EWEB’s Run to Stay Warm Half Marathon Race Report

Freezing temps, wind, and rain. The weather forecasters could not have been more wrong! It turned out to be a beautiful, clear, sunny day! I was getting pretty nervous in the days leading up to my first goal race in a long time; I was really just hoping there wouldn’t be any ice or snow to slip me up! But I couldn’t have hoped for the weather to be any better than it was!

The race didn’t start until 9am. And, since we drove down the night before, that meant we got to “sleep in”! (Anything past 6am is sleeping in to me!) I ate some of a cinnamon roll (since the oatmeal included in the continental breakfast was inedible) and started feeling a bit nervous.

We got to the packet pickup area at a little after 8am, and waited in a brief line. The pickup was inside a heated building, which was nice, but the room was a bit small for all that was going on, and I think with the large turnout, it got a bit jumbled up in there. No worries, though. I got my bib number, picked up my chip, and stayed inside to be warm. Half an hour before the start time, I used the (real) facilities, and just counted down until it was start time. Soon enough, it was time to line up, so all the half-marathoners headed out to the start line.

The race started right on time, and there was plenty of room at the start for everyone to spread out. After we finished weaving through EWEB’s River Edge Plaza, we found ourselves on the bike paths that would make up most of the race course.

Just after the start (I’m in the green shirt!):

About a mile into the race, we crossed over the Willamette River for the first time, and went around a bit of an extra loop on the North side of the river. We came back around toward our initial river crossing near Mile 4, where we met up with the 10k and 5k’ers. At first, I thought this would throw me off my race, but it was actually a bit of a mental boost. Up until this point, I felt like there were a lot of people passing me (although I would eventually see many of them later), but it was pretty empowering to be able to pass people running a shorter race than me. It definitely made me feel fast.

I went into the race wanting to hold an 8:30 min/mi pace, but I definitely started out faster than that. I was just hoping I wouldn’t pay for it later.

Mile 1: 8:02
Mile 2: 8:20
Mile 3: 8:15
Mile 4: 8:31

My friend K was nice enough to jump in with me from Mile 4 to Mile 7, to keep me company, and make sure I was feeling good. I was definitely feeling good, and able to keep a little bit of a conversation up at this point. Everything felt nice and smooth, and really pretty easy! J cheered me on from Mile 4 and Mile 7 (he was helping drive K around, and also there to cheer me on!) so I had him grab my gloves and hat since it had warmed up so much!

Meeting K and J:

Running with K, still feeling good:

Mile 5: 8:33
Mile 6: 8:21
Mile 7: 8:16
Mile 8: 8:04

About a mile after K took off to meet me on the other side of the river, things started to feel not quite as easy. Mile 8 is also where we had about a 0.4 mile out-and-back, which felt a bit discouraging, but after we made it through that, we crossed the Mile 9 marker, and crossed over the river for the final stretch.

Mile 9 wove through some neighborhoods, but soon enough we found ourselves back onto the bike path system. Mile 10 is when it really started to get hard. I told myself “Only 5k to go!”, but really, 5k seemed like an awfully far way to go! I told myself just to keep going. Although I was feeling tired, I still sped up a bit during this section, which may be because I was passing a few familiar faces.

Mile 9: 8:09
Mile 10: 8:01
MIle 11: 7:54

I think my friend K and J saw me during Mile 11, so maybe that’s why it was so quick? But I know I saw K again about halfway into Mile 12. She ran with me to the finish, and I’m so glad she did. I was struggling, and mentally I just wanted to slow down a bit, but K kept me focused on my breathing and on keeping a smooth, even pace. I stayed strong, and the time just kept clicking away. Soon enough, K told me to charge ahead, so I did! One final turn and I could see the finish line. I totally didn’t catch up with the 2 girls in front of me, but that’s ok. My legs definitely gave all they had. Finally I crossed, with a smoking new PR!

Getting really tired! Can you tell?:

Me and J at the finish area:

Mile 12: 8:12
MIle 13: 8:13
Mile 13.1: 1:54 (6:48 avg pace)

Garmin Results:
13.28 miles: 1:48:44 (8:11 avg pace)

Official Results:
13.1 miles: 1:48:49 (8:19 avg pace)
Age Group: 6/44
Overall: 139/462

(Apparently, my chip didn’t work. But I’m not too worried about it. I was only a few seconds behind the start line, and those few seconds didn’t put me over into the next minute! ;)

I’m really proud of myself for this race. I ran it smartly, and really think I gave it everything I had in the moment. It was a great day to race a half marathon, and I definitely killed my time from Helvetia! Part of that is because the course was pretty flat, part of that is because I’ve learned to run smarter, and part of that is because I’m faster.

