California International Marathon 12-2-2018

I was so happy to actually be able to fit a marathon in this year, I hadn't set my goals terribly high for CIM this year. All through my recovery and training, I figured that if I could just finish it, it would be a success. I also figured that I could probably qualify for Boston somewhat handily, but I hadn't pushed too hard at the idea. Mostly I was just hoping that 2018 wouldn't be my first calendar year since 2008 without completing a marathon.

As I got closer to the race, I decided to set my goals as: 
1. Finish and be happy with it
2. Qualify for Boston (although they set the standards higher this year, I will be entering a new age group next year, so my 49-year-old qualifying time of 3:55:00 becomes my 50-year-old qualifying time of 3:55:00), and 
3. MAYBE pull off something in the 3:40's.

But I felt so good. While we were in Sacramento loading up on french toast the day before the race, Sean suggested that maybe I was setting my sights too low on this one. My training was going so well that he thought I might PR. I thought about it and decided that I was going to maybe not PR, but that I certainly had a shot at a 3:30-something, so I adjusted my goals a bit:
1. 3:54 (enough to buffer that BQ by one minute)
2. 3:40-something
3. 3:30-something. 
While it would be great to get a PR at my age, this was not the day to try it, because I've heard too many horror stories about people overrunning the first half of this race and dying in the second half. A PR for me would be 3:33:59 or less, which would mean either a consistent 8:05 or an amazing negative split. I wasn't confident enough to start that fast in either case, so we'll leave that for another race.

The expo was great. Extremely well-organized, and a very helpful and friendly bunch of volunteers. It was also wonderfully medium-sized. There was enough going on that it was fun and engaging (and I found a good deal on a good sports bra - I'd left my favorite in the dryer at home), but not overwhelming in crowd or in offerings. 

Race day weather was amazing. We were flanked by rain on Saturday and Monday, but Sunday was clear and cold and sunny. It was very dark at the start, however. The instructions on the website said "buses leave the convention center at 5:00". I wasn't sure if that meant that there was a window or if they all left at once, so I decided to leave the hotel at 4:40, just in case. As it happens, it was a good idea. There was a line most of the way around the block when I arrived at 4:50. It was really cold, and I was enjoying the warmth of my throw-away layers of sweats. The buses showed up exactly on time, and we filed on. Our driver, the lively Cherie, talked us through the evacuation procedures and popped back into the driver's seat. Aaaaaand the bus didn't start. Cherie kept a cool head, although she was undoubtedly getting worried. Her cheerful shout outs went from "It'll be just a minute, we'll get you going" to "They're gonna help me out here, just get comfy, we'll get you there" to "There will be another bus here in TWO minutes, don't worry!" We all filed off the bus back into the cold, and all the other buses had left. Cherie popped out and said "I'm just gonna try ONE MORE THING", and flipped some switch at the outside of the bus, and when she went back in... VROOM! We filed back on and got on the road. That was a little adrenaline spike, but not too bad.

It seemed like a very long ride to Folsom, but we arrived in time for me to cycle through the porta potty lines twice and see a lovely sunrise. We lined up in our self-assigned waves, and one of the members of the band Cake (from Sac'to) played the national anthem for us, and we took off.

I've heard horror stories of people starting this race too fast, so I took my usual approach of staring at my Garmin so as not to overrun the first few miles. I try to "be a stone in a stream" and let all the people who are going out too fast pass me by, taking care to remember what some of them look like so I can see them again in the last 5 miles as I pass them. It's a strategy that works well for me, keeping me slow at first and pushing me in the tough miles.

They bill this race as "fast" and "net downhill", but they don't really tell you quite how hilly it is. It's really quite a lot of rolling hills, especially in the first 16-18 miles. After that it's chill as heck, but there is a lot more uphill than their marketing department would lead you to believe. That said, I like rolling hills, so I was very okay with it, but I wouldn't say it's an easy course!

Thanks to my Garmin, I was able to keep a really consistent pace. When all was said and done, my fastest split was 8:08, and my slowest was 8:17. Remarkably consistent, for me at least. The only part I really hated was mile 25, but I pretty much always hate  mile 25. Coming around the State Capitol at the end was really fun, not only for the visual, but the great crowd support. There was a guy dressed like Jesus at mile 26 with a sign that said "The End Is Near", which made me laugh out loud. (That and the person nearer the half holding the sign that said "Toenails are for Pussies" were my favorites). Coming up Capitol Avenue to the finish, I put a little kick on, and was delighted to have finished with a solid 3:36:30. The second-fastest marathon I have run (after Chicago 2014), and a Boston Qualifier by 18.5 minutes.

