July 4 - Happy 27th Anniversary!

What better thing to do on a 4th of July anniversary on the weekend than do a long dayhike? We drove to Elk Lake in the Cascades to start a big loop with an out-and-back in the middle. We climbed Battle Axe Mountain to where the fire lookout foundations are for lunch, then down to Twin Lakes and back to Elk Lake on the other side of Battle Axe Mountain.

I took hundred of pics, but blogspot is getting slower and slower putting them up, so here are just a few:

North Olympic Discovery Marathon - June 7, 2009

June 7 was the seventh annual North Olympic Discovery Marathon, that goes point-to-point from Sequim, WA to Port Angeles, WA. It is named for the North Olympic Discovery Trail system that is the second half of the race course, ending at Port Angeles at the city pier.

The Olympic Peninsula is the NW corner of Washington, where it’s rain forest on the ocean side, but Sequim is in a rain shadow. They get the overcast skies, but not nearly the crazy rainfall as on the ocean side. It’s still very, very green! And humid, but the marine kind of humid, not the hot and humid that inland sometimes gets. We got to Port Angeles late Saturday afternoon, in time for me to pick up my bib and goody bag at the hotel expo after we got checked in. Turns out I’d reserved the last room available for the marathon. I opted for Red Lion, for all the hotels/motels up there are horribly expensive, and the Red Lion offered a late checkout for marathoners. But their late checkout was 2:00, and the marathon start was 9:00 – so I signed up as a marathon walker, to be able to finish and enjoy the late checkout.

We had a view of the Strait of San Juan de Fuco from our hotel window, and a view of where the finish would run right past the next day. We ate a quick supper, did some walking around the waterfront area, and went to bed.

Got up, got the running prep done, and Reggie drove me out to the start at Sequim. The walker requirement was that they gave us an early start, but we had to finish in 5.5 hours or more. This was a total fun run day for me! I chatted with several new friends before we started and along the way once we started. Since I train alone, races are social events!

The first 4 miles were a loop to the east of Sequim. The hike/bike trail was really easy for running, and the neighborhoods were all quiet in the morning.

Reggie met me at mile 4, which was the back side of the big park where we started. He got a pic of me by the mile 4 sign, and another runner who was waiting for a walker motioned for us to come and look. Way up in one of the big trees was a bald eagle – we could see it, but wow, what a blend with the leaves on the tree. So that was fun!

I was on the route past the start, and my phone rang. It was our friend, Tom, who’s soon-to-be father-in-law, David, was running the marathon. Sure enough I was just passing where they’d parked, so stopped to meet David (and Tom and Krysta, of course), then continued on my way. The next 9 miles were going through Sequim and neighborhoods on the northwest side.

It stayed gray out, but the wind wasn’t there, so we were glad it stayed gray. I was really hoping for some of the wonderful Olympic mountain views, but learned how rare those days really are! Much of the trail was shaded, but even in the open spots it didn’t seem to get too warm.

The aid stations were fun! The walker start didn’t get an aid station until about mile 7.x, where the “Run Your Buns Off” station was all ready to serve. I did my first Gu there, and got some pics.
Much of the trail is a rails-to-trails, and there were some great old trestle bridges. Reggie met me (and Lena and Brian, instant running friends, though we’ve never met before) at one of the bridges, then he drove back to Port Angeles so he and Tom and Krysta could get breakfast while Krysta’s dad and I were out running.

These Burma-shave style signs were in several places along the trail, all advertising the aid station past mile 23.
At the 13 mile aid station, we were greeted by wolves! The Sequim highschool mascot is the wolf. I got some pics with the big wolf and two wolf buddies, then ran through the wolf’s legs to the aid station. Also got a pic looking through the back end of that wolf, hmmm…
I was starting to catch up with the slower 1/2 marathon walkers. The first marathon runner passed me at the aid station after mile 16, escorted by two bicycles. He was FAST!

The aid stations had different themes. One was a restaurant, and they offered tables, chairs, pretzels, and drinks served on a tray. Of course I sat down for a photo op!

I recommend this marathon for fun, and for how beautiful the trail is, but I don’t think it’s a PR course. There is not much net elevation change, but the little squiggles on the elevation chart were longer and steeper than they appeared! But fantastic support for everyone from the few people way out on the trail, on the hills, cheering us on. The hill after mile 20 had these two drummers. You could hear the drum rhythms from a long way before and after!
The mile 23.6 aid station was “The Trail Volunteers” for the Olympic Discovery Trail. They had Burma-shave style signs in several places on the trail, all promising wonderful refreshment at their station near the end of the marathon and half. The best part about their aid station was coming into view of the Strait, and getting some marine breeze that felt really good about then.

