Camping

We crammed in as much fun as we could these last few days. To top it off we went camping.

Put it up all by myself.

Hanging out by the waterfall...

Wings & Waves Waterpark

GO! It’s amazing and fun and totally worth it. Here’s their site for more information.

When you go to to Wings & Waves Waterpark, get there at 10am when they open. Grab a tube and walk quickly (DO NOT RUN) to the green tube ride. It’s the best.

Oregon Brewer’s Festival

On Thursday Andy and I attended the first day of the Oregon Brewers Festival. Each year they kick off the festival with a big parade through downtown Portland.

All the breweries in the region send their own group of representatives.

The 'monks' from Rogue

The 'Hammerheads' from McMennamins

Most of the brewery reps just wear shirts though.

There is a speech and then the official keg is tapped. All the attendees are welcome to sample the keg. Each year, Fred Eckhardt presides over the festival.

Fred Eckhardt and Aleta

We try all sorts of different kinds of beer and take funny photos.

Breakfast

Yesterday’s happy hour turned into a slow morning for us. We skipped dinner and opted for a liquid meal instead. So this morning, we are hungry. I thought Andy was making hashbrowns. It turns out he is making hashbrowns, pancakes, and something else. Yum.

Bread

The bread in Europe was fantastic. Seriously delicious. Andy and I both love chewy, dense bread with seeds and nuts galore. Although we live close to a bakery, Andy decided to make his own. And it was good.

Where Are We?

Last night I went to see the Avett Brothers at the LB Day Amphitheater in Salem, OR. I went to get a beer and was absolutely stunned. My choices were Pyramid and Coors Light. Where was the Deschutes? Where was the Widmer? Hopworks? Full Sail? Rogue? BridgePort? C’mon!!! You gotta be joking me? My two choices are out of state beers? I am in Salem, Oregon the capital of Oregon and these are my beer choices.

Shame on you LB Day Ampitheater. You should be offering native beer. Period. End of story.

I Would Be Thin If It Weren’t For Layer Cake

And beer, peanuts, and cheese. But look at this layer cake!!

I found it on ‘Fat Girl Trapped in a Skinny Body’. I haven’t decided if I’m going to make it or not. The twelve tablespoons of butter has me in a anxiety kind of way. I’m trying to whip my eating habits into shape after our European Beer Safari and making this delicious cake probably won’t help my efforts.

I’m been eating a lot of fruit lately. And I mean a lot. I know fruit is good for you and all but I may have crossed the line. It’s really hard to curb my overindulging. This is the time of year when pineapple, peaches, strawberries, etc. are all at their peak. I have a tiny freezer and don’t can – so eating 6 servings of delicious fruit a day seems like a good idea. I’m also eating a lot of veggies too. But I think the main idea here is that I’m just plain eating a lot. I read this question on The Active Artist blog – When Did Food Become More Important Than My Goals. But its true if you think about it. When do food (beer, work, tv, etc) become more important than your goals?

Freedom Half Marathon

The Freedom Marathon and Half Marathon was the second in a series of 3 Independence Holiday fun runs. The race director was a super nice guy Steve Walters who is one of the most inspiring runners I know. Steve currently hold 8 stars in Marathon Maniacs. He runs a lot of marathons usually at least one a weekend. One weekend he ran two marathons in one day. Not only is he a serious runner but he’s a very, very nice man. So when he announced he was the RD for this race series almost everyone I knew signed up for at least one of the races.

Originally I was planning on running the full marathon. Between work and vacation, I wasn’t able to dedicate as much time to training as I needed to. In Europe, I spent a fair amount of time stressing about the race which was one week after we came back. Running is my way to help deal with stress. So if I’m spending a lot of time stressing about running, that seems really stupid. So I decided to drop down to the half. I sent Steve an email while in Europe and he graciously allowed me to change my race.

After we got back from Europe, I felt a lack of motivation to train. I did run several times in the week before the half marathon but not with the passion I have in the past. To be honest, there are just other things that have my attention right now. I’m thinking about grilling, camping, hiking, and traveling now.

Saturday was overcast and slightly chilly – my favorite running environment. The race took place on the Spring Water Corridor – which I’ve spent numerous hours on running and biking. I hung out with Jodi and Gina before the race. Jodi was running the full and Gina was there supporting the runners. Esther also showed up. It was great hanging out with the ladies just chatting and catching up on the latest news.

Esther and I ran together for a few minutes and then we split off. The first 6 miles went great. I felt really good. My iPod freaked out and the battery was suddenly dead. But that was okay because the birds were chirping. I was closely monitoring my pace and was hitting about a 11:20 pace. That was definitely going to help me PR this half. Mile 7 and 8 were at a 11 mile pace which made me really happy. I was chasing a group of people that had a nice consistent pace.

Then after that I really started to feel the mileage. My glutes and hips started hurting. Part of me couldn’t believe it. In less than ten months I had run four marathons and a 50k and here I was hurting at mile 9?!! But the other (larger) part of me knew this was the result of my lack of training.

I felt like I really struggled after that. Each mile was a bit slower but finally I saw the marker for one more mile. I really tried to speed up but just didn’t have a lot in me. I wish I would have had someone running with me to help motivate but at the end of the day, you have to motivate yourself and not rely on others. I ended up PR the race with a finish of 2:24:20. I really think that with a few weeks of hard dedicated training, I could run a half in 2:15. My dream is to hit a 2 hour race. Time to get on my way so I can get some stuff done so I can run a short recovery run tonight.

Picnic Adventure

On Saturday, Andy and I purchased a small cooler (we have one but its HUGE) and loaded it up with a few goodies (cheese, beer, and potato salad) and headed up to the Mt. Hood area. We were looking for U-Pick berries but never found a good place. We stopped off at a day use area called Wildwood. It was remarkable. Right on the river with plenty of places in the shade to eat and relax.

Andy being funny.

Happy July

July is my favorite month out of the year. In Portland, OR we have a limited amount of nice weather. So in July we try to cram as many fun activities in as possible. This month we have two beer festivals, a concert, camping, volunteering at the Oregon Food Bank, half marathon, and a long trail run. We’ll probably go for a couple of bike rides and do some grilling. Oh July how I love thee.