Overall it was a very positive experience and I would recommend this race highly. I had only two criticisms: One is there was nowhere nearly enough water at the finish line. After I left the finishers area and found my husband, we had to look around for probably 10 minutes to find water, and then it was only a little cup, not sufficient to mix my Recoverite, so I had to get back to the hotel to have my recovery drink. I know CIM is trying to have a low carbon footprint, but maybe they should consider a bottled water sponsor. We're all pretty dehydrated when we come across, and can't reasonably stay in the chute until we've rehydrated. Just my opinion.

Secondly, and I hope someone from CIM gets back to me about this, is the behavior of one of the pace mentors really bothered me. I started out in between the 3:30 and 3:35 pace groups, and spent about half the race with 3:35 right on my heels. I don't like to run with the groups, just because I find the crowding kind of stressful, but I know they are a great offering in big races for people who want the guidance. And I know that a great pace leader can be a game-changer. One of the guys leading 3:35, however, was a little upsetting. He kept smack-talking people wearing the Nike VaporFly shoes, saying things like "look at all these people wearing those ridiculous $400 shoes thinking they are gonna be the ones getting a 2 hour marathon". "Look there goes another guy. He's gonna run a 4 hour marathon." Then around mile 17 or thereabouts he says "Oh great. Here comes the MOST BORING 4 miles of this marathon." I was disappointed for the people running in his group. There's fun banter, and there's taking people down. I hope someone has a conversation with this guy about how to say things in a positive way. At mile 17, for instance, "here's where we need to dig deep as we start to get back into the city" would have a more positive vibe than basically telling them to prepare to be miserable for 30 minutes. We need to remember when we're civilians versus when we are representing someone's business/event/marathon. Anyway, that's my soapbox. Other than that, it was a terrific experience.

Thanks so much to P.A.C.E. physical therapy for getting me back on my knee, and to my amazing sponsor Hammer Nutrition - Tissue Rejuvenator during my recovery, as well as frequent use of Recoverite, Endurolytes, and Fully Charged got me through training. Endurolytes, Race Day Boost, Anti-Fatigue Caps, Fully Charged, BCAA, and Hammer Gels: Mountain Huckleberry, Vanilla, and Peanut Butter on race day helped get me to the finish line.

