so... it's occured to me that I need to be training for the 1/2 marathon on July 27th that I'd like to run. My "goal" for this half is a 12 minute mile.
Soo... according to the "experienced runner" 1/2 marathon training schedule I've transposed from Coach Joe and TNT onto the late July marathon date... I was supposed to do 10 miles on the weekend I did the ultimate frisbee tournament (which I didn't do).
Last weekend I did 8 miles... a wonderful run starting at OMSI and headed south down the Springwater corridor on the Willamette, over the Sellwood Bridge, up the Willamette Greenway trail on the west side of the river, back to the Hawthorne Bridge. That was 8 miles, and I was able to manage it in roughly 1:29:17, or an 11:09 minute mile pace. The weather was weird in Portland... mid 80's, kinda humid and overcast. I had chosen to wear a short running skort and a tanktop so that as much skin as possible could be cooled by the air.
After that run I treated myself to a 16 oz iced coffee, and went to Foot Traffic to see about trail running shoes. My feet were REALLY sore though, so I think I've developed plantar fasciitis in BOTH feet now. dammit.
This weekend I'm supposed to do 12 miles, but I also wanted to do the Reach the Bridge run (8K) on Sunday morning... which didn't really fit. Ineffect, I decided to try to finish 12 miles on my mom's treadmill while I was housesitting for her. To battle the bore of treadmilling, I had setup my macbook with DVD2 of battlestar gallactica season 1 (not seen by me before) so I could watch while running.
What I hadn't counted on was the lack of airflow in the garage where the treadmill is. I was stifled in moments after starting, and was sweating more than I'm used to. I had to stop running, open more doors, and set up a fan after 1.5 miles. Still, even after improving the ventilation situation, I HAD to stop at 7 miles from various unhappy reasons including fatigue (ok ok. I'll admit my thighs were chafing to the point of rawness... any longer and I'd have started losing skin). I hydrated, ate, and relaxed a bit.. then looked through my mom's workout clothes and was thrilled to find a pair of Hind compression shorts that were long enough to protect the raw patch on the insides of my thighs. I borrowed that for the continuation of my run.
Approx 1 hour after I stopped the 7 mile run, I got back on the treadmill for a 5 mile run. Immediately after starting that run, the lack of airflow got to me again, and I found myself sweating like crazy and needing to walk a bit for every mile ran. My heart was racing like crazy! I was bothered at having to indulge my weakness and walking.. but I also have to admit it's been a LONG WHILE since I've tried to go that kind of distance, so I couldn't rationally push myself too much.
In the end it took me over 90 minutes to go 7.21 miles, and approx 65 minutes to go the last 5 miles. For someone who JUST met a 10 minute miles 10K, both times are kinda sad. I was even pushing myself on this run. All I can guess is that the heat, lack of air flow, and (?) maybe even the altitude was making this training run REALLY difficult for me.
Also, according to my mom's treadmill, I burned over 2000 calories on this run. On the last 12 mile run I did, my garmin said I burnt something like 1200 I think. soooooo... I dunno. This run was harder somehow. Certainly took longer. Aaaah well. This run isn't deciding how well I do on the Lacamas Lake Half.
Plus, I have the 8K Reach the Bridge Run on Sunday morning to shine in. :D
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
10-10-10 pics!
ok, got the photos!
less of them are of me running, more of them are of me hanging out after the run. heh.
These are the 2 ladies I couldn't catch. You can see my elbow behind them. Turns out they were both older than me... neither in my age division! I wouldn't have guessed that actually.
Here is me crossing the finish line in a BLAZE OF GLORY!! Note the flared nostrils. I think that means I'm totally serious.
If I were a horse, people would find my flared nostrils totally beautiful. I'm not a mare tho, so I just look silly. Ah well.
I actually saw the photographer taking this shot and stopped shoving frozen yogurt down my throat long enough to smile...
I think Sheryl and Lori were talking about something.
And then there are all the "hanging out photos" where I'm in the shot.
less of them are of me running, more of them are of me hanging out after the run. heh.
These are the 2 ladies I couldn't catch. You can see my elbow behind them. Turns out they were both older than me... neither in my age division! I wouldn't have guessed that actually.
Here is me crossing the finish line in a BLAZE OF GLORY!! Note the flared nostrils. I think that means I'm totally serious.
If I were a horse, people would find my flared nostrils totally beautiful. I'm not a mare tho, so I just look silly. Ah well.
