Bliss

This morning's run was absolute, pure bliss. 

I even thought, during my workout, how truly thankful I was that I was forced to be up and running during the amazing sunrise.

We got up at 5:30 a.m. to get Brad downtown and on the road to do 18 miles, including out Highway 30, across the St. Johns Bridge and back on Willamette, Greeley and Interstate (a portion of next month's Portland Marathon).

While he headed into Northwest Portland, I started around the Eastbank Esplanade/Waterfront Park loop for an easy recovery from yesterday's long run. I planned to do one loop at a very slow speed just to get the blood moving. I took my camera and stopped several times to get these amazing shots:

Full moon:

 River smooth as glass:

I really felt terrific. I finished the loop at about 2.5 miles and and decided I should round  it up to 3 miles. But by the time I was approaching my turnaround, I thought, "Hey - the Steel Bridge is just right there... I should just do another loop!"

And so I did. No regrets.

I finished 5.1 miles in 52:59, a 10:23 average. I actually ran at a fairly good clip but stopped lots for picture breaks (and to use the beloved Benson Bubblers!)

Truly a wonderful run and a reminder why I love Portland!

Still sweating, I jumped in the car and beat it out to the St. Johns neighborhood to find Brad. I got to him around his 10-mile mark, just as he emptied his water pack. I took the empty and gave him a full one - and he was off.

Eight miles later, he met me back where we started - happy that I'd packed a big glass of chocolate milk for him:

Brad had a strong run and is feeling confident for his first marathon!

After showers, we chowed on veggie sandwiches and potato soup from Bridge City Cafe at Bridgeport Village. We thought that was fitting :)

Oh, yes! :)