Holiday Half (12/15/13)

Portland's Holiday Half topped off a terrific year of racing, including six 5Ks, three 10Ks, one 15K, five half marathons and three full marathons. That's 18 races!!

We did the 5K last year and had a great time. This year it was the half.

December 15 - up and ready to race!

We're part of a Facebook running club and met up with several Runners Anonymous friends before the race. Right to left: David, Ruth, Eric, Liz, Brad, Michael:

Great to meet you guys in real life!

Mom and Dad did the 5K. Tutus!!!!!!

Big crowd at the Adidas campus:

Brad trained hard for this race but ended up feeling really sick in the middle. Despite wanting desperately to throw up, he still managed to tie his PR. You'll get the next one, Babe!

I did not train for this race and decided to just have fun and see what happened.

The plan was to start near 10-minute miles and go from there. Instead, I quickly fell into a good rhythm around 9:35 and held it there. The North Portland course is really flat except at the turnaround and one short hill by the St. Johns Bridge. I felt really good and decided to see how long I could hold on.

In the last 2 miles or so, I had a hard time pushing and took a short walk break. Then I picked it up and sprinted down the downhill finish, dropping my overall average to: 9:37. My previous PR? 9:37.

AHHHHH! So close.

At first I was bummed. Then I realized that, without specific training, I was able to go out and fun run a half marathon and still tie my fastest pace to date. With a tutu! ;)

A quick pic before Brad went to try and throw up. Urp.

And one with new friend David:

The family that races together...

The stats: 13.18 miles in 2:06:50, a 9:37 average.

LOVE the bib and medal! The race shirts are pretty awesome, too.

Can't wait to do this one again next year :)