I actually saw the photographer taking this shot and stopped shoving frozen yogurt down my throat long enough to smile...
I think Sheryl and Lori were talking about something.
And then there are all the "hanging out photos" where I'm in the shot.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
10-10-10
woohoo!
Sunday I ran the cane 10 10K down in Tigard. It was a beautiful little run starting and ending at the Regal Cinema at Bridgeport Village (that shopping center with Crate & Barrel).
There weren't many runners there... maybe 250 or so, but this was the first annual cane 10 run. Sponsored by Split Dine and Drink (a restaurant and bar next to the cinema) and Cane 10 Rum, our registration fee included a free mojito, a free glass of Menage a Trois wine, and food. Good deal!
In preparation I was looking at the weather the night before... and it looked REMARKABLY similar to the Cinco de Mayo forecast (50's and sunny up to 60 by noon). I remember I was slightly overdressed for that run, so I decided to wear a running skort and a T and that was it (well, ok a jacket for before and after the run). I was dressed PERFECTLY for this run.
I didn't know where to park, but pulled in right behind 2 cars who really wanted to park in a garage that was kinda blocked off by traffic cones, but they went around those into the garage... so I followed them. Turns out, that was THE PERFECT place to park... I was like 1 block from the start and finish line. I was parked closer to the start line than the porta potties! heh.
It seems that several TNT peeps were there, it was good to see them!
Once checked in, with timing chip attached to shoe, they informed us that altho they originally meant for us to go counter clockwise around the route, they changed their mind. We were going clockwise instead. works for me.
The bullhorn blows, we start running. I'm happily running with Sheryl as always. Lori leaves us close to the start. We start on some city streets, over a bridge. Then we turn into a pretty meadow path. Really nice area!
There are like 2 water stations close to the start. The first one is water... but the second one the volunteers hand us some kind of electrolyte drink that taste like frosting. I throw the full cup down in horror, and exclaim to Sheryl that that WAS NOT COOL for them to hand us a cup without telling us it wasn't water. yuck... that was no good. Whats worse is there are no water stations after this at all. ugh.
The route winds into the south side of Cook's Park, through the park, and then uphill from there into a neighborhood. Once out of that neighborhood back on a busy city street we pass the 4 mile marker. I'm watching my garmin closely and notice it says we're at 44 minutes into the run... I'm a touch behind my time goal for this run. I've been trying to achieve a 10 minute mile for a couple months now, and I think it's within reach.
I admit to Sheryl that I was hoping to run a 10 minute mile (she's a little winded, and I'm clearly in a better place when I tell her this). She says "go for it!!" I say, "well, I'm going to have to make up 4 minutes... I don't know if I can do that... but I'll try!" so I take off and pull ahead.
At this point it's downhill, and I am FLYING past runners. One after another. It's brilliant. I'm glancing at my garmin and see it's having trouble fixing on my location but it's bouncing all over from 8 minute miles to 10 minute miles. Who knows how fast I'm going? I just know it was faster than the other people around me.
At some point I catch up to Lori... I smile and say hi to her as I pass her. That felt good!
At the 5 mile marker, I notice that I've made up 2 or so minutes... so I'm doing good... and then unexpectedly, the route turns uphill. crap. I pass another person or two at this point, and am behind 2 ladies who look like they're in really good shape and having an airy conversation as they run (i.e. they aren't out of breath)... and I just can't catch them. I'm kinda breathing hard at this point... and I start falling behind them a little.
Dangit.
We are still cruising along tho. Up through a business park neighborhood... I'm dragging a little more...
... and then we turn into Bridgeport Village. I'm maybe 40 feet behind the 2 ladies now. They seem to perk up from recognizing where they are and step it up a bit. I'm not ready to do that quite yet.
I turn into the parking lot entrance for Bridgeport Village and then decide to dig deep and step it up... I start running faster and faster... and when I make that final turn towards the Regal Cinemas I am FLYING. Heidi from TNT is already done and is cheering by the finish line. She sees me hauling BUTT as I come flying towards the finish at a full on sprint and cheers her head off. That felt pretty nice.
I ALMOST catch those ladies... I'm just a couple feet behind them when I cross the finish. I stop my garmin at 1:02:07. And bend over to try to catch my breath. Man I'm having trouble breathing!! whoo!
