Flat Half on Sauvies Island

Per usual, it was hot out there today on Sauvies Island. This is the third time I have run the Flat Half and it is a great race. The half marathon is one loop around the island and the marathon sends you down a side street for another 6.5 miles, then you turn around and catch up with the halfers. It is pretty cool to see the really fast marathoners pass you on the final couple miles of the run. They start fifteen minutes before us, so there were at least five sub 2:30 marathoners who passed me. I finished in 2:42, which is a little slower than the 2:30 I was hoping for, but I never really got under a 12 minute mile pace and the last three miles were pretty hot, so I lost a bit of steam.

I have to thank Barbara for getting up at 5:30 a.m. on a Saturday and coming out to the race with me. She rode her bike around and carried some extra water for me, which was much needed as I went through my first water bottle after seven miles. It was great to have the support and she also took some nice pictures along the way.