On Sunday, Robby and I ran the Lincoln City Half Marathon out on the Oregon Coast. I bet you're thinking, "Oh, beautiful place to run a race!" The Oregon Coast is a beautiful place, but in March there is a good chance that it is going to be rainy and gray. And it was 100% rainy and gray on Sunday.
We took our place at the start line as the rain began to pick up - this was definitely more than a drizzle. The rain gave us a nice wet feeling before it let up around mile 3. Around this point, I made a running buddy: Tom. We were running at the same pace so I decided to at least say hello and ask how he was doing, which struck up an 8-mile conversation. Running with Tom was great; it helped me keep a steady pace and the conversation was a good distraction.
Although the course didn't run along the ocean, it was still beautiful, set in a wooded area along a nice creek. A good bit of the first half was a steady incline to about mile 7, where the course then looped back the way it came and the steady decline was very much welcomed.
The run was quite enjoyable... until the last 2 miles in which the rain came back with a vengeance, the wind decided to join in, and the course took a nasty uphill turn. I started having flashbacks to the 2010 Portland Marathon... soaking wet clothes, ratty hair, heavy shoes full of water. I swear that last mile was more than a mile.
I finished in 2:02:48. Not my best time, and not under my goal of two hours (but again, we have our suspicions that the course was more than 13.1 miles). Robby finished not too far after. Our friend Valerie, who traveled out there with us, was at the finish line cheering us in. We stuck around for the awards ceremony (surprisingly we didn't win our age divisions) and then headed into town for some clam chowder and fish and chips. The rest of the day is a blur. Robby and I were pretty beat and just wanted dry clothes and a nap. But I'm proud of us... not just talking about running a race together, but actually doing it! #teamcarson
the team pre-race
rainy starting line
crossing the wet finish line
at least we got medals to prove it!
Running in the Rain
"There's no such thing as bad weather, just soft people."
-Bill Bowerman, co-founder of Nike
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