I hobble over to the chip clippers, and um... put the wrong foot on the crate. The poor guy points this out, and I try to chuckle between huffs, but really I think I just came across like a retard as I switch feet. I waddle out of the finish line area and can't find water. Where is the freakin water!?! Someone puts a bucket of iced water down right then and I gratefully waddle over there and crack one open. I'm feeling a little better. My breathing is slowing to a normal rate.
I wander to the finish line where I found Heidi and see Lori coming in, I cheer her on.
Then before long, here comes Sheryl!! Wooo!! She's smiling huge!
We mingle a bit with the other TNT runners. Heidi tells everyone how fast I was running when I finished. I beamed and told everyone that this run was a PR for me, and I get a round of congrats.
Lori tells me and Sheryl that when I passed her she attempted to keep up with me for a bit, and then had to give up. She wasn't able to match my pace! That was also nice to hear in a strange egotistic way. heh.
I joked about how I WAS NOT able to catch those ladies, and the funny noises I was making while attempting to breathe at the end of the run... oh well.
Sheryl and some others suggest that I go faster earlier in the race... that maybe I'd find that easier than pushing like crazy at the end. I shrugged and said it really helped me and my run to warm up slowly... I'm kinda a last minute push kinda person by nature. heh.
We decide to partake in our free food and libations together. The food is a banana, ceasar salad, and some kind of pita bread wrap around hummus and other veggies inside. It was REALLY GOOD... oh yeah and a wonderful frozen yogurt with popped rice on top. yum!
There was also a raffle with ALL SORTS of neat prizes... clearly donated from the various stores around the Bridgeport Village shopping center. Even tho they said 1 ticket per person you must be present to win... clearly people gave their ticket to their friends as they left, cause the same people kept going up to claim prizes... meanwhile people like ME got bupkis. I think repeat prize claimers should have been denied. That wasn't cool.
I go ahead and buy a $35 raffle ticket for a mini cooper drawing, simply cause I'm happy. Eh, it benefits the Children's Cancer Association or whatever. A good cause.
Anyway, Sheryl just wrote an email to me and Lori. It seems I ran a 10 minute mile average pace TO THE SECOND. I was the only one in that run to do that. Weird no?
Lori ended up running a 10:15 minute mile pace
Sheryl ended up running a 10:23 minute mile pace.
We were all pretty close to eachother!
Sheryl said we should work on a 10K under an hour now! I'm up for that!! heh.
So in conclusion: on Sunday I ran the cane 10 - 10K at a 10 minute mile average pace to the second.
10-10-10
awesome.
Sunday I ran the cane 10 10K down in Tigard. It was a beautiful little run starting and ending at the Regal Cinema at Bridgeport Village (that shopping center with Crate & Barrel).
There weren't many runners there... maybe 250 or so, but this was the first annual cane 10 run. Sponsored by Split Dine and Drink (a restaurant and bar next to the cinema) and Cane 10 Rum, our registration fee included a free mojito, a free glass of Menage a Trois wine, and food. Good deal!
In preparation I was looking at the weather the night before... and it looked REMARKABLY similar to the Cinco de Mayo forecast (50's and sunny up to 60 by noon). I remember I was slightly overdressed for that run, so I decided to wear a running skort and a T and that was it (well, ok a jacket for before and after the run). I was dressed PERFECTLY for this run.
I didn't know where to park, but pulled in right behind 2 cars who really wanted to park in a garage that was kinda blocked off by traffic cones, but they went around those into the garage... so I followed them. Turns out, that was THE PERFECT place to park... I was like 1 block from the start and finish line. I was parked closer to the start line than the porta potties! heh.
It seems that several TNT peeps were there, it was good to see them!
Once checked in, with timing chip attached to shoe, they informed us that altho they originally meant for us to go counter clockwise around the route, they changed their mind. We were going clockwise instead. works for me.
The bullhorn blows, we start running. I'm happily running with Sheryl as always. Lori leaves us close to the start. We start on some city streets, over a bridge. Then we turn into a pretty meadow path. Really nice area!
There are like 2 water stations close to the start. The first one is water... but the second one the volunteers hand us some kind of electrolyte drink that taste like frosting. I throw the full cup down in horror, and exclaim to Sheryl that that WAS NOT COOL for them to hand us a cup without telling us it wasn't water. yuck... that was no good. Whats worse is there are no water stations after this at all. ugh.
