Summer Races

I am very excited for this summer. For the first time in a year I have officially signed up for some races. The best part is that I get to run them with my best friend. I am excited to get back into the competition side of running and also even more excited to get to spend time with Cassie.

Bloomsday, May 1st **Still on the fence as to whether I will sign up**
Bloomsday

Windermere 1/2 Marathon, May 14th
Windermere

CityScape Adventures, June 4th in Portland
CityScape

Helvetia 1/2 Marathon, June 11th in Portland
Helvetia 1/2

Go Girl Trail Run, July 10th in Portland
Go Girl

Girlfriends 1/2 Marathon, October 16th in Vancouver, WA
Girlfriend's 1/2

I am still on the fence about signing up for Bloomsday. I really don't like running it, I actually hate running it for multiple reasons. I am going to think about this one before I officially sign up.....

I have never ran Windermere before, but I know from experience of running many long runs on the Centennial Trail that it is a pretty flat course. It should be a fun race to start off with. I have no expectations, other than finishing and having fun. I am still trying to get Cam to sign up, but so far I have made no progress so I am giving up.

CityScape Adventures is an Amazing Race themed race in Portland. I am so excited for it and so glad that Cass found it on active.com. My dream in life is to be on the Amazing Race someday, I love that show! The best part is that Cass and I are on a team so it should be a lot of fun.

Helvetia is a fun, but challengeing course. Last year I ran it for the first time, I was slightly out of shape having not really ran since Boston in April. It was a little warm, I was little dehydrated, and I was a lot out of shape! The course is mostly rolling hills with one out and back portion. The whole course was gorgeous, but I didn't really get to enjoy it last year because I was just hoping that I would finish! This year I would obviously like to beat my time from last year, I think it was 1 hr 56 min, but have fun. I am using it as more a training run, with my real 1/2 marathon race being in October.

Both Cass and I have never ran Go Girl before. It is a 10K trail run that is just for girls. I like that! It is only limited to 500 runners. I heard from a couple of runner friends who have done this race in the past and they said that it was super fun. The 10K will be a good gauge for me so see where my training is at. I am training for Windermere, but not all out. The real training begins after Windermere for my 1/2 in October.

I found the Girlfriends 1/2 on active.com. I started searching for a 1/2 marathon in the fall in or around Portland because I was disgusted that the Portland 1/2 was a $125.00. I thought that was way too much to be spending on a 1/2 marathon, especially in Portland. I thought it was a complete rip off and Cass agreed. We still wanted to do a 1/2 since we had planned on running Portland together. This course is supposed to be scenic and flat; the perfect course for me to actually race on. I am looking forward to training hard all summer and then having a good race. The countdown to October 16th has begun!

--Tasha