2018. A little about Boston. And the Appletree Half Marathon

2018 didn't turn out to be the year I thought it would. Last September I registered for the Boston Marathon, hoping for a re-do of my 2013 race. I actually ran a good race that year, but because of the bombing, I thought it would be nice to do it again and see Boston in celebratory glory rather than crime scene investigation mode. By the time my training started in late December, I decided that for my 16th marathon, I would change up the way I trained and see if I could really surprise myself. I decided that I'd try to get a PR in Boston, just a few weeks shy of my 49th birthday. I added an extra day of running to my usual plan, and held myself to a higher standard for tempo work. It wasn't at random - I read books by smart guys and applied my new-found knowledge carefully. And it was working! By late February and early March, I was running faster and more consistently than ever, and relatively comfortable during and after my workouts. 
On March 9, I injured myself teaching a particularly hard strength class. (Rookie mistake - don't demonstrate what not to do while holding a heavy load - insert facepalm here). I had hoped that it wasn't much and that I could just do some deep water running and foam rolling and be fine 5 weeks later in Boston. But it wasn't. Despite the freezing temps, strong headwinds, and driving rain, I was excited to be there. I hadn't made a plan for a potential DNF, because it hadn't occurred to me that I wouldn't finish. Silly, I know, but I thought I could power through. I felt great for 3 miles, okay until the 10k mark, slow but determined to 15k, and then tried walking. It was so cold that when I switched to walking, my muscles locked up and I limped from mile 10-point-something to the medical tent in Natick at mile 11 and faced the inevitable. My first (and hopefully only) DNF. I was devastated, but that's for another day. 
When we got back to Portland, I finally got myself to a doctor, and got the diagnosis that I had a small meniscus tear, and that it was rehab-able rather than requiring surgery. So starting in late April, I went to physical therapy every week with the miracle worker Matt Walsh, and by July 4 I was ready to run a 5k. After that, I was released and told to "Be Smart" as I increased my mileage again, and that a half marathon in September and a full marathon in December seemed like achievable goals. So I signed up for the Apple Tree Half on September 16.
I tried to talk to myself as I would a client and remember that increasing speed and increasing distance need to happen sequentially and not simultaneously, and also that progress is never linear. It has been humbling to be slow and out of shape comparatively. But I'm so happy to get to do it again. 
I got my long run mileage back up to 16 or 17 miles the week before the Apple Tree, and I had started doing track workouts about a month or so beforehand, so I felt like I had a good chance of staying consistent at around 8:00-8:15 per mile for the race. My basic goal was just to have a good run without stopping. My REAL goal was to come in under 1:50. In general I'm a 1:43-1:45 half marathoner, but there's a lot of variation around that.  I thought 1:40-anything would feel great.
The weather report varied like crazy the week leading up to the race. One day it was predicting heat and sun, the next day, cold and rain, and just back and forth all week, so I had no idea what to expect. I felt like it would be nice to have a race that wasn't rainy and windy, but sometimes that's how it is. 
Anyway, race day, the half marathon didn't start until 8 a.m., so I missed the early morning rain, and it was actually rather pleasant at the starting line. My biggest concern was not going too fast in the first half. This is usually my biggest concern anyway, but since my endurance is not yet what it was 6 months ago, I was really afraid of crashing and burning. My garmin was my bff, and every time I saw myself popping down to a 7:-something mile, I backed off to somewhere in my goal range.
So I have run a handful of events in Vancouver, and by and large I have found them to be okay. I seem to recall short miles through the pretty part of Fort Vancouver, followed by long out-and-backs with not much to look at, and I definitely remember at least one poorly-timed race where the fastest of the half-marathoners were forced around big groups of the slowest 5k walkers in the last half mile or so. 
(Somewhat unrelated rant: Please don't get me wrong - I absolutely LOVE seeing people come out to walk a 5k. I think people who aren't "typical" racers often don't get the appreciation they deserve. However, on a narrow street, when you're trying to get a PR, and you're having to go 10 feet sideways to get around a string of 5 abreast-walking people who are chatting and naturally not looking behind them, it can get a bit frustrating. This seems somewhat preventable by a race director with an eye on the timing of things.)
Anyway, back on track: the Apple Tree Half Marathon was far and away the best race I have run in Vancouver. There were many things I appreciated, and I'll try to get to them all:
First of all, the 5k was the night before, which was a huge win for a lot of people, and big ups to WHY Racing for doing it this way. It gave them the opportunity to have a weekend long event, making the atmosphere more festival-like than just one race time can do. It also gave folks who really like medals the chance to participate in both the 5k and the Half Marathon and even earn a third "Beast" medal in the process. A lovely idea, and the bling-collectors were definitely digging it. It also allowed the course to stay a little less hectic the day of the longer events.
Secondly, Vancouver has made some lovely changes to its waterfront area. The new, modern riverwalk area was nice to look at, and also because there was so much going on, gave a level of crowd support in the often-challenging later miles of the race. WHY racing did a great job of designing the course - there were no multiple-mile stretches with nothing and nobody to look at. The mostly out-and-back course offered good views coming-and-going, and I personally like a course that is at least partially out-and-back, just because you can see who else is on course. The variety of views was great - park, a bit of trail, riverfront, a bridge/overpass that was very scenic, and well-marked turns and crossings made the trip very pleasant.
The only possible drawback that I could see was because it was largely out-and-back, and the marathon was a double loop of the half marathon, it could get a little crowded on some of the narrower pathways. I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a probable PR course for that reason, but that's speculative. I was certainly happy with my time, so perhaps the relatively small fields circumvented that issue.
So, I was feeling pretty good for most of the race. Around mile 8, the wind really picked up, which made it harder than I'd have liked to stay consistent, and at around mile 9 the sky opened up to a downpour for about 20 minutes, which was less than ideal, but I'll take rain at mile 9 a million times over rain at mile 1. By mile 11 I was not smiling anymore, but I just reminded myself that it's okay to be uncomfortable and that I could run for 16-17 more minutes. I knew if I slowed at all, I wouldn't be making my goal of under- 1:50, so I just hunkered down and focused on passing someone who had been about a quarter mile ahead of me for some time. I passed her at mile 12 and got my game face on to push to the finish. 
I was thrilled to finish in about 1:48:30 - nowhere near a PR for me, but a very successful return to racing, considering I'd only been running again for 2 months. After crossing the finish, I hobbled over to the results tent (more props to WHY Racing for having *immediate* results available), and found out I won my age group! That was particularly satisfying. I crossed the finish as the 11th woman overall (out of 419), and 1st in my age group (45-49) out of 40. 
As always, huge thanks to my amazing sponsor Hammer Nutrition. Fueled for this race with Endurolytes, Apple Oatmeal bar for breakfast, Grape Fizz while I drove to the course, Fully charged and Espresso Hammer Gel at the start line, and of course APPLE PIE gel on course. Recoverite at the finish line. Special mention to Tissue Rejuvenator for helping me get over this meniscus tear and back to running with the rapidity I was able to pull off.
Next up: California International Marathon on 12/2.

