This was a very fun event!  There are some things that may have made the race a little "smoother" or a little bit better, but overall, this is an event worth attending.

The race series is brand new, having started in 2013.  It is a small, intimate affair with about 86 runners.  I believe there were about 50 people registered to do the 10k distance.

Being a brand new event, there are a few glitches that might need to be worked out.  I think I may have seen a few more of the "wrinkles to smooth" as a volunteer with my Moms RUN This Town group.  We were not able to accept day-of-race registrations, and I know that was disappointing to a few people.  I did overhear a runner speaking to the Race Director at the finish.  She stated this was the first 10K she had participated in where there were no water tables or aid stations on the course.  There were granola bars, bananas and a hydration/sports drink at the finish.

The shirts were a plain white cotton shirt with a small logo on each sleeve.  Sizes available were only medium or small.  Instead of spending funds on a shirt, save the money for the beneficiary or invest maybe in a visor for everyone.  5k participants were given a yellow visor (with no logo) as part of their swag.

These things are easy fixes and hopefully not something that will turn runners away from future events.  I'm sure that the Race Director will be working to make all future events memorable and enjoyable.

The beneficiary was the Hillsboro Public Library.  The Archer Series is dideicated to picking a local public library to help provide reading materials and math supplies or upgrades to e-devices in the K-5th grade levels.  (Maybe the shirts could have said something like "I run for my library."  Or something more witty...)
Past events benefited the Newberg public library and the Sherwood public library (located in Oregon).

The course is an out-and-back starting near a coffee shop in Hillsboro and before I knew it, on softly rolling hills and curvy roads in farm land.  We ran parallel to Hwy 26 in the distance and the sound of swooshing cars, but within a mile or two the distant highway dipped out of sight too.  I wouldn't call the course flat, but the inclines were not too much trouble.

There were no mile markers, but this is good for me to ignore how far I have gone and how much farther I have to go and just focus on my surroundings.  Focus is a good thing, because while the major road we ran on to the twisting country road had a lane closed for us... but the country road was not closed to traffic and there wasn't much of a shoulder.  Besides a car or two, we mostly had the road to ourselves.

Signs were put up for the 5k turn around and a volunteer shouted encouragement to those nearing her for the 10K turn around.  

I had a lot of fun, got to cheer for friends and strangers as they passed me and ran on roads I wouldn't have even considered before.  It was a beautiful, freezing morning.

Race bibs were round to help ensure that the timing chips would read on the sensor.  Round bis were pretty cool...

The Bling is a nice medal that was first produced to commemorate the start of the Archer Series Foundation.  Age Division winners were given a weighty "coin" for their award and 5k finishers were given a pin of a shoe with wings.  I really wish I had gotten that... I love Hermes.  

This was a fantastic way to support the local library... and probably more appreciated than the late fees I seem to keep accruing on my account.

I do hope to see some improvements to the website for this and for the future events.  Maybe I worry too much about races and like lots of info... but it would be nice to see: 

Course information:  
How long participants have to finish the race.  

Is the course dog friendly?

Is the course stroller friendly?

Course description or map of route.

Is there medals for this event?  For certain distances? 

Is the event timed?  (It was.)

Will there be race photos?  (Not for this one.)

And a final suggestion would be the facebook link on the website takes you to "Archer Series Race" which is a person to send a friend request.  If it were set up as a "facebook page" to click "like" on, it would be easier on that forum to see future events.  Those events would be made public for everyone... instead of Archer Series "inviting" his friends and relying on those friends to continue the invitation process.

I would definitely do this event again, look forward to watching this venue grow and look forward to the half marathons coming up... which I am told offer a BBQ afterwards and "great bling".

Trying to breath again,"I get a medal?" and I PR'd!

 According to my garmin, I have three new records!  Woo Hoo!

New records to smash:
9:44 fastest mile (thanks to a Mariah meeting me at the last mile and not taking any of my excuses...)
31:22 fastest 5k
1:04:04 fastest 10k

What is the smallest race you have ever done?  Did you enjoy it?

Race Recap: Ugly Holiday Sweater Run and Walk

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Logo by: Andrea Schwoebel  (http://andreaschwoebel.com)

A friend from Moms RUN This Town posted on Facebook about a free 5k, and before she could say anything else about it.... she had me at "free".

