Happy Valley 10k and 5k - Race Report, Results and Photos

Looking for some hill work? Have I got the race for you!

But first, here are the particulars:

Need to see the results? They're right here and/or right here.

Want to see photos of yourself all sweaty and sad-looking? Jake Egbert Photography took care of that for you right here and here.

So, the race.

Well, after the illness and subpar performance at the Corvallis Half, I wanted to get something on the schedule fairly quickly just to keep my training momentum going. And while it was a bit of a drive, Happy Valley is just outside of Portland, the date was about right, so I signed up for this one. Definitely sight unseen. Unfortunately.

As I drove into the Happy Valley area, I noticed immediately that there may be a problem. There's no valley. It should really have been named Happy Hills. I mean, I'm not a stickler for detail, but come on.



Yep, that chart that looks like waves on the open sea? That's the elevation profile. It was actually a 5k loop and the 10k ran it twice, so that's why the halves look very similar.

Anyway, the race started at Happy Valley Elementary and the packet pickup was inside the school. Indoor bathrooms...yes! So after a quick pitstop, about 50 of us 10k runners and around 250 5k runners toed the start line and were off! Well, actually, it was more like, we...were...off... Yes, we started right uphill. No messing around with a flat start, let's just get this thing headed uphill.



As you can see on the map, it was a quick uphill jaunt on King, then a left on 146th. That was a pretty good downhill most of the way, then slightly uphill at the end before we turned onto Ridgecrest. Then some zags and a hill through a neighborhood section and back to Ridgecrest. Then a odd little loop into Happy Valley Park. Downhill going into the park and uphill coming out. Once we took the left back onto Ridgecrest, we got the most brutal uphill of the course, all the way to 132nd. Just had to grind it. Once on to 132nd, it was a pretty good downhill almost all the way back to King. Then another left with some down, then up and we're back to the start and the 2nd lap.



Not sure how, but I kept a very even pace through the first three miles, at 8:10, 8:08 and 8:09. Once we dropped all the 5k runners, I had a bit of a lapse in concentration and dropped to an 8:23, but picked it back up for an 8:07 on mile five. Mile six was sort of slow at 8:23, big hill, then finished it up at about the same pace. Averaged 8:14 overall. Not great, but an improvement over my horrid pace at the Corvallis Half.



Not real happy that my Garmin read 6.44 miles at the end. I realize that kind of course can add a bit to the total mileage, but an extra quarter mile is a LOT of extra running. That's two minutes added to my time. Nope, not happy about that, Happy Valley.

Good cinnamon chip bread from Great Harvest at the finish and some amazaballs bundt cake mini things that were fantastic! I think those were from this place - check them out!

Shirts were pretty cool. They had both tech and cotton, but luckily I grabbed a tech shirt before they ran out.



So there you have it. Not a bad race. Good organization and low-key, but so, so hilly. Probably would not run it again. Now I need to find one or two more of the 10k variety before my next goal half: the Eugene Half Marathon at the end of July.

My History in the Marathon

So two days away from my running of the Skagit Flats Marathon, I've been pondering my strange history of my love/hate affair with the 26.2 mile distance.

I've run four marathons so far. The Skagit Flats will be the fifth. That's not so much, of course, but it seems like so, so much more. Maybe it's just the horribly long training periods that make it seem like I've done more than four of these things. I mean, I've been training since May 6th for the Skagit Flats. May 6th!! So it really shouldn't be surprising, with such a long training period, and then with the race itself being so disturbingly long, that some bad luck might occur during the prep and/or race.

My first marathon was in 1997. Wow. That was a long time ago. I was all of 30 years old, but in distance running years, I was just a little bouncing baby boy. I was all about 5k's and sprint triathlons back then. That marathon in 1997, the Seattle Marathon, was a total fluke. Jen and I somehow decided to try one and just did it. I was in no type of shape to run a marathon and my race time shows that. The Seattle course was not fun, I hated just about every rainy minute of it and it's really no great shock that it took me 13 years to try again.

My second marathon, in 2010, was the Eugene Marathon. I'll blame my friend Manny Balesteri, from Springfield and the UofO, for getting me back into the marathon after such a long break. He was, and still is, seriously into the distance and his love of the race made me wonder if it was really as bad as I had remembered it. Yeah, it probably was. I was in OK shape at this race, but still had not committed to the training that's required to actually race for 26.2 miles. I was well trained for a half here, but definitely not a full.

