June is my month June 17, 2009

So June has been full of super sweet workouts, great weather, and fun friends.  Kelly, from the New Mexico EPMT days, was up this way from Vegas to climb Mt. Hood and since he was only a couple of hours away I caught up w/ him for another hike at Tunnel Falls on the 1st.  Tunnel Falls was just as great as last time, maybe better b/c of the excellent company (Kelly and his friends Shawn & Joe).  No ankle pain this time…I wore my running shoes.  On the way back Joe decided to cliff jump at Punchbowl Falls.  Ah!  Long way down!  We ended the day eating at McMenamin’s in Troutdale along w/ Shawn’s g/f (Abby), Abby’s sister, and Abby’s sister’s g/f.  Fun times.

June 2, 3: Nothing.

June 4: Happy Birthday Mom!  I biked to Tumalo Reservoir for you!  This time I added on Taylor road, too.  1 hour 31 minutes, 22.13 miles, 14.5 avg, 32.5 max.

June 5, 6: Nothing.  Okay, I did take a walk with Kelly and Muffin by Meadow Camp on the Deschutes, but I wouldn’t call it training!

June 7: First, my running shoes fell 13000 feet, as Nate wore them skydiving for her bachelorette party.  Nice!  Then I went running (1 hour 22 minutes) at Benicia State Park.  The first four or five miles were pretty, but then I tried to run along the shore of the Carquinez Straight and it was really rocky/ghetto.  So I took some other trails and got sliced by yellow starthistle.  I continued on to a marina towards the Carquinez bridge, but this became even more unbelievably ghetto and I was pretty sure this was a great place to get stabbed.  I ended up jumping a fence just to get back onto the streets that seemed safer.

June 8: 55 minute trail run at Shasta Lake (Bailey Cove trail).  Wow, very pretty lake, some more yellow starthistle on this trail…ouch.

June 9: Went swimming at Juniper, but after 10 minutes got kicked out due to lightning.  Since I never go swimming I was super disappointed b/c I actually wanted to do it for once.

June 10: Went to visit Amy at DVA and stopped in for a few minutes to catch up w/ Nick and Rob.  They’re like, “Are you doing the du tomorrow?”  I’m like, “Wha?”  They’re like, “Just do it.”  I’m like, “Well, I don’t have to work ’til 11pm so I guess I could.”  They’re like, “Okay, you’re doing it.”  I go home and I’m thinking, what the heck just happened?  How did I forget to look at the dates for the du race series and am I really going to do a du w/ one day notice?  Of course, last year Nick called me the day of the race and convinced me to do it so really I was at an advantage here.  So I decided to bike Skyliners to get familiar w/ that road again.  1:16′54, 18.2 miles, 14.6 avg, 33.9 max.

June 11: Ah the du.  The perfect brick/speed workout.  Said hi to Mary and Heather…two super awesome Bend athletes.  Chrissy, Jack, Laura, Pippa, Will, and Oliver were there to cheer us on.  Rob started two minutes before I did and Nick one minute ahead of me.  My turn!  Said hi to Wade and then I was off.  Eek!  I was passed by tons of bikers…it’s amazing to watch them…I just can’t imagine being that fast or that muscular.  Holy smokes.  Close to the top I finally passed Nick.  “Bad dog!”  Always a highlight except for that I know he’ll pass me back on the downhill b/c that’s the way it always plays out.  I saw Rob running as I biked in and he didn’t appear to be that far ahead except for that the running course was changed this year to go in the opposite direction first and then double back.  So he actually was like a mile ahead which is awesome; he made great time on the bike.  Nick was still at the transition point when I arrived, but he was off running before I was.  I never passed him on the run and that was unusual.  Darn it.  I still managed to come in 17 seconds ahead of him though overall and that totally made my day!  Not that we’re in competition w/ each other, but we like to give each other a hard time.  Total bike stats to and from house were 1 hour 8 minutes, 15.76 miles, 13.8 avg, 32.0 max.  Race stats: bike 48.25, 12 miles; run 25.55, 3 miles; total 1:14:20.  Just for comparison my best time last year was 26.54 on the run, 45.25 on the bike, 1:12:42 total.  I set a goal this year to have a total time of 1:06, but that seems a little ambitious now!  I did 5/6 dus last year, but this year I’ll be lucky if I can do 2 b/c of work.  Wish I could do more of them; they’re a blast!

June 12: Nothing.

June 13: Went to Wickiup w/ Nick, Laura, Muffin, and the kids.  Nick and I wanted to try this area since the Pacific Crest tri will be here.  My wetsuit is suffocating.  Holy tightness.  The water was cold, but not horrible.  There was good visibility so that was nice, too.  The bad news is I can’t swim.  We were out there for 20 or 30 minutes I think and I was very stop and go w/ a lot of backfloating and breaks.  Now I’m very scared.

My 5′2 next to 175′ falls

W/ Kelly at Tunnel Falls

My running shoes flying!

Race ready

Transition!

