On Saturday morning Linda, Sue and I took off to Eugene, Oregon. It was my first half marathon to actually travel out of the Portland area to participate in. The check in, packet/shirt pick up was the most organized I have ever seen. Great job done by all the volunteers! We had a light lunch and then went to our hotel room and sat around talking, eating snacks and drinking wine (beer for me!). It was a girls weekend getaway! Before dinner, Sue and I went for a walk and viewed the Willamette River. Eugene is a very beautiful place, one that I would like to explore a bit more.
The beginning of the course started just a couple miles from our hotel so it was very easy to get to. The race started at 8:00am and it was cool and sunny. After getting stopped by a train for about three minutes while walking through town, the majority of the route was on a path, in the trees, following along the river. It was so nice and by far my favorite marathon route to date. All three of us felt strong and knew it was going to be a great day! How could it not be with Ghirardelli chocolates waiting for us at the end?!
Around mile six I made the mistake of eating a half of a banana that was being given out so I suffered with a stomach ache the rest of the way. I NEVER eat while walking but for some reason it sounded good at the moment. I knew better. (No new is good new!!) I can eat Clif energy gels and sports beans but beyond that, it all makes me feel sick while walking. I knew that about myself and made a bad decision. I had a good mindset though and continued moving forward. Linda struggled a bit with her low iron issues but pushed hard and was right there with us the entire way (watch out world, she's back!). Her recent iron infusions have given her back her strength. Sue didn't struggle at all and kept us all moving - Thank you, Sue!
The day was absolutely beautiful... but HOT.
Our official time was 3 hours 8 minutes and 26 seconds. That's an average pace of 14:23 minute miles! We all three crossed the starting line together and then crossed the finish line together! We were a great team! :)
The finish line goodies, food and music were all spectacular and we enjoyed sitting around, stretching and of course, eating chocolate! (I already had a stomach ache so why not?!)
We traveled back home full of excitement. We all agreed we would definitely be participating in this event again next year! It really was a great weekend shared with great friends!
When I arrived home, Husband gave me a much needed and appreciated FOOT MASSAGE! My day could not have been any better!
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| Linda and me |
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| Linda, me and Sue (Who puts thier finger in front of a camera these days and doesn't notice?!) |
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| Waiting for the train to pass so we can keep going! |
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| We started together... We finished together! |
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| Tired but proud! |
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