The race was a success

So rather than catching everyone up with what has been happening, i've decided to just start at yesterday's race. To make it easy, the last week i've been running :-). Also, one quick note, I went on my first bike ride of the year on Friday afternoon. I got the bike shorts out, and the Lance Armstrong USPS jersey (left) for my ride. I grabbed a water bottle, filled it up, grabbed the bike shoes, and helmet, and off I went. Took me a minute to get used to the clips again, and the shifting. After that, I felt slow and fat. It has been a while since i've been on the bike, and hills that I remember being easier, were not any easier, but much harder. I'll be looking forward to getting my bike health back come spring.

Before the race, i helped film a commercial for a local running store. It is the same store that I do the GFLF activities with. We were asked if we wanted to volunteer and help out, so I thought what the heck. So we did some filming before the race, at the start line. The idea of the commercial was a group of us wearing our gear, and out from the back of a pack, a naked (he wasn't naked, but wearing skin colored shorts) guy came walking up. I started stretching and whatever, and we were to react to him. Needless to say, I almost died laughing. He was not wearing shoes, socks, shirt, pants, or a hat. Nothing! It was raining and cold, and I just couldn't help but laugh histarically. Then they would have a slogan pop up saying, don't be left in the cold or be prepared, come to Fit Right NW for your running apparel.... blah blah blah. Not sure what they decided, but I'm stoked to see how it's going to look. I'm going to ask when it's going to be aired, and i'll to record it and throw it on Youtube for everyone to see my pretty mug on TV.



So, race report. Yesterday was the 31st Annual Portland Shamrock Run, and it was a wet and cold one. It was in the low-mid 40's and raining. To say the least, not the best weather. And to top it off, the wind was not helping. It seemed that no matter what way we were running, we managed to get a head wind. The course starts on the waterfront, and goes up towards terwilliger. It is a short climb and it's about 2 miles to the terwilliger hill. Once you hit terwilliger, that's the main hill of the race. And it's rough. It's steep and lasts forever, or so it seems. It's probably about 1.5-2 miles to the top, of nothing but climbing. But once you hit the top, it's all downhill for another 1.5-2 miles. Then it's flat, with a slight decline all the way to the finish.

I ran this race with a friend from work, Tim VanWinkle. He is probably a half-step below me as far as running fitness, but I think I showed him his full potential. I set a goal of 1:16:00 for this race, and told Tim that. I knew we had to push the hill, so that's what I did. Although, I had to keep looking back to make sure Tim was there. I would look back, and it seemed that each time I did, he got further and further away. We met at the top, where I walked an aid station to get some water, and he looked tired. I asked him if he was ok, and he said "it's downhill now!" And boy was it. We cranked the downhill, no more than a 7:15 pace. And the uphill, I don't think we once went over 9 min/mile. Once we got to the last 2 miles of the race, we still had 17 minutes to beat my goal. I told Tim that all we had to do was avg less than an 8:30 pace to beat my goal, and he pushed it. He romped the flat all the way to the finish, pulling me with him. To be honest, I probably would have let up near the end, but Tim hit it hard. Good thing too, because we came in at 1:15:44, beating my goal! And at the finish line waiting was Stephanie, Angie (my mother-in-law) and Tim (my brother-in-law.) It is always great to give them a high five as I'm crossing the finish line. Thanks again guys!

Overall, it was a great race, but the weather could have been better. I definitely know now that I'm ready for my half-marathon in 2 weeks, and that I can hit my goal of 1:45:00 for the half.