Nick running

Sprint to the finish

Year of Awesome, Good Luck, Amazing Feats

The fam

Cakes

Another month June 17, 2009

April 28: Run 90 minutes

April 29: Nothing

April 30: Bike 1 hour 14 minutes, 16.7 miles, 13.6 avg, 32.2 max

May 1, 2, 3: Nothing

May 4: Oh no, back on the bike trainer!  1 hour 8 minutes, 15.65 miles, 13.8 avg, 16.8 max.

May 5: Swim 20 minutes.

May 6: Run 1 hour 8 minutes.

May 7: Nothing.

May 8: Run 1 hour 10 minutes w/ Nick.

May 9: Biked with Nick and Rob as they towed Pippa, Will, and Ginger in trailers up Skyliners.  Had some issues w/ the distance clock, maybe b/c we stopped at the top for a break?  Time 1:01′34, avg. 14.1, max 27.7, distance 14.46? (Dist 2 = 35.19…does that mean I didn’t reset my clock?).  Honestly, I’m not even sure this is the right data for this entry (I have a few scraps of paper where I wrote down the data, but didn’t attach it to a date.  Stupid!).

May 10: Nothing again.  Man, I suck.

May 11: 1 hour yoga and swimmming w/ Jaylynn!

May 12, 13: Nothing.

May 14: Run 1 hour 23 minutes.

May 15: Nothing I think.

May 16: Took a new bike route past Shevlin and up O.B. Riley.  Beautiful ride.  Again, have a scrap of paper that I think was for this ride, but not 100% sure (1 hour 6 minutes, 14.65 miles, 13.2 avg, 31.9 max).

May 17: Run 51 minutes.

May 18: Bike 1:45′37, 23.44 miles, 13.3 avg, 37.3 max.  I did the Shevlin Park to Johnson route, but then went out to Tumalo Reservoir before heading up OB Riley.  This was really beautiful!  No bike lane, but it was out in the country so there wasn’t much traffic.  Lots of farms w/ sheep, cows, llamas, ponds, open spaces, fresh air.

May 19: My first brick workout for the season.  Nick, Rob, and I biked up Century and then ran towards the Old Mill from DVA for about 10 minutes.  Bike stats: 2:13′36, 28.81 miles, 12.9 avg, 38.1 max.  This was awesome b/c Nick had made fun of me when I told him my stats for biking up to Meissner earlier in the season…now here we are and he’s just as slow.  Payback.

May 20-23: Nothing.  Wow, I hope I was doing something important.

May 24: Eek!  There has been a free Dirty Half training group; they started with 7 miles and each week add 1-2 miles.  I hadn’t been able to attend any of the sessions b/c of work, but this day I was finally able to join.  The run was 12 miles (the most I’d ever done) and it was on Phil’s Trail which is the actual course for the race.  I was super nervous b/c I didn’t know anyone and I didn’t know if I’d be able to cover that distance.  It was a gorgeous route and it was tons of fun to be out w/ about 50 other runners.  I ended up only knowing Teague, but I met a nice girl, Heather, too, and we chatted a bit as we ran.  I must have been extremely dehydrated though; I spent the rest of the day in bed w/ a splitting headache.  I think I was at 2 hours 2 minutes for this run.

May 25: Nothing.

May 26-30: I’ve no idea!  How did I not write down if I worked out or not?  Is it really that hard?  What’s the matter w/ me?!  I do have a scrap of paper that says bike 1 hour 58 minutes, 28.09 miles, 14.2 avg, 38.8 max so I’ll assume this happened sometime in this time period, but apart from that I’m at a loss.

May 31: Another Dirty Half training run.  This time it was the full course, 13.1 miles and my time was 2 hours 10 minutes.  Heather and I were matched in pace for the first 8 or so miles, but then I really started slowing down and couldn’t keep up.  I was better hydrated this time, but I was just dragging for the last few miles.  So happy to know that I can cover the distance and will be able to finish the race though.

Weekend with Wendy June 17, 2009

Wendy climbing

Water break

Scoping the “no hippies” sign

South Falls at Silver Falls S.P.

Wendy hiking

Getting above the Gorge

Dog Mt. summit

Wind Mountain overlook

Fairy Slippers

Punchbowl Falls

Eagle Creek

Taking in the greenery

Chocolate lily

Tunnel Falls

Twister Falls

Fav part of the hike!

Woo hoo!  Mini-vacation/road trip.  Wendy planned a super sweet weekend for us to hang out, mt. bike, and hike.  On April 25th, I drove from Bend and she drove from Portland to meet up at Silver Falls State Park.  We did about 8 miles of beautiful mt. biking though a forested area.  There was a little rain, but the trails were good.  There were some serious uphills and I had to walk a few of those; I fell over a number of times going uphill b/c I didn’t have the power to climb and once I was off there was no getting back on for me on a grade.  I really enjoyed the biking though and afterward we took a walk to see one of the 10 waterfalls on the other side of the park.  There is a hiking trail to see all of the waterfalls and I hope to get back there later this summer to do that.  On Sunday, we hiked Dog Mountain(http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Dog_Mountain_Loop_Hike).  There were a number of trails up there, but I think this website shows approximately what we did so maybe about seven and a half miles?  There were great views of the Columbia River Gorge and Wind Mountain.  Wendy brought some field guides so we learned a few plants (fairy slippers were the best…they smell so good!) and Wendy is amazing at identifying bird calls so she was a great guide.  We had a personal display show by a hummingbird, too, and that was funny.  He was zooming back and forth in a half U shaped pattern and doing some kind of call.  We were entertained.  Besides our outdoor adventures, we kicked it at Wendy’s and she made really yummy food.  I had the best salad with dinner and a huge breakfast w/ toast, hashbrowns, and eggs.  I seriously felt like I was at a casino buffet!  We also played a boardgame, Blockus, with Wendy’s boyfriend, Richard, and I think I’m addicted to that game now.

