No. 19

This was a good one! Unfortunately, I've now read all of Michael Connelly's novels - except for the most recent ones that aren't yet in paperback.

I'll have to find another author soon!!

:)

Impulsive half marathon!

I did something a little crazy and impulsive today... I ran a half marathon!
I'd heard about the Lacamas Lake 4-Miler and filed it away in the back of my head as a possible July race. But this weekend's training called for 13 miles - not 4.

Brad's been gone for several days climbing Mount Rainier (yay!!!!!) and I didn't want to do a trail run without him (safety first!). Running around my neighborhood for 13 miles did not sound fun. I thought about paying Eryn to ride her bike next to me for 2-3 hours. WOOHOO.
OR... what if I just signed up for the Lacamas Lake Half instead?? I contemplated it for a short time and then decided to just do it! Mom and Eryn went downtown Friday to help me get all registered. No turning back after you pay the fee :)

With a 7:30 a.m. start in Camas, I got up at 4:30 a.m. so I could shower, eat, sunscreen (no repeating this!), potty, pick up my support crew and get to Camas HS in plenty of time.

Ready to go:
My support team - yay!!
Kinda nervous but just thinking of this as another training run. No pressure.
The course was fairly hilly, including a couple big ones. But I managed to stay close to my 11-minute-mile goal. As planned, I did 20-minute intervals with 1-minute walks between.

And to avoid bonking (like during my last training run), I brought 5 ounces of Brad's homemade energy gel and drank some at each walk break. I also took a bit of water at almost every aid station (they were about 2 miles apart).

And I really felt pretty good until around mile 10/11 when I began dragging a bit. But I was still going and sticking with the plan -- and I was almost done! That's when Mom, Dad and Eryn finally tracked me down, coming off the Lacamas Lake Heritage Trail:
We'd been warned that the course ended with a "pretty steep uphill climb" from mile 12 to 12.5. They were not kidding! I had planned to walk it if I needed - it wouldn't help me to try to run it. It was very steep - and no one else was attempting to run, either.

Fortunately, a couple homeowners had sprinklers/hoses going to help cool us down. I ended up getting soaked :)

I ran as soon as the ground leveled off and was soon back at Camas High School, making my way around the track and to the finish line. I gave it my all and finished strong, coming in at 02:29:43!!!! That's a 11:32-minute average... I'll take it!
The fam was right there, snapping pics, getting me water, holding my loaf of Dave's Killer Bread, celebrating with me and watching me dance to the DJ's tunes (actually, they were just laughing at me and taking hidden-camera video of me bustin' a move!)
World's smallest finisher's medal!
After hanging out a bit and enjoying my victory, we drove back to Tigard for celebratory lunch at Elmer's:
Mom snapped this lovely pic of me scarfing my side salad:
Veggie burger:
I've been feeling really anxious about my big Disneyland Half Marathon in a couple weeks. But now, after having this practice run, I'm feeling really confident. I totally did it!! Just think how good I can do with some tapering and prepping, a flat course and Mickey Mouse to cheer me on ;)

Brad is due back from Rainier in a couple hours... boy, is he going to be really surprised!!

:)

Lentil Cookies

I have a freezer full of lentil puree, thanks to experimental Apple Cinnamon Lentil treats from a March Muffin Wednesday. (They were great, by the way!) Wanting to use it up, I went searching for more recipes calling for the green/brown goop.

I found "To Die For Lentil Cookies" and figured it was worth a try.

1 t baking powder
1 t salt
1 1/2 t cinnamon (I went light on this 'cuz I don't like cinnamon)
1 c sugar - brown for chewy, white for more crispy (I went with a combo: mostly brown and a little white)
3/4 c apple sauce
2 T ground flax
2 t vanilla
1 1/2 c lentil puree
1 c rolled oats
1 c dried fruit
1 c dried coconut (I used up my leftover coconut and topped it off with chopped walnuts)
2 c wheat pastry flour

Combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in medium bowl.

In separate bowl mix the apple sauce and sugar. Add the flax and combine. Add the vanilla and lentil puree and mix to combine.

Add in the flour mixture in thirds and combine. Stir in the oats, fruit and coconut.

Drop in 1 inch balls and bake for 15-17 minutes at 375 degrees.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

These didn't spread at all, so for the second batch I pressed the dough balls a bit for more of a cookie shape instead of a ball shape. Then I got tired of making balls and made the rest of the dough into a giant bar - then I baked it a bit longer.

Though I don't think they are "to die for," each version was good. Not great, but good. I froze a bunch for later.

*** Any tried-and-true recipe using lentil puree???

:)

Fresh cherry pie

I'm cleaning out the freezer so I can load it full of new berries and jams. I came across a huge bag of cherries and decided they must be made into a pie for my pie-loving honey.

