Race for the Cure

Sunday morning. Race for the Cure 5K. Another downtown race that starts at an ungodly hour. But it's for a great cause! I was at the start line by 7:25 to race at 7:30. Along with 3,000 other people. And that was just in the first event. They estimated there were 46,000 participants in all the events making the Portland Race for the Cure the biggest on the west coast, and 4th largest in the country. Wow.

It was very incredible to see all the supporters out on the course. There were lots of high school girls cheer leading squads chanting rhymes, and several bands playing. The one band I distinctly remember was an all percussion group at the crest of the Broadway Bridge. To hear all those drums beating in sync was extremely motivating, and definitely pushed me to get the top of that rise without losing much speed. And of course, it was amazing to see all the runners with the "in memory/support of" signs on the backs of their shirts, for mothers, sisters, aunts, grandmothers, and on and on. And there was pink everywhere. It was beautiful.

I did surprisingly well considering I've only done one speed workout since May. I really think it's all the hiking. It's made my legs incredibly strong. I almost set a new PR, and I probably would have had I actually done some speed work, not been sleep deprived for 4 nights in a row, and ate better the night before (I know, I know, I have more excuses, but these are the main ones). Check out Cindy's blog to see what I actually ate for dinner.

5K
22:52 / 7:22 pace
120' ascent