The third marathon, in Newport, was where I thought it would all come together. I trained hard for this one, following Pete Pfitzinger's marathon plan to the letter. I thought I could get a Boston time here, but after about 10 miles realized that was not going to happen. A very short time after that, I had the worst GI issues I've ever had in my life. And that was that. Somehow, this one is still my PR.

The fourth, and latest if not for long, was the CIM in Sacramento, CA. I hurt my ankle a number of weeks before the race and basically did no training at all for this one. Plus this was the Hurricaine CIM of 2012. I'm lucky I made it to the finish line.

Which brings us to the present day. And the Skagit Flats Marathon in two days. I've had three pretty good months of training for this one, over 600 miles total in June, July and August combined, and then two pretty bad weeks heading to the start line. I pulled a muscle in my leg and have just been nursing it along for about 10 days now. How much will it affect my race? Only time will tell.

Eventually it will all come together. The training, the nutrition, the race...everything. Not in two days' time and maybe not in the next race or the one after that. But I'll get it one of these days.

See you out there.

Eugene Marathon Moves to July 27th

Sort of a surprise here. The Eugene Marathon had been the Spring Marathon in Oregon. But they just announced that they're up and moving the whole thing to July 27th for 2014. Same announcement over on the Eugene Marathon's home page here.

I realize they're trying to sell it with "little chance of rain" and as part of Tracktown's big event, but...

I'm seeing a lot of negative comments about it online. I think people were pretty happy with the early spring date. A mid-summer marathon may mean "dry" but it also means "hot." I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it all plays out.

Northwest Running and Triathlon Race Calendar - April 2013

One of the Big Boys is on the schedule this week - the Eugene Marathon. That's right, Eugene, home of Pre, Nike and Ducks of all kinds. But personally, it's the Krusteaz Pancake that gets me going. A year's supply of pancakes if you beat him in the 5k! Don't think it's easy...he's not slow. Here's a video of him in action last year - he really moves!

Let's race!

-Green Text for Trail Runs
-Red Text for Marathons and Half Marathons
-Blue Text for Triathlons and Duathlons
-Orange Text for everything else, the normal 5k, 10k, etc

RACES FOR WEEK OF APRIL 22nd TO APRIL 28th

April 27th / Weiser River Trail 50k / Council, ID

April 27th / Hills for Humanity Trail Run 4m / Portland, OR

April 27th / Smith Rock Ascent 15m / Terrebonne, OR

April 27th / Lost Creek Trail Runs 30k and 5k / Trail, OR

April 27th / XTERRA Soaring Eagle Park Trail Run 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10m and 5m / Sammamish, WA

April 27th / Capitol Peak Trail Run 50m and 55k / Olympia, WA

April 27th / 5:26 Spring Run Half Marathon / Snohomish, WA

April 28th / Eugene Marathon and Half Marathon / Eugene, OR

April 28th / Heroes Half Marathon and 10k / Everett, WA

April 28th / Cove 2 Clover Snakezilla Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Burien, WA

April 28th / Sisters Half Marathon and 8k / Sisters, OR

April 26th / Bengal Triathlon Sprint / Pocatello, ID (Friday night swim, Saturday bike and run)

