Birch Bay 15K Report

 
 The family traveled with me for this race since it was a little further away.  We discovered a gem I didn't know existed: Semiahmoo Resort, pretty much right next to the Canadian border.  It was a beautiful resort and I chilled in my cozy robe the night before the race with our view of the water from our room.  Packet pick-up was also at the resort, so it was very convenient.  I got the best number I've ever had...1234, seriously 1234.  Awesome!  That ended up being my running mantra for this race...1-2-3-4 one more mile, one more mile.

You can see Canada and the border from here!

Best number ever!

So, race day for the Birch Bay 15K was very wet, so I was soaked by the time I finished. Luckily, I had my hover capri from Skirt Sports that is the perfect capri for running in rain.  It doesn't get weighed down and feels like the rain just rolls right off.  It was colder than I expected, so I ended up wearing my toasty vest too. For the first seven miles, I ran/walked with a Galloway mentor that I met along the course.  We both were doing an easy run that day, so it was great to have several miles to hang out with someone and get to know her.  Although the weather was wet, the view was very nice along the water, seeing several birds along the way.  I've been really frustrated that my times haven't been improving very much and I'm really anxious to return to my 10:45-11:00 minute miles.  Although I wasn't thrilled with how long it took to complete a little over 9 miles, I did learn a few things along the way.

I was really happy to be finished.  I was just really tired at the end and my stomach wasn't feeling so fantastic after mile 7.  I think I got a little dehydrated.  It was so wet outside that I seriously didn't think about drinking much on the course.  I'll do better next time.  

The birds were everywhere and these were gorgeous!  I was excited to see the bald eagles on the drive to the start and on the way back too.  The tree this eagle is sitting in is at the resort.  

After the race, we stopped to see the tulips.  There were only a few tulips blooming, so we mostly saw the daffodils instead.  They were still beautiful and made a great backdrop for the medal photo.  I would recommend Birch Bay 15K.  The course was pretty flat, views were great and Orca Running ran a really organized event.  They had chili and soup at the finish line to warm us up after all the rain and parking was convenient, right across the street from the start.

Great job Orca Running!  I'll be back for this race another time and pretty sure I'll get to ring the PR bell next time.  Another beautiful Washington State race!  Next time, I will stay two nights at the resort.  There was so much to do - free movies, tennis, swimming, bonfires on the beach and the lightest, coziest robe I've ever worn!  By the way, I did spoil myself and bought my own robe from them upon checkout!