This is the second time I have run in this race - last year was the inaugural. It’s a small race, only around 73 or so people running the HM. And maybe another 50 or so running the 5K. It is a no frills event – no shirts, only a few water stops along the way. Just a $20 race. Nice and simple, just the way I like it. My running partner and I were planning on this just being a long training run. Well, I found out she’s a sandbagger. She had a great race. It was a bit chilly this a.m., but at least no rain, which is what had been in the forecast all week. Overcast, dry and maybe around mid 40’s? We started out at a good pace, 8:57. It’s a fairly scenic course. Most of it is along roadways that hug the Rogue River. Our next mile was a bit faster than I wanted to go: 8:43. I knew my friend had it in her to keep up a faster pace, so told her to run her own race and I fell back a bit. I was actually a bit relieved. I tend to feel stressed when running with someone that I know is or can be faster and worry too much about slowing them down, so it was nice to run solo the rest of the race and not feel like I was holding her back. I wanted to settle into a pace that was around 9:30 m/m. And up until mile 10 that’s about where I stayed, so was happy with that. Shortly before mile 10, we entered Valley of the Rogue Park and this was the tough part. We ran on the grassy park lawns for about a mile before we got on a chip bark trail. The ground was lumpy and soft so you had to really watch your footing. This mile bumped me over 10 min/mile. It was so hard to pick up my legs and push off. I actually felt like I was running even slower than a 10 min/mile. By now, my hips were starting to get a bit sore and it was much more of an effort to keep pushing. Around mile 11ish, we were on a chip trail, which was nicer, but I still wasn’t picking up much pace. These last three miles were hard for me. By about mile 12, we were on a bike/running path, which I thought would make it easier, but it sure didn’t feel like it. This was a fairly flat course, a few little rollers and here and there. When I look at the elevation chart, per Garmin, it fluctuated by a couple hundred feet in a few places, but nothing too bad. I came in at 2:05:15, so about 5 minutes slower than I wanted, but I’m still okay with this time. This was my 6th HM and it was my 3rd fastest time. I ran this course last year in 2:07, so was glad to see a little bit of improvement. My friend ran it in 1:51:55, which was a PR for her by about 2 minutes. This was her 2nd HM. All in all, this was a good training run for me. I was tired at the end but don’t feel totally zapped of all my energy, so I think I put forth the effort that I wanted. Here’s my splits: 8.57 8.43 8.51 9.13 9.17 9.29 9.35 9.36 9.35 9.56 10.18 10.12 10.10 .59 Fashion Report: Asics Foundations, navy blue shorts, yellow and white short sleeve shirt, with my bright yellow Seattle Marathon long sleeve shirt over it. Boulder marathon running cap. Thanks to Jon and John, I sort of appear to have run a few marathons based on my running attire. My paparazzi photographer wasn't able to be there today, so no photos to share. Sorry.

It is a no frills event – no shirts

Awesome......too bad I wasn't there to see that. Seriously though, nice racing. Congrats on getting another HM under your belt!

Very nice race Tamster. You had a plan and stuck with it. Nice small and cheap race. Perfect. Bill

Nothing wrong with that race!!!! Great Job Tammy!!!

Very good training Tammy... and you had a course PR! Congtratulations! I think you felt those early fast miles at the end ... but that just gave you an even better training workout! Steve

Very nice race, Tammy! A course PR as well! Congratulations! PJ

Tammy, nice race and great RR (complete with fashion report!) I love small races and you can't beat that $20 fee! Your running partner sure is speedy - good call to run your own race and not try to stay with her.

I also am a fan of the small races. Nice job and glad to see you continue to improve.