Long Time No Blog
August has gone by in a flurry of activity and we're half-way through September... whao can someone stop the clock abit here?
A couple of my weekends could be blogs onto themselves and had I actually gotten my ASS in gear they would have been. So I've at least written about one.
Hood to Coast Race in Oregon. Once again 12 of us runners got together, took a few days off, coughed up some cash, begged for some sponsor money and headed to the states for a 200mile running race. After 3yrs running in California we headed back to the Oregon for the biggest race of this kind, the Hood to Coast. This would our third time in this race. 1000 teams all with 12 runners converged on Mt Hood to run the 200miles (well 198 actually) to end up at Seaside. Our one lament (and a big one) was leaving the California race and the day of wine tasting we had always worked into our schedule. Oregon in many ways is a funner and more well organized race just given the sheer volumne of runners attending. But not to overlook that after 20yrs of experience, the organizers run this race like a well oiled machine. The afterparty alone on the beach is worth entering a team in. But there is no Sonoma, no Napa. However Lise, Yup me, the one and only had this thunderboldt of inspriration... didn't Oregon have wine too? A few searches on the internet and there was the splendor of Oregon wine in all its Pinot Noir splendor. Goodbye Napa and hello Willamet Valley!
I propositioned to the group (because they'll take any proposition they can get, none of us are getting any younger) that we could now wine taste in Oregon too. A collective cheer arose and our excitment of going back to the Oregon race increased exponentially.
Oh but ya that little detail about running 200miles (OK 198) Each runner has to run 3 legs over the course of the race which took us just over 24hrs. We each had an overall distance of about 25 - 30km. Most of us could run the distances off the couch since we're habitual long-term runners so we did fine. In fact even some of our slightly injured runners ran faster than the average times and we came in the top 20%. Not bad considering almost half of our runners are now over 50yrs old. Just for the record I was the slowest member of the team but hey, I did organize the wine touring part of our adventure so I demonstrated my value.
Great fun was had by all, which is no surprise. Most of us have been running together for over 10yrs. We may not see each other much over the course of the year or maybe we run a couple times a week with each other. I think about the conversations I've had with the running buddies on the trails, the times when some of us have dealt with illnesses, injuries, marriages ending, new chapters being opened in our lives. The interesting conversations that are started when you've been up for 24hrs and your sitting beside your buddy in a cramped van. Friendships that are forged during shared activities and have the opportunity to deepen over the years are highly valued in my books.
It was a great time for sure and though most of us came home limping from punishing our bodies, I know that most of us will be back next year.
hmm best to end this blog and start a new one! More adventures to come
A couple of my weekends could be blogs onto themselves and had I actually gotten my ASS in gear they would have been. So I've at least written about one.
Hood to Coast Race in Oregon. Once again 12 of us runners got together, took a few days off, coughed up some cash, begged for some sponsor money and headed to the states for a 200mile running race. After 3yrs running in California we headed back to the Oregon for the biggest race of this kind, the Hood to Coast. This would our third time in this race. 1000 teams all with 12 runners converged on Mt Hood to run the 200miles (well 198 actually) to end up at Seaside. Our one lament (and a big one) was leaving the California race and the day of wine tasting we had always worked into our schedule. Oregon in many ways is a funner and more well organized race just given the sheer volumne of runners attending. But not to overlook that after 20yrs of experience, the organizers run this race like a well oiled machine. The afterparty alone on the beach is worth entering a team in. But there is no Sonoma, no Napa. However Lise, Yup me, the one and only had this thunderboldt of inspriration... didn't Oregon have wine too? A few searches on the internet and there was the splendor of Oregon wine in all its Pinot Noir splendor. Goodbye Napa and hello Willamet Valley!
I propositioned to the group (because they'll take any proposition they can get, none of us are getting any younger) that we could now wine taste in Oregon too. A collective cheer arose and our excitment of going back to the Oregon race increased exponentially.
Oh but ya that little detail about running 200miles (OK 198) Each runner has to run 3 legs over the course of the race which took us just over 24hrs. We each had an overall distance of about 25 - 30km. Most of us could run the distances off the couch since we're habitual long-term runners so we did fine. In fact even some of our slightly injured runners ran faster than the average times and we came in the top 20%. Not bad considering almost half of our runners are now over 50yrs old. Just for the record I was the slowest member of the team but hey, I did organize the wine touring part of our adventure so I demonstrated my value.
Great fun was had by all, which is no surprise. Most of us have been running together for over 10yrs. We may not see each other much over the course of the year or maybe we run a couple times a week with each other. I think about the conversations I've had with the running buddies on the trails, the times when some of us have dealt with illnesses, injuries, marriages ending, new chapters being opened in our lives. The interesting conversations that are started when you've been up for 24hrs and your sitting beside your buddy in a cramped van. Friendships that are forged during shared activities and have the opportunity to deepen over the years are highly valued in my books.
It was a great time for sure and though most of us came home limping from punishing our bodies, I know that most of us will be back next year.
hmm best to end this blog and start a new one! More adventures to come
posted by Lise B at Saturday, September 15, 2007
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