Eugene Half Marathon and Rides

Last weekend I did the Eugene half marathon down in Eugene Oregon. Started the day Saturday doing the group swim at the club I go to in Camas for 3000 meters and then a 33.5 mile bike ride called the bridge to bridge loop crossing over the I-205 bridge and the I-5 bridge. Then hopped in the car and drove down to Eugene for packet pick-up and the expo. Decided late to do this race, maybe March, and by then the only hotel open in the area was the Downtowner. It wasn't bad, but wasn't too nice either. It was about four blocks away from the Hilton where the shuttles ran from, so in the morning I walked down there to ride to the start. Got in line with several hundred others and got on the third school bus to stop. Got to the start line and got in corral B and heard a young girl singing the anthem, although I couldn't see her. Then it started and about two minutes later we started moving and finally crossed the start line. Sort of ran a slow jog for awhile as the walkers who had lined up in front clogged things up. After a couple miles it thinned enough to get a good rhythm. Love seeing the sea of people before it thins and all the colors bobbing up and down in a solid mass. This is the fourth year in a row for me, three years in a row for the half. So I knew the course and what to expect. Went nice and slow and comfortable. Got to mile 5 and really had to pee, so I got in the porta potty line and timed it- 2 minutes to get through the line and done. I was under a 10 minute pace before that stop. Finished with a 2:11:36 for a 10:03 pace and 79 out of 123 for my age group and 1936 of 3882 overall. Got some pancakes and hopped a shuttle back and just had time to shower before checkout time. Then off to Armitage park in the north part of Eugene to do a bike ride. Decided to ride the southern most end of the Willamette Valley Bike route from Armitage park to Brownsville and back. Got out on the flat almost empty country roads north of Coburg and got hit by a hard wind.
Slogged along as fast as I could and made it to Diamond Hill road 13 miles out. The route turns right and has a couple of hills, but I had done the Cherry Pie bike race from this spot a few years ago and went left on the race route on flat roads and saw two cars until mile 24. Then into Brownsville which is a great looking historic town, but all the interesting cafes were closed because it was Sunday. So I stopped at a coffee stand and got a latte and sandwich. By then it was in the high 60's and sunny in what seems like the first and only nice day of the year. Rode back the WVB route over the hills and then got back on the flat roads with the wind and just cruised at 19-22 all the way back to Coburg and then 3 miles to the park in Eugene for a total of 50.5 miles at a 16.8 mph average. Threw the bike in the Jeep and drove up to Coburg and stopped at a historic house inn I had seen on the ride and ate a late lunch. Then the drive home. For the weekend, 3000m swim, 83.5 miles on the bike and 13.1 miles running.

This Saturday I did the RACC (Ride Around Clark County) for the fourth time. This time though I did the 100 mile ride instead of the 67. Denise, Bob, Denise E, and Allen and I ended up riding together and it stayed dry most of the way. The sun even peeked out a few times. Ended up doing 98.3 miles at a 14.3 average with Tons of climbing. Felt fine afterwards.
Next up is the Onionman triathlon in Walla Walla Washington over Memorial day weekend.