Discovery Run (5/25/17)

Last week was the May Discovery Run at Road Runner Sports!

Brad and I got there nice and early to check out the vendors and try on some demo shoes from Altra. We made it into the official photographs :)

Brad swapped his old Altras for a new pair:

They had a drone and took an aerial shot of the crowd:

Eryn's still recovering from back surgery, so we walked the course together:

After our 3+ miles, we strapped down our tickets, sipped our root beer floats, and waited for the raffle:

Brad skipped a meeting to go with us :)

No winners in our group this month.

But we'll be back :)

No. 25

No. 25 was James Patterson's Cross. 

I grabbed a couple Patterson books off the free table at work. They are good mysteries that move fast, thanks to very short chapters. :)

Wahkeena Falls loop (4/21/17)

Late last month, Dad asked me to join him on a hike at Wahkeena Falls in the gorge. Yes, please!

Because it was a Friday and a really nice afternoon, traffic was horrible, but we finally made it to the trail head:

Wahkeena Falls:

On the way up - Lemmon's Viewpoint:

SOOO pretty!

Fairy Falls:

We took a left after Fairy Falls and hiked Vista Point Trail up to Wahkeena Falls Trail. Then we took Wahkeena to Larch Mountain Trail... down to the Multnomah Falls Lookout Spur Trail.

Still some snow in the canyon:

From the lookout, looking down Multnomah Falls:

Setting sun:

Multnomah Falls:

At the bottom!

After a brief stop in the bathrooms and gift shop, we completed the loop back to Wahkeena Falls, tired and satisfied and happy to be outside :)

No. 24

No. 24: David Baldacci's The Guilty on audiobook.

I've now read or listened to all of Baldacci's books. It was so quiet in my car this morning :(

Willamette Mission Trail Challenge (4/29/17)

OMG - I'm almost caught up on my race reports! Except I have ANOTHER race tomorrow.... I just need to stop doing fun stuff :)

Last year, I ran the Willamette Mission Trail Challenge with Lindsey and had a blast getting muddy and sweaty. This year, Dad joined me for the super-cheap, no-frills race outside Keizer.

Earlier in the week, the Willamette River overflowed its banks, almost forcing organizers to cancel. But at the last minute, they rerouted the course so the show could go on! The 10K was now a 5.5-mile double loop - not my favorite, but I was glad they didn't cancel.

The whole event was moved, as the parking area was also flooded. Still, they made the most of it, parking us along the road a short walk from the start/finish line. Bib pickup was quick and easy, and soon we were ready to run!

The "5K" and "10K" started at the same time, heading around the parking lot loop, down the road and finally onto a dirt trail. These higher trails were in good condition, and I was hardly dirty by the end. Bummer! :)

This race came at the end of a long week, and my legs just weren't up for running fast. I struggled to maintain speed in the second loop and just finish. In the final stretch, the course went past the finish line, looped down the road and back up the field before looping around the parking lot one more time to the end:

LOVE 99-cent downloads :)

This was the little hill right before the finish.

I was disappointed to poop out so much toward the end. But I still managed to finish 5.33 miles in 49:58, a 9:22 average.

Dad did his slow run the whole race and finished first in his age group!

1st-place medal!!!

Father/daughter trail running :)

Oh, and he won a raffle prize, too - free socks! AND... he snagged a pair thrown into the crowd, too :)

First place and a prize = happy dad :)

My time was good for 5/8 in females 40-44 and 70/103 overall.

Organizers did great at adjusting and going with the flow so we could have a fun event! :)

Discovery Run: Dad's streak continues in 2017

Discovery Runs are back!

One a month, our local Road Runner Sports store hosts a FREE scavenger hunt run through Tualatin. You hit as many spots as you can in an hour, collecting raffle tickets as you go. Then there's a drawing for rad prizes (free shoes!) while runners/walkers drink free beer or root beer floats.

Before the April 27 run:

After:

Eryn, recovering from back surgery, isn't released to run until mid-August. But she came to walk!

Dad has come with us for several years now... and hasn't won a thing in the raffle. Brad and I win regularly, including a new muscle roller stick thingy this time. Dad was really excited to announce to the world that his no-winning streak continues into 2017!!!!

Maybe next month :)

(Join us for the next Discovery Run on May 25!)

CASA Super Hero Race (4/22/17)... and a protest

Way back in the fall, some union friends and I thought it would be fun to run a race together. We settled on the CASA Super Hero Race in April in Salem.

The day finally came, and it was pouring. Of course.

Lesly, Brad, Soren and I met up in the bib line, snapped a couple pictures, said some good lucks and ran back to our cars to hide from the rain for a bit.

We finally got out of the car, did a little warm-up lap around Riverfront Park and walked to the starting area. The rain stopped, and the sun was even poking out a bit.