April 27th / Western Oregon University Triathlon Sprint / Monmouth, OR

April 28th / Mount Rainier Duathlon Olympic and Sprint / Enumclaw, WA

April 27th / Run Your Paws Off 5k / Pendleton, OR

April 27th / Sean's Run from Autism 2013 / Portland, OR

April 27th / Footsteps for Families 10k and 5k / Tigard, OR

April 27th / Can Do 10k and 5k / Bothell, WA

April 27th / Save the Frogs Day 5k / Seattle, WA

April 27th / Eagle Run 5k / Oak Harbor, WA

April 27th / Eugene Marathon 5k / Eugene, OR

April 27th / Fund the Future 5k / Richland, WA

April 27th / Healthy Earth, Healthy You 5k / Tukwila, WA

April 27th / Race 2 Place 10k and 5k / Spokane, WA

April 27th / Stillaguamish Run for Good 10k and 5k / Arlington, WA

April 27th / Run to Win America 5k / Tacoma, WA

April 27th / Rendezvous Run 5k / Eureka, MT

April 27th / Cancer Crushers 10k and 5k / Montesano, WA

April 27th / Mosquito March 5k / Sherwood, OR

April 27th / Round Up Run 10k and 5k / Three Forks, MT

April 27th / Rolling Hills Run 10k and 5k / Heppner, OR

April 27th / Heart and Sole of Rigby 10k and 5k / Rigby, ID

April 27th / Jayden DeLuca Race for Hearts 5k / Eagle, ID

April 27th / Run for Autism Awareness 5k / Boise, ID

April 27th / Early Bird Run 5m / Helena, MT

April 27th / Montana Made 10k and 5k / Missoula, MT

April 28th / Run with Abe 5k / Seattle, WA

April 28th / CHASE Strides for SNAP 5k / Spokane, WA

April 28th / Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5k / Seattle, WA

April 28th / See Spot Run 5k / Yakima, WA

April 28th / Bellevue 10k and 5k / Bellevue, WA

April 28th / The Rad 80's Run 3m / Portland, OR

April 28th / Ice Breaker Road Race 5m and 3m / Great Falls, MT

April 28th / Times Colonist 10k / Victoria, BC

Eugene Marathon 2013 - Free Preview Runs

It's strange that I can't find anything about this on the official Eugene Marathon website, but it was the first item in an e-mail I received from the official Eugene Marathon E-Mail Senders.

Two Preview Runs of parts of the official Eugene Marathon course. If you haven't run it before, it's always nice to get a look at the actual course. If you have run it before, well these are great LSD runs for your training program.

Here it is, straight from the Eugene Marathon:

Sunday, February 24:
Previews: Franklin Blvd.,Springfield, Valley River
Approximately 13 miles

Sunday, March 24:
Previews: Final sections of the full marathon
Approximately 16 miles

The free preview runs are non-competitive with no times or awards given. All runs start at 8:00 a.m. outside of Hayward Field; on the corner of Agate and 15th. Water and Gatorade is provided at the start, finish and one aid station along the route.

Stick around after your run and enjoy a quick, FREE MASSAGE from students at Lane Community College massage school.

Go Pre!

Eugene Marathon Registration Discount

Hurry up, it's only good until August 1st!

This will save you $10 on your registration, so get after it.

Use code: EUGENE13

This is only for e-mail subscribers, so if you're not already, head over here and sign up.

And get out there and start training!

For Liberty...for life...for Eugene!

Eugene Marathon Results

Try here.

Or here.

Maybe here.

Live finish video here.

The whole thing was a bit glitchy Sunday morning, but maybe it will get better as more people finish.

Lance Armstrong takes 7th in his second Ironman 70.3

A couple days late on this news, but what the hey. Remember, he took 2nd the last time out. But I'd have to call this a tougher field. Timothy O'Donnell won this Half, the US Championship race in Texas.

Lance's time was about four minutes slower in Texas than previously in the Panama 70.3, but it's impossible to compare tri courses - just too many variables in that long of a race.

Anyway, Lance looks like he could be a solid contender at Ironman 70.3 races and maybe even at full Ironman races. He ain't gettin' any younger, but he could have a few solid years if he keeps the training going.

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF APRIL 23rd TO APRIL 29th

April 28th / Weiser River Trail 50k / Council, ID

April 28th / Race for Hope 5k / Beaverton, OR

April 28th / Canby Fun Run 5k / Canby, OR

April 28th / Rolling Hills Run 10k and 5k / Heppner, OR

April 28th / WOU Sprint Plus Triathlon / Monmouth, OR

April 28th / Sean's Run from Autism 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

April 28th / Save the Frogs 5k / Seattle, WA

April 28th / Spring Forward 5k / Tacoma, WA

April 28th / Tacoma Earth Day 5k / Tacoma, WA

April 28th / Glide Wildflower Run 10k and 5k / Glide, OR

April 28th / Eagle Run 5k / Oak Harbor, WA

April 28th / Seaport River Run 10k / Clarkston, WA

April 28th / Capitol Peak Trail 50m and 55k / Olympia, WA

April 28th / Spring into Summer 5k / Richland, WA

April 28th / Explorer's Run for Fun 5k / Dupont, WA

April 28th / Mill Creek YMCA Family Fun Run 5k / Mill Creek, WA

April 29th / Top Pot Doughnut Dash 5k / Seattle, WA

April 29th / Soaring Eagle Trail 50k, Marathon, Half Marathon, 10m and 5m / Sammamish, WA

