50@50 Project - Event 50 - Wow!

Hard to believe this is over.  It's been one helluva ride, that's for sure.  It was an amazing year and I'll have more reflections later.  For now, let's stick to the script and write up Event 50.

The Moraviana Run is in its third year, so this event is a relative newbie.  As stated in the previous posts leading up to the race, the Ticos know what they're doing with this.  Registration and packet pickup was a breeze, so it was no surprise that we saw indications of a well-organized run as we rode in the taxi to Lincoln Plaza.  Volunteers, who have to get up earlier than the runners, were already in position at key intersections, traffic cones were in place, and police presence was thorough which is always comforting to see.  Yes, it was a good time to knock over a pulperia across town.

The race was to start at 7 AM so we had arranged for our new buddy, Alvaro, to pick us up at 6-ish.  As you recall, Alvaro was the driver who met us at the Tica Bus station when we got to San Jose.  Ladies and gentlemen, meet Alvaro:

Toward the end of the video, I jokingly motioned for him to keep his eyes on the road.  He responds by making a circular motion with his hand, indicating that the car would go off the road and roll several times, then he says "Adios!".  Hahaha!  Love this guy!

He dropped us at Lincoln Plaza, wished us luck and sped off.  It was a little chilly so we made our way into the mall to stay warm.  Nice that they open the mall so runners can use the restrooms, stretch, stay warm.  We went outside to see what was going on with race set up and people showing up, getting amped up with the loud music.  We looked up and noticed a special sign commemorating Event 50.  We both have loved ones who must have been letting us know how proud of us they were.

We left the relative comfort of the mall about ten minutes before the race and went out for some final stretching and race prep.  'Race prep' mostly consists of eyeing the competition, seeing which overweight old guys, soccer moms and kids under nine years old I think I can beat.  Looking around, I was confident I had a shot at not coming in last.

We walked to the far end of the mall, to gather with the other like-minded slower runners.  Leave the front of the pack for the speedy folks!  Seriously, nothing is worse than seeing a hardcore runner who is racing for money or a PR get held up by a slower racer who just wants to be at the front for no particular reason.  Respect, man.  Back in our area, they had a stage set up and there was a guy with one of those snazzy headset mics leading the crowd in a dance workout, maybe Zumba or a Billy Blanks bootcamp warm up.  I thought it was funny that they set this up at the end of the crowd closest to the people who would least likely be able to perform the workout.  Haha!

As the start time drew closer, the crowd started sliding forward.  Looking around, I noticed that I could truly look all around, 360 degrees, with no one blocking any part of my view.  I was the tallest guy here, by far.

As cloudy as it was, it never rained at all.  Truthfully, it was already warm enough that a little rain would have felt wonderful!  There were a few announcements - in Spanish, of course - explaining the route and a couple of turns to be aware of, and what to do if you were opting for the longer route.  Ha!  '…longer route'??  Event 50 was more like the last stage of the Tour de France - the one where they maybe have a sprint for final points but mostly the guys bike along the Champs-Élysées whilst drinking champagne and telling horrible Lance Armstrong jokes:

(Warning:  skip this joke if you're easily offended!)
Bradley Wiggins:  What's the difference between Lance Armstrong and Hitler?
Mark Cavendish:  I don't know.  What is the difference between Lance Armstrong and Hitler?
Bradley Wiggins:  At least Lance Armstrong can finish a race.
Mark Cavendish:  (begins whining about how poorly the punchline was delivered and how Wiggins cost him the stage win)

After the announcements, the emcee's voice got louder and people were cheering, and I could see heads moving up in the front.  The race had started!

Event 50 was underway!!

In most ways this race was like any of the other road races we'd done in the past.  There were a couple of differences to note.  Of course you always have to watch the road in front of you to look for tripping hazards, pot holes, curbs and such.  In a country where people steal manhole covers to sell as scrap, you have to watch out so you don't end up falling into a hole up to your thigh!  This neighborhood was pretty good and they had the course routed on streets that were in decent shape, so it was all good.  Still, we've learned that you don't walk and gaze around at the same time.  You keep your eyes ahead and if you want to look at something besides the ground in front of you, stop first.

