Floating on Air (As told by Chad)

Bridge 2 Bridge 10K
Portland, OR
Overall Time: 41:02
Placement: 33rd out of 683 Overall, 25/311 Male, 3/44 Male 30-34

The day dawned gray and gloomy, but at least it was relatively warm. As we arrived at the start line about 45 minutes before the race, the rain that had been following us from home arrived too, in buckets. I could actually see some blue sky through the rain clouds however, so there was hope for a dry race. We staked out a place under the Morrison Bridge and waited.

About 20 minutes to race time I finished a warm-up jog and headed to the potty line. As always, I picked the wrong line. The line next to us seemed to have staked a claim to about 6 pottys, while ours was using two. Unfortunately, by the time I was close enough to see what was going on, it was still better to wait where I was than change lines. I finally got into the race line about halfway back, way too far back given the fact I wanted to push my pace in this race, but there was no time or space to try to move up now. At least the race was chip timed, so my time won't start until I actually reach the starting line. Of course, I will still have to spend the first mile or so waving through lines of slower runners, walkers and people running with dogs! Why you wouldn't line up in the back when you are out for a run with your dog, I have no idea.

The gun went off and we were moving. It took me a minute and a half just to reach the start line. The first mile was flat and relatively open, if you ran on the raised median of the road like I and a few others did. We then headed up the first hill and across the Steel Bridge. As we reached the second climb around mile 2 I was finally able to settle into a nice pace and pass slower runners without zigging or jumping curbs. I was running pretty well on the uphill sections, but I wanted to hold back a little at this point since I know how hard it is for me to get my breathing back under control once I get huffing and puffing. By mile 3 I was still passing quite a few runners as we headed over the Fremont Bridge and back into a mostly downhill finish. I wasn't sure how my legs would handle the downhills as I had done my regular weekend long run the day before and my legs could still be tired from that. Fortunately, my legs didn't complain and I was able to really pick up speed on the downside of the bridge and into the Pearl District. I had so much speed at this point that I had to made a REALLY wide turn at the bottom of the freeway offramp and back onto he city streets (did I mention that the Fremont Bridge is an Interstate). As we reached mile 5, I was still feeling great and decided to push hard to the finish. The course was entirely flat now and I was pretty familiar with how far i had to go since this was the finish route for the Portland Marathon as well.

As we neared the mile 6 marker, I was starting to breathe hard, but still controlled. A runner I had passed about a quarter mile back made a push to pass me again, but gave up after about 200 yards and fell back. Now I set my sights on passing a couple more runners and avoiding the 5K walkers who were scattered here and there. At mile six, I could see the finish line and decided to go as fast as my legs would let me. At first, I feared I might have started my final push too early, but I held on and came across the line exhausted, but without fear of losing my breakfast.

I surprised myself at how well I had done. My watch showed 41:03. My stated goal had been 45 minutes and my secret goal was 42 minutes. Even with the slow start and having to pass so many runners early on, I had blown both goals away. Nathan was getting cranky, so we skipped the post race refreshments and headed out. Later, I checked the official results online and saw that I had placed 3rd in my age group! I won an age group award, my first, and I missed it. Oh well, I'm sure the race director will mail it to me.

All in all it turned out to be a great day. The volunteers did a great job of giving us plenty of notice before the course changed direction and the rain stopped just as the race began, so I didn't get wet. My only complaint would be the race routing us down Marshall in the Pearl with is a cobblestone road. Not a good idea. I didn't see any twisted ankles, but I'm sure there were at least a few.

Next week: the No Fooling 10K in Olympia, WA.

Celebrating One Year

15K Shamrock Run & 1K Leprechaun Lap
Portland, OR
Overall Time: 1:27:50 (Gun: TBD)
Placement: TBD

