Catch up - Robie Creek Half Marathon

Ok... rewind... a bit.


I signed up for the Newport Marathon(May 30th, 2009) somewhere back in 2008. I had a good base built up and didn't start seriously training until the first part of March. I had been running a bit over the winter on the dreadmill, and in February I ventured outdoors for some of my runs... but when March hit, that was it! Get serious. I'd also signed up for a half Marathon (part of my training for Newport) that was on April 18th in Boise Idaho http://www.robiecreek.com/. The deal with Robie Creek was that it had quite a bit of elevation gain... so for this one I was training on hills pretty regularly... two hill runs a wk. I went to Idaho with a group of people that I kind of knew - we flew in the day before and all four of us shared a hotel room. Dumb. That's a whole other story... but it did spawn a negative feeling...let's call it... anger (again, part of a different story not fit for blogging..I'll just say bad group dynamics). I found out I run really well when I'm angry. The race didn't start until noon which I though was bizarre and it didn't bode well as it turned to be one of the nicest/warmest days that Boise had this year. The course didn't really have any coverage from trees until after mile 8.3, which also happend to be the apex of the course. I sweated my patooty off and pretty much stopped at every aid station, took a sip of water/aid drink, and then would dowse myself with water. On the ascent, some of the climbs where it got really steep I ended up walking. The apex of the climb I stopped which was a no no... I took a gel and started to feel myself slow down... something I didn;t want to feel because it makes starting back up very hard. I started off again and was on the downhill of the course and started to really pick up speed. Kind of scary as was all gravel road full of pot holes and my legs were tired and didn't think they'd react well if I hit a pothole or really loose gravel. I managed to make it through and ended up finishing 6th out of the 212 in may age group http://www.milliseconds.com/participants/final_list/division/77040 and the 25th woman overall. My time, which included walk breaks and a space out moment at mile 8.3, was 1 hr 50 mins 20 secs. Can't complain. Here are the numbers for the elevation changes http://www.boiserunwalk.com/downloads/elevation-data-only.pdf


The excitement after the race - The race finished at a park where they were holding a post race celebration with BEER, food, and a band. Greg, the other person I ran the race with, and I grabbed a beer and decided we wanted to head out after that, rather than stay and eat. I for one can't eat much after something like that. The event organizers were bussing people out of the park to different locations... of these locations, the last drop off point was the only one that had any cell coverage...uh oh. Greg and I bussed out to the last pick up point where we thought we were going to be picked up by the other two in our group (again...another story about these two)... well - Greg and I waited for almost two hrs, calling the pick up peeps and other people who we thought might be able to get a hold of them. We got chilled waiting. At one point I was laying on the concrete side walk, trying to lay low from the wind and trying to absorb the heat from the concrete ... with ants crawling all about. I think I mentioned anger somewhere...but that is neither here nor there... and neither were they. So Greg stepped up and hitched us a ride back into Boise to our hotel. Thankfully we did have the other key card to the hotel room. What the other two were doing remains to be something of a mystery... self induced on their part I'm sure. They hung out at the other drop off point waiting ... thinking we were partying down at the finish celebration. SO - the long and short, and worth writing about part is that the half marathon turned out well, and I realized that Boise is pretty cool little city and I want to go back to try mtn biking next time - the hills there look fantastic for it!

Seriously. Is it November already?

Birthday #34

The weekend of August 2nd came and went without much of a "to do". The Red Bull Flutag was going on down town and I would have liked to check it out, but I was moving furniture instead. I bought my friends leather couch and arm chair and had to move it on Saturday... with the assistance of my mom. So ... this effort was going to take some time. I passed by the Flutag event en route to my moms and could see it was going to be a packed event and I had a twinge of remorse that I wasn't going to be able to attend. But In exchange I finally got some nice furniture for my appartment and could finally put the camp chairs away!
I spent a good part of the day with my mom since I hadnt seen her in a while, and we always lose track of time when we are together. When I got back to my appartment I had to take a nap and then get ready for my birthday dinner, which for some reason, I just wasnt that excited about. I was actually just plain old tired and felt like I wanted to sleep the evening away. When I got up from my nap and started to get ready, that's when the phone calls, texts, and emails started coming in from those who weren't going to be able to make it. I wished I could be one of those calling. And actually thought, heck, if I'm the only one that shows to my own bday dinner ... so be it. I'm good on my own like that. But thank goodness for the trooper friends!