April 29th / Heroes Half Marathon and 10k / Everett, WA

April 29th / Run2Educate Half Marathon, 10k and 5k / Auburn, WA

April 29th / Bellevue 10k and 5k / Bellevue, WA

April 29th / See Spot Run 5k / Yakima, WA

April 29th / Sisters Half Marathon and 8k / Sisters, OR

April 29th / Eugene Marathon, Half Marathon and 5k / Eugene, OR

April 29th / Cherry Blossom Fitness Festival Half Marathon and Duathlon / The Dalles, OR

Photo from a nice gallery of Texas 70.3 shots at Competitor.com.

168

Time to Start Training for Your NW Marathon!

If you've got a marathon coming up in the spring or summer, you better get the training cranked up. I personally have the Newport Marathon on June 2nd, and just started my 18-week training plan this week. So if you're shooting for pretty much anything between April and July, it's about time to get serious on the training.

And looky here! There are plenty of marathons to choose from:

Yakima River Canyon Marathon - March 31 - Yakima, WA
ORRC Vernonia Marathon - April 15 - Vernonia, OR
Whidbey Island Marathon - April 15 - Oak Harbor, WA
Wenatchee Marathon - April 21 - Wenatchee, WA
Eugene Marathon - April 29 - Eugene, OR
Lake Lowell Marathon - May 5 - Nampa, ID
Tacoma City Marathon - May 6 - Tacoma, WA
Vancouver International Marathon - May 6 - Vancouver, BC
Famous Idaho Potato Marathon - May 19 - Boise, ID
Windermere Marathon - May 19 - Spokane, WA
Capital City Marathon - May 20 - Olympia, WA
Coeur d'Alene Marathon - May 27 - Coeur d'Alene, ID
Run for Water Marathon - May 27 - Abbotsford, BC
Green River Marathon - June 2 - Kent, WA
Newport Marathon - June 2 - Newport, OR
Three Sisters Marathon - June 9 - Redmond, OR
Timberline Marathon - June 2 - Government Camp, OR
North Olympic Discovery Marathon - June 3 - Port Angeles, WA
San Juan Island Marathon - June 3 - Friday Harbor, WA
Bear Lake Idaho Marathon - June 8 - Fish Haven, ID
Edge to Edge Marathon - June 10 - Ucluelet, BC
St. Joe River Marathon - June 10 - St. Maries, ID
Winthrop Road Marathon - June 10 - Winthrop, WA
Vancouver USA Marathon - June 17 - Vancouver, WA
Pacific Crest Marathon - June 23 - Sunriver, OR
Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon - June 23 - Seattle, WA
Bellevue Ghost Marathon - June 24 - Bellevue, WA
Foot Traffic Flat Marathon - July 4 - Portland, OR

Whew! And that's just through July 4th! Find a race, find a training plan and get running. Let's go!


173

Eugene Marathon and Half Marathon Results!

Busy weekend. If you ran the Marathon or Half in Eugene this weekend - congrats.

Check your results here.

Eugene Marathon T-Shirt Review!

The true home of Nike - Eugene - was calling...what would Nike come up with for a race shirt?

Well, it's not half-bad. The color is very good - sort of a charcoal gray, that goes with pretty much anything. The design is pretty cool, even if it is duck colors. The shirt has the date on it, which I always appreciate. And the back has a nice, limited set of sponsors. And one of them is Krusteaz!

It doesn't get any better than Krusteaz.

Sort of odd for a May race to give you a long sleeve shirt, but it's a very light dri-fit tech shirt, so I guess it's ok. Still, I'd take a short sleeve over long every single time. But that's me.

The medal? Meh. Sort of plain. Sort of boring. It does have Hayward Field on the back, so you've got to give it props there. Again with the duck colors, but you've got to expect that. I've never been much of a medal person anyway. I'll donate it to the Corvallis School District and hopefully it will make some kid happy.

