First double header weekend complete!

After Saturday's 6k run (Event 2 in my 50@50 Project), we were feeling confident as we drove about an hour south toward Salem for Event #3, the 5k Zena Road Run.  Bex! and I were both a little sore, each in our own trouble areas.  For me, it's my hips, especially the right one.  That bugger is a constant reminder that I can never stretch enough.  It feels okay once I get moving and warmed up, but until that time it... it... well, it just aches.  It's hard to describe - the ache is more nuisance than anything, just a constant uncomfortable feeling.  Anyhoo...

It seemed a little warmer than Saturday and it was overcast, not foggy like the previous morning.  We drove through the little town of Lincoln, OR [never knew such a place existed] and out to the Spring Valley Community Center.  Neat old building, looks like it was a church back in the day.  We parked roadside about 1/2 mile from the 'church' and walked along the shoulder to the check in area.  As you'll see in the video intro, I felt like one of the elite runners because I had bib number 9.  The low digits are typically reserved for the pros.  Umm, yeah.  I am fairly sure that, in this case, it just means I was the ninth person to register.

We strolled back to the car, taking note of all the hills.  A pre-race check of the course elevation showed us that we had about a half mile from the start before we would hit a nasty little riser, approximately 300' over a half mile.  Not horrible, but this early in the season and having run the day prior - and having a general disdain for hills - this was a little spooky.

We stretched with the other several hundred participants, listened to a very nice rendition of the national anthem performed by one of the runners [with everyone else singing backup] and then we were off! 

The first half mile was nice - rolling hills, gradual down hill.  Then we hit the uphill!  Cue ominous music.  Actually, it wasn't that bad.  I will say that I walked a little, mostly due to coughing up some phlegm.  Sick for a week prior, remember?  So, yeah, I walked a little to catch my breath.

Once we hit the top, at the one mile mark, it was a nice cruise out to the turn around point.  Lickety split, we were back at the finish in a respectable 36+ minutes.  Felt pretty good with the time considering:  second race in two days; sick!; hills; early in the year.

We hung around for a bit, enjoying the accomplishments of the weekend.  We had some cocoa and snacks.  Ooh, that reminds me - big shout out to Betty Lou's Bakery - local maker of gluten-free snack bars and they are really tasty - www.bettylousinc.com !  We walked back to the car, taking a few minutes to listen to some squawking from chickens, geese and ducks roaming in a locals yard, then hit the road.  FYI - the geese were very excitable and noisy, better than any watchdog, I'd say.

Since we were south of Portland near wine country, we decided to take advantage of this so we hit a couple of our favorite wineries on the way home.  Winter's Hill was the site of one of our first dates and we really enjoy their wines.  We walked out with 6 bottles - a 2011 Pinot Gris, a 2006 Pinot Noir [mmmmm...] and 4 bottles of the 2009 Pinot Noir.  Then we hit Argyle, where our server poured us extra samples - this earned her a couple of 22 oz. bottles of Redhook Double Black Stout.  We purchased some bubbles - a 2002 Extended Tirage Brut, two bottles of of their delicious Brut Rose`; we also picked up a bottle of 2010 reserve Pinot Noir and a magnum of big, bold, sassy 2003 Nuthouse Pinot Noir.
A good haul, indeed!

We arrived home about 2, made a couple of trips up and down to the car to bring our bounty inside, then showered and made nachos and micheladas for the Super Bowl.
The game didn't go the way we wanted, but all in all it was a very successful weekend!

We will be sure to stretch this week as well as get 2-3 runs in.  Yoga, too.  Next weekend is another double header:  Saturday is the Portland Polar Plunge, a fundraiser for Oregon Special Olympics; Sunday brings the first bike event of the 50@50 Project, the 18 mile Worst Day of the Year Ride.

Thanks for following along!