Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Getting Caught Up

Well it’s been a while since I updated but that’s not due to a lack of things going on; more just because I haven’t really had time to sit down and type anything out.

Last Thursday I turned 30 and celebrated with some friends at one of our neighborhood spots. It was a lot of fun thanks to the organizational capabilities of my beautiful wife.

Speaking of the cutie; she started her new job today and from the short report I received a while ago it sounds like she had a great day. I’m looking forward to hearing all about it this evening.

Sunday morning Jen and I walked across the river to line up for the Bridge to Brews 10k which started at the wonderful time of 9:00 which allowed us to sleep in a bit. It was a beautiful day and I was fairly confident in my chances of breaking my old PR which I set in 2005 (55:24). My fastest mile was 6:41, the slowest 7:28 which included a 25-30 second hold up to let a train go by. Yeah, that’s right, a train. We were running along and I could hear it coming up behind us but I was still a good quarter mile from the crossing. As the train got closer people started dashing across the tracks and running along the crushed gravel on the far side of the tracks. There were actually people running in front of the train with only 15 or 20 feet to spare. I saw one guy turn back only when it was obvious the train was going to run him down. All I could think was, Really? I mean, none of us were in contention for first place and there was no prize money anyway, and let’s be honest; another day of living is worth much more than any race purse. Anyway, after waiting for the train to pass (it was only a passenger train) I finished the last mile and a half or so and came in at 43:13 for a 6:57 AP.

Race Stats: AG: 15/120 Males: 67/543 OA: 74/1243

Eugene is coming up fairly quickly (May 3rd) and I think I’m prepared both mentally and physically – I guess we’ll see where the cards fall come race day. This will be a tough PR to beat for sure.

The weather in Portland has been so awesome lately. We’ve had some days in the high 70’s, the leaves and flowers are coming out left and right, and the days are getting longer. I think sunset is at like 8:05 these days and will soon be closer to 9:00.

In misc. racing news I am now on a Hood to Coast team which I am pretty excited about. I don’t know what legs I will be running but I’m hoping that I get one of the really random times like 2am or something just for the experience (I’ll be running at least three legs so chances are I will have some random time for sure).

7 comments:

Aron said...

sounds like you had a great birthday!!! happy 30th!

yikes a train? that would be annoying but still you had a GREAT time even with the hold up - congrats!!!

eugene will be here sooo soon!!

Dragonfly on the Water said...

Happy Earth Day tomorrow. Sounds like its absolutely Spring in Portland. Great job on your 10 k run & good luck in Eugene. Every age is a good age to be.

jen said...

Awesome time on the 10k, especially with a train delay. That is so weird! You're going to PR in Eugene I know it. :)

Sarah said...

AUGH! Hood to Coast! SO jealous :) You'll have a great time!! It's been a goal of mine for years to run that thing. Next year for sure!

And happy birthday - one more time :)

Kim said...

what an exciting week! happy belated birthday! congrats on the 10k, amazing job and thank god you didnt jump in front of the train! and you will kick butt at eugene!

Marathon Maritza said...

Wait isn't "43:13 for a 6:56 AP" a PR? Helllooo! I love how you just glossed over that! Yay! And a sub-7 pace? Awesome!

You are kicking some Eugene-ass, that's for sure!

Alisa said...

Justin got stuck by the train too! How annoying! It was so fun to see all of you finish strong.

I'll be in Eugene spectating, I'll have to get an update from Jen on what you guys are wearing so I can be prepared to spot you on the course.