Katie and I moments after I crossed the fnish line
Katie works graveyard so she scheduled herself to go in early, around 9 PM, and then get off early, at 5:00 AM. She got to my house around 5:30 and got herself all laced up! This is a serious question, has only else ever ran a half marathon after working all night?
After she got herself race ready it was time to head out the door!
Hello Mrs. Moon face, I am literally glowing with excitement!
When we got there it was a little cold, but we all knew that it was good because we would heat up pretty quick! Portland Fit had a big group shot before the race and that is when I found my running buddy Sharol.
Look at all of the Portland Fit peeps there to represent!
Then it was time to start! My plan was to stay with the 10:30 minute pacer for the race, but at the first aid station I saw there were porta potties and I had to...you know, #1 and I figured I might as well just go now and not be bothering with it later in the race. So needless to say I pretty quickly lost my pacer, darn it! So I just found a pace I was comfortable at and stuck with that, my average pace overall was 11 minutes. I would share my splits with you but my iPod isn't loading and connecting with Nike+ right now so I'll have to share those later, sorry!
Dave and Paula Harkin from Portland Running Company and Run with Paula put on the Helvetia Half Marathon and they do a fantastic job with everything. I took a chance and ran without my water belt or GU's because I heard and read what awesome aid stations there are and that they supply GU's around mile 6. Sure enough the aid stations and volunteers were AMAZING, I mean seriously Amazeballs. They were so clear about where water would be and Heed, they were motivating and encouraging and friendly. Around mile 5 I was wishing I had my GU...and has I turned a corner there were the GUs, oh sweet nourishment!
After that the rest of the race is just a memory really, it was smooth and I felt really good. At mile 10 I was thinking of the joke that a half marathon is only a 5K with a 10 mile warm up, so I had completed my warm up and now just had to race that final 5K, HA! There would be no racing, but there would also be no slowing down I would keep this pace and my head in it until I crossed the finish. There would be no walking I kept telling myself and there wasn't! Around mile 11.5 we came back through the Portland Fit aid station with their balloon arch and there was Celia taking pics!
This was the last aid station and I knew the stadium wasn't far, but it seemed like a marathon away in my head. I just kept trudging along until I saw someone running the opposite direction, it was Sharol! She ran back to find me and ran me those last few miles, it was the push I needed and it was really sweet. She left me as we started to enter the stadium and there was the finish! Oh sweet goodness the finish! I was looking and looking for Katie and as I crossed there she was :) It felt so good to finish and get that medal, I hugged Katie and it was pretty emotional. I also ran into a reader of my blog who had finished the race, it was awesome to meet you! Thank you for saying hi, that was a huge boost for me!
Finally it was time for the Helvetia Tavern burger, mine was a Gardenburger and as you can see I am really going after it!
And then it was time to re-hydrate! Don't you love my artistic photographic images?
Who else ran this weekend? What did you run?
Did anyone else run the Helvetia Half Marathon? I would love to hear about your experience!
Congrats on your first half :) I cannot imagine doing that after working all night...your friend sure is brave!!
ReplyDeleteKatie is a monster! She just goes after it, every race is better than the one before it. She is a huge motivator for me and makes me realize there are very few excuses :)
DeleteCongratulations on finishing your first half marathon Dani! It was nice to be able to say hello to you, and also to watch you come around the last corner to finish - you did awesome. I have been running for less than two years and I enjoy listening to podcasts and reading blogs about others running adventures. I finished my first half marathon last September (the Oregon Wine Country Half), nowhere near as fast as your first (or Katie's) - 2:52:48. I've kept on running and have made significant improvements: Portland Rock 'n' Roll was my second, I finished in 2:23:43 and Helvetia was my third and I did even better with a 2:20:17... just trying my best to keep the 10:30 pacer balloon within sight. A co-worker was also running it with her running partner - I found them when the hills started. Coming down the final stretch I heard a "Go Galloway" cheer (it was the director of the Beaverton group). I thought it was a great experience too, great support from the crowds, plenty of aid stations, nice bling and good grub.
ReplyDeleteAlmost forgot... your first picture was on the Run Oregon Results.
DeleteI love listening to podcasts too! I am currently listening to Marathon Training Academy, Well on my Way! They are really good :) I am so glad to have met you at the start and then seeing you again at the finish, such a fun surprise! You did awesome and you should be so proud for only getting better and gaining a PR with each half marathon you complete! I would love to do another event put on by Paula and Dave and any run in Wine Country is signing my song!
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