Portland - a quick getaway

Some adventures/delights from my brief stay in PDX

Book paradise (aka Powell's books)

Hoyt Arboretum run- (quintessential PNW foliage/forest)

MAX (easy public transportation via TriMet)

Roses

Coffee/ice cream (Stumptown + Ruby Jewel) 

Cutest darn ice cream shop! Honey lavender was heavenly!

Other places I visited:
FitRight NW - local running store
The Farm Cafe - a foodie experience. The "Farmhouse Veggie Burger" was lifechanging
Ringlers Pub - a McMenimans eatery. Try the Jamaica Bowl with tofu! Delicious!

Distance Dabbling

May was supposed to be all about Mediation for me, according to my 12 resolutions. It’s been hard. Between upheaval in my personal life, the end of classes for the summer, and traveling, I did not always set aside the time. Bad excuse, of course. A busy month means I need it more ever. I will continue trying into June in hopes of having a little more success!

In my travel adventures, I had the opportunity to race a road mile in Savannah, Ga with my fellow Oiselle teammate, Allie.

This place knows a thing or two about parks

Racing a mile was a totally foreign concept to me, and I didn’t have any idea how to race it. But the idea piqued my interest because it's a nice bench-mark distance, AND the pain-place could only last for 4 minutes tops…much shorter than the pain of a 5k!

We're smiling, but we're terrified!

Race plan: Go out conservatively for the first quarter (did I mention they had clocks every quarter?!). Pick it up in the second quarter to run a solid 800m but not a crazy one. Play the road kill game and try to accelerate for a strong last quarter. 

 

The beauty of this race was the straight, (mostly) flat, course. We could see the finish line while standing on the start line. Perfection.

The race itself was somewhat entertaining. Several folks ran a smokin' 400m and then appeared to be running through jello during the remainder of the mile.  Some men looked somewhat irked as I passed them in the final 400m. Sorry fellas, you just got bird-dropped! 

Allie and I took 2^nd and 3^rd, respectively, each bringing home a hefty metal “1” for our age-groups (no overall awards). 

Attention: trophy can be used as a weapon in emergencies

Then, we got to spend the rest of the day/weekend soaking up the beauty of Savannah. What a magical place! Definitely worth a visit.

Climate Change

With my recent cross country road trip, I got the privilege of experiencing the climates in the rest of the country. Seattle was usually between 50-60 degrees during my morning run.  The rest of the country does not have that kind of luxury…but I kind of like that! Here’s what I experienced:

Idaho:  HOT, dry run in the afternoon along a lakeside bike path. No one else was silly enough to be running at that time of day; I only saw cyclists braving the intense sun.  Coeur D’Alene Lake looked enormously enticing, so much so that a dip was necessary post-run. The water was the perfect temperature; cool but not cold. I didn’t want to leave! 

The lake that I dipped in

Wyoming: Hello altitude! 4500 feet + heat made for a very challenging run indeed.  There were limited running paths, but I found some sidewalks. This place made me feel lucky that I had a trail like the Burke-Gilman so close by in Seattle!

 

Beautiful vistas in that part of the country

Iowa: Another lovely lake side bike path in Sioux City! And more Heat!  In Iowa, the humidity started building up, and I couldn’t bring myself to keep my shirt on for the whole run. I could feel my body struggling to regulate my temperature/sweat output. Your sweat becomes less salty in humid weather to maintain electrolyte levels, and I think my body was trying to figure that out without totally bonking in the process. 

 Chicago area: More trails! This trail that I found was wooded and shady, which was a much appreciated change from the past few days. Lots of other folks were out and about and it was another great sunny day (As it turns out, the sun shines pretty consistently in the rest of the country during the months considered ‘summer’). I did have one serious mishap on this run. As I was running, and minding my own business I might add, a chipmunk ran out right in front of me…and I kicked it on accident! I had no time to change my gait to avoid it! I KICKED A CHIPMUNK PEOPLE!!! I said out loud, “Sorry little guy” and proceeded to feel really bad the rest of the run despite the fact that he ran off without too much damage.

Chicago proper:  My first race in hot + humid weather AND my first showerpill experience.  The Terrapin 5k was an evening race along the Chicago water front with great views of downtown and the lake. I slept in the car on way to the race, so I knew I was in for a screaming PR (not!). After ‘warming’ up, which should really be called ‘pitting out your first shirt’, it was time to lace up the flats and try not to pass out during the race. Heeellloooo flat legs. Oh well. What did I expect after driving for 4 days straight? Got my rear across the finish line for 5^th female and proceeded to drip for another 20 minutes. Highlight of the race? Meeting Kim, another Oiselle athlete!!! So exciting! After the race I busted out the shower pill to make myself decent before dinner, and it worked wonders! I wouldn’t mind it being a little bit bigger, but overall it was a life saver! 

Oiselle meet up at the Terrapin 5k

 West Virginia: A bizarre run. The part of town I chose to run through consisted of boarded up buildings and totally deserted streets. There were hardly any cars out either. I couldn’t decide if I should be scared or not so I just ran quickly as a compromise. Finally around 8:30am people started driving around and coming out onto the streets. Some guy in overalls yelled at me, “Don’t you know you ain’t supposed to be runnin’ on a Saturday mornin’? Heh heh”.  I forced a smile. Yikes.

What West Virginia lacked in running they made up for in sunsets

North Carolina: Holy moly humidity. They seem to be on the 80%+ humidity plan and it hasn’t been cooler than 70 degrees since we’ve been here. I kinda love it! I’ve put my Oiselle clothes to the test and they’re performing beautifully! I have honestly never been this sweaty from running EVER in my life. My shins are sweating. My shirts are soaked. My eyebrows can’t hold back the sweat dripping from my forehead. It’s intense, but not bad! I love the sunny days and the general warmth.  Sitting outside in a tank top and shorts at 10pm is totally pleasant and nice. Alternatively, walking anywhere during the day typically requires a wardrobe change once you get home. The best part of North Crackalacka so far is the beautiful trails around the nearby lake.  Can you beat these views??

Running (away from home)

I recently returned home from a glorious trip to sunny Davis, CA, where I was visiting UC Davis for graduate school. It was a truly delightful place! THEY LOVE BIKES!

UC Davis campus: heaps of bikes everywhere

Something here isn't quite right...

Although biking is clearly the pride and joy of Davis, I needed to sample their selection of running routes to keep truckin' along through marathon training. Predictably, I had to follow a few bikes to find the good paths. As it turns out, Davis has miles and miles and miles of bike paths all through the town. Score.

During the long run I realized how small Davis really is. I began my run along campus, and within, oh, 3 miles, I was out of town. Wait. Really? I tromped along 'country roads' on the loop I had mapped on gmap pedometer. It looked as though I would be running on real roads the whole time. Ha. 5 miles into my loop I turned onto Vineyard lane. It was a dirt road that was clearly on someone's private property (signs confirmed this).  I hesitated, and then ran on. After many miles of gravel roads, fence-jumping, and 'no trespassing' signs, I made in back into pavement-land.  Although this run was a far cry from what my teammate Tita experienced on one of her runs, I was still a little nervous that someone would drive up and ask what the heck I was doing on their property. Armed with two GUs and hotel key, I didn't have much to show for myself.  Thankfully, I was unbothered and left to retreat into my mind for a couple hours, soaking up as much vitamin D as I could.

Overall, I give Davis a thumbs up! Good restaurants, lovely farmers market, great university, AND, just a few miles down the road outside Santa Rosa, you can find handmade gems like this:



Considered bringing this guy home...