Hippie Chick was SO MUCH FUN. Seriously, I think that was one of the best times I've had at a run. I wasn't ready to run the half marathon, so I had switched to the quarter marathon at the last minute and it was a great decision.
George drove with me out to Champoeg Park for the run. It was such a gorgeous day ~ blue skies, puffy white clouds and the park was lush and green. So many friends were there ~ Julie who trained like a champ for the half marathon, her Mom, Debbie, Blanca, plus I saw so many girls I knew ~ Tricia, Michelle, Trenda, etc. It was just a lot of fun.
There was a little mini expo set up under the trees ~ they were giving away Luna Bars, Luna Chocolate Mint Lip Balm (yum!), Jamba Juice, Mini Cupcakes ~ plus setting up for the post-race breakfast. I shopped a little at the Moxie Metals booth and ordered a Surf City charm for my running necklace. As race time approached I lined up with Debbie and Blanca for one last trip to the port a potties. Remember, 900 women. Take a look at the line for the bathroom. Ha! Nothing like women waiting in line for bathrooms.
I ran my entire 6.something miles with Debbie and Blanca, who had both trained for their first half marathon. The course made two loops, so I was able to run the first full loop with them. The first couple of miles were in and out of the sun, but about 4 miles were in the dappled shade under the gorgeous trees. We ran along a paved foot trail that was fairly narrow, but no one seemed to mind. There were plenty of aid stations handing out drinks, they were giving away entire packages of Shot Bloks at almost every station, and after a decent climb up and over a hill, there was a giant bowl of chocolate chips at the bottom of the hill. SCORE! I scooped up a little handful and munched happily for awhile.
When the lead runner came through (dang, that girl was flying), everyone cheered for her as she zipped past and we just kept plugging along. There were lots of 'go girl' and 'woo hoo' along the path as we doubled back and had people going in both directions. So fun.
I felt really good through the whole run. After slacking so much since Surf City I was kind of scared how I'd feel, but I felt great. Being out there was amazing and when it was time to peel off from Debbie and Blanca I didn't want to. I wanted to keep on going and do the half after all. (I got over that feeling very quickly, however. lol). Maybe half a mile from my finish I kicked it up and ran hard all the way to the finish line. I had taken it slow and easy, so I had plenty left to give. At the finish line they handed me my finisher's necklace from Moxie and I felt like I could keep on running.
After I was finished George and I walked over to pick up a Jamba Juice and a plate of hot pancakes. I munched on those as we walked back to look for Julie, Debbie and Blanca. Julie was flying ~ the girl is amazingly strong and fast. Her goal was to finish in sub-10 minute miles and she ended up with 9:39, I think. So impressive! Debbie and Blanca came in soon after, looking so strong! First half marathons for all 3 of them ~ and they all rocked it.
We stayed up until midnight last October to register for Hippie Chick, which is always sold out by morning. Now I understand why. Such a great time ~ I loved every minute of it. :)
