Bridge to Brews 10K - my favorite so far!

[Guest guest]

What a blessed day for a race in Portland, Oregon!  The sun is out for the first time in days and it didn't rain a drop.  I got off Max, Portland's light rail, at Widmer Brewery along with hoards of other runners.  There were women clowns walking on stilts holding up big black

question marks and I thought what a fun way to be greeted.  A couple people had told me there was a steep hill - which you get out of the way at the very beginning running up to the Fremont Bridge.  Yeah, it was steep, but short - nothing compared to the hills at Mt. Tabor that I train on sometimes that go on for 20 blocks - so for me The Fremont Bridge was a piece of cake.  I had never been on the Fremont Bridge outside of the car before, and it was NEAT and also long;

when we reached the end there was the 2 mile marker.  The second leg of

the race was also scenic, through NW Portland, and we went by a cement sculpture place and a nursery I never knew existed!  When we reached the

Broadway Bridge I picked up my pace and passed a lot of people, and downright sprinted across the finish line back at Widmer Brewery, after which I promptly got in line for my 2 complimentary IPA's (yum).  The food was the best I've had yet - a bean and chicken burrito type wrap thing and then the usual 1/2 banana and orange wedges.  I picked up a power bar, 3 vitamin waters, and some powdered green tea from Stash to take home (can't pass up the freebies!).Now that I've done two 10K's I'm totally ready for a 15K and I know I can do a half marathon this year, which is my goal.  I could have done today's route twice through if my lower body weren't fussy, but I know that as I lose weight

my joints will be more forgiving too.  My cardio capacity is pretty high - I mean I used to teach Turbo Kick at the gym and talk the whole hour as I was doing the workout, and I do fuel properly so no carb depletion/crashing for me.. it's just Wonky Knee that gets grumpy sometimes but he was fine today, more or less!I also have to thank Apple Genius for it's heavy metal selections for me today.  At the

last two miles Def Leppard's " Rock Brigade " came on and I swear I don't

think I'd heard that one in a good twenty years or so.  I played it six

or seven times in a row, and it carried me across the finish line at a good clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMIITtj3G1cOff to take a bath!