Portland Rock and Roll Half Review

Good morning!  

Yesterday was Portland's 2nd Rock and Roll Half Marathon and also my 2nd Half Marathon, coincidence?!  I ran a really great race and am looking forward to even more Half Marathons in my future! 

I got there early and found a spot in a parking garage pretty quick.  As soon as I walked out of the parking structure there were 3 porta potties calling my name, that sound have been a good indication to the future of my bathroom issues.  90% of everything was all set up by the time I got to the waterfront and there was a lot of great signage directing everybody.  Katie got there just a few minutes after I did and we checked a couple things at the gear check.  Gear check was super simple because everything was organized by last name and it was really spread out.  I wasn't there when Katie picked up her bag but I can guess it went quick.  After we checked our bag it was time for another potty break and then I finally got to meet my Facebook friends Amanda and Jill!  We got a picture by the pro photographers but not with our own personal cameras, fail!  Amanda was our group leader last summer for our 60 Sweaty Days of Summer challenge and really helped me learn to love all things Chalean.  It is always fun to meet someone in person who you have connected with for so long over the internet.  We visited with Amanda and Jill and then realized we needed to get to our corrals.  I had changed my corral so I could at least start the race with Katie and I am glad I did.  We ran together for the first 2 miles and I knew if I didn't slow down and let her go ahead I would never keep the pace.  I let a few people ahead of me and started slowing down without telling her, LOL!  It is one thing to keep up with her during a 5k I am no where ready to try and keep up with her for a half marathon, one day though.  In case somebody was curious why...  

Remember now?

My race plan was to keep it around a 10 minute mile and get water at every other water station.  At mile 2 once Katie started getting ahead of me I realized I needed to pee (sorry) and I wouldn't be able to ignore it for the next 11 miles, UGH!  I passed the 5k mark and remembered there was a bank of porta potties coming up so I jumped off and went pretty quick.  After that the next few miles clicked off fairly quickly and I was just enjoying the run and felt comfortably hard in my pace. 

My splits for miles 1-10 

1 - 9:46 

2 - 9:46

3 - 9:54

4 - 9:41

5 - 9:45

6 - 10:20

7 - 10:20

8 - 10:44

9 - 10:22

10 - 10:07

I started feeling like I needed to pee AGAIN around mile 10 but I just ignored it because I was determined to not stop.  I was really hoping to beat my 1st half marathon time which I thought was 2:20 and some change.  The entire race that was the number in my head I was hoping to beat which is funny because my actual 1st half marathon time was 2:29:46, oops.  I am actually glad I didn't have the correct time because it pushed me harder.  I told myself earlier in the race that at mile 11 it was going to be time to really dig deep and push it and that is what I did.  

Miles 11-13.1   

11 - 10:10

12 - 9:57

13.1 - 9:45

Final Chip Time 

2:16:24, average pace 10:25

IF* I wouldn't have stopped to go to the bathroom around mile 3 I probably would have hit 1:15:24 but that is okay!  I seriously need to get the bathroom thing figured out though, more than likely just too much water.  I really liked this race and felt mostly prepared for all of the hills, minus the last climb right before mile 12, that one made me angry.  There was a good climb up Hawthorne for what seemed like forever but I just kept telling myself how much I love hills.  Funny how a little mental game can help you through some tough spots.  I only noticed the bands in the first part of the race because after that I was pretty focused and inside my own head.  There seemed to be a lot of turns and I know that can bother some racers but for me it was okay, didn't love them didn't hate them.  

The finishers chute was a little congested but that is to be expected.  They were handing out chocolate milk, Jamba Juice smoothies, Powerbars, bagels, bananas, the usual.  Of course there was water and we also got our medal which is one of my favorites so far!  

    

Katie had a really awesome race and got a sub-2 hour half marathon!  Her official chip time was 1:57:58!  
  

I am really proud of how far she has come in her running and fitness levels, she is always keeping me on my toes and working towards my goals!  

Plus let's face it, I could afford to take some photo taking tips from the girl.

You can go here if you ran Portland Rock and Roll yesterday to check out your results and pictures.

Who motivates you to want to keep working hard?  

How was your run/race this weekend?  

Do you take a rest day after a hard run or do you do your recovery run the next day? 

- I am taking today as a run rest day but will start my Push Phase of Chalean.