I settled on Fresh Cherry Pie from my 1965 pie book.
I started with a Cheater Crust from Ma's friend, Nancy:

2 1/2 c flour
3/4 c canola oil
1 t salt
1/4 c + 1 T water

Combine all ingredients with a fork and use your hands to make a ball. Divide in half to make two crusts and place one ball between sheets of wax paper. Roll out to fit pan and then, while it's still in the paper, move it to the pan. Peel off the paper and fit to the pan. Add filling and repeat process with top crust.

Fresh Cherry Pie:

1 1/3 c sugar
1/3 c flour
1/8 t salt
4 c pitted cherries
2 T butter

Combine the sugar, flour and salt. Add cherries and toss to coat. Turn into a pastry-lined 9" pie pan. Add top crust.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 40 minutes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I don't like pie, but Brad said it was super yummy. He ate a bunch, then the rest went into the freezer for lunches.

Enjoy :)

Muggy negative splits

I finally got my butt in gear yesterday and went for my run. And it felt pretty good!

My plan was either 20 minutes if I felt like crap or 20/1/20 if I felt OK. I wasn't dying after 10 minutes, so I kept going.
I ran 20 minutes, walked 1 and finished with another 20 (actually, 19:38) -- 4.36 miles in 40:43. That's a 9:21 average.

Plus, I picked it up on the second interval and had negative splits (second interval was faster than the first) - 9:23 and 9:07!
It's certainly not like the rest of the country suffering in triple digits and horrid humidity, but it was sure muggy here. It took more than an hour before I finally stopped sweating! WOOHOO!

:)

Wahkeena Falls (7/19/11)

After last week's rain out, it was time to take another group of Newberg Friends youth hiking in the Gorge. Last time we hit Angel's Rest. This time it was the Wahkeena Falls-to-Multnomah Falls loop.

Juan and Matthew braved the weather and joined Eryn and me for this week's soggy excursion.
The loop is dotted with waterfalls. First up: Wahkeena Falls...
Fairy Falls:
Juan was a photo-snapping machine!
We made it to the top of the Wahkeena Falls trail and took a rest-and-snack break. It had been raining lightly but steadily since we left the trail head, and we were pretty soaked. We debated turning around but decided to dig deep and finish the loop.

Made it to the top of Multnomah Falls:
Despite the rain and the fact that it was a Tuesday morning, the paved trail down from the upper lookout was crowded with tourists.

Trying to get the whole falls near the bridge:
The money shot at the bottom!
We finished out the loop and drove home right on time.

Another fun trip - yippee!! :)

Belay slave and a snake run

Brad was supposed to climb Mount Rainier last weekend, but a poor weather forecast postponed the trip. Instead, we decided to camp at Smith Rock State Park in Central Oregon and do some rock climbing.
After Saturday's parade, family reunion and birthday party, we drove to the climbers' bivouac at Smith and found a spot for our tent. The ground was muddy, and wet gear was strewn around the campground. We overheard conversations about the "epic rainstorm" earlier in the day and were glad we'd missed it.

It rained overnight but was dry when we got up early Sunday to eat and head over to get on the popular routes before the crowds arrived.

Brad first set up a top rope on Night Flight for me to try.
I hadn't climbed since our last trip in March 2010 with Jacob and Lindsey and was very rusty. I sucked it up. I felt mentally strong last time (rock climbing is really more mental than anything else), but it was so long ago that I was really shaky and scared. I guess going every year-and-a-half isn't good for improving.

About halfway up Night Flight, my left shoulder popped. I pulled something while self arresting on Colchuck Peak earlier in the month, and the climbing aggravated it. Unfortunately, that was the end of my weekend rock-climbing adventure.

SO... Brad lucked out and got a belay slave for the day!

He was able to lead some routes he'd been wanting to try, including Snuffy Smith and Chalk Wave. And I got to practice my belay skills ;)
We took some very cold showers at the campground and then drove into Bend for dinner. Brad got a great chipotle chicken burrito at a taqueria. I got fish tacos that smelled and tasted like an aquarium. YUCK. We eventually found a Baja Fresh that satisfied my craving for a grilled veggie burrito (I may never eat fish tacos again!)

Monday was supposed to be another climb day, but my shoulder hurt just putting on my jacket. It's a mild pain, but not good for rock climbing. Brad didn't want to make me belay all day again, so we went running in the canyon instead.

It was already getting warm and muggy, but we were in and out of the shade and breeze so it was tolerable.

We did 6 miles in 30-minute intervals. 12:02, 11:53 and 10:20 - negative splits!!
My overall average was 11:53, not bad for the rolling, off-road course.

Plus, I'm blaming the snakes for slowing me down. Two reptiles slithered across the trail in front of me, and I decided I needed to run a little slower so I could spot them before I almost stepped on them. Fortunately, neither was a rattler. Yikes.

One of the best dirt tans I've ever had:
After my brief but sucky climbing, I was really glad to have a good, solid run. Success is much more fun than failure :)