2011 has been an awesome year of running for me, a few PRs, several goals accomplished and new distances obtained. I wish I had been better about blogging about things along the way and recapping races. I know that several weeks before a race I am always searching the Internet for race reports and I savoring every word I read. In 2012 I will be better about recapping my races.
2011 Running Milestones
Disney Princess Half Marathon
February 27 - 2:08:52
This was my annual half marathon with my dad. My step sister, step mom and sister-in-law also joined us. We had to get up at 3am for this race and I swore I would never do this again, I think the rest of the family did as well. It was difficult running in the Florida heat coming from the cold rain and snow in Oregon, but it was a lot of run running through Disney with all the other "Princesses".
For the Love of Dove 5k
June 12 - 0:24:27 PR
This race benefited Dove Lewis a local non-profit animal hospital, which I got to run with my favorite 4 legged running partner, Oscar. I normally don't want to pay to run a 5k, but I couldn't resist a chance to run a race with Oscar. Oscar is an ex-sled dog, I am sure that helped with the PR and accomplishing my goal of running a 5k in less than 25 minutes.
Reeds Lake 5k and 10k
June 25 - 0:26:09 and 0:56:11
A local race in Grand Rapids, MI I ran this summer with my dad and Gretchen while visiting. It was nice that the 5k and 10k were back to back, so I was able to run both of them. The 5k was first and I ran it a little bit slower than I normally would of since the 10k was after.
Hood to Coast Team "Honey Buckets and Buckettes"
August 26 - 27 - 32:10:41
Hood to Coast has to be one of the most insane and fun things you can do as a runner. I had a lot of fun doing this with Susan, my dad and Chris W.
Hood to Coast explained
Columbia Gorge Half Marathon
October 23 - 1:55:04 PR
Susan and I have run this race for the last 3 years. This year they changed the route, which avoided the huge hill at the beginning, we were actually a little disappointed by this since we were training for the insanely hilly Lithia Loop Marathon. Moving the start meant they had to bus everyone to the beginning, which ended up causing the race to start 30 minutes late. Luckily the weather was unseasonably warm and sunny. Eliminating the hill at the start added a new hill in the middle of the race which we did not anticipate. I could of sworn this slowed us down a lot, but somehow we ended up PRing - 1:55:04.
Lithia Loop Trail Marathon November 5
5:10:08 - Goal Obtained: first trail marathon
Not my fastest race, but it is a close tie with Hood to Coast as the craziest and most fun. In the first 8 miles we gained almost 5000 feet of elevation. It snowed on us for 22 miles and there was already several inches of snow on the ground, which made for an interesting running experience. There were times when I could barely feel my lips or nose. The volunteers at the aid stations were awesome, every time we approached they asked what we wanted and made sure we refilled out water bottles. This was the first race where I had Sprite at an aid station, I could not get enough of it, and I never drink soda. The course itself was amazingly beautiful, once again it reiterated my love of trail running. I will probably do this race again in the future.
Birthday Run "Girls Gone Wildwood"
Ran all of the Wildwood trail 30.25 miles - November 27 - New distance
A few months ago during one of our long runs, Susan and I had the brilliant idea of running the whole Wildwood trail for our birthdays. I am blaming this insane idea on our "runner's high". We accomplished our goal. The Wildwood trail is 30.25 miles long we added on a little extra getting to one of our DIY aid stations, we probably ended up doing ~31miles/50km. It was difficult, cold, wet, muddy but effing awesome! Susan is the best running partner.
Our family hiking trip this year was to the Dolomites, more specifically Alta Via 1. John and I have done several hut to hut hiking trips in the Alps and planned them all ourselves, we never had any problems. As I started to plan our trip to the Dolomites, it became clear to me that it might be easier if we used a local company to help us book our accommodations and transportation. That way when questions came up from family members there was someone we could ask. Also letting the ultrarunner of the group plan the daily hiking itinerary probably isn't the best idea.
I ended up contacting Dolomite Mountains, I sent them my itinerary, the places I had already booked and a few other specifications and Monica created an agenda pretty similar to the one I already had in mind. As much as I like to plan things myself, it was nice to have someone local and not feel responsible for 5 other people's vacation. Plus if they thought the hike was too hard they couldn't blame me.
My husband John, Cedar and I recently spent a week in Boulder working, running, and snowboarding/skiing. We decided to drive our Sprinter from Portland to Boulder to see what all the hype was about. Since we were working while we were in Boulder we had to limit our exploring time to before and after work and the weekends on the drive to and from Boulder. So our days were broken down into 3 areas: working, activities and eating & drinking.
Working: The company I work for has an office in Boulder with free food. John and I would work from the Airbnb in the morning and head over to the office around lunch for free food and to work the rest of the afternoon. We did find a place called The Rayback Collective that had a great indoor area for co-working, it also had an amazing beer garden with several food carts. We especially liked the Indian food cart, I wished I remembered the name, they had so many tasty bite size items for $1-$2.
Eating & Drinking: We went to several different bre…
I took the whole week off for spring break, which I spent in Austin, TX, with my family. But just before we left I realized that we'd be back Thursday evening, which left Friday free for a long run!
Ann checked on the Wilson River Trail, which we tried (and failed) to run last month due to the amount of snow blocking the trailhead and covering the hilly trail itself. All clear!
The Peterson Ridge Rumble is a classic laid back community trail race that takes place in Sisters, Oregon. Almost every trail runner we know has run it at least once, most people at least few times. The trails are at a low enough elevation that snow normally isn't an issue and you get amazing views of the central Cascades. It's a race that people hangout for hours after they cross the finish line cheering people on and catching up with friends. It is a great way to kick of the season.
Susan and I have ran the Peterson Ridge Rumble 40 mile race twice, but now that we a four legged trail runner as part of our pack we decided to include him. The 40 mile race does not allow dogs but the 20 mile does. I was so excited when I signed Cedar up for the race, I was equally as excited to run the shorter distance.
I had a work trip to San Francisco the week before the Rumble, but luckily there is a direct flight from SFO to Redmond/Bend. My husband and Cedar drove down in the van and pick…
I recently spent three days in New York City for work, where I did some research on the best routes around Manhattan and picked a different one each day. Of course, nothing ever goes exactly as planned, so each one had a few detours and unexpected changes. But none lacked for stunning scenery and a feeling of adventure.
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