Eugene Half Marathon - Race Report

 Saturday was a beautiful sunny day, and after frantic packing and baking some "thank you" bread, I was on my way down to AHM & GHM's house to carpool down to Eugene & stay with GHM's parents who live within walking distance of the race start.  We made spaghetti for dinner for the 7 of us there who were competing the next day, and tried to go to bed early.  Not that most of us got much sleep that night.

Sunday dawned cool and clear, and after last minute preparations & meeting up with JC, we were all on our way down to the starting point.  I lost everyone temporarily, but then found AB, who I would start & basically finish with.  I went into the race with no expectations on myself, which was nice.  Well, let me rephrase that - I went in with no idea how I would do, but hoping to at least break 3:30 and really, if I was honest with myself, break 3hrs.  My training for this event was somewhat sub-par, as I decided to run it after running 4.5 miles with AB at the Vernonia half marathon on April 19 and then 4.5 miles back to my car &feeling good.  My other "long" training run was a slow 7-miler.

I started out feeling really strong, and just let my legs do their thing.  I wasn't surprised to hear my GPS tell me that I was running about an 11:30 min/mile pace.  I knew that I was going out too fast, but I haven't figured out yet how to run at a consistent pace - my legs just seem to do what they do, and I'm along for the ride.  Not very far into the run, my calves started to cramp up, but that's fairly normal.  What wasn't normal was that I was able to push past that and keep running!  Then my feet went numb (again, normal, but definitely sub-optimal).  Around mile 5 I had to stop to try and stretch everything out, since there was now a painful knob on the bottom of my foot, and I knew that if I kept running on that with numb feet, I risked injury.  Luckily, not long after that, my calves finally relaxed, and it was with relief that I ran on feet temporarily tingly with pins and needles.

Around mile 8, I started to slow down a bit more, but just kept on going.  At mile 9, I knew that with enough effort, I could make my goal of under 3 hours, and I started counting down the miles.  At mile 10, I knew that I could complete a 5K (3.1 miles), and from there, the race mentally kept getting easier.  I think that the most difficult part was the middle miles - 6-9, where I had already run a long distance, but still had a long way to go.  Let me say that I was very happy on Sunday to only be doing the half marathon!  Actually, the middle miles are a bit of a blur to me :)  I do remember running along the water and that there were geese honking out there.  I decided that the geese were cheering for me!

At mile 13, I ran into Hayward field, and onto the super springy and soft track.  I *tried* so hard to give it a final kick (and according to my GPS I managed to get my speed back up to where I was for the 1st mile), but really, my legs just weren't going to move any faster than they were!  As I crossed under the finish line, I checked my watch, and was so excited to see 2:53!  Woohoo - made my goal!

I was so relieved to be done, and to feel good about the entire race.  The course was beautiful and scenic, and the spectators in Eugene were great!  There was lots of cheering, clapping, and homemade signs.  One of the best ones said "I'm proud of you, Complete Strangers".  The beautiful weather really made it even better (honestly, it could have been a horrible run, but I'd remember it fondly because of the sunshine).

Once I was done and slightly re-hydrated, I went to watch for AB, who I knew would be finishing soon.  The race clock on the course said 3:04 when she crossed, but I knew that we started a bit after the gun start, so I knew that she had finished under her goal time of 3 hrs.  I was so happy to tell her that good news!!  She came around to the other side, and we started watching for her parents who were walking the half marathon and did great, and then for RA and GHM, who we knew would be finishing the full marathon around 4 hrs. AB knew a ton of people out on the course that day, and I knew at least a few who were running, so we kept our eyes open for them. EW finished the marathon in her best time, and then we saw JC, AHM and AMF come onto the track, and we started cheering wildly for them.  So many great people out there on Sunday, and so wonderful to feel a part of a group!

Our group of 8 went to McMenamins afterwards for celebratory beers and real food, and then piled in a car for the short ride back to the parents' house.  From there, it was packing back up, and then driving back up from the valley to the City, and then for me, from the City to the mountain.

So now, thanks to the influence of AB and AHM in particular, I'm planning to run 2 half marathons in June, and become a "Half Fanatic".  AB will fanatic at the next half that we're doing, and is planning to run the 2nd with me, and EW is planning to do both of them as well.  Having found a community of like-minded runners is so amazing and wonderful.  The support of these women is helping me achieve things that a few months ago I never even considered.