Happy Runniversary to me! It was one year ago today that I stepped on the treadmill for Day 1 of C25K. Not because I wanted to be a runner but because I wanted to do triathlons. I always figured that I'd forever have a so-so relationship with running, that I'd do OK enough to get through 1/3 of my target events. Well one year, two sprint triathlons, two 5Ks, and an 8K later, something changed. I LOVE RUNNING. What better way to celebrate than with a race? Not just any race. Portland's classic race, the 15K Shamrock Run, a chance to win my weight in beer (yeah, right). Long considered to be one of the more challenging in the area due to the constant uphill grade from miles 2 to 5 followed by 4 miles of quad-burning downhill. I could have tried for PRs in the 5K or 8K distances but I wanted to start my season with a bang. I've participated in the Shamrock festivities before, walking the 3.5 mile Stride with Nathan while Chad ran the 8K or 15K. This year, Chad is in the meat of his Spring marathon training and opted to skip this race in favor of a 20 mile run and a romp in the 1K Leprechaun Lap with Nathan. So it was with some trepidation that I signed up for the 15K. I've driven up Terwilliger. It's a big hill. Some people call this a Death March. This is the longest distance I've attempted. Bring it on!

Ugh, Daylight Savings Time begins today. The alarm goes off unbearably early. Bleary-eyed, we nosh on bagels, peanut butter, and coffee as we stumble out into the darkness to go downtown. At least it's not raining. Forecasters got it wrong again. Race day conditions are 60F, overcast, slight breeze, and maybe some mist. It's a good day for a run!


We get down to Waterfront Park just as the 5K started. First stop, the Port-o-Potties. I pin Nathan's race number on his shirt, give my boys a good luck kiss, and send them off to the start line for the Leprechaun Lap. I see the kids start off and according to Chad, Nathan clocked in at 20-ish minutes after running 600 m, walking 150 m, taking a rock & stick toddler break, and running the rest of the way. Not bad for a three-year-old.

With Chad & Nathan duly sent off, I run a few strides, use the port-o-potties again, and run a few more strides before lining up somewhere in the middle. The plan is to go out relatively slow to finish my warm-up, keep a steady pace up the grinding hill miles, then turn it up and try to negative split the downhill miles. I wanted to average a target pace of 9-9:30 miles for the whole race. That's the horn. It takes me about one minute to cross the starting banners and the mass shuffles off towards the Pearl District...

Mile 1: 09:49 - OK. Warm-up's done. Steeling myself for the hills that are coming.
Mile 2: 06:48 - Huh? There's no way. Mile 2 must be marked short since I don't think that I physically can run a sub-8:00 mile. Gentle climb up Broadway. Feeling strong. Moving towards the big ones. Skip the water. Start switchbacking.
Mile 3: 13:48 - Another huh? I don't feel that my pace has dropped that much even though the tough part has started. Confirms my thought that Mile 2 was marked short or I threw my plan out the window and left too much on Broadway. Split the difference and call it 10 and change. Cherry blossoms are pretty. Bit too cloudy to see Mt. Hood but the course itself is beautiful. I spy my first rabbit, a woman with funky cool red shoes which I admire as I reel her in.
Mile 4: 10:02 - Ah, that's more like it. Averaging 10-ish per uphill mile. About on target though a bit slower than I would have liked. Big hill summit at the Chart House. Time for most of the downhill to begin. Don't go too crazy since there's still one more hill to crest. Dropped my first rabbit without catching the brand on her shoes. Oh well. Time to find another bunny or two or four or eight. Overall pace of the group seems to be slowing but I'm still plodding steadily along.
Mile 5: 9:10 - First negative split. Yay but there's still that last uphill which starts, um, now. Stealthy hill. Not that big but it comes up and bites you. Thirty more meters and I'm done climbing for the day. A nice flat stretch to wake my downhill muscles up.
Mile 6: 9:28 - Yeah. That hill got me but it's all good now. Flats & downhill. Time to turn on the afterburners. Forget the rabbits. We're pretty spread out.
Mile 7: 8:55 - Yes! Dig deep. Push harder. 1:25:00 is still a stretch but I feel like I'm going to be close. Oops. Dodge the 8K racers. Weave in, weave out, Keep pushing.
Mile 8: 8:37 - Another negative split! This is starting to hurt. I can almost taste the stretch goal. Almost. 8K finally splits off. Cadence is still high. Digging as deep as I can. Focus, focus...
Mile 9: 8:27 (New Max HR = 195) - Woohoo! A PB mile time and a new max HR! I'm almost tapped out. My quads are burning. 1:24:?? with 1/3 mile to go. No stretch goal today but keep up this pace, girl. I can see the chute. Almost there...one....more....push....YES! I did it. Tired, exhilarated, hungry. Now which way to the beer tent?