The other difference was the water stations.  There were two on the course, staffed by wonderful volunteers who said encouraging things as we went by.  The way the water is served to runners is quite different:

Camera Crew will demonstrate the drinking technique later.  We made sure to thank volunteers at the turns and make sure they knew we appreciated them.  It's important, people.  In fact, if you ever want to be inspired, volunteer at a race.  Trust me, you'll leave wanting to sign up for an event yourself.

We cruised around the neighborhood, circumnavigating Colegio Saint Francis and made our way uphill back to the mall - and the finish line.  With two days to go before my birthday, Event 50 in the 50@50 Project was complete!!

To say that it felt surreal to complete this year-long challenge would be an understatement.  In fact, other than enjoying the usual post-race euphoria, I didn't know what to think.  We stretched a little, high-fived each other, hugged, smiled.  We stood in line to get our finishers medals,which are awesome!

Genuine Mayan gold

We ate fruit (big chunks of delicious watermelon and pineapple) and granola bars while cheering on finishers.  It's always fun to do this and even more entertaining when runners are wondering why two gringos are shouting them on.  Oh, and as promised, here is Camera Crew drinking from a water bag:

To top off the day, the celebration of Event 50 and the entire 50@50 Project, something incredibly cool happened.  A young man by the name of Nicholas approached and wanted to interview us about the race.  He was with a local daily newspaper called La Teja and wanted our opinion of the race.  He got our names and took several photos.  During the course of chatting with him, Camera Crew mentioned the 50@50 Project - explained the premise, what we had been doing for the past year and that this race was the final event.  We talked a little more, he thanked us and left.  We thought that was kinda cool, that maybe they might mention us in the paper - but then it got even better.

Nicholas came back to inform us that he had called his editors and they wanted to run a full story about us and the 50@50 Project!!  So he asked quite a few more questions and got some more pictures.  Could it get any more awesome than that?  Here we are, in a foreign country, we picked this race from several that were being held in time to complete the goal within the year and we end up getting interviewed and our story/picture gets in the paper!!!  We were in the print edition the next morning…

Autographs for 1.000 colones, effectivo ("cash").

…and you can check out the story online here.  The day after the race, we went downtown to find a print copy of the paper (seen in picture, above).  We weren't sure where to find newspapers.  Unlike the US, papers aren't usually sold in grocery stores or convenience stores.  So we went on the hunt for a good old-fashioned newsstand, which we'd seen on other excursions but couldn't quite remember where, exactly.  We came across an older guy sitting on some steps reading a copy of La Teja.  We stopped to ask where he had gotten it and he pointed us down the street a little ways.  I asked to see his copy, which he graciously handed to me.  I flipped through it and - lo and behold - found the article!  I showed it to him and he was so surprised that it was us, he gave us the paper!  We eventually found a newsstand and got the same big smile and wide eyes from the elderly woman who was selling papers, and we bought two more copies.  Pretty cool stuff.

That's it.  All done.  Fifty races in one year.  It was a very awesome birthday party.

And here is the last, final 50@50 Project event wrap video for your viewing pleasure:

After all the excitement of finishing the race, the project and the interview it was time to head home.  Because they had the streets around the mall closed down for the race, we had to walk up the road a bit, but as it goes in San Jose, it wasn't long before a cab came by and we were on our way back to Escazu.

More thoughts on the year later!!

Happy birthday to me!

Packet Pickup Day - Event 50!

Another race, another pre-race packet pickup.

Except this one was special.  This race was Event 50 in our little ol' project.  And this race was in a foreign country.  And packet pickup was across town in Moravia, a suburb of San Jose.  This meant more buses for us, which I'm happy to say we've pretty much mastered.  For the most part, anyway.

