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Showing posts from May, 2014

Another 22 (with chocolate)

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Similar to our  Same temperature same mileage  run, we wanted to run 22 miles and I wanted to get the big climb up to Pittock in. Sally came with us for the first 10 miles, which had that as well as the uphill on Wildwood from Aspen to 53rd Ave. And she kept us a bit speedier than usual. My goal was to run all uphills, and I did it-- even up Firelane 4. Well, except for a bathroom break on Koenig. Still, I could feel it. I was tired. At some point on Wildwood after FL4, I realized that some of my tiredness was actually a visual migraine. I get them rarely, a few times a year, but I've never had one while running. There wasn't much to do but continue, since our route at that point was more or less directly back to the car. We stopped at Firelane 1 and ate some chocolate, which seemed to help. Before we got to our final climb up Birch, I was completely fine and ready to push it uphill. We were fortunate to have a gorgeous morning and enjoy a challenging run. A new...

NW 53rd Nasty (or how to cure a hangover)

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Susan and I ran 2 20+ mile runs this week, so we decided to do a shorter run on Saturday. I planned a 12 mile route that hit all the trailheads on NW 53rd, my original plan was for us to run the route faster than our normal pace, but that was until I went out on Friday night. I never go out on Friday nights because we are normally running some crazy distance in the morning, but knowing we were only running 12 miles I wasn't worried about having a few drinks. Well it is easy to lose track of how many pints you have had when you are hanging out with friends with a  kegerator and they keep refilling your glass. Well needless to say I was feeling less than awesome in the morning, so there was no speed workout in our future. But running for several hours and sweating out all the toxins from the night before, might be the best hair of the dog I have found yet.  The route: holman - wildwood - aspen - road - leif - wild cherry - dogwood - wildwood - alder - leif - fire lane 1 - ...

Salmon River to Hunchback Mountain

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The last 2 years Susan and I have taken a day off of work each month during the summer, so we can sneak off and run the trails around Mt. Hood and the Columbia Gorge while they are not crowded.  We took Thursday off of work last week to kick off the 3rd year of this tradition. It wasn't the best planning on my part considering we ran 24 mile on Sunday and I ran a race Wednesday night, but it beats working and it is always fun to see how far you can push yourself.  We wanted to run 22-24 miles and I really wanted to run the Salmon River Trail. Susan and I have run it a few times, but only a short ~7 miles to the canyon view point and back. There is a 15.7 mile loop that starts on the Salmon River Trail, and goes past the canyon view point up to Devil's Peak Lookout and Hunchback Mountain then back down Green Canyon Way to the Salmon River Trailhead. Luckily the Salmon River Trail continues beyond where you would normally turn for the 15.7 mile loop, so we c...

Arch Cape to Neahkahnie Mountain

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My family was due for a weekend in Manzanita. Coincidentally, Ann's husband, John, wanted to check on his land nearby. It was the perfect opportunity for a shorter run along the coast! Usually when I'm there I run a 10 mile out-and-back to Cape Falcon, but with an additional car we were able to do a much more satisfying point-to-point route. Hidden trailhead off E Shingle Mill Ln Suspension bridge across Arch Cape Creek The  Oregon Coast Trail  runs 382 miles along the entire state in a vast network of trails and beaches, and connects some of the shorter destination hikes I've done many times. While it sounds simple to just run a segment, you still have to piece together some parts, and it becomes complicated in popular parks like  Oswald West , where the many short trails can quickly leave you lost and wondering which is the official OCT (answer: unclear). A rough-skinned newt sharing the trail Roof shingles add a charming and non-slip touch Arc...