Coming past mile 24, I greeted a ½ marathon walker, and it turned out to be my old friend, Ginger! I’ve known Ginger since we were in college together. She and her husband, Jim, were walking the ½ marathon, and staying with a retired engineering professor of ours who lives in Port Angeles now. You never know who’ll you’ll be seeing out on the trail… That section of trail was a rough, unpaved section, where there is still a lot of trail development needed! Not very scenic…

Then, just after mile 25, I passed David. He was not having a good day! He’d hoped to BQ, but the hills, hydration, fatigue from not sleeping well the night before – whatever – it was not happening yesterday. I don’t remember what part of the trail he passed me, it had to be after 17 miles, but he said mile 20 (and that was a nasty hill) got him!

And the finish was coming up! We passed the Red Lion hotel on the way to the finish, and Reggie and Tom and Krysta were before the finish line. I got a pic from Reggie, then went the rest of the way.

Beautiful Dog Mountain

Dog Mountain is on the Washington side of the Gorge, upriver from Stevenson. It's a steep and hard hike, with several flatter and shaded areas. And the flowers were fantastic!

Flying Pig Marathon 2009, part 2

There were so many, many people this year, that I actually started on the sidewalk. We could almost hear the national anthem, and the canon start was a big boom! Those of us on the sidewalk merged into the people flow, and it took me almost 8 minutes to cross the start line!

The marathon was fantastic! The rain held off, and got warmer, and I was noticing the humidity. I know there’s more rain in OR, and that makes humidity, but it isn’t usually that warm and wet in the air. I ran the first part into Kentucky and back to Ohio, then ran/walked 4/1s, then at mile 18, I chose to just power walk and easy running sometimes. I have another marathon scheduled for 4 weeks from Flying Pig, and I didn’t want to overdo it with the humidity, and wanted to have a fun rest-of-the-trip! The medical and course staff were very good about checking on walkers and us back-of-the-packers. We had heard several sirens out there, and each time hoped it wasn’t a runner in trouble!
I carried my camera, and got lots and lots of pics! I met the King and Queen, I met Elvis (he was a lot younger last year), I met the Carrot that led the kids’ race yesterday, I got lots of pics of neighborhoods and signs, and crossing the finish line I got a pic, too. The announcer even noticed!
I got my pic taken by as many pigs as I could fine, both on the course and after the finish line.

After the race, I met up with Tonya, and we both got cleaned up and showered, then went to Luis’ house to meet everyone for the post-race party. It was so fun to meet up with Chris again, and meet her boyfriend. And finally to meet Jenny, one of my running inspirations! And the group pic – I still need some names for some of the people!

We slept really, really well Sunday night. Monday was a zoo day – Cincinnati has a great zoo! Tuesday Tonya got me to the airport at noon – and it was time for lunch then the flight to Salt Lake City, then Portland. And Oregon welcomed me home with real rain!

Oh, yeah, my chip finish time was just over 6 hours even. I’ll take it as a training run for the next marathon!

Flying Pig Marathon 2009, part 1

This was a full, fun weekend! I flew out of Portland early Thursday morning, getting to Cincinnati late afternoon. Gerry picked me up at the airport, and drove me to his and Tonya’s house. I got to meet KiKi, the new and really little kitten!

Friday we went to the Creation Museum in Kentucky. This is a beautiful historical museum, with a huge developing botanical garden and petting zoo and planetarium. We enjoyed it (and feeding Gomer, the camel) then drove back to OH to the marathon expo to pick up our bib numbers. We went to bed early that night, for we were going to meet up with computer pals and Tonya’s nephew, running the last marathon mile with his school friends, and it was going to be an early start to the day.

We got to the meeting place before the 10K start, but no one was there! So we watched the start, then walked over to the finish. We had time before Tonya’s nephew came. Watching the 10K finishers, across the street, I thought I saw Mike. I looked again, and sure enough, I recognized his boys from pics, and we called to him. First forumite we were able to meet. Tonya got a message from Luis that they’d overslept (no one doing the 10K as it turned out) and were on their way in for the 5K.