Columbia Gorge Marathon

My running goals this year were not many, as we've had a lot of other priorities for 2017. I wanted to run at least 2 marathons, and 3 if necessary, because my main priority was to qualify again for Boston. Next year will be 5 years since my first run of Boston, and I'd like to see it in all its glory this time. Luckily for me, I qualified readily on my first attempt back in May at the Capital City Marathon. This meant I didn't need to try again in July. It also freed me up to do a run that I've had on my list of "someday marathons", the Columbia Gorge Marathon. I've heard for years that it is a beautiful race, but definitely not a PR course because of its elevation and the windiness of the Columbia River Gorge. 
I've been spotty with my training the last 16 weeks because of this and that. Extreme heat didn't stop me from running outside, but it did slow me down. The gorge fires in September made the air quality inhospitable, and I missed a few runs from that. Family obligations had me miss a few. Nothing too aggregious, but for someone who only runs 3 times a week, I felt like I could have been a little better trained. That said, I was really excited about this race. The website cornily brags "You'll get a PR - not for time, but for most pictures taken on course!" I laughed, but in reality, that is true.
I was feeling pretty ready, and not at all sure what to expect for time. My PR is 3:34 (Chicago 2014), and my slowest ever (non-trail) marathon was 4:10ish at the Portland Marathon last year, with the extra .75 miles they accidentally added (that's a whole other story, but when I saw that I was 3 miles behind at the half, I fell apart, only to realize that because of the extra mileage, I'd actually been 2 minutes ahead. Ultimately it was a disaster for me). 
Anyway, suffice it to say, I had no idea what to expect for time on this one. I do run a lot of hills, and somewhat steep ones, too, so I wasn't daunted, but I've never raced a hilly road marathon, so couldn't really nail down an expected time. I told myself that if I came in somewhere between 4:00 and 4:15, I would be satisfied, and if I got a sub-4 hour, I would be delighted. 
My taper went well, and although I would swear I was hungrier during the taper than usual, I'm pretty sure I always think that. The week before the race I was really sore, and I couldn't figure out why, as I hadn't worked out especially hard. By Wednesday night, I had a tight throat and sinuses, so went to bed early. Thursday morning I woke up sick as heck. I was able to cancel all my clients for the day, but had to go in and teach my yoga class. I spent the rest of the day in bed, and Friday, too. Saturday I still felt ill, and noticed that the cold had moved into my chest, which was not a good sign. I'd been taking sudafed to prevent it, but it was clear that I was going to run this race sick. I googled the effects of sudafed on marathoners, and found that in large concentrations it is a banned substance. Not an issue for me, as I stayed below the recommended dosage anyway, and there is no way I was in contention for a win. But it was enough to let me know that I probably wouldn't die if I took one before the race. I know that an antihistamine will make you thirsty, though, so I decided to run with my camelback. I've never raced with it before, because the extra weight and sloshiness of it, but it was a good call on Sunday. I put the full amount of water with 2 Hammer Nutrition Fizz tablets for extra electrolytes. I also packed Hammer's Endurolytes and Anti-Fatigue tabs for the road. I filled my vest with gels and a bag of mini pretzels, as after a few hours of running, salty and crunchy tend to sound a lot better than sweet and gooey. I also had a shot of Fully Charged right before the start for a little kick.
The flash flood warning of the day before was gone, as was the forecast of rain. There were light sprinkles the first few minutes, but we had a lovely rainbow overhead as the gun went off:

It was a small field of marathoners, and among them are a few that I know from the half marathon group I coach at Foot Traffic. Four of them were running their first marathon, so I was glad to have an out-and-back course so I could check on them while still running my own race. I was careful not to overrun the beginning, and was glad to have my Garmin reminding me to stay slow on the initial 5 miles, which were easy rolling hills with a bit more down than up. While I was reminding myself to slow down around mile 3, I fell in step with Brittney, a runner from eastern Oregon with a similar pace and goals, so we chatted and stayed together for several miles. Miles 5-10 were a pretty steady uphill, but that was as expected. What I didn't expect was the pummeling we got with the winds at mile 10. The turnaround was at mile 11 (the finish line was further down than the start), and while I had hoped for a little relief on the downhill miles, they were not as fun as I had hoped, as there was a strong headwind. I consoled myself with the amazing views:

