Holy Hot and Hilly Batman!

That title pretty much sums up my experience with the Helvetia Half Marathon!

Don't get me wrong, the course was (for the most part) beautiful, and the volunteers that were working at the water stations were some of the nicest I've experienced at any race I've participated in...but when you're expecting overcast, rainy weather with a high of 60 and you end up getting hot, sunny weather with a high of almost 80 (and you dress for the former as opposed to the later) and some of the hills you're running up at miles 4, 5, and 7 cover almost 200 feet of elevation in a single hill, it can make for not the greatest run of your racing career.

Needless to say, I didn't PR in this particular race, but since I was wearing long, black pants and hadn't thought to bring any extra water with me on the run, I'm actually pretty pleased that I finished at all!  And in all honesty, I didn't do that badly...I finished in 2:03:39, which is only a couple minutes off of my PR, so I guess I can't complain too much, especially since I told myself before starting the race that I was running this one for fun and not for time.

This is me at the start of the race, don't I look happy?!  Silly me, little did I know it was going to be such a challenging course.  I think the absolute worse part of the race was at mile 6, because as I was running downhill thinking life was so grand, the people on the other side of the road were running back UP mile 7, looking like they hated life...and I knew what awaited me a few minutes later.  The other bad part of the course came at mile 10, which ended up being a gravel and dirt road, and for people that have already been running for an hour and a half, that is not the easiest surface to run on.  But I persevered with my fellow runners and crossed the finish line a couple miles later, thankful that it was all over!

Now this isn't to say that I'll never run this race again, but I'll certainly be more prepared the next time I attempt it, that's for sure.

Yummy, finisher's medal!  And I have to admit, the finisher's shirt...

...and finisher's medal...

...were pretty freaking awesome!

Some of my stats:
Finishing time: 2:03:39
Average pace: 9:26
Overall place: 888/2416
Gender place: 351/1438
Age Division place: 57/185

Of course, the best part of the whole experience was that I got to spend the weekend with one of my closest friends, the fabulous Megan Moody!  She just recently was accepted to the Residency Program at OHSU and she is going to make a kick ass doctor!  A couple highlights from the weekend included introducing her to her very first Voodoo Doughnut experience...

...(and no, you don't need to adjust your computer screens, that doughnut DOES in fact have bacon on it, it is the famous Maple Bacon Bar and it is DELICIOUS!!!)

...forgetting my ID in my running belt when we had gone downtown specifically to do a "Brewery Crawl" and having to race back up the hill to Megan's apartment to retrieve it and run back down to the tram, making it just in time for it's final run of the night...

...and finding an AWESOME elephant statue in the middle of downtown Portland!  I know the picture is a little dark, but that's me standing in front of the statue, and you can take my word for it, it is awesome.  I need to try to find it in the daytime and take another picture.

So that pretty much sums up my amazing weekend in Portland.  Have you ever "misplanned" for a race based on what you thought the weather was going to be?

How I Celebrated National Running Day...

That's right everyone, today, June 6th, 2012, is National Running Day!

I know that everyone celebrates in their own special way...some by running, some by thinking about running, some by vowing never to run.  I celebrated by taking a short run (unfortunately, I only had time for a little over a mile today, but at least I got one in) and then by signing up for a couple races!  The Rock 'n' Roll Race Series was honoring the special day by offering $20 off almost all of their races.

By the way, the offer is good until midnight tonight, so if you've ever dreamed of running a R'n'R race, sign up today!  I've been wanting to run the Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon for a while...unfortunately, it seemed to be the ONLY race that wasn't included in the discount.  After pouting for a minute or two, I decided twenty bucks wasn't going to keep me from wanting to run this race in the end, so I signed up anyway!

I did notice, however, that the Rock 'n' Roll Portland Half Marathon was included in the offer, so I signed up for that one too!

All in all, I'd say it was a pretty productive National Running Day!

I Run...Because I CAN!!!

Why do you run?  And how did you celebrate National Running Day?

Yummy Homemade White Wine Sangria!

I haven't done a "wine inspired" post in a while, and since I made a batch of my wonderfully tasty white wine sangria this weekend, I thought it was the perfect time to share this yummy yummy recipe...and yes, I know the pitcher looks a little empty...I may have taste tested it a few times to make sure the recipe was blog post worthy!

White Wine Sangria: (sorry, don't have a cute, fun name for it)
In a large pitcher add...

• First, boil 1/2 cup sugar in 1 cup water for 5-7 minutes to create a simple syrup for the sangria, cool in the fridge until chilled, then add to pitcher

• 1 bottle (750 ml) of white wine...I find Riesling works best because it's a little on the sweet side, which is what you want in a good sangria (don't go all the way to Gewurztraminer or Moscato, they're a little too sweet)

• 1 cup orange liquor, such as triple sec, orange schnapps, or Grand Marnier.
• 20 ounces soda water...I personally like the extra little kick a lemon-lime soda brings to the mix, so I use Fresca instead, but you could use 7-Up, Sprite, or just plain ol' soda water

• Lots of sliced, fresh fruit...some of my favorites in this recipe include kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, oranges, lemons, limes, red or green grapes, and granny smith apples...basically anything that looks tasty and fresh at the grocery store will work.

Mix everything together in a pitcher, then put in the fridge until chilled.  Pour into a wine glass, put in your favorite movie, kick your feet up, and enjoy!

What's your favorite drink to ring in the summer?