Race for Roses Half Marathon Report

Sunday was a perfect day for a half marathon in Portland! Last time I met up with the Portland Bloggers and Joggers (PB&J) gals, they convinced me I needed to run the Races to Roses half marathon. I'm a sucker for running races so it really didn't take much for me to be convinced. Especially it only cost $40 and also the proceeds were going to Albertina Kerr Center, a local Portland non-profit that "works with children who have emotional or mental health challenges, individuals with developmental disabilities, and their families".

Race for Roses wasn't just ANY half marathon for me. It was my first race as a pacer and for Alisa. I was a bit concerned because my hip has been bothering me for a few weeks now... Not sure if it's my IT band or sciatica nerve or the hip socket. Sometimes, it feels like all 3 of them hurt at the same time. Last Sunday, I had planned on a very hilly 18 miler and around my 10th mile, my hip flared up so badly, I had to tell my hubby who was out riding his bike on my run to go back and get the car. It was that painful. Discouraged, I had taken the whole week off and only went out on Saturday to make sure I could even run! Fortunately, Saturday's 6 miler proved I could indeed run. I took it easy and ran 6 miles at about 9:10 pace. It felt good to run after a week off.

I flew up pretty late Saturday night and when I got to their guest bedroom, my awesome race shirt and bib was sitting on the bed! (Hello, a small tech shirt? I love this race!! I normally wear a medium or sometimes large. Ugh!)

The next morning around 5am, we downed some toast with peanut butter and yummy French press coffee (the best way to drink coffee ever) and headed out to the race. One thing I really loved about this race is that the race starts right outside the Portland convention center so you can actually wait inside the center. The weather was perfect but still, a little chilly at 6:30am...

Here's Alisa and me. Yeah, she's tall. And well, I'm short. Her new nickname is Giraffe. I'll tell you in a little bit.

I was told the route would be pretty flat... but, it wasn't! There were couple of challenging hills but that also meant fast downhills. So, granted the hills in Portland are nothing like the hills in SF but a hill is a hill, nonetheless!

Oh, we also ran (literally) into Cindy around mile 4... She was doing the half marathon as part of her training run for her Vancouver Marathon in a few weeks. She was going to run another 7 miles after the race! Yes, she really does have sexy legs in real life! ;-)

Alisa did super well for the first half... she went out strong and ran it faster than her normal pace. But of course, I know first hand what a fast start does to you... She did slow down in the second half but she pulled off a strong race. I definitely had to pull a drill sargent act once or twice but Alisa was definitely motivated to PR on Sunday. She definitely didn't give up. I admire you spirit Alisa. I know another huge PR is waiting for you around the corner. Maybe RnR SD?? :-)

I told Alisa I would make her sprint near the finish... and she did. When the finish line was in sight, she took thoses long long legs and sprinted past me. It was like a giraffe graces whizzed by me. I had no chance. I was the hippopotamus!!! So that's how she got her new nickname on Sunday. The Giraffe.

Oh, btw, she did PR. By 11 minutes! Alisa's official half marathon finish time is 2:27:04!!! I came in a second later according to the official chip time. I know I was there to encourage Alisa for those 13.1 miles but really, it was ALL Alisa. Congrats on your PR, Alisa. You totally deserve it!!

Here's our group photo... Sarah, Mr. Pi (aka Alisa's hubby who drove us to the race and cheered for us, what a sweetie), Alisa, Amy, Emily and moi.

Here's the PB&J girls all cleaned up! You can read more Race for Roses race reports on their blog, too! They all ran excellent races on Sunday!
Amy, Jen, Alisa, Emily and me. Sarah was running a little late. :-)

This is how *I* celebrated after the race!

And then some more!

Here is my favorite photo from the race... The Hippo and the Giraffe.

One last thing, I also ran my half marathon for Tim and Jeannine Oberholzer. Jeanine passed away on Saturday from Cystic Fibrosis... Here's my finisher rose from the race and the medal that I dedicate to them.