We were excited and nervous about the run, we were reminiscing about all the great races we participated in over the past year and had fun trying to list them all from memory.

Just like the day we registered for the Moraviana at the Brooks store in Heredia, we started by hopping the bus to downtown.  We walked from the main bus stop through downtown and to the Templo de la Música.  From there, the bus stops for the line that runs out to Moravia were a couple of blocks away.

We found what we thought was the right stop but we weren't sure and didn't want to screw up our very last packet pickup for our very last race, damn it.  So we made the on-the-fly decision to take a cab out to Moravia.  This was a great call - it only cost $6 (plus tipped 'em $2) and we were there before we knew it:  Lincoln Plaza.

Lincoln Plaza is a glitzy, huge US-style mall that just opened in November 2012, so it's brand spankin' new.  And, hell, there's a Starbucks (as seen in the video, above).  Lots of other stores just like you'd see at Lloyd Center or Clackamas Town Center back in Portland, OR, USA.

Funny story I found online about the mall:  One of the most popular and highly anticipated stores to occupy Lincoln Plaza is Forever 21.  People were crazy about it and couldn't wait for the doors to open.  The frenzy was made greater when word got out that the store was offering $100 gift cards to the first 300 people through the doors.  People camped outside the day before and over night, with eager shoppers vying for the opportunity to get one of those dang gift cards.  Thing was - there was no promotional gift card giveaway.  Can you say 'near riot' the next day?  Yep, things got a little ugly.  Good ol' consumerism in action.

The packet pickup was very well organized, as was the entire race.  We got our stuff, walked around the mall a little, ate at Ferroviario 1857 and caught  the bus in front of the mall back to downtown San Jose.  We walked through the central shopping district, which is simply awesome - about three blocks wide and 2 kilometers long, pedestrian only.  Everything a person could ever want, I'm telling you.

We made our way to the Ruta 9 bus stop and headed for home.  It was hard to believe the whole years' objective was coming to an end the next day.

What a year it had been. 

One.  More.  Race. 

Introducing Our Pumpkin - Kevinito

As you recall, after Event 49 - the Great Pumpkin Cross Country 5k - we broke the news to Kevin (of XDog Events) that we were moving away.  He responded the way any grown man would - he was sad, he wished us luck, and he made sure we wouldn't forget him.

He did this last thing by 'magically' drawing Camera Crew's name in a raffle drawing, a winning ticket that won her one free pumpkin from Heiser Farms.  This was just before Halloween, remember.  He announced two rules for this win:  we had to redeem the coupon; and we had to somehow take the damn thing with us.  We didn't want to upset Kevin so we redeemed her coupon and committed that, by golly, we were going to honor his request.

We made our way to the pumpkin stand, selected a squash (one that looked like it was up for an adventure in Central America and perhaps spoke a little Spanish) and then continued preparations for our journey.  The pumpkin just sat there, in our apartment, never once offering to help.

Fast forward to the morning of our departure.  Portland International Airport.  Saturday morning.  So early the sun hadn't even had its coffee yet.  Given all the TSA rules and regs nowadays you might think it would be difficult getting an entire pumpkin through security.  Not so.  In fact, no one even questioned the fact that we were bringing 'produce' or 'farm products' or 'food better than the airline would serve' on the flight.

Like any good smugglers, we thought if we personalized our contraband, things may go easier for us if we were caught.  That's what drug mules do, right?  No?  Hmmm...  So anyway, we named our pumpkin after the XDog man himself - we named him Kevinito.  Here is a video of us after boarding, in our seats and revealing that we brought a freakin' PUMPKIN on the plane!!  Haha!

