2010 Spokane Half Marathon Report

It's been a couple days since Jeff and I ran our "half marathon" and I say that because this was the first time I have run a race and had to add extra miles to it to complete a workout. It was very odd to say the least. It was also the first time I have thought of the half marathon as a "short" race as every other half I have done, that race was my goal, not a marathon. So all in all it was a very peculiar race!

Anywho, as I said in my last post my buddy Steve was running the Portland Marathon this morning and I was hoping to talk to him. Just as my alarm went off at 6:30 I got a text from Steve asking if I was up. So on my way to go get Jeff I called him and got to give a few words of wisdom. It was great to hear the excitement in his voice it brought back alot of memories of my first full marathon and I found myself hoping that the next 7 weeks would come very quickly! Steve told me it was pouring and I mean pouring in PDX. I wished him luck and told him I would be awaiting his call later in the morning!

Steve talking to me before his race!

So I picked up Jeff at 6:45 and both of us were in good spirits and looking forward to the race. We got down to Riverfront Park just after 7 and got running just on time at about 7:15. We had to run 20 miles today so we did a 6.9 mile "warmup" we were right about where we have been training the whole time, right around an 11/min mile pace. After the run we hit the car, got our numbers and headed straight for the porta-potties. We had 12 minutes til the gun.

We got to the line picked one much to the left as this was Jeff's thinking that everyone goes to the potty on the right, and we stood there and stood there and stood there. After about 5 minutes the lady in front of us tells us hey we aren't in line. I was in too much of a hurry to beat her to the ground.

We finally got in a "line" and got to the potty. Then I hear the gun go off and about 20 doors around me slam almost simultaneously. I run out of the bathroom and Jeff is just standing there looking at me like what's the hold up? Again I was in too much of a hurry to kill him.

We ducked through the crowd and hit the street which was now deserted and were being told to hurry to the mat as they needed to move it for the location of the 10K which was to start in 15 minutes at another location. This sounds like very poor planning on the race's part, cause we all know runners are never late right. As we cross the mats I hear Go Nick!!! I see Angie (my wife) with the stroller waving. We were suppost to to meet her before the race for Gatorades. I yelled back I'll see ya later and we tried to catch up to the police escort. At least there was no one behind us so we couldn't get passed, it's gotta be all uphill from here right?

It was easy to keep the adrenaline rush down as we were already 7 miles up of these lazy bums that were only running 13 miles today so that was pretty easy and were were feeling pretty good all the way up to about the 7 mile mark of the race, then we hit some hills and that slowed us down a little bit. At mile 8 of the race and 15 of our day, Jeff really started to feel it. Our pace slowed even though were were on a downhill but it was probably for the better as we knew what was coming up ahead anyway, Doomsday Hill.

This hill sucks. It sucks in Bloomsday, it sucks when you are training and it defiantly sucks when you have run 16 miles and have to run up it. We made it up the hill and did get a chuckle at the top as the Ferris High School water station was up on top. Most of the water stations were full of cheerleaders doing cheers and floating pom poms in our face trying to get us moving. But this was ALL guys and all of them had boobs. The best part was they were all creative on how they looked, I mean they all looked bad, but it was a good boost!

We cruised around the canyon at about a 11:30 pace for the next few miles talking to a few people along the way. This is the point in the race that I do love, as you pass or get passed it seems like you get or give everyone a nice job or a you can do it or whatever and that sometimes really gives you the boost you need to keep moving or even to finish. I love it because every single person on that course is competitive and vying for position but at the same time there is a comrade among us and the pain we have suffered together that morning. Those are the little things I had forgotten about during my hiatus from running and really missed.

As we turned the corner of the canyon we could see downtown and the clock tower where the finish was. Every time we started running from our walks Jeff was grunting from the pain to start up again. I knew exactly how he was feeling as I felt the same exact way he was 3 weeks prior when I ran my first 20 miles. I was actually dreading how I was going to feel again after running that distance but I was feeling so good and full of energy I really could not believe it.

We got a few blocks from the finish and I talked Jeff in to picking up the pace a little and to bring us home. There were a ton of people at the finish waiting for the full runners to finish but it was nice none the less. And we did it! Got that 20 out of the way and Jeff has officially finished his first half. Our official time for the race was 2:33 and the 20 was 3:45

 Jeff and I after the finish

Steve finished his first full at a 4:24. A very respectable time for a first timer, especially with the weather he had to suffer in and he did run in to a few problems along the course, but he kept with it and EARNED that finish.

Congratulations Jeff and Steve! You guys are awesome and remember you earned all of this. I am proud of you and it has been a fun getting to watch you guys achieve your goals!