Race for the Roses! aka Monday morning recap (part one)

MMR will be a series this week because…well, it’s just plain too long. As it is, I uselessly jot down a ton of things in my notebook and email reminders to myself all week, knowing full well I’ll barely find time to post the main stuff, let alone the random thoughts, but this week it all seems pretty important.

First up is running (of course)…

Race for the Roses: One of my favorite races because it’s fast. Except for the ramp down and back up onto the Steel Bridge, it’s a glorious combination of perfectly flat, gradual uphill (but not enough to slow you down) and gentle downhill (to you faster without pummeling you). If there was ever a course made for PRs, this is it.

Two years ago I placed third in my age division (for those not in the know… when the announcement was made, I was in the race director’s truck driving back over the course looking for the car keys that fell out of my pocket) with an astonishing (for me) 8:45 pace…and that included walking the steepest part of the ramp back onto the bridge. (update: I misrembered my results, my pace was 8:15, which is even more stunning. I can't even believe I ran that.)

The downside to having such high expectations about a race is that the race doesn’t always go well. This was the first event this year that I struggled a bit mentally…feeling strong for a few minutes, then struggling for a few. Over the course of a short race having such highs and lows gets bothersome and distracting.

My results were not as good as I wanted, despite the effort being there. I finished in 28:28 (or 9:10 per mile pace), so I didn’t suck. I finished closer to my best time this year (9:02) than my worst (9:25), so I’m going to be okay with it. Need to stay focused on the bigger picture.

Speaking of bigger picture… I’ve had some growing dissonance about our marathon ever since we narrowed it down to doing either the Portland or the Las Vegas Marathon. I mean, Las Vegas would be great because…well, it’s LAS VEGAS. But I don’t want to do my first marathon and not have my parents or kids there. I remember my first Hood to Coast and, despite the fact that I was deathly pale and my organs were shutting down (the later years were better), it was great to have everybody there.

So I proposed last night that we (sigh) don’t do the same marathon – I'll do the Portland and he does the Vegas. He said he would think about it.

Well, this morning he proclaims the glory of my ultra super-genius-y plan. We get the best of both worlds (family support and drinking until we pass out) and we can better take each care of the other after the events.

I don’t know. It is a good compromise, but the whole point was to do the marathon together. Plus, he gets two whole months extra to prepare for his event. I’d better get some sweet rubdowns out of this.

Speaking of preparing, there’s still a big gaping hole in my event schedule, especially now that the Helvatia Half is off the list. I’ve been scouring the internet trying to find events every two to three weeks apart from May through mid-September, but have only been mildly successful so far because August is still perfectly empty. I’ve still got planned the Starlight Run (June 3) and the Pints to Pasta (September 10), and am considering…

Saturday, May 13, 2006
30th Annual 2006 Lake Run
5K Run/Walk, 12K Lake Run, 1/2-Mile Kid's Dash
I haven't done this event before, mostly because I’m not terribly fond of Lake No-Negro. And I like the fact that when I do events, the entry fee goes towards a good cause. But I’m leery of having the money go towards the Lake Oswego’s Junior Women’s Club. Per the event web site, they are “dedicated to bringing the women of Lake Oswego into closer unity and to promote the civic, cultural, educational and social welfare of the greater surrounding metro area,” which is vague enough to mean anything up to and including the KKK. I’m kidding (sorta), they probably do good things, just would like to have a better idea where the money ultimately goes other than just to this foundation.

Sunday, June 25th, 2006
2006 Beat the Burnside 8k
Haven't done this one either. It seems kinda lame because...well, you’re racing a bridge. The point is that you’re supposed to MAKE yourself start as late as you possibly can and still cross it in time, but my logical side says that’s totally stupid. To hold off starting something until the last possible moment and then racing like hell to finish it is something I do with everything else in my life, so why on earth would I want to make an event of it?The upside is that it’s starts at the World Forestry Center and goes down to the Burnside Bridge…the operative word being DOWN and downhill means fast, baby! Of course it can also mean “recklessly beat up” which I’d like to avoid, so this one’s a definite maybe.

Sunday, July 16, 2006
2006 Seaside Beach Run
5k Run/Walk, 10k Run, Kid’s Dash
This one’s less about training and more about doing something fun with the family that just so happens to incorporate running. It’s also about getting a tan, touching the water and milkshakes.

Date undetermined
Nike Run Hit Remix 2006
Ok. So image my complete panic when I get to the web site for this event and realize they’ve got dates scheduled for Chicago, LA and New York, but no Portland. Wha wha whaaa? I stewed on this for two days before I broke down and emailed Nike with a (politely-worded) WTF inquiry.

I need not worry for now. “Matthew” (maybe his actual name, but it’s email, so who knows?) at Nike replied with reassurance that they are planning to do the event for Portland, but the date hasn’t been finalized, and invited me to sign up via the site for updates including schedule dates and registration. So for now I’m taking a deep breath, but I’ll feel better when they get it together, and pray it doesn’t conflict with any other of the events I want to do.

Sunday, July 23, 2006
2006 Cascade Run Off
3-Mile Run/Walk, 15k Run
I’m going to need to run an event of this distance at about this time, so this is a definite must-do. The date that it's scheduled might even be the reason Portland's Run Hit date is still up in the air. This event’s a classic (I remember it from when I was a kid), and I don’t know how long it’s been off the event calendar, but it’s been a while for sure. Now they’ve brought it back and if that’s not a cool enough reason to run it, I don’t know what is.