We had dinner and drinks at On Deck. I was hoping for a nicer, warmer day so that we could sit out on the patio but that wasnt' the case. So they put us next to another big party... another birthday girl!

When we realized we were both celebrating our birthdays we got up and put on a show!

Things began to liven up after that and other people in the group wanted to head to another place to go dancing.

I had originally just wanted to do dinner and drinks and had nothing planned for later. Party foul on my part.

After a few more drinks a couple of the guests went home and the rest of us ventured out to this Place called Dirty.

I couldn't think of a better name for this place. I guess one has to be in the mood.... and I was not. And wantd to get the heck out of Dodge... and I wanted everyone else to stay enjoy themselves. I ate this macaroni dinner at On Deck and it was congealing in my stomach and I didn't want to drink more for fear of what I might produce in the way of congealed macaroni vomit later. After putting up with the obnoxious crowd at Dirty, we hoofed it up to the District, at which point I was now wearing my sling back shoes as bracelets. During this whole time we were all trying to figure out where to go to next, while I pleaded that the rest of the group go on with out me. By the time we got to District, the only thing we drank was water and then we all decided we were tired and it was time to go home.... yay!!!! We decided were going to have a "do-over' on the evening and plan it better than what I did. Cool by me!

On sunday I went back to my mom's and my brother came over to help me move my couch and arm chair from the garage to my apartment. Again, when I am with my family, time is out the window. All of a sudden it was evening and we hadn't moved any thing ... just gabbed all day. We headed out to Lake Oswego and got my furniture in the apartment and then went to dinner at the Olive Garden. I'd have to say the comfort of being with family made my day on Sunday. Next year I will rip it up on my bday!

Where has time... and the summer gone.

I have been working at Nike for a month and a half and it's been AWESOME!!! I'm still over the moon about getting the job here and have been enjoying every minute of it. With that said, having a new job limits the ability to take a vacation. I guess my time off between my last job and here was it. So the summer has been going by fast with a new job and a new mtn bike (From Fat Tire Farm http://fattirefarm.com/) , which has been an experience in itself. I've been riding with some very wonderful and PATIENT people who have been thankfully forthcoming with tips and tricks on making it down single track without dumping (I do still bite it from time to time however). The old bike I was riding was my dads, and it did not have disk brakes. Disk brakes make such a huge difference in riding. The one thing that is taking time for me to get used to is riding clipped in. This weekend we rode Falls Creek over in Washington. It started out rough as, on Saturday, I'd already done a road ride from the Gateway tranist center up to Crown Pt. which was a lot of climbing and miles. The Falls Creek ride had us starting out with a 10 mile road ride up to the trail head and I didn't think I was going to make it up, then I worried about my legs being totally hosed on the way down. Coupled by a bad mood, I thought I was going to be doomed on this ride. The first part of the trail was nice and smooth single track which I was loving... then we hit up hill with roots and rocks. I guess because I've been so into road riding, the concept of riding over rocks and roots freaked me out because the fear of flats and getting bucked off the bike. That's where lovely suspension and fat knobby tires come in. Well, that concept didn't take hold in my mind until half way through the ride. I swear at one point my riding partner was expecting to see me holding the bike over my head, getting ready to toss it off the trail. The thought had crossed my mind. Then, I became tired of fretting, and just thought to myself "Just roll the F*c* over the sh*t" (I tend to curse alot when tired and frustrated)... and getting momentum and biking over every thing all of a sudden became fun!!!! I'd been such a scaredy cat in alot of previous rides and then it just occurred to me to go for it! This is not a road bike and it's not going to bust going over this stuff. By the end of the ride, I was smiling and laughing and felt so accomplished... I'd made a huge mental shift in biking. That fear that prevented me from enjoying it before was gone. The last 45 minutes of the ride was the next best thing to being on a ride at Disney Land. My ride partner was very patient and supportive and won major pts in my book for putting up with my earlier antics. Needless to say, I can't wait to go out Wednesday and Friday to ride some more. I am hoping the summer weather lasts well into the fall so I can get as much mtn biking (and road biking) in as possible!