We were off right on time, heading toward the bridge across the Willamette River and into Wallace Marine Park. It was basically the same course as our Thanksgiving race, except the loop in Wallace Marine was counterclockwise this time.

Brad and I ran the 10K, a double loop. Soren and Lesly ran the 5K, and we never saw them again! I sure hope they had a good time :)

I was running by feel and decided to push it a little bit. By my second lap, the sun was OUT, and I was HOT in my black T-shirt. (Should have gone with the tank!) The woman in front of me took off her shirt. I hesitated for a few moments and then said, "what the heck... let's do this!" and ripped off my shirt, too. I've never raced shirtless before, and it felt so empowering! I read a blog by an AMAZING woman who champions running in a sports bra, flaws and all.  I thought of her as I powered through the end of my race, crossing the finish line with my shirt in my hands.

A short time later, a woman finished behind me - also with her shirt off! 

I found the first woman and thanked her for doing that so I could do that - and the woman behind me could do that. GIRL POWER! I felt so strong at that moment.

So according to the official stats, I killed that race. BUT... the course was short... WAY short. My GPS had it at 5.77 miles. (A 10K is supposed to be 6.2 miles)

I finished in 52:25, a 9:04 average, which was good enough for 14/44 overall, 6/20 female and 3/6 F 40-49! YAY for small races :) ALSO - this means that of the top six finishers, three were 40-49. That's impressive.


(my official average based on the 6.2 distance was 8:28!)

The race was a fund raiser for CASA of Marion County, Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children. Everyone was incredibly nice and supportive, and aside from some minor issues when we first arrived, the whole event was great! 

Bikers Again Child Abuse was on hand volunteering at the start/finish line and also along the course. It was so wonderful to see these bikers out there teaming up for such a great cause! 

I would definitely do this little fund-raiser race again!

After, Brad and I changed into warm, dry clothes and grabbed lunch from one of the food trucks selling yummies at the finish line:

Since we were in Salem, and it was the April 22, we drove the few blocks to the capitol and joined the March for Science! I was sad to miss the giant one in Portland, but I was so glad the timing worked out that we could be part of the Salem event!

A large crowd gathered on the capitol steps.

After the rally, we took to the streets sidewalks and walked for many blocks around downtown.

It was a day filled with my favorite things: racing and resisting. Someday, hopefully I can let up on the resisting and focus on the running. But for now, political activism is my duty. #resist

No. 23

No. 23: James Patterson's Pop Goes the Weasel. Finished while listening to the waves crash outside my grandparents' beach house. :)

Shamrock Run (3/19/17) - PR!!!

Way back in March, Brad and I ran our fifth Shamrock Run - on a brand-new course!

Because of Portland police cutbacks, organizers were forced to alter the course. We still ran Terwilliger, but it was backwards this year. I felt that it was just as hilly, but the race was front loaded with lots of opportunity to run fast in the second part.

Since Brad's company sponsors a team, he's been running the half the past few years (he's too cheap to pay for it himself!) I stick to the 15K since it's unique to this race and a fun distance to race.

It was coolish at the start - but DRY!!!!!!! We arrived early, parked on the east side, hit the potties and scored some free McDonald's coffee for Brad and half a hashbrowns for me. It tasted so good, but I only ate part, fearing greasy belly on the course :)

Tutu, of course!!

Soon it was time to ditch the warmups and head into the corral. I didn't study the map ahead of time, so I just followed the crowd. Speaking of, it didn't feel as crowded as in past years. That's a good thing for this giant race!

They didn't have free photo downloads this year, so no action shots :(

I didn't train specifically for this race, and I planned to just run by feel and push when it felt right. I ended up running steadily on the long initial inclines and hard on the downs. It's fun to run hard in a bright green tutu!

The sun came out, and it got hot! (for me - I'm a wuss!) What a nice change for the last few years of soaking rain.

I finished in 1:27:33, a 9:20 pace for 9.36 miles. PR!!!! My previous PR, from 2016, was 9:45 average! HOWEVER, since the course was changed, it's really hard to compare. Still, I'll take it ;)

My stats: 1521/3891 overall, 532/2081 female, 86/320 F 40-44

Not too shabby!

My splits:

• Mile 1: 10:23
• Mile 2: 10:10
• Mile 3: 9:56
• Mile 4: 10:27
• Mile 5: 8:38

• Mile 6: 8:40
• Mile 7: 8:40
• Mile 8: 9:11
• Mile 9: 8:23
• Mile 9.36: 7:45 

I wrapped up in my Mylar blanket and waited at the finish line for Brad. The sun felt great, but I'm such a disgusting sweater that I cool down really fast.

He did it! We both enjoyed the new course, and while organizers vowed to return to the original course for next year's 40th anniversary, we thought the redesigned might be better. Also, we thought the whole event just ran better this year. Nice job, guys!

This year's 15K medal was super cute:

My Shamrock collection:

:)