OR: the train wreck that really wasn't that bad
Oregon is freaking gorgeous. I won't recap my entire vacation because that would make this post ridiculous long, but let me at least glaze over it. My dad and I flew in to Portland on Thursday morning. My dad went with me because his company had a client or something out there and if he met with them they would subsidize some of our trip, and it was an expensive one. From Portland we went to Tillamook, which was a good couple hours from Portland through state forests and a bunch of Podunk little towns. From there we went another hour or so to the little town of Barview to get a first look at the Pacific Ocean, and guess what? as promised, its still there. From there it was a long- as- hell but oh so beautiful drive to Eugene.
We stayed at this shady South Eugene hotel (I'm not naming any names, but...). We got there, checked in, and as we were driving away to get dinner at Tracktown Pizza the bank that was on the corner of our block got robbed. Or, I'm pretty sure it was robbed. There was a fire truck, an ambulance, 4 police cars, and 2 FBI style black SUVs there, so I'm only putting two and two together here. That next morning I ran the first 13 miles if the marathon course.
I also went to the Expo on Friday, which was changing it up a little bit I guess since I've never been to an expo two days before a race. It was nice though. It was a little expo both space wise and people wise, it really want that crowded. Also cool was that Meb Keflezighi was one of the speakers and, because the expo wasn't all that crowded, I was able to get a seat to hear him talk and not stand the whole time. Saturday I went to the Oregon coast and Pre's hometown of Coos Bay. I won't even begin to describe that because it was so gorgeous and it would probably take forever. I came back, got my singlet and shorts and stuff together and then had a great and filling (put air quotes around that one because it was neither) pre race dinner at Jimmy John's. On the plus side, the cute girl working there said it was a "good luck gift" and to not worry about paying for said sandwich. So if by some chance you're reading this, thanks, cute girl working at the Eugene/ Springfield Jimmy John's, I appreciate it!
So Sunday was race day, and I was up at at the crack of dawn at 5am. It wasnt really that bad since 5am pacific is 7am central so it was good. I got to Hayward Field around 6 and got to the porta potties first. The race starts a block or so from Hayward, and was actually pretty orderly. I lined up behind the 3:40 pace group since I was shooting for 3:40- 4:00, and after a butchered remix of the star spangled banner, we were off. The course went out and wound through a couple neighborhoods in which I had to be careful to avoid the rearview mirrors of VW buses parked in the street. Miles 2-ish to 7 were around a bunch of parks, which was both serene and good for my pace as I was able to move back up to the 3:40 group as the hobby joggers ran on the grass and stuff and opened up a lot of road space; I had fallen back at this one long hill around mile 2 or so. Miles 7-10 were remarkably similar to the first 2, and at mile 10 was the split off between the marathon and the half. I was worried that the pack was going to string out and I would get lost and either have to drop out or wait for someone who knew what they were doing and kill my time, but that really didnt happen
What did happen was a bummer. Around mile 16 or so, we changed from running on roads to running on bike paths. This caused everybody to bunch up again, and I accidentally lost my footing, stepped in a pothole, and took a tumble. Bummer. But back on track. Mile 16-20 were on the opposite side of the river on the bike paths on the banks of the Willamette River. It was picturesque and all, but people were really sparse and it wasn't really conducive to racing. The river portion seemed like it was never going to end, and I was joking with the 4:15 pace group (I had fallen back at this point because my knee was hurting pretty bad from the pothole) that I might as well swim across the river. It sure looked inviting. I also went of course for a mile, so that was no fun. Somebody caught up to me on a bike and let me know, but I was mad and hot at that point. I think this was at mile 18 but I'm not sure. We crossed the Willamette River at mile 21ish and then it was the same story all over again until we hit the football stadium at mile 25 and a half. I was in bad shape coming over the river so my recollection of the latter fourth of the race is fuzzy at best. I walked alot. I tried to walk the knee discomfort off, but only ended up getting stiff. For the record, don't try that.
The run into Hayward was not as cool as I expected, but thats probably because I was disappointed. I was ready to rock, but c'est la vie, right? (how do you pronounce that?) the all you can eat pancakes after the race kind of numbed the pain.
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