Shirt: B+
Medal: C

Eugene Marathon Race Review!

Well, two days after the Eugene Marathon, the R's can now walk across flat ground without looking like Frankenstein, so it must be time to get back at it!

Just don't ask me to walk down stairs yet...

So let's review!

After deciding to grab a hotel in Eugene for the eve of the Marathon, we hedged, then stalled, then waited, then forgot, then remembered, then forgot again, then finally got off our asses and tried to reserve a hotel room a couple weeks before the race...

Nope. None available.

"Not even the scummy places?" the wife asked.

"Nope."

"How about Junction City?"

I strolled through Expedia and Travelocity. "Nope," I said.

"Hmmmm..." the wife said.

"Hmmm..." I said. "Wait! I found a room!"

"Where?"

"Corvallis. Looks like a nice place. Only 45 minutes away," I said.

Well, I'm not going to repeat what the wife said, but I'm pretty sure it's not physically possible for my head to go up there.

Anyway, long story short: we slept in our own bed in Corvallis and had to wake up at 4:30 to get to Eugene on time.

It's been a while since I've seen five o'clock from the north side. It ain't pretty.

We made it to the Valley River Mall at about 6:00 and hopped on a bus. No line yet and they had lots of buses waiting. Nice.

Then the fun began. The bus driver took a wrong turn and we headed down the street with the Porta Potties lining both sides of the street. Did the driver stop? Turn around? Pause even?

No way! You think a bunch of pansy runners waiting for the can are going to stand in front of a moving school bus? Not likely. So down the street we went, scattering runners clutching at their bladders.

The driver let us off about two feet from the start line. Everyone standing around must have figured the elite runners had finally arrived.

Unfortunately, then we had to actually line up to run. Damn.

It was a little chilly, although it looked like it would clear later, so I wore an extra t-shirt over my running shirt. I just planned to toss the t-shirt after I warmed up a little.

I didn't even make it to the first mile and I was sweating like a dog! I stripped the extra shirt off, but felt bad slinging it into somebody's front yard, so I held onto it until the water stop at milepost two.

Finally unencumbered, I settled in with the 4:00 pace group and reeled off the first 8 miles, feeling pretty good. Up to that point, it was a little crowded in spots, but no real hills to speak of, and I felt all right.

Then we hit the first hill. In reality, nothing major: probably three or four blocks long and fairly steep, but not Mt. Hood. Still, I knew right then that my four-hour-party-people were going to drop me sooner rather than later. I kept their signs and balloons in my sights and passed the halfway point at two hours flat, but that would be my last hurrah.

I waved goodbye to the 4:00 pace group for good shortly thereafter.

Between 13 and 18, I walked a fair amount, but still felt OK. Well, except for the fact that I forgot to start my watch until about a mile or so into the race, so I never really knew how fast I was going...and I kept forgetting that my watch was about ten minutes or so off and kept thinking, "Wow, I'm going at a better pace then I thought!" Then I'd remember.

Anyway, after 18, and it may have been right around the time I was offered an Apple Pie flavored goo and foolishly ate it, I just hit the wall, both physically and mentally.

That's when I realized I had actually trained for a Half-Marathon, but registered for a Full.

DOH!

Those last eight miles hurt, my friends. They hurt bad.

My pace went from "where's the finish line?" to "where's the ambulance?"

But with the help of a bunch of people I didn't know yelling "Go Scott!" I made it through. And yes, having your name printed on your race number is sort of creepy when you get right down to it. I don't want all these people knowing who I am. Slow and anonymous is always the way to go. Well, fast and well-known is nice too, but that ain't happening any time soon.

So at about 4 hours and 37 minutes, I strolled into Hayward field and crossed the finish line. And I didn't even have to go straight to the medical tent after (inside joke...don't worry, someone will get it).

The wife immediately proclaimed "I'll NEVER run another marathon!"

I won't go that far...but it won't be next month...or the one after that...or the one after that...

But hey, to all you marathoners out there - Good job! We did it!

Eugene Marathon Results!

Yes, we've got results!

Try here.

Or here.