The route winds into the south side of Cook's Park, through the park, and then uphill from there into a neighborhood. Once out of that neighborhood back on a busy city street we pass the 4 mile marker. I'm watching my garmin closely and notice it says we're at 44 minutes into the run... I'm a touch behind my time goal for this run. I've been trying to achieve a 10 minute mile for a couple months now, and I think it's within reach.
I admit to Sheryl that I was hoping to run a 10 minute mile (she's a little winded, and I'm clearly in a better place when I tell her this). She says "go for it!!" I say, "well, I'm going to have to make up 4 minutes... I don't know if I can do that... but I'll try!" so I take off and pull ahead.
At this point it's downhill, and I am FLYING past runners. One after another. It's brilliant. I'm glancing at my garmin and see it's having trouble fixing on my location but it's bouncing all over from 8 minute miles to 10 minute miles. Who knows how fast I'm going? I just know it was faster than the other people around me.
At some point I catch up to Lori... I smile and say hi to her as I pass her. That felt good!
At the 5 mile marker, I notice that I've made up 2 or so minutes... so I'm doing good... and then unexpectedly, the route turns uphill. crap. I pass another person or two at this point, and am behind 2 ladies who look like they're in really good shape and having an airy conversation as they run (i.e. they aren't out of breath)... and I just can't catch them. I'm kinda breathing hard at this point... and I start falling behind them a little.
Dangit.
We are still cruising along tho. Up through a business park neighborhood... I'm dragging a little more...
... and then we turn into Bridgeport Village. I'm maybe 40 feet behind the 2 ladies now. They seem to perk up from recognizing where they are and step it up a bit. I'm not ready to do that quite yet.
I turn into the parking lot entrance for Bridgeport Village and then decide to dig deep and step it up... I start running faster and faster... and when I make that final turn towards the Regal Cinemas I am FLYING. Heidi from TNT is already done and is cheering by the finish line. She sees me hauling BUTT as I come flying towards the finish at a full on sprint and cheers her head off. That felt pretty nice.
I ALMOST catch those ladies... I'm just a couple feet behind them when I cross the finish. I stop my garmin at 1:02:07. And bend over to try to catch my breath. Man I'm having trouble breathing!! whoo!
I hobble over to the chip clippers, and um... put the wrong foot on the crate. The poor guy points this out, and I try to chuckle between huffs, but really I think I just came across like a retard as I switch feet. I waddle out of the finish line area and can't find water. Where is the freakin water!?! Someone puts a bucket of iced water down right then and I gratefully waddle over there and crack one open. I'm feeling a little better. My breathing is slowing to a normal rate.
I wander to the finish line where I found Heidi and see Lori coming in, I cheer her on.
Then before long, here comes Sheryl!! Wooo!! She's smiling huge!
We mingle a bit with the other TNT runners. Heidi tells everyone how fast I was running when I finished. I beamed and told everyone that this run was a PR for me, and I get a round of congrats.
Lori tells me and Sheryl that when I passed her she attempted to keep up with me for a bit, and then had to give up. She wasn't able to match my pace! That was also nice to hear in a strange egotistic way. heh.
I joked about how I WAS NOT able to catch those ladies, and the funny noises I was making while attempting to breathe at the end of the run... oh well.
Sheryl and some others suggest that I go faster earlier in the race... that maybe I'd find that easier than pushing like crazy at the end. I shrugged and said it really helped me and my run to warm up slowly... I'm kinda a last minute push kinda person by nature. heh.
We decide to partake in our free food and libations together. The food is a banana, ceasar salad, and some kind of pita bread wrap around hummus and other veggies inside. It was REALLY GOOD... oh yeah and a wonderful frozen yogurt with popped rice on top. yum!
There was also a raffle with ALL SORTS of neat prizes... clearly donated from the various stores around the Bridgeport Village shopping center. Even tho they said 1 ticket per person you must be present to win... clearly people gave their ticket to their friends as they left, cause the same people kept going up to claim prizes... meanwhile people like ME got bupkis. I think repeat prize claimers should have been denied. That wasn't cool.
I go ahead and buy a $35 raffle ticket for a mini cooper drawing, simply cause I'm happy. Eh, it benefits the Children's Cancer Association or whatever. A good cause.
Anyway, Sheryl just wrote an email to me and Lori. It seems I ran a 10 minute mile average pace TO THE SECOND. I was the only one in that run to do that. Weird no?
Lori ended up running a 10:15 minute mile pace
Sheryl ended up running a 10:23 minute mile pace.
We were all pretty close to eachother!