(Brittney and me near the halfway point)

(One of many stunning views of the gorge)

At mile 12ish we hit the peak elevation and I was looking forward to five steady miles of downhill, but the strong headwinds took a little of that natural downhill momentum away. I felt pretty good, though, and thought that possibly I was headed for a sub-4:00 race, which would have been great for that course in my current condition. At around mile 14, though, I started to feel a familiar tremor in my calf, and stopped to take more Endurolytes, hoping it would stave off the cramping that usually hits me around mile 22. By mile 16, I fell behind Brittney, knowing I would have to do a little walk/run to keep my calves from getting destroyed.

By mile 17, I was still pretty happy but had definitely slowed. I was walking one minute every so often, and tried to take it easy on myself knowing that I'd rather finish slower and happy than gun for some unreasonable time and hurt myself. So I stopped a few times and took more pictures and sipped on my fizz and pulled out my headphones to take some musical encouragement. 

At mile 23, my calf went into full spasm, so I stopped and stretched and didn't freak out about it or feel defeated as I had in previous races, and got back to business as soon as I could. At mile 24, I hit my second wind, and just felt great to the end. I think the last 2 miles were my fastest. They were largely downhill, but still. I felt great at the finish, and while I'd have loved to have gotten there 62 seconds faster, I was not disappointed with my 4:01:01 finish time.

I would absolutely do this race again. It was beautiful, and I think that with a little more of a visceral idea of what the course feels like (and without a chest cold) I could pull off a more satisfying finish time.

My stats: 56/186 total finishers, 26/90 women, 6/24 women 40-49

Next race: Holiday Half Marathon 12/10

Capital City Marathon

I entered 2017 with a steely resolve to qualify for Boston again. I ran it in 2013, and while I was lucky and fast enough to finish before the bombing, I really want to return to get the proper experience. 

I chose the Capital City Marathon because it was close to home, looked like a nice course, and I'd never been to Olympia before, except to blow past it on my way to Seattle. The elevation profile gave me pause to wonder if it was a bad idea to try to get my BQ here (not any crazy aggressive hills, but constant rolling hills), but by the time I'd done my research, I was really looking forward to experiencing this race. I made other backup plans for an easier course in July if I needed it. 

For my age and gender, I needed 3:55:00 or under to qualify for Boston. I was hoping for anything under 3:50 to get the 5 minutes of buffer.

Anyway, that's the back story.

My training went really well through this training cycle. I was kind of surprised, because I seemed to be holding on to a few extra pounds from winter that I was having a hard time shaking. I felt slow and heavy, and the back of my knee wouldn't so much hurt as let me know it was there, which is something that happens to me at a slightly higher weight. But, around the halfway point of my 16-week plan, I started to notice that my weight was getting back toward where I like it, and my speed work was coming closer to target. By the time I began my taper 3 weeks out, I had run a satisfying 24-miler, and my speed work was right on. I felt confident. I had been fueling with all my favorite Hammer Nutrition supplements throughout training - Recoverite and Tissue Rejuvenator are two of my go-tos, and added Race Day Boost for the 4 days leading up to the race. I booked my hotel room at the host hotel, and because apparently Olympia is very affordable, I sprang the extra $15 or $20 for a "city view suite". My husband had to work the day of the race, but my daughters both wanted to accompany me, despite warnings that it was going to be a lot of sitting around with my feet up and watching TV. (In retrospect, I guess I see the appeal).

Anyway, the hotel was old and interesting, and the room was very comfortable. At least at first. The girls and I went to packet pickup, and took a short walk around downtown Olympia, which is very cute and rustic. We had a very marginal pasta dinner and walked back to the hotel room to chill. Unfortunately the air conditioning was not working at the hotel, so despite having it on full-blast all night, I managed probably only about 2 hours of hot, fitful sleep. Disappointing, but I got up at 4:00, had breakfast, and hoped I wouldn't crash and burn. While I was getting ready, I peeked outside at our "city view" to find with delight that our room on the 7th floor was literally right in front of the finish line! I told the girls to look for me between 10:40 and 10:50, and headed outside.

