Girls Gone Wildwood

See that tiny rainbow, and where it ends? Ann & I have run the Columbia Gorge half marathon since its start in 2009. Every year there's terrible weather up til the start (and sometimes for the first few miles). But every year it clears up and we thank our lucky stars for the beauty of the course and the fun of running fast (for us) through the colorful, autumnal landscape. More rainbows and autumn color In 2011 we finally dropped under two hours, and every year since we've improved by a little bit. This year I wasn't sure if we would be any faster. Although we had been doing a speed workout once a week for months, we stopped after our race at the beginning of September and haven't been back since. And I forgot my watch to time our splits. Our friend Sally joined us-- her first-ever race! She was nervous, but when she runs with us on the trails she often pushes the pace. My dad also came out for the race (his fourth time, I think) from the east coast, w...

I spent the weekend in Baltimore for a wedding and stayed at my brother's house. On Sunday, the day after the wedding, he took my on a run from his place along most of the course for the Baltimore Half Marathon , which he ran this weekend. Ted bombing downhill For the past few years, my brother and dad have run both the Baltimore Half and then the Columbia Gorge Half , two weeks later. They always tell me that Baltimore is harder and hillier-- despite the fact that Columbia Gorge has  2,350  ft of elevation gain, and Baltimore has  312 (according to someone's MapMyRun info) . Don't stop for the next six blocks After running the route, I can see why. Although the course map would make it look much easier, it feels awfully difficult. Part of that is the setting-- Columbia Gorge is in a beautiful, scenic area with fresh, piney air and mountain views. Baltimore goes through some of the worst neighborhoods in the city, dodging trash and drug deals. And the air was ...