And yes, I did finish, thank you. With a less-than-stellar 4:37. That's what I get for training at Half-Marathon distances and running a full.

A full race review will be coming tomorrow.

Eugene Marathon Comin' Fast!

About 36 hours away now.

We headed down south this afternoon. Hit the Expo (small and crowded). Picked up the t-shirt (long sleeve and dark grey - nice). Grabbed the goodie bag (lame). Picked up a Krusteaz chocolate chip cookie (yum!).

Then went out to eat at the Steelhead Brewery and headed back home.

Nothing to do now but to face the pain on Sunday. Hope to see you there.

38 Friend Requests...and Counting...

OK, so I'm not a Facebook guy. Hey, I admit it. It just doesn't do it for me.

BUT...why does everyone I know always have a big "BUT"?

Sorry, Pee Wee flashback...

BUT, Facebook does happen to be one of the two ways you can track the R's at the Eugene Marathon! So...go Facebook!

On May 2nd, just head over to my Facebook page...right about here...and check my progress. If everything works the way it should, and I'm not in the back of an ambulance, then you'll see my time at 10k, Half, and 20 mile. Hmmm, those are weird splits, but there you go.

You can also track me right at the Eugene Marathon page. Just enter in my name, two T's - two M's, or my bib number, #802.

Then pray for me.

Eugene Marathon Running Music - Playlist!

As George Michael used to say on Sports Machine, "You see it here first!"

And so you do. Here is my playlist for the Eugene Marathon. Unfortunately, it's only about 3:10 worth of music - that ain't gonna cut it for me. But it's exactly 50 songs, so seemed like a nice round number...I'll just have to listen to a few songs twice. No big.

See you next week in Eugene!

L.E.S. Artistes-Santogold
This Too Shall Pass-OK Go
Le Disko (Radio Edit)-Shiny Toy Guns
Bohemian Like You-The Dandy Warhols
Trojan Horse-Bloc Party
Hella Good-No Doubt
Cosmopolitan-Nine Black Alps
Only A Lad-Oingo Boingo
One Month Off-Bloc Party
My Lucky Day-Jason Falkner
Love, Reign O'er Me-Pearl Jam
Dream All Day-The Posies
Luchini (A.K.A. This Is It)-Camp Lo
Tattooed Love Boys-The Pretenders
It's All About the Benjamins (Rock Remix)-Puff Daddy & The Family
Salute Your Solution (Album Version)-The Raconteurs
15 Step-Radiohead
Muzzle-Smashing Pumpkins
Trippin' On A Hole In A Paper Heart-Stone Temple Pilots
Juicebox-The Strokes
This Time-The Verve
The Great Escape-We Are Scientists
So Here We Are-Bloc Party
Vitamin R (Leading Us Along)-Chevelle
Rock Machine-Copyright
I Wanna Lose Control (Uh Oh)-Deathray
Percussion Gun-White Rabbits
Knife prty-Deftones
Lay Me Down (feat. Rome of Sublime With Rome)-The Dirty Heads
Ackee 123-The English Beat
New Way Home-Foo Fighters
Striptease-Hawksley Workman
Bandages-Hot Hot Heat
Banquet-Bloc Party
Ali In the Jungle-The Hours
Megalomaniac-Incubus
Miracle Medicine-Jason Falkner
Bawitdaba-Kid Rock
King Without a Crown-Matisyahu
Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me-U2
El Matador-Los Fabulosos Cadillacs
Down In The Park-Foo Fighters
The Heinrich Maneuver-Interpol
Brain Stew-Green Day
On Fire-Van Halen
My Sharona-The Knack
Like Eating Glass-Bloc Party
Lake Michigan-Rogue Wave
Always Where I Need to Be-The Kooks
Tears from a Gun-The Black Ghosts

Make Mine a Chocolate on the Rocks...

So I did my last long run before the Eugene Marathon today (cut it a bit short, but that's another story), and thought it would be a perfect time to test out some different gels to try to find one that won't gag me during the race.

See, my overriding memory of gels is during the Seattle Marathon, lo those many years ago, and the fact that they had one flavor at the "wall" water stop (at mile 20 or 22, something like that).

Yes, it was banana flavor. Yes, I thought I was going to zook on the volunteer's shoes. It was straight nasty.