I'm hit or miss with carrying fluids on course with me, but due to the predicted heat of the day, I carried my fuel belt with me, and had my flasks loaded with water and Grape Fizz electrolytes. I also had electrolyte capsules in my front pocket. Usually I'm good to take these once or maybe twice, but I resolved to take them on the hour, every hour. I'm not used to running in heat (to the point that the predicted 75-degree temps had me a bit worried), and I knew that Endurolytes would do me some good. As it happens, even though it was quite warm at the finish, I managed to completely avoid my usual mile-24 calf freak-out, and I credit the endurolytes with that success!

Anyway, the race started out downtown, and made a nice little loop through the charming and tourist-friendly locales. Around mile 6, we split from the half-marathon course (although the half'ers didn't start for 45-minutes after us, so we really only encountered them at the end). We headed up into the more rural neighborhoods. I'm pretty sure I can't remember any part of this race that was flat, nor do I remember any brutal hills. It seemed to be a nice, easy up and down the whole time. Even the long hills were under a half mile, or so it seems. My Garmin showed at the end just over 1000' of climb, and only one 9-minute mile on a longer hill.

They had pace groups, which was actually a source of stress for me. I was targeting 3:44 as an ideal finish time, so figured I should be just ahead of the 3:45 pacer. At around mile 2, that group passed me, and were it not for my Portland Marathon experience last year, I probably would have tried to keep up, but I learned my lesson: trust your devices. I kept my 8:30 pace, and watched that group go faster and faster away from me. It was a little unnerving, but I stuck to my plan. At mile 14, I passed the pacer who had been leading the 3:45 group, walking and looking rough. I assume that they swapped leaders at the half - I hope his replacement was ready! Over the next 4 miles, I passed what I believe to be every single person who was running with that group. I felt so bad for them - I've over-run the first half of a race a few times, and I could feel their pain. My friend who also ran the race said she saw that pace group come through roughly on time, so they must have just run a nice, chill second half. All the same, I'm glad I didn't stay with them. 

Because it was a smaller race - just over 300 participants in the full marathon - there was never much jockeying for position, although I never felt alone. The volunteers were great. There were quite a few turns on the course, and I was never left wondering which way to go. The water stations were efficient, and offered Gu and gummy bears, although I brought my own Hammer Gel in my pack. I did hit them up for water, though, in the second half's heat.

We joined up with the half marathon around mile 19, which could be a bad thing, but I found the walkers in the CCM to be very courteous and not tending to walk six-abreast. Everyone shared the road (runners as well, many of whom I'm sure were feeling a bit brusque at this stage), and I heard a lot of supporting words exchanged between all the participants.

As we headed back toward the Capitol and the finish line, there was a nice, long, downhill stretch. I'd been pacing really well throughout the race (almost every single mile was within 4 or 5 seconds of my 8:30 target, save for the one long hill and a mile-16 bathroom stop), so I opened it up a bit at the end. Mile 26 was my fastest at 8:12. As I came up on the finish line, I looked up at the hotel to see my daughters cheering for me, which was the highlight of the run. 

I ended up with a time of 3:47:39, which was just a couple minutes shorter than my 3:44 hopeful target, but well within my more reasonable 3:50-or-less goal, and good enough to give me a pretty good shot of getting into Boston for 2018. It turned out that I got second place for my age group, too. Officially third in my age group, but my fast friend Renee got second overall and first in Masters, so once they pulled out her stats, I fared a little better. LOL.

I would definitely recommend this race. It was a pretty course, well-organized, big enough to be fun and still small enough to be low-stress, and very enjoyable.

