My family and I and our dog headed to Portland, OR last Saturday. We spent the night at a friend's house and got up at 5:30am Sunday to drive to Tigard, OR for the race that started at 7:30am. The course was pretty flat on a mostly paved path. The course had lots of out-and-back sections. It was 3 laps for the half marathon so I got to see other runners many times. I did the first lap with Hero but it was hot and I didn't want to push him in the heat, especially since he was wearing his sunscreen cover that could make him even hotter. The sunscreen cover is essential for keeping him from sunburning his back where he has no hair.
This race was the 3rd of the Firecracker Triple. The first race was the Foot Traffic Half Marathon at Sauvie Island, OR on the 4th of July. The second was the Stars and Stripes Half Marathon in Beaverton, OR on the 5th of July. And the Cook Park Half Marathon was on the 6th. Everyone who completed all 3 earned an additional medal, and potentially a winner's plaque. I would love to do the triple if they have it next year!
Crossing the finish line.
It was a small race with 46 half marathoners (and 31 marathoners and 8 5k-ers).
Posing with my family. They aren't really my cheering squad because my kids would rather go play than wait for me to run by.
WHAT TO WEAR: In my quest to run 52 half marathons in a year in the Pacific Northwest, I have encountered quite a large variation in weather. Temperatures have been as low as 24 degrees and as high as 80 degrees Fahrenheit. I've run in rain, sleet, and wind. But haven't had to run in the snow, yet. The ground has been frozen, muddy, dusty, and paved.
I like to wear moisture wicking material like Coolmax. And I like to layer my clothing. My base layer can be a spaghetti-strap top. Over that, I wear a short- or long-sleeved shirt. In extreme cold or rainy weather, I'll add a thicker long-sleeved top or a rain shell. I tried arm warmers this year and I loved them! Instead of a long-sleeved shirt, I wore short-sleeves with warmers. The warmers are called FiveLo Arm Sox and are in the Seattle Seahawks colors. They were so soft. I would like to buy them in other colors but, unfortunately, it looks like the company only makes them in certain sports teams' colors.
On the bottom half, I like to keep my legs warm. I wait until it is above 60 degrees before I will wear shorts. In freezing weather, I will layer a pair of Coolmax sweatpants over my running tights to keep my legs warm. I ALWAYS wear Coolmax socks. I learned early on that cotton socks give me blisters. I am allergic to wool so I stay away from anything with wool in it.
When I need gloves, I were knit ones. I've tried the high-tech running gloves and they seem to cut the circulation off in my fingers and make them feel even colder. Knit gloves are soft, and smooth on my nose when I blow my nose in my gloves (yes, I do that--I blow my nose a lot when I run). Sometimes I will start out with a moisture-wicking beanie. But I usually take it off when I am running after I have warmed up, and carry it in my hand for the rest of the race.
Have I missed anything?? Yes, the foundation (the underwear)! I just had to experiment to find stuff that doesn't chafe. My favorites include an Underarmor jog bra that I found on the Wonderland Trail around Mt Rainier. It was dirty and gross but it washed up just fine and now it's my fave. Speaking of found clothing, the jacket I wear to the start of races is a fleece thing I found while I was letterboxing once. It has no value to me so I don't care if it gets lost in the baggage check at a race.
No comments:
Post a Comment