Sunday, August 12, 2007

A Good Long Run

First, Rick and I both signed up for Portland today. Eric is undecided, for some reason he wants to get through CCC100 first, then decide. Second, I ordered one of these. This is the women's version of the light pack Eric uses. Currently, I have two waist packs with bottles. The first one I have to wear really tight to keep it from bouncing, and I have to spin it around to get to the pocket. The second one is newer and though I don't have to tighten it so much, and the pockets are in the front, it begins to slide around, always to my right, then my right arm hits the bottle. I really don't want a bladder/tube set-up, but I am tired of the waist packs and hand-helds. I think I'll use my new favorite, cola-flavored nuun, in the pack and figure out a way to carry along my soy milk. I'm thinking I can put it in a gel-flask - hopefully a 10 oz one.


We had a great 14 mile run this morning - with a stellar average pace of 12:16 and a total time of 2:49:29. I kept the timer going through a couple stops, plus I forgot to get it turned on ahead of time so 1/4 mile of the run was not recorded. Altogether, that means a good pace for us.

Rick picked me up at 5:30 and we headed down to Orting. We did a 3 mile out and back, then picked up Sharon (running) and Sonya (biking). We were heading to Puyallup via the trail. The next trail head is about three miles away - once there, we picked up Wendy. On our way to the next trail head we passed Eric heading toward Orting - Rick handed off his key. Our plan was for Eric to drive Rick's truck to coffee, where he had already left our car. Next we met George coming our way - Wendy handed her key to him so he could drive it to coffee. Once we hit the Meeker trail head, Sonya turned around to ride her bike back to the car. She met us at coffee, and on the way home took Sharon to her car. The run was a simple point-to-point, but all the different distances and cars made it complex. It worked out well though - the trail passes behind a big shopping complex - between it and the river. That's where we ended, and lucky for us, they build a brand-new Starbucks in the parking lot. Eric and George showed up with the cars and we all got to enjoy coffee together. Emily, George and baby Megan made it out for a short run too - then I got to hold Megan and receive many wet baby kisses during coffee.

Next Saturday we're shooting for 16 miles, but in a loop, so we won't have all the complicated car stuff. And speaking of cars, in case you didn't see it on Eric's blog, here's our new licence plate:

20 comments:

Sunshine said...

We 3 had a great time in the Portland Marathon 2 years ago. I was impressed with the volunteers and the well-stocked finish line!!
Wishing you a delightful race.

Mama said...

I noticed there were not any dead bugs on your new license plates. Either you are a fanatic license plate cleaner or you haven't been out enough. I'll check again after Cascade Crest.
I'm jazzed to teach tomorrow, since you reminded me of things I forgot or didn't even know.
Be Free,
Lorri

Meghan said...

You'll love the Intensity vest. Once you there, you'll never go back. I'm completely confident of that. A 10 oz gel flask will fit in beautifully as well.

Hope you're well!
Meghan

Jon said...

OMG, I knew that was your car in Puyallup when I was running errands in the area! Small world! *LOL*

JustRun said...

For what it's worth, I have a waist camelbak and once I got it right, I don't have to worry about it bouncing at all. You are far more ahead on the "gear" than me, though, so I am sure you'll figure something out!

Sweet plate!

wendy said...

It was a great run today, so again, thanks for letting me tag along.

That vest looks awesome, I can't wait to see it up close and personal.

Soooo, I was looking at the total time, at 2 hours and 30 minutes, for 14 miles, the overall pace I calculate is 10:45-ish... You guys must have blown thru the first part of the trail before you picked me up! Good job! And congrats on signing up for Portland - you're going to smoke the course this year!

tryathlete said...

Was "MANIACS" taken already?

Unknown said...

Sounds like a great run and it was nice of Eric and George to bring the cars back to the finish. I think you'll love the Nathan pack. I was looking at one of those at some of the running stores and was very temted to buy one, but I refrained.

Joe said...

Sounds like you guys earned a PhD in logistics just to make everything work out correctly for your run...what a hoot!!

Keep rolling!!

Ms Eva said...

Portland! Home of my first (and thus far only marathon). Very cool. I know you'll do great! I'd love to run it again someday but this year we're taking the kiddos to Disney that week.

Baby Kisses and Starbucks - a great combo! :)

Anonymous said...

I got confused with all the picking up and trading off. . . I don't know how you coordinated all that!

Good luck with your training for Portland. It sounds like you are right on track. Isn't it nice to have decided that you're doing it?

Olga said...

Way to ramp the long run back in!

Jenny, Maniac #401 said...

Sorry I missed out! Love the plates! Looks great on the Element.
Jenny

psbowe said...

Omg, I'm looking at the same nathan pack, but have yet to order it. Still trying to decided between that and handheld bottles..or both.

Way to go with the long run!

Journey to a Centum said...

I still think baby Megan was using you as a salt lick instead of kissing you. Man, I'm going to need to get out on the road if I want to keep up with your miles! I only got 60 miles in last week and I need to start my taper.

If you don't like the Nathan pack I'll use it. I'm tough enough to wear a hydration pack specifically designed for women. And no I won't be wearing any running skirts, they are reserved for those ultra running men from Oregon.

Ryan said...

Ramping up again after a well deserved rest...very nice! I've heard great comments about those Nathan packs, very comfortable also great product by Nathan is the 10oz gel flask belts. I can't wait to try the new cola Nuun..sounds good. Btw I like the new plate..very creative. Have a good one you NWRUNRS.

Adelyn said...

Great job on that run, though the logisitics would have made me a bit crazy, I think :P. Hope you enjoy the nathan! I got a similar one (the ud wink) and love having the vest style hydration pack. I've heard fabulous things about the nathan and almost got it myself.

Good luck on the 16 next week!

Scott McMurtrey said...

great run and you even got a great baby kiss award ceremony. :)

loving the new plates, too. portland is creeping up on me fast...

Dori said...

Let me know how you like your new pack. The one I have (not a Nathan) has all the pockets in the back, which makes it hard to get gels, so I added a little pocket to the front strap to hold my gels. It's bigger, too, storage-wise. I bought it for bike riding, but started to run with it. I thought about buying one more designed for women, but didn't want to spend the money. But I will, if you love yours.

Love your license plate! SD and I are looking to buy a truck, and I'm leaning towards either the Honda Ridgeline or the CR-V.

I just won a 26.2 window sticker for posting 250 comments on the OMM community board!

wendy said...

Michelle, when I math it out for the 14 mile run you guys did, a 12:16 pace would have taken 2 hours and 51 minutes....is that how long it took? I know from where you picked me up, I ran 12 m/m, but I think you guys were faster than that to start with. =) See, you are faster than you think!!!