Hop Hop Half Marathon

After such a sloppy, cold, wet winter and early spring, what a surprise it was to have a nice day for the Hop Hop Half Marathon on 4/15. There was a nice, cool fog in patches, and a gentle breeze.
Although I've lived in Portland for over 10 years now, I had never been on Marine Drive, so it was quite a pleasant experience running along the Columbia.
But I'll back up. This race is run by Foot Traffic, the company for whom I coach runners and walkers to cover a variety of distances from 5k to full marathon. Although this is not the featured race for the training group, there were several of my athletes out there doing either the 5k or the half marathon. I mingled a bit pre-race, and led a dynamic warmup for my group, although all were welcome and many joined in from the crowd at large. The Easter theme was really fun, and there were people dressed like bunnies, eggs, and carrots, as well as various pastel-splashed springlike outfits. I wore my pink Hammer Nutrition shirt, but decided to opt for aerodynamic rather than bunny-eared.
The course was really flat, with only a few overpasses provided the only real texture to the course. Since I was using this race mostly as a quick tempo run rather than racing to win, I planned to stay at 7:50-8:00 per mile for the first 10 miles, and see what I felt like in the last 5k. Frequent checks of my Garmin found me in the 7:40s, so I kept trying to slow myself down, wondering if I had a gentle wind at my back, and wondering if that would turn into headwind on the return trip. The view was nice - the Columbia River on one side, and PDX Airport on the other. I tried to stay slow and not worry about the runners around me, and just stay consistent as I headed out. Because of an initial neighborhood loop, the turnaround for the largely out-and-back course was at mile 8.5 or thereabouts. When I turned back, I was pleased to see that there was not a headwind, and I was feeling pretty strong. At this point, I started to think about whether I wanted to accelerate into the last miles. 
I was running next to a dude wearing an R2D2 shirt for a moment, and we passed a walker still on her way out to the turnaround. She smiled and said "I like your shirt!" I said "Thank you!" and realized halfway through the word "thank" that she was of course talking to R2D2, and not just a Hammer Nutrition fan. Oh well.
There was a woman in a yellow top with whom I had been tag-teaming. At least that's what I call it. She'd be right behind me for a while, then she'd pass me for a bit, and we'd go back and forth. I wasn't feeling that feisty about beating her, but I did wonder which one of us was inconsistently pacing. My garmin told me it wasn't me, and I hoped that was correct. Anyway, around mile 10, she was about 5 seconds ahead of me, and I thought, "you know, I bet she's between 45 and 49 years old." I kept my eye on her, and considered whether it was going to be a race for our age group in that last mile. Mile 10 was too early to really open up, so I just stayed there with her and maintained my 7:46. I'm pretty sure she was aware of me, too, and wondered if she was planning a strategy.
But then something funny happened. At mile 11 there was a water station right before we crossed over the road. And she stopped for water! I wondered if she was super thirsty or just not competitive, because it would not have occurred to me to stop for water at mile 11 when I was jockeying for position with another runner. Maybe she just wasn't competitive. Anyway, I passed her without accelerating, figuring she would catch up to me and we could race the final .25 or whatever. I wasn't sure how far behind me she was on this flat, straight course. When I got to mile 12, I found I still had quite a bit of energy, and thought maybe I could finish strong, so I kicked it up a bit. Honestly, the best I'd hoped for was a 1:44-something, but I ended up finishing in 1:43:15. Not a PR by several minutes, but the fastest I'd done at this distance since 2014, and good enough for a win in my age group.
A quick check of the results later showed me that the yellow shirt woman, who finished about 30 seconds behind me, was in fact in my age group, which satisfied the competitor in me. Ultimately, however, it gave me a good steady tempo run, and adds to my confidence going into my upcoming marathon.
Foot Traffic knows how to put on a good post-race party, and I heartily enjoyed the egg-croissant sandwich and mimosa that awaited me. I'd definitely run this one again. Fun race.

Coyote Hills 10K Trail Race

It's not often that I run a 10k race. I find it to be an odd distance. Too long to go too fast, and too short to go slowly, and it's not a distance I'm accustomed to racing. When I had the opportunity to do this race, however, I thought that with its mixed surfaces and varied grades that it might be a good test of my pre-season fitness as I begin my training for the Capital City Marathon in Olympia, WA in May. It seemed like a nice, small race in a pretty area, and we happened to be in the Bay Area that weekend.
Anyway, for a small race, it was very well-appointed. The course itself was in a state park, in a marshy area of Fremont, near the Dumbarton Bridge. Because parking was limited, they had us park at a local business park, and bused us to the course on these extremely luxurious commuter buses (not relevant to the race, but an interesting experience for me and my husband). Once we arrived, I was pleased to see a rather grand setup for such a small race - they had coffee, hot chocolate, vendors, bib pickup, music, and covered areas to stand out of the rain. These came in handy - since we came from out of town, I had to pick up my bib that morning, and arrived extra early, so I had a lot of time to literally chill while waiting for race time.
The half marathon was clearly the featured race, and due to recent torrential rains in California (mercifully bringing many counties out of drought), the course was partially flooded and re-routed. Still, they explained the new course and got the half marathoners off on time at 9:00. 15 minutes later, my 10k group got the same spiel, and also took off on time. We were also told that the course was a little long. The race director called it an "Ultra 10k" because of the extra distance, and said we could expect it to be about 6.3 miles. Okay, noted.
My goal was a consistent pace throughout, to the best of my ability. Left to my own devices, I am what I consider an 'emotional runner', and my pace can bop all over the place. However, I was left to my other devices, my Garmin and my Nike+ app. They kept me on target, and for the first three miles, I ran exactly 7:41. Bam! These miles were paved multi-use trail with rolling hills. Very nice, and very pretty. At the 3-mile mark, the course changed to hilly and muddy. Also very pretty and fun, if wetter and sloppier. The second three miles, I ran exactly 8:15. Very happy with that, although I'd have liked to go faster, but it was slippery. At mile six, I figured I'd kick it up a bit, so accelerated. When I hit 6.3 miles on my Garmin (which generally shorts me mileage), a volunteer called out, "Great job! Only a quarter mile left!" I laughed, and groaned, because I'd planned my acceleration to be only .3 miles. Anyway, when I passed the finish, Garmin and Nike both told me 6.56 miles. A bit long for a 5k, but a nice run all the same. My finish time was 51:53, which was definitely not a PR for 10k, but...the extra distance. My devices gave me an average pace of 7:54, which seems about right. The official race results say it's 8:14, because they divided by 6.2. Oh well. 
I feel really good to have even that level of consistency right now at the start of my training for Olympia, and I did quite well in the race, too. I was the 6th woman across the finish line out of 153, 1st in Masters (out of I don't know how many because they didn't award masters), 1st in my age group out of 27, and 22nd across the finish line overall male and female, out of 277. Pretty satisfying for a run that is not my distance used as a barometer of finess. :-)
I'm not sure what the post-race looked like, or if they did any sort of awards. They had a delay getting the results, so after waiting for 30 minutes or so after the finish without any postings, I decided I was more cold than anything, so left. Other than that, though, the race was very well-organized, very well-appointed, friendly, and enjoyable. If I'm back in the Bay next year, I may try the half.