June-uary

Oh thank goodness... I think today is the last day of this winter-like weather!! I am fighting my body right now... it wants to sleep and eat. Yesterday, as I looked at the pile of pistachios shells I was tossing aside, it had occurred to me that I was mimicking a chipmunk getting prepared to go into winter hibernation. Convincing myself to go ride has been a challenge. I admit it. I have been going to spinning instead. I thought that by now I should be conditioned for this weather, but everytime I go out, I feel like I am more sensitive to the chill. I have kept up with the running - it's easier for me to run in the nastiness than it is to ride. Well, the weather is supposedly going to be nice today(temp is supposed to get up to 65... not holding my breath - I don't look good in blue). Woohoo. I am going to run club tonight am looking forward to running in the "nice" weather. Friday and Saturday look very nice and I am pretty excited to get out and ride.

In the meantime

For the past two months my job has been looking for a job and "training" although I haven't solidly decided on what, yet. Portland marathon is the possible "It" event. Looking for a job is interesting in a time when every other news piece is about the rising costs of gas and food, lack in consumer confidence and so on. I have been keeping at it I think something good will be coming my way. I should know where my next paycheck will be coming from with in the next week and a half... fingers crossed. Aside from the job search I have been keeping pretty active. I did the "Reach the Beach" fundraiser ride for the American Lung Association. That was the weekend of May 17th.... the only hot weekend we have seen so far this year. The year has been crappy as far as weather goes and to think of it as 2008 being almost half way over really bums me out. I keep putting outdoor stuff of waiting for the weather to get nicer. The day of RTB, it was 95 degrees... so I can't complain, right? Considering all my training rides had been in mist, cloud cover, and 58 to 65 degree weather... my body was not ready to do 100 miles at a 19mph pace in blazing sun and 95 degree weather.T'was toasty and there were a lot of sun burns to be seen. At the rate that everyone was sweating, it was a chore to keep the sun block on. It was one of those rides where I was glad we weren't spending huge amounts of time at the aid stations... on a day like that, I wanted to keep going and get into the cool weather at the beach which when we got there, did not disapoint. The ride itself is beautiful and despite my snarling about it, I really enjoyed it. I rode with Bernd and Brian, and some other guys I met that day. We were all up to the challenge and 100 miles did seem to fly by. When we got to Pacific City, within minutes of arriving, Bernd and I waded out in the ocean... the very, very cold and refreshing Pacific! My legs were so tired, however that I was afraid I might get washed out to sea and there wouldn't be much I could do to fight it. After devouring sandwiches, chips, and beer that Bernd's wife was so kind to bring for us all, she drove Brian back to his car in Amity and me back to mine in Tigard. I made one last pitstop at Burgerville and then headed home to crash. I have since continued on with my running, riding, and gym workouts. Now I have to start my swimming. I keep saying that.

I went hiking on Memorial day - we went up to Larch mtn where we encountered snow... so we hiked around in the snow for a bit. After Larch mtn, we headed down the columbia river gorge scenic highway to Elowah Falls http://www.waterfallsnorthwest.com/waterfall.php?num=1374&p=0. It's a short but steep hike and worth it when you get to the falls. Because of the snow melt on Mt Hood and all the rain we have been getting, the water run off is very powerfall because there is so much of it. When crossing the falls to get to the other side of the trail, we got soaked and the power of the falls created such a wind that it would take my breath away. The water fall was thrilling... the power and the sound of the water is very charging.

This last weekend I did a 40 mile Velo ride on Saturday. I ran Sunday morning and then hiked Dog Mountain with some friends http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/Dog_Mountain_0000.asp. The hike started off sunny and windy as we high tailed it up the path to catch the couple that we were supposed to start off the hike with. We had a good clip and were both sweating profusely to trudge up the steepness of the path. When we got to one of the clearings, we looked up to see dark clouds speeding past the summit... a good indication that we weren't going to have much of view at the top and that it was going to be pretty cold. We caught up with the other couple, and as we approached the summit we all started putting windbreakers on and fighting the wind during the last part of the ascent. At the top I changed into a dry (not soaked by sweat) shirt, put on gloves, and inhaled a power bar, as five minutes at the top had us all chilled, rattled by the wind and ready to head back down. We took a different path down that was sheltered from the wind and then further down in to the tree line, we were completely sheltered from the wind and warmed back up... nice. All in all, I wonderful hike and one I plan to do more this year.