Walking the Miles ...: 2014 Blooms to Brews

April 13th was the Blooms to Brews half marathon event in Woodland, Washington. This was the second year for the event to take place and Bullseye's and my first year to participate in it. The course was awesome and I'll definitely be doing it again next year!

Before the race, Bullseye presented me with an adorable gift... haha

"Buzz and Bullseye take a Selfie!"

The weather was beautiful! It started out cold and sunny and quickly became WARM and sunny! The course was flat and wide, not many vehicles to deal with at all. There was a three-quarter mile dirt road we had to take towards the end that was very rocky and uneven. Other than that, it was one of the nicest routes I've been on. The weather was perfect for a Sunday afternoon stroll but for those of us that wanted to move a little quicker than a stroll... the sun - without ANY shady spots to speak of - was tough to deal with. (But hey, I'm not complaining!) It is hard to believe I can sweat like that in 65 degrees! :)

This was Bullseye's recap on Facebook the following day:

Yesterday's race in Woodland (Blooms to Brews) was an awesome flat course event. Buzz and I did our first 3 miles together and paced under 12 minutes per mile -- which is REALLY good for us. Both Jacqueline and I have always had the mindset that walking/running is a competition against ourselves, not each other or the person next to us. We will have good days and bad days and if you're having a good day -- GO FOR IT -- we'll celebrate at the end with a cold beer. And we will always cheer each other on. I was having a good day yesterday and went ahead of Buzz. As I said the course was flat and well supported with volunteers. The only downer was the 3/4 mile dirt/gravel pot-holed road we had to use. I was a little afraid I would fall or trip so I didn't run much during that section. AND -- I really think it was longer than 3/4 of a mile. LOL In any event, I finally broke my 3 hour time with 2:44:28 with a 12:33 pace. WHEW! Buzz came in shortly after me. The only thing I would change is to definitely wear a tank top. Despite leaving the house at 27 degrees, it warmed up quickly and there was no shade on the route. IT WAS VERY WARM. All in all, it was a great day, with my great friend and we shared that ice cold beer at the end.

She had an awesome run!

Way to go Bullseye for finally getting under the three-hour mark! Not only did you get under it, you crushed it!!

Me, I just didn't have it in me. I enjoyed the route and spent all but those first three miles on my own, in my head, just thinking about life - what I want out of it and what it's going to take to accomplish it. I was very peaceful and really didn't care when I crossed that finishline as long as I crossed it on my own two feet. In the end, I did a lot better than I thought I would do. I finished in 3:00:29 (If only I could have finished 30/100th of a second faster... I would have been under 3 hours! haha I've been under the 3 hour mark before AND I was enjoying the peace and beauty of the day, so no big deal.) I was very happy with my time. I averaged 13:47 minute miles. I'm good with that!

We earned these....