Autumn Leaves 50-50

I ran my first 50K race this weekend. I'm so glad I did it, too.
My friend Maureen posted on Facebook that she was hoping to run this race and asked if any friends wanted to do it, too. I wouldn't have done it otherwise, but I thought, what the heck. I would have the training, since it was 3 weeks after my fall marathon, and I have felt inspired by all of my fellow Hammer Nutrition athletes who run these amazing ultramarathons, so I threw my hat into the ring.
I'd known it was coming, but hadn't paid much attention to the idea, as my fall marathon was my target event. I had been planning to requalify for the Boston Marathon. Well, that didn't happen, and I had been feeling down on myself about it, so in the last few weeks, I began to get excited for the chance to redeem myself.
The Autumn Leaves 50/50 is a 50K and 50-mile race - a 10K loop in Champoeg State Park, a lovely area something like halfway between Salem and Portland. The 50k does 5 loops, and the 50-miler does 8 loops. I'm generally not thrilled with even a double loop course, so I thought there was a chance it would be tedious, but on the other hand, the repetition is comforting for such a long distance, because you're never too far from the aid station, or even a bail-out should it be necessary. The 2 aid stations along the way meant that you were never more than 2 miles from help or a bathroom.
Anyway, I tried not to have much expectation for it, but I thought it might be nice to come in around 5 hours. As race day approached, I got a cold, which bummed me out. I really wanted to redeem myself after my disastrous marathon of 3 weeks ago. I didn't feel great, but decided to do it, and it was AWESOME.
The race had a 6 a.m. start for 50-milers who needed a little extra time, so there were already a handful of runners out when we arrived. It was a bit rainy, so most of us huddled about and organized our stuff in the community tent for us to put our fuel and whatnot under, so it was nice to not have to carry anything.
Action started promptly at 7:00, in the dark and drizzle, and it was so much fun. I've never run with a head lamp before, and I really liked it. By mile 5, it was light enough to see without it as we entered the trail portion. At the end of the first loop I dropped off my jacket and the headlamp, had some Hammer Endurolytes and a gel, and headed back out. I'd kept my goal pace, a 9:15 average. The second lap was a bit of discovery, since I hadn't really seen much of the first lap, and the third lap was also quite comfortable. I maintained my 9:15 with no problem at all. All of the advice I had seen about racing with a chest cold said make sure you eat and drink more than you would have, so I did, and by lap 4, my stomach was a little unsettled, so although I ran well at 9:15, I had to use the facilities a couple of times, slowing my overall lap to about a 10 minute pace. The 5th lap I was feeling a little slower. I ran till mile 27, and between mile 27 and 29, I Jeff Galloway'ed my way with a 3 minute run/1 minute walk interval, and ran the last 2 miles in. I had allowed myself 3 minutes between laps to drink, take supplements and catch my breath, so my finish at 5:20 averaged just over a 10 minute pace. I'm super happy with that time, and also delighted that it earned me a 3rd place win in the Women's Masters division, and the mug pictured with me below.