Friday afternoon we arrived in Sunriver a little tired from catching up with out-of-town company the night before. While my husband napped, I headed into the village to pick up my race packet. The village was already packed with athletes. (Pacific Crest weekend is packed with events from various distances of triathlons, a duathlon, marathon, 1/2 marathon, 5K, 10K, and several kids' events.) After wandering around the various booths, I finally found the pick-up area, got my packet, and headed back to rest for awhile. Soon my sister and her 4 kids arrived, and all relaxation was over. (My sister had planned to join me in the half-marathon, but changed her mind earlier this week and registered for the 10K instead.)
We went to bed at a decent hour, but I woke up often. My alarm was set for 6:30, but I was awake before 6, since my nephews/niece were all awake by then. I guess that was a blessing in disguise, as my alarm didn't go off.
My husband dropped me off in the village - since there was no parking available - and I was on my own. I looked around for several friends that I knew were running the half, but there were so many people that I couldn't find them. About 15 minutes before race time, we were walked out to our starting area, where I found a couple of my friends. Then we waited and waited. When the race finally started (a little late), they only let a certain number of people through before cutting it off for another 5 minutes. They were starting us in waves, but it was based on where we happened to line up. I was able to start in the 2nd wave, but it was slow going. Things were very crowded for the first mile. Apparently, a lot of the walkers decided to start in the front, which made things a little crazy for awhile. We hit a hill before mile one and suddenly everyone in front of me was walking. I tried to go around a walker at the same time that another runner darted in front of me trying to do the same. I stepped on the back of her foot, rolled my ankle, and started falling. Somehow I managed to get my feet under me before my hands hit the pavement. What a way to start out! When I hit the first mile marker, I checked my Garmin. I think it was my slowest first mile ever. I wasn't worried, though. I wasn't expecting a PR on this run. I just wanted to improve over my last time at this race. No pressure. I was just going to run it well.
I started feeling pretty warm and wanted to lose a layer, but didn't want to get in the way of anyone, so I waited until mile 3-4 before I shed my top layer. I was feeling pretty good, despite the elevation. The slow start definitely helped with that. My body felt decent and the miles were moving by pretty quickly. Every mile marker was accompanied by a water stop, which allowed me to pick and choose my stops.
I had downloaded some new music for this run and around mile 5 or 6 I listened to the BEP's
I Gotta Feeling. What an awesome running song! I was feeling so good while it was playing, I had to listen to it twice. (I would highly recommend that download!) Then I fell into step with "bandana guy." He had a good pace going. We alternated leading, following, and running together for quite awhile. I hit an energy low around mile 7-8 and lost "bandana guy", but reminded myself to run my own race. At the next water stop I downed my gel. That was the energy I needed and I was back at it again.
Miles 9-12 were hot. There was no shade and no distractions - as it was away from the houses, and harder to get to - so no spectators. Many people had written messages in chalk on the path for various runners, so I distracted myself with reading them. My favorite was one that said, "Suck it up!" I stopped at every water stop in this section for a drink and to pour water on my head. The cool water on my head refreshed me everytime and gave me a little boost. Even though I had my headphones on, I noticed how quiet this section was. No one was talking. Everyone was just trying to make it to the finish. It was almost eerie.
I rounded a corner next to a golf course and a little pond. Suddenly I was running straight into a giant black cloud of gnats! I darted to the side, but the gnats were everywhere. They were solid through this section. All I could do was keep my head down and my mouth closed. It was nasty! I kept thinking I was almost out of them and then there would be more. The gnat-fest seemed to go on forever. When I finally did make it out of that area, I felt short of breath. I think I had sort of been holding my breath, trying to avoid inhaling a mouthful.
More and more people were starting to walk at this point. I just kept plugging along. I was feeling much better than usual. However, at mile 12 I felt my energy bottom out again. I tried to encourage other people as I caught up to them. I think that helped encourage me, as well. Fortunately, we were back in the trees, so there was shade again. Soon I could hear the cheering at the finish line. I was so close! It was time to try and give it one last kick. I picked up the pace and passed a lady who had passed me not long ago. "C'mon, we got this!" I said to her. "Just one last push." I was hoping she would give it a kick and we could race it to the finish, but she dropped behind me. I gave it what I had and "sprinted" to the finish. My time was just one minute away from my PR! Not bad for such a slow start and the high elevation. I was hot and tired, but I felt the best I've felt at the end of a half. I think I'm getting used to these half-marathons. Time to work on another PR. :)
