Gateway Loop Trail

I think self-videos of someone running are silly but since I went to the trouble of taking my phone out on the trail and risked damaging it in this rugged country, I'm going to waste another blog entry here this week.

As it shows, running uphill even at this modest elevation of 2000 ft is an aerobically taxing experience. Cruising down the other side is a lot easier and much quieter.

Never did find out the name of the mountain this trail circumnavigates. The times I thought to ask a volunteer at the trailhead, they were either gone or already talking to someone.

Ran out on these tough trails three times during the trip and luckily didn't get hurt, although I had a few close calls when I nearly rolled an ankle but caught myself just in time.

I think it will be awhile before I post another running video. It's just not that interesting. But just the same, here is the last one from Scottsdale, Arizona:

The Horseshoe Trail

I'm a trail runner now, I know because I bought trail running shoes yesterday! To prove it I've put a video at the top of this weeks entry. That's me running on the Horseshoe Trail, which is a part of the Gateway Loop in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve outside Scottsdale. Last year I ran in this system of trails too, a little more to the south.

I knew the parking lot was a big one at the Gateway Trailhead. It's home to more than just parking, there is a new service building there too which the people there are quite proud of because of it's green innovations. Even the building itself is made of what could be called recycled material. Some walls were built from the dirt excavated from the building site.

There are always volunteers at McDowell trailheads to give the users, which have all levels of experience and ability, an idea of which trails are appropriate for them and those vols were busy because as Lynda and I pulled into the parking lot we saw something unexpected. The lot was completely full.

It wasn't long before a spot opened up and we headed toward the trails. Under the gathering area awning we found printed maps and one of those Plexiglas covered 3D relief maps. Since we didn't have a ton of time and we needed to get our trail feet under us, we decided to go for a short run along a flatter trail. Also the main trail was packed with the owners of the those cars out in the lot. I estimated from the relief map that the Horseshoe trail would give me most of the 3 miles I was after if I did an up and back.

The night before I had stopped at Sports Authority and bought a pair of trail shoes. I choose another pair of Nike's, a pair of Air Alvord VII. Hey, they have stoneguard technology!! Whatever that is. So I was anxious to see how they handled. BTW, I am so sorry to the Nike workers in Indonesia who work in slave like conditions for nearly no pay. I really am.

Down the Horseshoe trail I started, which begins close to the parking lot and away from the main trail. It started out gently and then headed for the hills. In the course of a just a mile I nearly rolled my ankles twice. Not the shoes fault but it scared the hell out of me. This area is much more rugged than the Dog Wash trail I ran on last year. Every step is loaded with rocks to negotiate and I had to pay attention the entire time.

Eventually I got to a section of more popular trail and had to share the it several times with hikers and few other runners. The trail is so narrow that I came to a walk while we passed each other. I kept thinking about the brochure I read earlier about the trail and how it was so negative about trail runners, saying they are generally rude and only being worried about their run time.

I got to the 1 and a half mile point on my watch and stopped for a moment before heading back down the same route. I made it back to the Trailhead Building before Lynda so I got a sip of water and waited for her while sitting on a bench in the shade. It was just a short run. But I do own the shoes now so... I must be a trail runner.

The Cook Park Route

Just the other day Alice at work asked me if I had any favorite 20 mile running routes that I could recommend. Now there's a question that you don't get every day. And for her that's a question that you really can ask of only a tiny number of people that you see in your every day life.

She started working in our office a few months ago and it wasn't long after that I over heard her talking to someone about a run she had been on. Not really having said anything to her before, I now had an icebreaker to get to know the new person. "So I heard you say that you run sometimes..." I says. "Oh more than sometimes" says Alice, "it's what I do--when I'm not here at work". Good answer!