Cost:
The race is free, but asking for donations for the Ladybug CDH Foundation.  Participants could bring 100% cotton receiving blankets, socks or hats.  If it was easier, cutting a check for the foundation was acceptable (and appreciated) too!

The race was a small and intimate affair, but so much fun and highly recommended!!  I am bad at estimates, but I think there may have been about 50 people participating today.

Beneficiary:
As noted above, the Ladybug CDH Foundation was receiving the donations made by participants. Click on their name to go see their webpage what they are all about!  They hope to raise awareness about a birth defect called Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and raise money for research and treatment.
 
$110 was raised in cash/checks and the charity received 83 pairs of socks, 42 hats and 64 receiving blankets!  I don't know how that compares to last year, but I hope the race is growing and will continue to grow in participants.

Location:
The 5k (or one mile option) was an untimed fun run that was held at Summerlake Park.  The park was very beautiful with the light fog, frozen lakes and streams and water fowl in the area.  There is also a dog park with in the park and a very dog-friendly race for friendly dogs.

The course is pretty flat, with a mild incline at the end of the first mile (or just after starting your second loop of the park).

Atmosphere:
The events started with a costume contest before the actually running or walking... What would an "Ugly Holiday Sweater" theme race be without costumes?

As you can see below, I went all out in my "Ugly Sweater".  I didn't just put on a sweater I found and decorated... I dressed up as a sweater!  

Once again, I forgot to ask people for permission to post their pics on my blog, so you'll have to trust me that there were some really fantastic, fun and festive holiday sweaters there.  One of the participants wore a "top hat" that was a brick design  with black boots on the top like Santa's feet on his way down the chimney.  Then the sweater was green and done up like a tree.

Eggnog was donated by Alpenrose, coffee from Starbucks, bagels from Einstein Bagels and some pastries and holiday cookies that I believe were from a local grocery store.

There was also plenty of door prizes too.  And to get a door prize?  All you had to do was show up, receive your drawing ticket and hold on to half of it while the other half was placed into the basket for the drawing.

While runners and walkers made their journey to finish one loop or three, the race organizers taped the winning ticket to the items and you could check to see if you had a match.

A fresh cut holiday wreath was available, 13 gift certificates to Veggie grill, gift cards to local running stores (Foot Traffic and Pace Setter Athletic), and a free race entry to a local race (The Bald Peak Half).

(Pretty awesome!  My family scored two $10 veggie grill cards and my running partner/sole sister got $20 to the local "candy store"... okay, running store.)

 

In the top right picture, you can see the "bones' of the costume.  My husband constructed a large pvc pipe "hanger to hold the XL sweater coat and with some foam, a belt and suspenders, the contraption somehow stayed on and relatively pain-free.

The next two photos on the right column are me in the first test run.

The bottom, middle picture is my Squeakers and Bugaboo after the race, and heading home.  Squeakers is wearing wool pants made out of a shrunken, felted (and ugly) sweater.

The bottom left picture is my "bling" for my creative masterpiece.  :)  A trophy that has to be more than 3 ft tall.... though I haven't broken out the tape measure for it.


Bibs were also available for fun at the race, as well as a link provided before hand to print out.  I just love the logo of the runner in the detailed sweater she has on.   

Race bib by:  Andrea Schwoebel   (http://andreaschwoebel.com)

So, I hope I've convinced you to give this one a try next year.  If anything, it's untimed, so grab a group of your friends and wrap yourselves up in yarn and Christmas lights ( you could call your team "hot mess") and have some fun while helping out some babies.

You can't go wrong and will be glad you went.  

(Don't expect me to outdo myself on this year's costume.  I'll probably be wearing it until it starts to unravel.  And now I have Weezer "Undone" stuck in my head.)

Recap: Uberthons' Turkeython! My first Turkey Trot... or waddle.

I enjoyed my first turkey trot this year... and if You haven't done one of these yet, you've gotta give them a try.  There are tofurky is your thing, chances are you'll even find a tofurkey trot near you too.

I participated in the Uberthons Turkeython which was held at the local mall.  I'm pretty sure there were no shoppers that morning, and the ample parking was all racers and their friends and family to cheer them on.  

