Me.She.We. Half Marathon (6/1/19)

Again, I needed a training goal to get me out the door. It's a theme for my life. While things were crazy with Dad, Mom, and Eryn stuff, I needed the "forced" exercise to maintain my physical and mental health.

So I signed up for the Me.She.We Half Marathon in Wilsonville on June 1. The course was flat and looked pretty in a part of Wilsonville with which I'm not super familiar.

The elevation profile for half (second half was just the reverse)

This event aims to support women runners of all abilities and has no timing. It was a good feeling of women supporting each other!

I loved the idea of this race, but I hated the actual race.

The course was beautiful but also horrible. Streets weren't closed, so we had to run on the sidewalks. Much of it was in neighbors, which meant up and down curb cuts and driveways. Instead of running straight through intersections, we had to go around the corner to the official crosswalk and then back around the corner to the other sidewalk. It's hard to describe, but this extra running was incredibly frustrating. I would never run a race this way - or even a training run. Straight lines from Point A to Point B. Never weaving around like that. If I had been racing for time, I would have been pissed.

Also, about a mile was on crushed gravel in the Graham Oaks Nature Park. I wasn't prepared for that (maybe I missed it on the course description?!?!), and it was like running on sand. I was not happy about that.

After the turnaround, my energy just went away. It was during this time that I had an epiphany. This season of my life was the hardest I've ever had. I had the energy to train (perhaps it was just pure adrenaline getting me through) but my emotional and physical exhaustion was just too much to have a successful race. I didn't have adrenaline to get me through 13 miles. I had just enough energy for the "musts" of life and none left for the extras.

That self discovery was huge for me. Instead of feeling like a failure for all these races, I realized there was a real reason for my struggles. It was such a relief to have an explanation. DUH. I don't know why it took me over a year to get it, but it was a good moment.

The finish line came with a medal and pancakes :)

There was a woman I leapfrogged for much of the race. I learned it was her first half marathon, and we celebrated together at the finish. That part of the race was awesome.

According to my Garmin, I finished in 2:13:12. I had the course quite a bit short at 12.75 miles. Not sure how that happened with all the extra sidewalk running.

I would not recommend this race.

:)