Sheryl said we should work on a 10K under an hour now! I'm up for that!! heh.
So in conclusion: on Sunday I ran the cane 10 - 10K at a 10 minute mile average pace to the second.
10-10-10
awesome.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
CdM pics + PPP!
So, I was looking and looking, but hadn't found any Cinco de Mayo photos posted anywhere. I finally came to the conclusion that not all events have photos. Today, out of nowhere, I got a mailer asking me to purchase my Cinco de Mayo photos!!
Granted, what I'd probably want are lo-res digital copies of the photos, but the photographers only sell hi-res digital copies for $25 each (or like, wallet size packages, which are like eh. what would I do with that??). RIP OFF!!!
So, once again, I've swiped the online samples.
Here I come! This is the last leg of Naito Pkwy to the finish line... so I'm cruising at about a 9 minute mile in these shots.
2 weeks Following Cinco de Mayo, I had the Pole Pedal Paddle in Bend, OR with a team.
The Pole Pedal Paddle is actually a large relay race starting at the top of Mt. Bachelor. It begins with a downhill ski (or snowboard) run, then an 8K cross country ski leg, then a 22 mile bicycle ride down the mountain into Bend, then a 10K run, then a 1.5 mile paddle around some bouys in the Deschutes River in a kayak (or canoe), and finally a 1/3rd mile sprint to the finish line. Some competitors can finish the PPP in about 1 hour 40 minutes. My team WAS NOT one of those competitors. hehehe.
Here was our results:
We got 819th place out of 835 teams/individuals. Yeah, some hard core people do the PPP by themselves and not in a team. Crazy.
Anyway, as I was saying, I was doing the 10K portion of the PPP. That's all. It was a touch intimidating as there was a heat wave at the time. 90 degree weather!!! I've not run in that kind of heat since MAYBE last summer... if ever. I spent the several days leading up to the event hydrating and slamming electrolytes in preparation.
Morning of the race, the rest of my team headed up the mountain for the start. We had a 10:55am start time. Brent did the downhill ski, changed skis (which Renee retrieved), and then did the xcountry leg. From there he tagged Anton to bike down the mountain.
Meanwhile I was sitting at the bike-run exchange down in Bend starting around 10:45 am. I drove Anton's car there. I decided to hang out at the exchange early just cause I was nervous so I had to do something. So bored, I went ahead and applied more sunblock. Renee was texting me the progress, like when Brent started the xcountry leg, and when Anton was tagged at noon and started his bike ride.
I was waiting at the exchange all ready to go for a bit, maybe seriously ready to run starting at 12:30pm.... thinking it would take Anton AT MOST 50 minutes to get down the hill. 35 minutes if he was riding like Armstrong, heh. The year I did the bike ride (3 years ago?), when I got into Bend I was going 45 mph... what a thrill!
More and more of the runners leave on the run, and less and less runners are waiting.
It gets past 1pm... where the heck is Anton?
The coordinator guy at the exchange with a radio gets a call about a woman who was unconscious on the 10K run route, and that they were sending in rescue vehicles for her. It was REALLY hot. I'm getting more nervous.
Oh, btw, I've decided to wear a white baseball cap, a performance polyester tank top, a running skort that leaves little to the imagination, a handheld water bottle, and my sunglasses. And loads of sunblock. Very little fabric. hehehe... this was not the time for dignity.
There is finally about 7 runners waiting at the exchange area. The guy is saying I should just go, that I probably missed my biker, but I was holding his car key, so he wasn't GOING anywhere. I insist that he hasn't come in yet.
at about 1:15pm, here comes Anton!! I hand him his key and start on my run... slowly and tentatively.
The first half of the run is uphill... after a short length on a sidewalk we switch to a gravel and dirt path. There are more water stations on the route than they originally had planned. I'm guessing they decided to add more due to the unexpected heat. I feel silly since I'm like one of the last runners. All the volunteers along the route were hiding in the shade while they clapped and cheered my progress. Some volunteers are near houses and have garden hoses in their hands... and are spraying me down as I run past... heaven!!! I notice immediately the worst part of this run is that my mouth is drying out really fast. It's a very uncomfortable sensation actually... and I start using my handheld waterbottle to swish with. I also use my handheld to dump water on my shoulders, front, and back. I'm drying off at an alarming rate, and since I know the body can only really absorb 8 oz of water every 30 minutes that you drink, drinking more water is only going to bog me down. I make sure water goes on the outside of me for the most part, and it's really helpful.