On Monday Wendy had to go back to work, but she gave me directions to a super sweet hike at Eagle Creek to Tunnel Falls (http://www.portlandhikersfieldguide.org/wiki/Eagle_Creek_to_Tunnel_Falls_Hike).  I was a little nervous b/c I had my bike locked in the car and I didn’t want anyone to try to break in (there were signs all over the parking lot and in the guide book about it being a high theft area) and also b/c Wendy told me it was a hike w/ some serious heights and drop-offs.  Yikes!  I’m always up for a challenge though.  The hike was about 12 miles.  I took the side trails to Metlako Falls and Lower Punchbowl Falls…great views and beautiful scenery.  At Upper Punchbowl there was a high school club of kids kayaking over the falls.  It was crazy to see these kids, so young and fearless, going over these falls in such tiny boats!  Very cool though.  About 4 miles into the hike my right foot started hurting.  I was wearing my winter boots b/c I thought it might be rainy (and it was!) and I didn’t want to hike w/wet feet.  So I carried on, but they progressively got worse.  I crossed into the Hatfield Wilderness and finally reached 175 foot Tunnel Falls.  An “engineering marvel”, a tunnel was blasted behind the falls where the path continues.  Kinda sad for the land, but cool for the hikers.  Not far beyond that was a waterfall I really wanted to see, Twister Falls.  There were high drop-offs throughout the route, but none quite as dramatic as the last stretch to reach this fall and for the first time I held onto the cable bolted into the rocks.  It was all worth it though; Twister Falls was stunning, my favorite by far.  Then the rain really started in so I headed back, but now my foot is killing me.  With five or so miles left I began to hike at a snail’s pace.  I undid my laces, but that didn’t help much.  I hiked for a couple of miles w/ no boots on and that gave me the best relief for the sharp, shooting, drop-me-to-my-knees ankle pain, but all the rocks were hard on the bottoms of my feet.  When I finally hit the parking lot I just stopped.  It seemed like I wouldn’t even be able to take the last steps to my car.  The pain was unbelievable, but I’m still happy I did that hike; it’s one of the best I’ve been on since moving to Oregon!

For Cole June 17, 2009

Okay, I suck at keeping my blog updated…I know!  I think I’m up to 4 or 5 comments from Cole on the last post about being a slacker.  Thanks for reminding/harassing me, Cole!

The following is a list of the workouts I remember, more for my own record than for a blog worthy of reading…details are scarce (not sure of where I went or who I went with…so sad).

March 30: My first pool swim of the season!  Jaylynn and I did an hour chakra yoga class (so fun and I ended up being way more sore than if I had done a seven mile run which I thought was interesting) followed by about a half hour of pool time.  Yeah, I still swim as bad as I remember.  I also went for a 46 minute run.

March 31: Another 1 hour yoga followed by swimming and some basic weights.

April 1: I paid for the Dirty Half!  I’m committed to my first half marathon (financially anyway).  Run with FootZone noon group 7.3 miles, 1hour 5 minutes.  Ah, this was the run where this seemingly 70+ year old woman kicked my ass.  I wonder if I’ll ever be that fit, let alone at that age.

April 2: Bike 1 hour, 14.26 miles, 14.2 average, 17.9 max.

April 3, 4: Nothing.

April 5: Bike 1 hour 7 minutes, 15.54 miles, 13.8 average, 30.1 max.

April 6-10: No idea.  Didn’t write anything down.  Probably didn’t do anything on these days, but maybe one 54 minute run.  Meh.

April 11: Run with Annalee and Carol for 1 hour, 6.5 miles.

April 12: Bike 1 hour 2 minutes, 13.9 miles, 13.4 average, 16.6 max.

April 13: Nada.

April 14: Run 47 minutes with Nick, Carol, and Annalee.

April 15: Zip.

April 16: Bike 1 hour 1 minute, 14.15 miles, 13.9 avg, 18.5 max.  Then I did a 1 hour 7 min run later in the day.

April 17, 18: Nothing.

April 19: 1 hour 4 minute run.

April 20: Didn’t write anything down…who knows.

April 21: This must have been my first bike to Meissner for the season.  2 hours 10 minutes, 30.5 miles, 14.0 avg, 38.9 max.  That seemed to have taken a long time compared to last year, but I did take a detour that added a number of miles onto my route.  Nick made fun of me and said that I was super slow.

April 22-24: Again, didn’t write anything down so not sure what I did. 

And now for a fun blog!