Tigard/King City/Tualatin/Durham Half Marathon (4/4/20)

For my first race of 2020, I debated the downhill Vernonia Half Marathon or the more-challenging Silver Falls Trail Challenge half marathon - both the first weekend in April.

Previously, my longest trail race was 10K (6.2 miles), so I was really nervous about doing a longer event (13.1 miles). But, with the prompting of runner friends, I decided to push myself and choose the trail half.

Training went well. My friend, Tina, was also prepping for the Silver Falls race, so we did some long runs together and also commiserated about our weekly hill repeats. 

On March 7, Brad and I ran 10ish miles on Forest Park's Wildwood Trail. It was a terrible run for me - one of those runs that makes you doubt everything. But then the food poisoning hit! Brad and I both had a bad, bad stomach bug - we think it was food poisoning from Sweet Tomatoes. Well, that definitely explained the suffer fest on the trail!

Later that week, COVID-19 shut down school and shut down my trail runs. Running on single track (narrow trails with room for just one person at a time) felt very unsafe, so the rest of my training was solo and on the street and treadmill. Soon, the race was canceled, but I decided to finish out the few weeks of training and just run the 13.1 miles on my own.

On April 4, I strapped on my hydration pack and hit the road, running through Tigard, King City, Tualatin, and Durham:

Mom and Eryn saw my live track online and surprised me around mile 11. It was a good boost at the end of my solo "race."

And they were waiting for me at the end with a rope strung across the road for a finish line!!

All done:

It definitely wasn't the trail race I was planning, but I was pleased with myself for completing my training and following through with my race - even without the deadlines and crowds and swag and scenery and infrastructure that comes with a real event.

Then I celebrated with a Beyond Burger, fries, and Dr. Pepper from Carl's Junior - eaten at home, of course, because restaurants were closed :)

Runners are a tough bunch. It's as much a mental sport as a physical one, and COVID added an extra challenge. I'm happy to say I didn't let it stop me :)

A Year of Hiking: 21 - 30

My quest to hit 52 trails this year was ZOOMING... and then COVID-19 hit.

I was using my unexpected free time to hit the trails. But it soon became evident that passing people on the trail was not safe, so I put a halt to the adventures.

Oregon was also under a stay-at-home order by the governor, so we stopped traveling. Our county was finally allowed into Phase 1 of reopening, and Tillamook County was in Phase 2, so we decided to try an evening hike in the Coast Range.

We hiked King's Mountain off Highway 6 and saw just a few other people on the trail. We easily stepped off and passed safely. I was super tired, and the weather was lousy, so we turned around at the picnic table instead of going all the way to the summit... AND I apparently didn't take any photos. I'm outta practice, I guess.

No. 21 - King's Mountain, June 10.

No. 22 - Bayocean Spit, June 28:

No. 23 - Oceanside to Netarts, June 29:

Chowder at The Schooner before the return trip:

No. 24 - Eastbank Esplanade and Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Downtown Portland, July 4: 

When Injustice Becomes Law, Resistance Becomes Duty:

No. 25 - Wildwood 53rd to Germantown Road, July 6:

No. 26 - Clear Lake, July 12:

The Internet said there was a 7-mile trail around the lake. We never found it. But low water levels allowed us to walk on the beach, which also doubled as a four-wheel drive road. It was awful. Will not do again :)

No. 27 - Keil to Dogwood to Wildwood, July 19:

No. 28 - Cannon to Firelane 9 to Wildwood to Firelane 8, July 19:

DOWN, DOWN, DOWN to the Linnton neighborhood. Mount St. Helens in the distance:

No. 29 - Scouters Mountain Nature Park, July 23:

Should have been a view of Mount Hood here:

The trails weren't long, but they were lovely:

I ran the loop twice for just over 2 miles.

No. 30 - Happy Valley Park, July 23:

Running on Trex was interesting - kinda bouncy:

The park was really nice, but far too many people without masks. I left after completing my requisite 1 mile.

:)

Nos. 46 - 51

My book reading slowed a bit this month. Still, I managed six new books...

No. 46 - Murder in G Major by Alexia Gordon (black mystery author!):

No. 47 - The Resistors by Gish Jen:

No. 48 - I'm Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, by Austin Channing Brown:  

No. 49 - Death in D Minor by Alexia Gordon:

No. 50 - Ain't I a Woman by Bell Hooks:

No. 51 - Still Life by Louise Penny:

:)