The turn around feels fine, and I'm starting to "warm up" cardiovascularly. The first mile was the worst. Now the rest is downhill onto the more-shaded riverside dirt trail. 2 runners pass me initially... they look hard core tho. One mentioned as she passes that she missed her biker, so she's just running to run. I see some other runners, maybe 4, ahead of me during a long out and back. On the trail portion near the river I end up passing 3 or 4 runners...
Some of the water stations are trying to offer me gatorade or orange wedges... I beg them not to. It's too hot to ingest anything besides water. The thought of it makes me think I'd be ill if I even tried.
I'm feeling pretty good, thinking I have about 1.5 more miles to go and I find myself emerging from the trees with the run/paddle exchange directly infront of me. What? I step it up anyway and sprint to the run finish. My garmin read 55:40 minutes. There is NO WAY I could run a 10K in 90 degree heat in less than an hour. I'm confused, but finish really strong anyway.
My teammates weren't expecting me yet. Anton didn't even have his life jacket on yet! My teammates cheered me on tho. No photos, cause they didn't even have a camera out! heh.
I tagged Anton, and he got into the water for the paddle portion.
I felt pretty good... not really tired at all. I was just confused as to how long the course actually was. My garmin said ~5 miles... but a 10K is more like 6.3 miles I think. I was wondering if they had shortened the run course due to it being late in the day or something. But, I also will admit, my Garmin lost GPS signal during the run, so it could honestly be about half a mile off... but not over a mile off.
Later Anton found somewhere in the packet where the run was referred to as 5.5 miles. EH? That's not a 10K! Ah well... if the run was REALLY 5.5 miles and I finished in less than 56 minutes and was feeling strong and running faster at the end than at the beginning, that's a pretty good pace! I bet if the run was a REAL 10K, I could have done a 10 minute mile average pace.
Oh yes, and later I found out the delay in the start of my run was Anton's bike chain fell apart and shredded his bike's derailer!!! He was sitting on the side of the road for 30 minutes!!! A van of bike experts just happened to be driving down the mountain and found him, and stopped to help fix his bike.
They took some of the links out of his bike chain and bent his derailer out of the way, so he couldn't use all of his gears, but he was able to keep biking atleast! He said he was at the very back of the cyclists, but then managed to pass like 3 or 4 people after his bike was repaired.
It was a REALLY fun day, and a fun evening celebrating our PPP finish!!
Granted, what I'd probably want are lo-res digital copies of the photos, but the photographers only sell hi-res digital copies for $25 each (or like, wallet size packages, which are like eh. what would I do with that??). RIP OFF!!!
So, once again, I've swiped the online samples.
Here I come! This is the last leg of Naito Pkwy to the finish line... so I'm cruising at about a 9 minute mile in these shots.
2 weeks Following Cinco de Mayo, I had the Pole Pedal Paddle in Bend, OR with a team.
The Pole Pedal Paddle is actually a large relay race starting at the top of Mt. Bachelor. It begins with a downhill ski (or snowboard) run, then an 8K cross country ski leg, then a 22 mile bicycle ride down the mountain into Bend, then a 10K run, then a 1.5 mile paddle around some bouys in the Deschutes River in a kayak (or canoe), and finally a 1/3rd mile sprint to the finish line. Some competitors can finish the PPP in about 1 hour 40 minutes. My team WAS NOT one of those competitors. hehehe.
Here was our results:
We got 819th place out of 835 teams/individuals. Yeah, some hard core people do the PPP by themselves and not in a team. Crazy.
Anyway, as I was saying, I was doing the 10K portion of the PPP. That's all. It was a touch intimidating as there was a heat wave at the time. 90 degree weather!!! I've not run in that kind of heat since MAYBE last summer... if ever. I spent the several days leading up to the event hydrating and slamming electrolytes in preparation.
Morning of the race, the rest of my team headed up the mountain for the start. We had a 10:55am start time. Brent did the downhill ski, changed skis (which Renee retrieved), and then did the xcountry leg. From there he tagged Anton to bike down the mountain.
Meanwhile I was sitting at the bike-run exchange down in Bend starting around 10:45 am. I drove Anton's car there. I decided to hang out at the exchange early just cause I was nervous so I had to do something. So bored, I went ahead and applied more sunblock. Renee was texting me the progress, like when Brent started the xcountry leg, and when Anton was tagged at noon and started his bike ride.