Here is a pic of Kevinito snuggled away for the flight, all comfy and cozy demanding a damn gin and tonic NOW - and make it a double!! waiting patiently for the booze cart to come by:

He sang "I'm lea-ving on a jet plane" the WHOLE time

After the flight from Portland to Atlanta, then Atlanta to Managua, Nicaragua we took a cab from the airport to Granada and checked into our room for the night.  We settled in and enjoyed some of Nicaragua's finest cerveza - Toña.  The three of us slept well that night, believe me.

The pumpkin's ale... Not pumpkin ale... That would be wrong.

After a week of Spanish school and playing on the beach in San Juan del Sur, we headed for Isla de Ometepe.  It was here that we volunteered for six weeks and, sadly, eventually lost track of Kevinito.  We were very busy teaching and didn't have a lot of time to spend with him.  So, he entertained himself around the island - visiting petroglyphs and waterfalls; hanging out in the gardens; doing a little fishing; participating in a bocce ball tournament, in his own unique way; playing a little futbol with the kids.

It was during his free time adventures that Kevinito met a local chayote named Isabel from San Raon and fell in love.  A little weird because they are distantly related, both members of the cucurbitales order.  But so be it - you can't stop love.  Isabel is a wonderful gourd, by every standard, and has been very good for Kevinito.  We've watched him mature and become a man-kin right before our very eyes.

Of course, as these things often go, Kevinito didn't want to spend any time with us, even when we set aside time for him.  He was off with his new girlfriend.  We kept busy, trying to avoid what we knew was coming.

And when we left Ometepe, Kevinito decided to stay - to live with Isabel and maybe graft their seeds together to develop a new crop of their own.  We were heartbroken, of course.  But we expected this to happen at some point.  There were many tears shed when we parted ways, each wishing the other the best of luck.

Thanks for everything, Kevinito!  We will never forget you!

Even pumpkins need moments of quiet contemplation.

Registering for Event 50

If memory serves me, I believe we registered for Events One through Forty-nine in the 50@50 Project via the innerwebs.  Now, don't quote me on that (I'm old) but I'm pretty sure that's the case.  Oh, wait - there were 2-3 events we registered on the day of the race.  Online registration rocks.  You can commit to stupid stuff from the comfort and safety of your couch where, say, a 5k obstacle course mud run that's three months away sounds like a damn good time!

Since we are now living in Central America, currently in the San Jose area of Costa Rica, we needed to find a race prior to my 51st birthday on 21 January.  We needed to complete the Project within the one year goal we set.  After scouring the net for races down here, we found this run to do as Event 50.  As it turns out, the proceeds from this race go toward providing school supplies for children who can't afford them.  Kind of cool given our new line of work.

The race offered online registration but we thought we'd go to one of the sponsor stores to register in person.  We picked the Brooks store in the suburb of Heredia.  This was a 'two birds, one stone' decision - we needed to register and Heredia was one of the 'burbs we wanted to explore.

So... to the bus!!

Once we got to downtown San Jose, we had to make our way several blocks to the other bus stop that runs the San Jose-Heredia line.  Although we can get around pretty well now, we still haven't quite figured out which bus companies cover which areas in which directions.  But that would never stop us!

We made it to Heredia and wandered around a bit.  We had lunch at a Chinese restaurant, because it sounded good.  And it was.  Camera Crew had a fried rice dish and I had woba de pollo, which is... I still don't know exactly - but it was very tasty.

We walked through the parque central, which was filled with people enjoying all sorts of activities.  We visited the Iglesia de Immaculada Concepción, which was built in 1797 and is still used today.  Gorgeous on the inside!  We saw El Fortin, which is the last remaining guard tower left from a fortress from 1867.  And, finally, we walked across town to the mall where the Brooks store was located.

And we done got ourselves registered for EVENT 50!!!!

In the video, the store manager saw us filming and walked over to ask if he could help - you'll see us nod to him.  

I have mixed emotions about finishing this whole thing.  When I first proposed this crazy scheme to my wife, she didn't think it was even possible.  I had resigned myself to the fact that she was right.  Then she looked at race calendars and started planning out a strategy which, as it turned out, had us way ahead of schedule most of the year.  This year has been a huge accomplishment, for me personally and for us.

