Last year the Bloomsday 12k was my second race back after a having my little girl, Liv. I had never been to Spokane other than XC in the winter and discovered it is a great little town, especially in the summer. I can see why the “spokanites” love this race despite the fact that the course is pretty brutal. The design of the tee-shirts is always a surprise and a big deal, but you only get a shirt if you finish and make it up Doomsday Hill, a 600 meter tough climb. I guess they needed a little extra incentive to get everyone to the finish line.
Well, this year the race went out a little faster than last year, but I was trying to keep the lead pack in view as long as possible. Not too hard to do seeing that it was a huge pack of 12 Kenyans and Etheopians. I got gapped by the pack around mile 3, and ended up about a minute and half behind the winner. My time was 45 seconds faster than last year, and my body felt good and strong. I ran 40:57 or 5:30 per mile to place twelfth overall (full results). Last year I could barely warm down, my legs were hurting so bad. This year, I felt great and ran an easy 5 miles along the river. It’s a good start with my first race since the ASICS LA Marathon. I am looking forward to some more fun, SHORT races and more good things to come.
Running downtown the day before the race on a beautiful day.