Pacific Crest 1/2 Marathon

This was my fourth 1/2 marathon ever and very rewarding.  When talking with Thomas the other day I was saying how crazy it is when people do multiple 1/2 marathons or marathons in one year and he reminded me that this one would be my third in a year. 

We left for Bend, Oregon Friday morning after I had done a short 3 miler.  I was super worried after that three miles cause I felt soooooo slow!

Here are some pics from the drive over to Bend.  We caravaned over there with our good friends John and Kaisey.

Mt. Bachelor (I think)  there were at least four mountains that you could see in the landscape at one time.

These windmills are HUGE! There were hundreds of them a

To start some carb loading we stopped at Subway for lunch around 1pm. I got the turkey breast on wheat as usual with all the veggies except for onions.
We got to the hotel around 3pm and then headed over to Sunriver Resort where we picked up our packets.

At the Race Expo

Packet pick up was super quick and easy.  I was very impressed with the race expo. The expo was full of good vendors and the things they were selling were very decently priced.  We stopped by the Hammer Gel tent and they were selling Hammer Gels for $1! That is such a steal! In a normal store they cost at least $2.  I tried the Hammer Electrolyte drink and did not like it at all.  It tasted very watered down and bland.  Luckily I discovered this before the race so I wasn't totally disgusted during the race.

The band at the expo was excellent.

Goodies from our race bag.

I wasn't impressed by the shirts.  They were cotton long sleeved shirts!! It's summer time! I don't know if this typical for this race or it was just this year.  I want a shirt I can sport NOW, not in 6 months.  They would be fine if it was winter time. 
The bag also included some Hammer Gel drink mix and electrolyte pills.  I had Clif Shot Blocs for the first time and LOVED them! I'm a huge fan of fruit snacks and that is what they tasted like.  I had three the night before the race and three the morning of the race.

Favorite goodies: Free 16oz Jamba Juice and Clif Shot Bloks

I loved that the timing chips were on the back of the race bibs.  So we didn't have to turn in an ankle chip at the end of the race.  We also had to wear these yellow wrist bands to get into the Athlete Village after the race for the post-race snacks.  I guess this is so spectators don't eat the snacks, but I'm pretty sure you can tell who has just ran a 1/2 marathon but what they look like (sweaty, walking funny, race bib, finisher's medal). 

John, Kaisey, Me, and Thomas at the Expo

After the expo we stopped by a little outlet mall and did a little shopping and then headed to Olive Garden for dinner.  For the Wenatchee 1/2 we went there for dinner the night before so we knew it would be a good choice to stick with something we were comfortable with.  Last time I had the chicken primavera and this time I had the lasanga clasico.
After dinner we headed back to the hotel to relax with a friendly game of Phase 10.

Phase 10 Fun

I slept pretty well the night before.  There was the usually waking up every couple hours to check the clock but overall a good nights sleep. 6am didn't seem too early because it was nice and bright outside. We left from our hotel at 6:45am and arrived at the start at 7am.
It was a little bit confusing as to where we were supposed to meet.  The marathoner's and walkers of the half marathoner's started a little earlier than the runners of the half marathoner's. But they had a loud announcement about 20 minutes before the start of the race and we all began walking to the start line. 

Thomas walked with me to the start line.  He is the best fan.

Waiting with the rest of the crowd to start the race.

Chatting it up while we wait.

The race started promptly at 8am.  It only took about one minute for us to get to the start line.  The first couple miles were really congested because there were 1600 runners and the path we were running on wasn't very wide.  But it kind of helped me to keep my speed in check the first couple miles which is when I usually want to go out fast. I think my first mile was around a 9:30 and my second was a 9:15.
After mile 2 I started getting into about an 8:45 pace and had found some people that I wanted to stick with throughout the race. 
Thomas had asked me before we went to bed what my goals/strategy/plan was going to be.  He reminded me of somethings that I had wanted to change after last half marathon.  One of those things was I wanted to go out slower and stick with somebody.  I successfully accomplished both of those girls.
After the race there was a lady who came up to me and congratulated me and said that she stuck behind me the whole time and just kept her eye on my bright pink shirt. 
I felt soooo amazing miles 1-6.  I was kind of separating the race into a 10k (mile 6), then getting to mile 10, and then a 5K.  It really helped splitting it up in my head like that.
At mile 6 I got some water and tried to get down some Clif Bar Energy Gel.  I don't know why but I could not get that stuff down.  I swallowed a little bit and tried to swallow some more and ended up just throwing it up.  I felt bad cause there was a lady next to me trying to get some gel down too and that probably didn't help.  I heard her say to her husband "I don't think I can get it down."  After that till about mile 7.25 I felt very naseaus and had a sideache on both sides.  I let myself walk for 20 seconds and then pushed through it.
I was sooooo happy to see Thomas at mile 7.5! I teared up a bit because it was exactly what I needed right now.  He told me later he had just wanted to jump in the race and finish with me.  Love that guy!

Mile 7.5 Don't you love the little tunnel? I thought I was going to hit my head.

I made it to mile 10 and then just thought "a 5k is all I have left!"  Those last 3 miles dragged by but by then I knew I was super close to making my goal. 

And.... I DID IT!!! I finished in under 2 hours! My official time was 1:56:30! So about a 8:53min mile.  I was so relieved and happy to finish and have completed my goal!

The hardware

This course was so beautiful! It was all on an asphalt bike path. Most of it had shade from all of the pine trees.  We ran past the Deshutes river and passed meadows, just beautiful.  No big hills, just some little inclines.  The temperature was absolutely perfect.  A little chilly while waiting for the race to start but wonderful once I started running.
The finisher medals were really pretty and they had different ones.  Kaisey and I both got different ones.  I use to just through my medals away cause I didn't want to be a hoarder but my running bud Haley convinced me to start saving them.
I am a happy girl! I am thinking of doing another one at the end of August but for the next week or so I'm looking forward to doing more Jillian and switching things up a bit.

Offical Chip Time: 1:56:30



Pace: 8:53


15/55 in age group


279/1399 overall


207/1017 female overall