Cherry Blossom Half Marathon

First of all, a moment of silence here filled with grief as I watch the news regarding the bombings at the Boston Marathon today. I am deeply saddened by yet another senseless tragedy. WHY?! Why must humanity try to destroy one another? Innocent people dying for WHAT?! I just don't understand it.

Today's actions will replay themselves over and over again when I'm participating in future events and will no doubt be on the minds of millions of others doing the same thing. We're told not to live in fear but how can we not? Just like when flying on an airplane, I'll be on high alert and full of anxiety. It's so distressing.

My heart goes out to all of those affected by today's bombings.
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My friend, Kathie, and I participated in the Cherry Blossom Half Marathon yesterday in The Dalles, Oregon. We welcomed the opportunity to leave the rainy Portland area and head for the sunshine just a couple hours east of the City. We weren't disappointed either - it was a beautiful sunny day! A bit cool and windy but beautiful. The route was mostly along the Columbia River so the scenery was spectacular! I wish I could share a million pictures but I didn't really take any... we were too busy participating in the race! You'll just have to trust me - it was B-E-A-U-tiful! 

There were several events going on, one of which was a duathlon. The participants ran a 5k, biked a 30k and then ran a 5k again. It was pretty exciting watching them return from their first run, change their gear, and take off on their bikes for the next phase! I could feel the rush of emotions and secretly wished I was a part of it! (No, I'm not really going to go down that road so no worries! Bikes hurt my rear-end. Although... it sure looked like fun!)

Kathie and I have both been working overtime and haven't walked a lot lately nor have we been able to go to the gym. Our training has been minimal. Kathie worried about her lack of training but I assured her she could walk 13.1 miles even without the training; however, she might be slower than she wished and she would certainly be sore afterwards. We were going to do it regardless but Kathie said she was not going to do any running. No problem... I was happy to go out and enjoy a casual walk, especially in the sunshine!

Our event started at 9:45. There weren't a lot of people doing the half (most were doing the duathlon) so when we lined up at the starting line, we were very close to the front of the pack. I stated that we were going to get run over and Kathie's response was, "Well, we'll just have to run in the beginning."  So much for NOT running. ;)

It had warmed up a little but it was windy and the wind was cold. I had on my lightest long-sleeved shirt and a vest (very thin and used to be seen) and knew I would be fine as soon as we started moving. Within the first quarter mile, Kathie had taken off her first layer. Within a half mile, she had removed another and was down to a tank top. (burrr!) I don't warm up that much and was very comfortable in my choice of clothing - happy I had the long sleeves.

It was an out-and-back route, all downhill in the beginning, heading towards the river. The middle of the route was mostly flat and then, of course, the end of the route was back up all those hills we had enjoyed going down. (They weren't so enjoyable in the opposite direction!) The wind was behind us for the first half and we were fighting it the entire second half.

After we hit the turn around and were at mile 7, I looked at my watch and knew if we could keep up the pace, we would finish in under 3 hours. (Kathie's finished her first and only other half in 3:28.) I mentioned this fact to Kathie and she was really surprised and happy at the same time! I told her we had to take advantage of all down hills by running them and then keep up a steady, fast past so we would have time to spare while going up the hills in the end. She put on her "look of determination" and plowed forward! (So proud of you!)

The up hill battle started between mile 10.5 and 11. It wasn't too bad at first but as it got steeper, it became a real struggle. I kept a close eye on the time and kept encouraging Kathie, telling her she was going to finish in under 3 hours and that was something to really be proud of! As I was looking back at her and shouting out my best words of encouragement, I stepped off of the pavement and did a major roll across the asphalt, scraping the skin off my knuckles and skinning up my leg. (Leave it up to me to always be the graceful one!) I jumped up quick as lightening and commented that no one saw me - thank goodness - and continued on, bloody fingers and cramping Charlie Horse in my calf. No time to slow down... we had a timer to beat!

As we reached the 12 mile mark, I knew if we continued at that pace, we would not only finish in under 3 hours but we would also finish faster than my own personal fastest half! I was getting really excited and didn't let us slow down AT. ALL.

We finished the half in 2:52:13, averaging 13:08 minute miles and beating my previous fastest half by 2 minutes. Such an awesome feeling to FINISH and to FINISH STRONG!

Kathie - what you did on your second half (finishing in under 3 hours), took me 2 years to accomplish! You should be very, VERY proud of yourself! I'm so proud of you! You did it, girl!