Run Like Hell - PR! (10/20/13)

Sunday was a great day for a race!

The cool fog made ideal racing conditions downtown for the annual Portland Run Like Hell.

We did the 10K race last year, Brad pacing me to a PR just two weeks after his marathon debut. That PR of 56:38, a 9:02 average, stood for a year. Then yesterday, I demolished it :)

This time we added Tim and Tera to our group (team discount for the win!!).

Dressed in our Halloween colors, ready to leave the house about 7 a.m. (Brad's shorts were black with orange stripes):

All the races (5K, 10K, Half, Miler) started and ended at Pioneer Courthouse Square. Chilly!

The 10K course is fairly flat, with lots of opportunity to go fast. But because it was just two weeks after my Portland Marathon, I didn't know what to expect. My plan was to see how I felt and push for a 9:00 average if I had it in me. Otherwise, I'd just enjoy the show. (Portland costume races are the best!)

Well, my lungs felt great and my legs loosened up after about the first mile. So I pushed toward 9:00 and told myself I only had to maintain to PR. 

But I still felt good, so I geared down and kept pushing... steadily dropping time until I kicked up the hill at the finish (uphill finishes suck!)

My awesome friends were all waiting for me at the end:

Brad totally destroyed his PR, running 7:16s. WOW - so proud!!!! Tera and Tim also kicked butt... it was definitely a PR day :)

Besides sharing our time triumphs, we also commiserated over the train that stopped almost the entire race at about 3.85 miles.

Apparently, the freight trains kinda just move whenever. There's no schedule. So downtown races (and bike rides) are often interrupted. Boo :(

Brad was stopped for almost 11 minutes. So while he got a rest in the middle of the race, he also cooled down and lost his momentum. Super bummer. I was only stopped a couple minutes and cooled down just a bit. Not too bad, but I wish I could have kept moving. Brad, Tim and I did get to have a chat while we waited :)

My Garmin had me at 54:59.58, an 8:47 average! SWEET! My official time was 54:51, an 8:50.
(I had the course just a skosh long)



But check out my splits... I'm SO EXCITED:

1 - 9:29 
2 - 9:03
3 - 8:58
4 - 8:54
5 - 8:28
6 - 8:10
.23 - 7:14

Now if that ain't impressive, I don't know what is. Perfect negative splits. YIPPEE! 

Usually I end up right in the middle of the pack. But yesterday, I came in 239th out of 1026, 18/119 in my age/sex and 105/700 in women. NICE! (Training long sure makes those short races easier!)

Can't wait for my next races...
And I can't wait to run with Tim and Tera again - so fun to have more runner friends :) :)

PS - My Portland Marathon recap is coming... :)