Meantime, Tonya’s nephew came for the kids’ run, and we got pics of him getting ready. There were SO MANY school kids running – great start for future long distance runners. He was so fast, that he had finished the 1.2 miles before we got to the finish line to see him!

Next, we met more friends for the 5K. Joanne was there, I’d been so looking forward to meeting her! And Doc SusanRachel, and the surprise runner, Xanthen! SusanRachel and Xanthen were walking the 5K with Joanne – very fun, and very special! We watched their start, and started toward the finish. Tonya got a call from her sister-in-law that her keys had ended up in her nephew’s goodie bag. So Tonya went off to pick up the keys, and I did a quick up and back on both sides of the bridge to get pics of the Ohio River.

Met up with Tonya again, and we went to cheer the 5K finishers. We went to the top of the hill just before the 3 mile mark, and clapped and cheered and whooped the runners. And we saw Joanne and SusanRachel and Xanthen coming in!

Joanne was ahead of about 150 more people! We stayed and cheered the very last ones – they all did great out there! Best of all, the forecasted rain held off, and it was a beautiful day!

We went to the expo again, looking around and looking for more friends. We called Penguin MaryD, and she’d just gotten to the hotel, so we walked over to meet her. I hadn’t seen Mary since Berlin 2004! We sat and talked, and soon Carol came. Carol had just finished the ½ marathon in Indiana, and had driven straight to the hotel. And was running the ½ marathon on Sunday at Flying Pig. J She got a shower, and we all talked, waiting to hear from Bill (Billiam), Terry (Tater), and Phil. They did call, and were looking for cheap parking, and circled the hotel several times before finally choosing to split the valet parking cost and get checked in. Very fun to meet them all! We went to the expo for everyone to pick up their numbers.

That evening, we all ate from the pasta buffet at the hotel, and really enjoyed getting to know more about each other. And Tonya’s friends, Scott and Mary, joined us, too. They were walking the ½ marathon in the morning with Tonya.

We got up really, really early Sunday morning. Ohio time is 3 hours ahead of Oregon time, so waking at 4:00 in the morning there was like 2:00 in the morning for me. And the race started at 6:30 Ohio time, so 3:30 in the morning for me! We all met at the D gate of the football stadium for starting pics, then we went towards the starting area.

It as raining before the race start – not really rain, just drips. I wore the Tyvek jacket, but not for long!

Time to go to part 2...

Shamrock 15K run, March 15, 2009

Wet and windy! So even though I carried the camera, I didn't take very many pictures. But even with all the rain and wind, they announced that over 20,000 had registered for the 4 events: 15K, 8K, 5K, and 3.5 mile fun walk.

I picked up a 5K-running friend, and the 5K started 35 minutes before the 15K. So I did some easy run/walking, just to stay warm, along the waterfront path. Tailwind going downriver, major headwind going up.

I got a pic looking towards the start, then pocketed the camera with the rain. You can see the 5K was finishing to the left of the start...

We did almost 2 miles downtown, then started past PSU and up, up, UP Terwilliger hill. This is where the runners went from chattering to silence and heavy breathing, and focusing on that hill. At the very, very top (and we could hear them as we got closer) was a bagpipe and drum band, huddled under a canopy.

I wore Rachel Davis' memory photo on my back, but she stayed covered by my jacket (and half the time, my poncho over that) will we got back to the parking garage. Nasty weather, but a very fun event!

More of the neighborhood...

A beautiful day for a long run - 30F to start, upper 40Fs when done. Mixed-up winds, but not too strong. Here are some pics from this morning...

First one is looking over the Chehalem Valley:

Next is a barn near the top of the ridge, then some pics of looking towards the coast range:

Several of the neighborhood horses were out in their pastures...

When we first moved to the neighborhood, we rented these two houses. First, the old farmhouse on the left, then the one on the right that was moved in when Murray Road in Beaverton was widened. And we liked the neighborhood so much, we bought our house, 1.5 miles away, driveway to driveway! There used to be a hazelnut orchard here, before the vineyard.

I got 'dusted' several times out on the gravel road!

I passed several hazelnut orchards burning prunings. And the wind was sometimes blowing smoke in my face, sometimes not, and not a consistent direction, either!

Looking into one of the hazelnut orchards...

New kids at the goat farm!

View of Bald Peak:

Spring flowers are starting, and the rams were having an alfalfa brunch!

The lambs were playing King of the Hill!

Continuing on...

Good run! Let it rain now...