I found out that she qualified for Boston for the first time this year too, but because her qualifier was Portland, which occurred before Boston stopped taking new entrants in mid-November, she actually gets to reap the rewards and run next month. Being at the peak of her training cycle, the question about a favorite 20 mile route made some sense. Runners keeps a mental recipe file of routes that we like and choose from them depending on our needs for a certain workout. When I want a mid-length route thats nice and flat and I can start from home, I run to Cook Park and back.

I've been using this route almost every week during the winter, usually as my Sunday long run. On Fridays I've been running Brookman, which I have already written about in this blog, because of it's series on undulating hills and for that feeling of being further out in the country than I actually am. On Saturdays I've been hitting the track. But on Sundays I just want to put in some long slow miles on a level route that is safe from traffic and has a destination as a turn around point. Cook Park.

Now if I leave from my front door and make the out and back, it's almost exactly a half-marathon: 13 miles. But most of the time I'm too lazy to put in those extra three miles and because I live at the top of a hill, I have to finish those miles with a steep climb. Since I'm not training for anything, I usually opt out of the longer harder option and drive down to the bottom of the hill making the route flat and an even 10 miles.

I park at my dentists office, he doesn't know or care because it's Sunday, and head out usually listening to Fdip and sipping on some Gatorade. The first mile is really noisy as I run down Tualatin-Sherwood Rd to 124th. That's how we name a lot of our roads around here. They just get the name of the two towns that the road connects. Go figure. Anyway, once I start north on 124th the rest of the run is pretty quiet as I navigate thru open warehouse and big office building areas surrounded by lots green space. Last week as I was going along one of these roads I startled a Great Gray Heron who took off right next to me and coasted to a landing a short ways away. It was cool.

After a few miles I get into what is left of the historic area of Tualatin. Of course it's hard to tell because they really have done nothing to preserve any of the old part of town. It's a town that's very unique in that it has no core area where it began. It's all gone. But I run thru the area where it used to be which includes a skate park, ball field and boat launch. I head north along the Tualatin River sometimes taking the old trail thru the woods and other times the new paved walkway. It depends on weather and how much light there is.

Pretty soon both trails converge and then rise slightly to cross the river using the new Ki-a-kuts bike and pedestrian bridge. The bridge is named in honor of the last Chief of the Atfalati (pronounced AT-FALL-i-TEE) indians who lived in this area before we got here and "improved" it. The indian tribe name is actually the source for the name of the town. Atfalati became "Twality" which became Tualatin. Again, go figure. But I like the new bridge. Just bikes and people walking their dogs. Lots and lots of people walking their dogs.

On the far side of the bridge is a turn in the path that leads to Cook Park, which is just a few minutes away-when you run as fast as I do. I run along the other side of the river now, go thru a little area that is supposed to be a butterfly garden and then hit the parking lot to the park. From here I usually run deeper into the park just to get to the proper halfway point according to the Garmin and then make the about face. There are restrooms here which I usually visit. Ya know, I was sipping on that Gatorade.

I gave Alice a short list of some of my 20 mile routes. Honestly I don't have that many and the ones I do have, most everyone else uses too-Forest Park, two laps around the Waterfront Park/Esplanade/Sellwood loop. I mentioned Champoeg which I used several times when I was doing the big numbers last fall, but she didn't seem that interested. Running routes are like that I guess. They're kinda personal.

Here's a video I took with my phone last time I ran across the Ki-a-kuts Bridge:

Froggie Went a Courtin

Spring comes early to my house this year

It's the first of March and I've already mowed the lawn a few times. Except for a one time fling with some un-forecasted snow one afternoon back in December, this winter has been amazingly warm and dry here in Pacific NW.

Most years it's the crocus and daffodil's poking their heads out that catches my attention and gives me the first clue that we're returning toward the light. But this year it was the tree frogs with their chorus of kreck-ek, kreck-ek. Yah, just as soon as it stays warm enough at night the males break out into song to attract that special...uh...mate. One of them will start, and then not to be out done, or out romanced, soon the entire pond is... umm...krecking. And I say good for them.

http://www.uoregon.edu/~titus/herp/chorus.wav