It was a great race, with a good course and good organization. And It was for a great cause! (From the website: “All proceeds benefit EWEB's Customer Care Program to help income-eligible customers who are having difficulty paying their utility bills.”) It was also a pretty great preview of a good portion of the Eugene Marathon! (Which J and I may or may not have signed up for…)

Since this was my 2nd half in 15 days (and also my 3rd or 4th within 90 days), I qualified to become a member of the Half Fanatics. Say hello to Fanatic #652! :)

I want to continue running half’s (hopefully 1/month for a year, if I can handle it in my schedule!) I really like them, and not all of them need to be races! :) We’ll see how I do!

In the meantime, it’s again time to run for fun! My next half is the Holiday Half on 12/12! And I have a turkey trot on Thanksgiving!

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Trails, trails, trails.

One more week to go until the Run to Stay Warm (aka My Goal Race)! I’m feeling fairly strong, now, even after my two week cut back for Achilles issues. I haven’t had any further Achilles issues (*fingers crossed!*)

The past week has been chock full of trail runs. Trails are NOT easy.

I had Thursday off (Veteran’s Day) and made good use of the free time with some friends up in Forest Park. We ran an 8 mile out-and-back starting at the zoo along the Wildwood Trail. Can you say switchbacky hills!? We made it up to Pittock Mansion before heading back downhill again. I was definitely breathing heavy as we made our way up to the top. The trails, on this day, weren’t too muddy, but there were definite patches of mud. The rain didn’t end up starting until later that day!

Saturday morning, I made my way back up to Forest Park for a 12-miler. This time I started at Lower Macleay Park, before making my way onto the Wildwood Trail (it’s a long one!) and running along the trail from about the Mile 5.5 sign to the 10.5 sign. There was a pretty gnarly uphill section to start with, and then a gentle climb for most of the first half. (I planned it that way! ;) I wove through a new stretch of the Wildwood I haven’t been through before, and it was beautiful. There were a lot of other runners out there with me, and I’m pretty sure I spotted Zach (Jen’s husband). As I was running along, I passed by a parking area that I knew I’d like to remember so I could use it on a later trip (and I did!)

After the turn around, there were a lot of gentle (and not so gentle) down hill sections. The trail was pretty muddy from the rain over the previous few days, but it wasn’t too bad with my trail shoes. I was feeling pretty good, and proud that I hadn’t yet tripped or slipped in the mud. And then it happened. I had slowed a bit for a small uphill section, and noticed some girls running up ahead of me, going in the opposite direction. I knew I needed to get a snot rocket out of the way before they passed, and in the brief time it took me to turn my head in preparation for said rocket, my foot hit a root (probably) and I hit my entire front side (well mostly the right - front) into a big pile of mud.

Things I am thankful for: 1) I had slowed down in preparation for the snot rocket, 2) I was going uphill and the fall was pretty short, 3) I fell on a muddy section versus a rocky/hard section. Of course, the girls in front of me saw everything, but they didn’t make too big of a deal out of it. They joked that they were waiting for the same thing to happen to them. I popped up just about as quickly as I had fallen down, and I was soon back up on my feet and running again. My hip was a bit sore afterward, but I only had about 2 miles to go, so no biggie. I have a bit of a lingering bruise, but overall, not too bad. I have to say, falling on top of mud is actually kinda fun. And makes you look pretty badass! :) I had J take a picture of my muddy legs after the run. I’m sure they were pretty muddy before the fall, but afterward, I was getting funny looks from hikers.

I had tentatively planned a run for Sunday, but scrapped it since I was pretty tired after Saturday’s run, and I had already gotten a good amount of mileage in for the week (over 30!)

So I moved my third (and final until after RTSW) trail run in Forest Park to Monday. I found the parking area I scoped out on Saturday’s run, and decided to keep going along Wildwood for some new scenery. This run was a bit tougher than the previous two. Trail running is definitely more difficult than road running. But my legs warmed up eventually. I made my way along the trail until I hit a crossing, and mistakenly took the wrong trail. Overall, I think the trails in Forest Park are very well marked, but I didn’t see the correct continuation for this crossing. I ran almost a mile on the wrong trail, before deciding I was going the wrong way. I eventually found the right way, but it took me down a rather wicked downhill section, which I knew didn’t bode well for the return trip. I was definitely breathing heavy on the way back, but eventually the trail evened out, and I finished with a pretty good pace (especially for on the trail). I ended up with 6 miles; that’s 26 miles total for the weekend trail runs! :)

After today’s run, I went to a Thai Massage that I had won many months ago. It was a free 90-minute massage that I had finally found the time to book and go to. Wowzers, it felt good but painful, especially my calves. I should probably get those babies massaged more often. I know how knotty they get, and if I have any pain with running, it’s usually due to them being too tight.