The race charity benefits a program also put on by Uberthons called the UberKids Enrichment program, which you can read more about by clicking here.  They were raising funds for scholarships for kids who would otherwise not be able to participate in that program.  Another aspect to the charity was kids participating in the kids' dash were encouraged to bring a new toy and/or tree ornament and kiddos could dash with the toy/ornament to place under the tree for the Doernbecher Children's Hospital.

The morning was a freezing 30 degrees Fahrenheit as runners did a 2.5K loop to warm up or stand about jumping in place to try to stay warm.  I wore my crazy turkey costume... and though you might think that would help provide some warmth... I started the race with a numb butt.  So., there ya go.  No extra insulation there with 11lbs of pillow fluff inside my fabric turkey.

 The course was a 2.5K lap around the parking perimeter of the local mall.  That was as close to a shopping center I wanted to be on Thanskgiving morning... but not everyone may feel the way i do about that.

There are events for everyone with a 2.5K run or walk, 5k run or walk and 10K run, along with a relay with 2-4 team members (for a 10K total distance).  Each lap was 2.5K, so for a 5K, run around twice and for the 10K I lapped the mall 4 times.  

The course is billed as relatively flat.  Let me tell you about that. My first 2.5K around, I noted one hill.  Okay, not so bad.  There is one uphill portion that is a little bit difficult, but I'm chugging right along... trying not to burn out with this huge turkey costume on.  On the way back to the start/finish to start my second loop, I thought there was a nice down hill portion.  Not too bad.

The second time around the 2.5K loop, I distinctly remember counting 4 hills. 4!  That's not very flat for a 2.5K.... then the third time on the loop, I decided that the whole thing was nothing but uphill.  But to clarify my bias, my suspenders on my turkey had come loose and I had to carry the damn thing.  I stopped and asked two seperate volunteers managing traffic on the road if they'd help me reclip it... but it just wasn't working out.

As I neared the finish line for the final loop, I ditched the turkey at the JC Penny store entrance and ran as fast as I could.  Literally.

I am proud that my 15 minute a mile pace last April has improved to about a 11:30 minute mile... but when my friend who had long finished her 10K saw me about to start my final loop, she asked if she could join me.   I was grateful for the company as my legs were wobbly like a thanksgiving jello mold and I wasn't sure if i was going to make it... Much less stay upright.  I had taken a spill two days before the race and had road rash on my knee, elbow and both palms.  I didn't want to biff it again.

Well, she wasn't going to let me take a leisurely stroll.  She kept just a step ahead of me, hollering back at me how many more minutes I was from the finish at this pace.  Okay.  That was helpful.  I can't keep this up for a lifetime, but i can keep doing this for one more minute and 28 more seconds.  We passed her husband who volunteered to take race photographs.  On that final loop, I didn't even look his way to smile... much less exert any extra energy to wave.  I asked between puffs if I threw up if we could slow down.  My friend said something about waiting to vomit after the finish line.

 She's a beast!  

Well, I ran a 10:52 minute mile for that final loop.  I'll take it.  :D  

As I crossed the finish line, she grabbed my turkey costume for me, so I got to carry him across the finish.  Poor thing missed out on 2.5K of the race, but he finished too.
 
If you are looking to do this event in the future, packet pick up was three days and open for 7 hours.  So it was relatively easy to beat the lines on race day to get your bib.

Uberthons also had a second bib that racers could write what they were thankful for and pin to their backs.  I enjoyed seeing the ones that I could as people passed me.

Race photos (as of this writing) are still being edited but will be offered for a reasonable price of $5.  It's 4 days post race, but it's also important to remember that the photographer is a volunteer with a full time job too.  (After volunteering at three different races, I have a totally new perspective how much a race is held together by volunteers.)

The crowd is HUGE and very friendly.  There were more than 1,200 participants. I did get pushed once by a "very serious" athlete who was probably pissed that this wide turkey butt was blocking his path to a PR... but I didn't stumble to the asphalt and scrape my knees, so no harm done.  My crazy swinging pilgrim's legs kicked a little girl as I passed and I apologized profusely to her... but I don't think she even noticed.  

The bling is not to be messed around with!  1/4" thick and very heavy, the medal is beautiful.  I also won a grey fleece blanket for my turkey getup.  :)

It was a great morning.  (And day 18 of my Holiday running streak!)

What did you do for Thanksgiving?