Ho Ho Ho 5K

Ho Ho Ho 5K

December 6, 2015

Cost - $20.00

My next race was the Ho Ho Ho 5k in Tigard Oregon. http://www.xdogevents.com/hoho.html. Any donations and collected items would go to the Union Gospel Mission and the Oregon Humane Society. I'm a big animal lover so supporting the Humane Society was right up my alley. I sent an email to the contact address for the race because I had considered bringing my dogs to this one. I never received a reply. I decided to leave the dogs at home since I didn't want to have to leave them in the car too long if they couldn't come with me. When I showed up I noticed several people who were obviously going to race with their furbabies.

As I said in an earlier post I work as a firefighter a we work 24 hours on and 48 hours off. I worked the night before this race and had a slight sinus thing happening so I was pretty tired that morning. I decided to go without the turnouts this time thinking this course might be a little slicker and colder than the last race since we were in December.

I learned from my workout runs that layering and wearing running specific gear helps a lot. I showed up wearing running pants and a few layers up top. For a December day it wasn't considerably cold but thought that I may not have layered up enough. I showed up around 9:00am for a 10:00am race and found very few people had arrived before me. I got my race bib within a few minutes and decided I would head back to the car to keep warm until the race started. I noticed a lot of people in festive costumes including reindeer, elves, and even a Mrs. Claus. The crowd for this one was more subdued and it looked like more couples and families in attendance.

The course for this race started with a slight incline. This was no where near the hill we battled with in the first race I described. It seems any race done to the south of Portland is going to have some hill climbing involved. We made our way through some neighborhoods. I noticed there wasn't very many people staffing the course although it was marked with cones. As we winded through the course we moved to a trail around the river and park areas. This course would be beautiful in the summer time but for this time of year the path was very wet, with large pools of standing water, and slippery vegetation. 

I finished this one in just over 30 minutes. It was a solid pace but it was somewhat anti-climatic. When the race was completed there wasn't any covered area to gather. There were some seasonal snacks provided but no music and no beer. Once I finished the race I walked around for about ten minutes and decided to head home. I probably wouldn't consider this one again. I should mention this race was half the price of the previous one and there was still a t-shirt so you might be able to see past some of the short comings .

Up next: ORRC Y2K 10K

The Mustache Dache

The Mustache Dache

November 14, 2015

Cost - $40.00

The first race I signed up for was the Mustache Dache http://mustachedache.com/ . This was a fun looking 5K with the proceeds going toward ending prostate cancer. Knowing that I had a year of races coming up I had already started running. 5k = 3.1 miles. I felt pretty comfortable I could finish this race without too much trouble. So I decided that it might not be challenging enough since I wanted to do these races to get in better overall shape. I work as firefighter and thought maybe I should try to do this race in my firefighting turnouts. Then I thought, "Why should I be the only person that suffers in those damn turnouts?" So after sending out a few texts and emails I found a partner for the race.

The race started at 10:00 so RJ (on the left) and I showed up around 8:30. There were many booths set up, music pumping, and lot's of people in costumes. The weather was conducive to two crazy guys running in turnouts. The race started on time and we were off with a large crowd of friendly runners. The race began ascending what I thought would be a short hill. That hill was short but unfortunately it was closely followed by another steeper and taller hill. At this point I thought the turnouts were a terrifyingly bad idea. As we crested the next hill my body started to adapt and things weren't too bad as the terrain started to level out. I actually started to have fun with the race when we encountered the next hill. As we started to ascend a very steep hill I noticed no one, and I mean no one, was running. Who plans a running race with a section that no one can run? Seriously, I'm tired. We disappointingly had to walk about a tenth of a mile up to get to the top.

Once at the top however we picked the pace back up. Luckily these hills took up the first half of the race. Basically after the halfway mark it was all downhill. We had a pretty good pace going and the turnouts didn't really slow us down too much. I had a great time laughing at some of the costumes and just enjoying the day.

We crossed the finish line after about 30 minutes. The event was set up really well with lots for the crowd to see and do. The event was held at Big Al's which is a huge bar/game/bowling place. They must have had sponsorship because when we finished we received a free margarita and free warm cider. Yes, exactly what I want when I've run a race is a nice warm cup of cider. Okay, sarcasm aside it was nice to get some free drinks after.  Just a good vibe and a fun event to be a part of. I'd do this one again.

Up next: Ho Ho Ho 5k

12 Races in 12 Months

12 Races in 12 Months

Background

I'm not what I would consider a "runner". I'm not tall and lean. I don't relish the idea of getting up at 6:00am to get in "a few miles". But I wanted to make a change in my like style. I've played hockey for years, trained with a personal trainer, practiced some kickboxing, and played some other sports. I noticed as I was getting "slightly" older I wasn't able to compete like I once could. It was time to look for something else I could get involved in.

I'm a first time blogger so go easy on me.I decided I wanted to document my decision to try to complete 12 races in 12 months.  First a little about me. I turned 44 years old in October. I've always been in relatively good shape but wanted to change things up a little. I could easily keep doing what I was doing to stay in the same shape but I wanted to see what changes I could make in my fitness level  if I had a race as a goal every month for a year. I wasn't disappointed with my fitness level but I've never felt like I made that next step. I also thought about the definition of insanity, "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result." So I decided I would compete in some sort of race every month. This way I couldn't allow myself to get to far away from being in good shape around the holidays and other down times.

So why am I creating a blog? Well I've always avoided running races because I thought they were for elite runners. I've run on and off over the years to keep in shape but I don't love running and I thought I wouldn't ever want to part of the various races that are ran throughout Oregon. However, I enjoy competition even if that competition is with myself. So I thought I might document my experiences and allow you to see what I went through in case you were on the fence about doing a race or had advice to offer.

As I said I've run off and on over the years to keep in shape. About four years ago I thought "How far could I run?" I started out running a couple of miles. I learned that pace is the key. I can run a few miles with a solid pace, or run a solid distance at a much slower pace, but I can't do both. After spending the summer of 2011 practicing I ran my furthest distance ever of 11 miles. I was thrilled that I got that far and essentially put running on the back burner after that.

In 2015 I started to get that bug again. When I ran 11 miles it was by myself and not in a race. I decided to put a little pressure on myself and do a once in a lifetime half marathon. I figured if I signed up and paid for the entrance fee I would stick to a plan of running on a regular basis.  In April of 2015 I finished my first half marathon and was pleased with my time of 2:38, or a pace of 12 minute miles. After this race, running reverted back to a once in while thing.

Maybe I had some weird midlife crisis on my birthday in October but I decided I wanted to kick up the activity level, change up the routine, and let's see what's out there for someone of my age to compete in.

Up next: My first race