I was waiting at the exchange all ready to go for a bit, maybe seriously ready to run starting at 12:30pm.... thinking it would take Anton AT MOST 50 minutes to get down the hill. 35 minutes if he was riding like Armstrong, heh. The year I did the bike ride (3 years ago?), when I got into Bend I was going 45 mph... what a thrill!
More and more of the runners leave on the run, and less and less runners are waiting.
It gets past 1pm... where the heck is Anton?
The coordinator guy at the exchange with a radio gets a call about a woman who was unconscious on the 10K run route, and that they were sending in rescue vehicles for her. It was REALLY hot. I'm getting more nervous.
Oh, btw, I've decided to wear a white baseball cap, a performance polyester tank top, a running skort that leaves little to the imagination, a handheld water bottle, and my sunglasses. And loads of sunblock. Very little fabric. hehehe... this was not the time for dignity.
There is finally about 7 runners waiting at the exchange area. The guy is saying I should just go, that I probably missed my biker, but I was holding his car key, so he wasn't GOING anywhere. I insist that he hasn't come in yet.
at about 1:15pm, here comes Anton!! I hand him his key and start on my run... slowly and tentatively.
The first half of the run is uphill... after a short length on a sidewalk we switch to a gravel and dirt path. There are more water stations on the route than they originally had planned. I'm guessing they decided to add more due to the unexpected heat. I feel silly since I'm like one of the last runners. All the volunteers along the route were hiding in the shade while they clapped and cheered my progress. Some volunteers are near houses and have garden hoses in their hands... and are spraying me down as I run past... heaven!!! I notice immediately the worst part of this run is that my mouth is drying out really fast. It's a very uncomfortable sensation actually... and I start using my handheld waterbottle to swish with. I also use my handheld to dump water on my shoulders, front, and back. I'm drying off at an alarming rate, and since I know the body can only really absorb 8 oz of water every 30 minutes that you drink, drinking more water is only going to bog me down. I make sure water goes on the outside of me for the most part, and it's really helpful.
The turn around feels fine, and I'm starting to "warm up" cardiovascularly. The first mile was the worst. Now the rest is downhill onto the more-shaded riverside dirt trail. 2 runners pass me initially... they look hard core tho. One mentioned as she passes that she missed her biker, so she's just running to run. I see some other runners, maybe 4, ahead of me during a long out and back. On the trail portion near the river I end up passing 3 or 4 runners...
Some of the water stations are trying to offer me gatorade or orange wedges... I beg them not to. It's too hot to ingest anything besides water. The thought of it makes me think I'd be ill if I even tried.
I'm feeling pretty good, thinking I have about 1.5 more miles to go and I find myself emerging from the trees with the run/paddle exchange directly infront of me. What? I step it up anyway and sprint to the run finish. My garmin read 55:40 minutes. There is NO WAY I could run a 10K in 90 degree heat in less than an hour. I'm confused, but finish really strong anyway.
My teammates weren't expecting me yet. Anton didn't even have his life jacket on yet! My teammates cheered me on tho. No photos, cause they didn't even have a camera out! heh.
I tagged Anton, and he got into the water for the paddle portion.
I felt pretty good... not really tired at all. I was just confused as to how long the course actually was. My garmin said ~5 miles... but a 10K is more like 6.3 miles I think. I was wondering if they had shortened the run course due to it being late in the day or something. But, I also will admit, my Garmin lost GPS signal during the run, so it could honestly be about half a mile off... but not over a mile off.
Later Anton found somewhere in the packet where the run was referred to as 5.5 miles. EH? That's not a 10K! Ah well... if the run was REALLY 5.5 miles and I finished in less than 56 minutes and was feeling strong and running faster at the end than at the beginning, that's a pretty good pace! I bet if the run was a REAL 10K, I could have done a 10 minute mile average pace.
Oh yes, and later I found out the delay in the start of my run was Anton's bike chain fell apart and shredded his bike's derailer!!! He was sitting on the side of the road for 30 minutes!!! A van of bike experts just happened to be driving down the mountain and found him, and stopped to help fix his bike.
They took some of the links out of his bike chain and bent his derailer out of the way, so he couldn't use all of his gears, but he was able to keep biking atleast! He said he was at the very back of the cyclists, but then managed to pass like 3 or 4 people after his bike was repaired.
It was a REALLY fun day, and a fun evening celebrating our PPP finish!!
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