I’m going to take it easy the rest of the week, and rest up for my race on Saturday. I’m not nervous yet, but I know I will be in the coming week. It has been awhile since I've actually “raced” a race, but I’m definitely looking forward to it!

Silver Falls Trail Half Marathon “Race” Recap

Well, I haven’t blogged in awhile. I stopped for a bit when I was taking it easy due to some Achilles soreness, but I seem to be on the mend, and bouncing back ok. I got my mileage up to almost where it should be, and completed a really tough half marathon course on Saturday! (Recap coming soon!)

There’s only 2 weeks left until my “goal” race, the EWEB Run to Stay Warm, and I’m feeling pretty good about it at this point. I’m not sure it’s going to be as fast as I had initially hoped, what with my 2 weeks of recovery (stupid Achilles!) but I do think I have a pretty good shot at a PR!!

On to the race report:

This was an inaugural race, and as soon as I heard about it, I knew I wanted to sign up. With only 400 spots, I had a good feeling it would fill up fast, so I signed up within 24 hours of “thinking” about it. (That may be why I ended up with number 15! :)

What made me so excited about this course? I love Fall, I love waterfalls, and I love trees! And this had everything. The pictures I’d seen of Silver Falls were amazing, and I really wanted to be a part of it. Well, this race did not disappoint!

When I signed up for the race, I knew I wanted to use it as a “training run” rather than a “race”. When I saw the elevation chart, I knew I wouldn’t be going too fast… I still knew it would be perfect for a scenic jaunt through the forest with my camera. We carpooled down to the race with some friends, which was a great idea because it was a long drive. We got there with plenty of time to spare, hit up the restrooms, and picked up our packets. While waiting for our packets, we ran into Jen! and Zach Hi! After getting our packets, we went back to the car to keep warm before the start. Soon enough, though, it was time to line up, and off we went.

The first mile or so was on a wide paved section, which I’m sure allowed those out there racing to find their groove before hitting the trail section that followed. Soon enough, we were making our way through the trees and enjoying the fall scenery!

I’m so glad I recently got my hands on some trail shoes. They really do make trail running a little more enjoyable. I was definitely more comfortable climbing through mud and rocks! I don’t like slipping! There was one section that the line of runners in front of us stopped at. It was a short steep muddy decline, and without my trail shoes, I would have had to have J help me get down it, but with them, I felt a little more confident. (I’m a bit of a scaredy cat when it comes to steep down hills, especially on trails, and especially when I’m running!)

Overall, the first few miles were relatively flat, and we were just soaking in the environment. We were in a relatively large group of people at this point, but it would clear up soon enough. Eventually, we made our way to the hills. But with the hills, came the beautiful waterfalls! Miles 6-8 were mostly downhill, and were followed by some nasty uphill, including a large amount of stairs! “House of Pain” was written at the bottom. I think that sums it up! I was feeling pretty good until about mile 9. A little sore, but I expected it since trail running is definitely a challenge, but this course was really challenging! It seemed the hills might just be over at Mile 12, when we could hear the cheers at the finish. But alas, the worst hill of them all was still to come. We walked that guy, and the subsequent downhill (holy steepness!) Although I had trail shoes, I have a huge fear of tripping and falling to my death. I probably just need to get out there and practice a bit, but with how heavy my legs were feeling, it was probably a safe choice to take it easy.

Soon enough, the downhill was over, and a few turns later, we were crossing the finish line! It wasn’t a PW (that still belongs to Nike Women’s Half :), but I like to think of it as a trail half marathon PR! Road races and trail races are definitely different beasts, after all!

Although this was a super challenging course, it was a lot of fun. We ran by 10 waterfalls, and behind 3 of the larger ones. Nothing beats running behind waterfalls! It was a beautiful course, and definitely worth all the soreness I had the rest of the day! (And maybe a little bit the next day…) The race was well organized, and the course was marked amazingly well; I never once wondered about a turn. There was no getting lost out there!

I would definitely recommend this race to anyone, and to get you excited, here’s some pictures I took while I was out there:

One of the many waterfalls:

The stairs we got to go DOWN:

Runner’s about to run behind a waterfall: 

Leaves on the trail:

J and I in front of a waterfall:

“The House of Pain”:

Me behind one of the waterfalls:

2 more weeks until it’s actually “racing” time! :)