The last time I ran Bloomsday was approximately 16 years ago, and at that age, I hadn't yet discovered I was a runner. We chose to sign up for the race because we had some very close family friends visiting from France and my mom was adamant about giving them the American “experience”. Sweet! Jump on a bus, catch a ride downtown, and walk for 2+ hours surrounded by 40k+ people. Sounds like an experience! :)
Thankfully, my siblings were a little more adventurous (and competitive) than my parents and we decided we were going to race it. Naturally, the night before the race we took a trip to the local sporting goods store in Spokane and purchased as many different flavors of GU we could find. After all, we were running 7.48 miles and we sure as hell going to need it! I only remember bits and pieces of the race…metal statues of runners in the park wearing Bloomsday T-shirts from prior years’ races, trees completely covered in clothing that runners “threw away” which would be later donated to local charities, the dreaded DOOMSDAY HILL, and most of all, throwing up my GU after the race (I still cant eat anything that is strawberry-vanilla flavored). However, if you’re a true Spokane Native, you know that people don’t do Bloomsday for the experience, but rather, for the coveted Finisher T-shirt that isn’t revealed until you reach the finish line. The T-shirt represents tradition, and everyone in the city loves being a part of it!
Going into my race on Sunday I was looking forward to beating my PR of 1 hour 30 minutes and I was very excited to run on my home course again. Downtown Spokane is extremely beautiful this time of year! My mom was there to take photos (any chance she can get!) and she joined my dad in cheering me on; I was feeling excited and confident about the race--my heart was full. Fortunately, we got to the start fairly early, so my mom was able to snap a photo of me and my dad at the start before the masses arrived (Photo credit: Fran Hailey Photography):
Bloomsday prize money runs 15 places deep (with additional prize money for US citizens 5 runners deep), and this being an Olympic year, I thought I had a pretty good shot at winning some prize money. Unfortunately, everyone had the same idea as I did, which resulted in a completely stacked race. I knew before I started that I was just going to have to run my best and hope for strong showing. Prize money was most likely off the table.
It was a tough race. I felt unprepared, and caught a side-stitch early on that I just couldn’t shake. I’ve been dealing with a lot of allergy-related problems this year, and breathing has been my biggest struggle. It’s hard because I went from feeling invincible at the Shamrock 15k in March, to feeling weak—like if I pushed any harder I might stop breathing. It was more hilly than I remember and quite hot. Fortunately, the elites were spread out fairly well and I was able to keep my head up and pick off runners all throughout the race. I will never forget the moment I crossed the finish line and another runner came in after me and yelled, “Damn! You are STRONG, girl!” That was the moment I knew I had done my best for the day and I needed to leave it at that. Of course I will continue to keep working toward my goals, but that women was able to help me find the one thing about my race that I needed to remember and needed to be proud of. I was so thankful for her that day.
Overall, I had a great experience and a HUGE PR (45:29), and I plan on heading back next year! I encourage you to as well!
In case you are interested, here is a list of my upcoming races:
5/15/16 - Portland Twilight, L&C College (5k on the Track)
6/18/16 – Seattle Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon
8/13/16 – Oregon Wine Country Half