As promised, here is my race recap from the Big Sky Track & Field Conference Championships. Portland State hosted the 2-day meet, but due to their lack of facilities we competed at Pacific University in the adorable farm town of Forest Grove, Oregon.

My 10k took place Friday night, in some pretty humid weather! It was semi-overcast and there was no breeze to cool us off from the warm temperatures. At the start line, we were told that there would be 2 “water stations” on the track for us to take cups of water. I thought, “Psh, I’ve never needed water during a race before, I don’t need any today!” Wrong. I took a cup on the second lap, and every other lap after that. The heat or humidity gave me chills during my run, and I used the cold water to splash myself every few minutes. By the end of the race, I (and all the other runners) was drenched! (I like to think the extra water weight added a few seconds to my overall race time, though I don’t know how realistic that is… ;) )

Thursday’s pre-meet run, Friday’s warm-up and cool-down, and Saturday’s recovery run all took place in the same area around the university. It was one of the most scenic and beautiful places but pictures do more justice than words do:

My 10k was not my fastest, and I didn’t place as high as I had hoped. But I’m happy with my season and relieved that it is over at the same time. Today marks the first day of my two-week break from training and I plan on thoroughly enjoying my extra time :)

Our Women’s Team placed 3rd in the conference, a position we are all very proud of.  Needless to say, everyone was in great spirits last night as we went out and celebrated!

Conference Team 2013

Some of my best memories of college will be weeks like these spent traveling to new places with a team of 50 amazing athletes, with great competitions and fun celebrations!

After the meet and awards ceremony concluded, we had a special dinner at Monteaux’s Public House in Beaverton, Oregon where we were presented with a special menu just for us.

Eating dinner at 9pm is definitely out of the norm for me, and I was starving by the time my sandwich came! Afterwards we walked through Hillsboro to a frozen yogurt place where they had a super unique toppings selection including “cheesecake balls” (like malt balls), blue cookie crumbles, “zagnuts” and apple pie filling!

I now have a full 24 hours of traveling until I am Home Sweet Home. Which will most likely culminate in a post on healthy eating while traveling… ;)