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I ran the Pacific Crest Half Marathon because it was there.  I'd mulled trying to do the full marathon, wanting a 'revenge race' after Coeur d'Alene, but common sense took over and I opted for something that wouldn't wipe me out completely.  At least I thought I'd done that.

After arriving in Sunriver for the weekend, I'd run twice.  Both times I found the going harder than expected.  My legs felt heavy, and I found myself gulping for air.  This was an odd feeling - I was in shape, and although fatigue might have been an issue didn't think I'd feel so bad so early in a run.

Race morning I felt okay.  We started at eight AM, in perfect conditions.  By the time I got five miles in, I was already feeling bad.  You can see the mile splits go up around here.  I kept rough track of how far under a 1:45 pace I was, to understand how much room I had to slow down and still make my time goal.  I hung in there well until mile 10 - then things got very tough for me.  I walked more, I received more negative messages from my body.  I was ready to be done, but too proud not to finish. 

It didn't make much sense to me.  The course was flat.  The weather was good (below 70).  The support was great (gatorade every mile, no need for my own stuff).  All I can figure is that the altitude was more of a factor than I'd anticipated.  Next time, I'll want to do more hill training, and perhaps try to acclimate for longer.