So I did a little shopping at my favorite local tri shop - Northwest Multisport - and grabbed a little assortment of goo. Plus, my main man Manny did me a serious solid and got me a bottle of Liquid Gold from the source down in Eugene. Apparently, that's what they're serving to the runners on the Eugene Marathon course, so Manny and I thought it would be nice to test it out.

So here is my review of the four gels in the photo:

Power Bar Gel (Vanilla): Straight nasty. And I'm a big vanilla guy, but it was so sickingly sweet. It was just awful. I could hardly choke it down. Did I mention it was sweet? It curled my toes when it hit my tongue. Never again.

Hammer Gel (Chocolate): Not bad. Pretty good, really. A little bit of an aftertaste that made me thirsty, but the chocolate flavor was pretty good and it wasn't overly sweet. A little thicker than the rest, if you like that. I could work with this one.

Liquid Gold (Citrus): I think the Citrus flavor was a bad idea. They actually make it in a bunch of different flavors, but someone working at the Glory Bee factory store told Manny that the Citrus might be the flavor they're handing out at the race, so he got that one. I liked the honey taste and texture a lot, but not the Citrus afternote. I think Chocolate Mint might work, but the Natural flavor is probably the one to go with - what's wrong with Honey flavor? Nothing.

GU (Chocolate Mint): We have a winner! Yep, I've decided Chocolate is the way to go here. And the slight Mint note wasn't bad at all. This one is a winner. A touch thinner than the Hammer Gel and a little tastier.

So do any of them give you a boost of energy? Hell if I know. The way I see it, it's all mental. I just need something to keep me going.

I'd prefer a cheeseburger, but that's not quite as portable.

Two Weeks to Eugene!

That's right, my friends. Two short weeks until the Eugene Marathon. Maybe one more long run over the next few days, then time to start the taper. Make it a good one.

Wow, it's the Big Race Weekend:
-Eugene Full and Half
-Sunflower Trail Full
-Cinco de Mayo Half
-Tacoma Full and Half
-Bloomsday
-Another Cinco de Mayo Half
-Vancouver Full and Half

Woot!

Let's race!

RACES FOR WEEK OF APRIL 26th TO MAY 2nd

May 1st / SolAire Salmon Run 10k and 5k / Bend, OR

May 1st / ORRC Hagg Lake 10.4 and 10k / Forest Grove, OR

May 1st / Western Oregon University Sprint Triathlon / Monmouth, OR

May 1st / Cinco de Mayo Half-Marathon and 8k / Snoqualmie, WA

May 1st / Run for the Animals 5k / Vancouver, WA

May 1st / Sunflower Trail Marathon / Winthrop, WA

May 1st / Apple Blossom 10k and 5k / Wenatchee, WA

May 1st / Olympia Downtown YMCA Spring 8k / Olympia, WA

May 1st / Skagit Running Company May Day 3.5 miler / Mt. Vernon, WA

May 1st / Free Them 5k / Seattle, WA

May 2nd / Tacoma City Marathon and Half-Marathon / Tacoma, WA

May 2nd / Lilac Bloomsday 12k Run / Spokane, WA

May 2nd / Cinco de Mayo Half-Marathon, 10k and 5k / Portland, OR

May 2nd / BMO Vancouver Marathon, Half-Marathon and 8k / Vancouver, BC

May 2nd / Lung Run 5k / Seattle, WA

May 2nd / Eugene Marathon, Half-Marathon and 5k / Eugene, OR

Longest Run in the Last...gulp...Decade?

After I did my last marathon...well, that would be after I did my one and only marathon...in 1997, I swore I'd never do another. I did pretty well too, not even thinking about running another 26.2 for well over a decade. But even the R's, one of the most stubborn blogs ever to put on running shoes, is not immune to the siren song of the marathon.

So about six months ago, I started to ponder the marathon again. After having a fairly easy run at the Sacramento Cowtown Half-Marathon in October, I pulled the trigger and signed up for the Eugene Marathon in May.

All of which is a long lead-in to this: yesterday I went 13.46 on my long weekly run, which I've got to guess is my longest run since my marathon in 1997!

I won't say I'm not feeling it today, but it's always nice to break new ground, even if I broke it once before - basically a lifetime of 13 years ago.