It was an emotional year, full of all kinds of life changes - some expected, some not.  But we got it done.  And after Event 50 (tomorrow) I'll recap the race, write it up like always.  Then I'll post some facts and figures from the year.  And I'll wrap it all up with my reflections on the year - highs, lows, memorable moments, etc.

To think that it's all coming to a close is emotional in itself!

More later! 

What 49 Events Looks Like

I shot this short video while packing for our move to Central America.  After each race in the 50@50 Project, we hung our bib numbers on a string down the hallway of our apartment.  Over the year, we watched as the line of numbers got longer and longer.  It was encouraging and inspiring for us!

It was a little sad to pack it all up, such a huge accomplishment relegated to a box in a storage shed.  I think when we get back, I'll re-string the hallway of our new place.  Yeah!

What's that, sweetie?  'No way in hell'.  Hmmmm...

50@50 Project - Event 49 - XDog's Great Pumpkin Cross Country Run - Intro and Wrap

Combining the intro and wrap videos for your viewing convenience!

The intro...

... and the wrap!  This one was interesting because I could barely fit my head into the opening so talking was difficult.  And toward the end, a kindhearted person offered to hold the camera for us - you hear us tell her 'thanks, no'.  Good times!

Enjoy!!

The Long Over Due, Much Anticipated Event 49 Post

...or "The Day We Broke Kevin's Heart".

It's been so long since this event, about 2-1/2 months, so my memory might be a little foggy - JUST LIKE IT WAS THE DAY OF EVENT 49!  Yeah, that's right - it was pea soup think driving out to Heiser Farms last October 20th for the ever-lovable XDog's Great Pumpkin Cross Country Run.

Heiser Farms is out in Dayton, OR - at least according to the address on their website.  It would be more accurate to say they are out in the middle of nowhere.  And it's awesome.  But first, the drive out. The fog got thicker and thicker as we drove south on 99W and into wine country.  It was a cold fog and felt colder down here deeper in the Willamette Valley so we were thankful for fleece.  The fog, though - wow!  We joked that the drive out could count as an event in itself!

It got to the point where we would have to slow to a crawl at ever intersection to see where we were and if we were still on the right road.  We saw headlights from a couple of other cars doing the same thing, so we knew they were probably fellow XDoggers.  A great group, indeed, even if we can't find our way in the fog.

Eventually we arrived at Heiser Farms.  To be honest, I had never heard of Heiser Farms until this event.  It is fantastic!  Check the website (link above) but, man, family fun for everyone here!  They have a small scale train you can ride, hay bale pyramids for kids, a petting zoo, several awesome slides, live music, hay rides, food and hot drinks.

Oh, and pumpkins.  Lots and lots of pumpkins.  Plus, they have three of these babies:

And they have a mini tank that tears ass all over the place!  It's a big kid's playground!  All distractions aside, we were there to run the race.

This event is a little different from other XDog events in that it would be hard to kill yourself during this one.  In every other XDog race, getting hurt is expected.  Blood is celebrated.  If you don't need the first aid kit at the finish line, you didn't run hard enough.  The Great Pumpkin Cross Country Run was family oriented, so lots of moms and dads with kids.  It was pretty much just a trail run.  Oh, we kept expecting obstacles and cuts and bruises and mud and such, but the only way you could get hurt at this event is if you were on the receiving end of one of the cannons.  The run was pretty straightforward, with a few little hills; some of the route on gravel road, some on single track.  Since it was Halloween season, many people wore costumes.

We thought about bringing back Edamame Man and Blueberry Tart for this run, but we had packed the costumes away.  Yes, packed.  You noticed above I mentioned that we broke Kevin's XDog heart and here's why:  we were moving away.  Far away.  The events put on by Kevin and his crew had played a huge part in the 50@50 Project.  The support and camaraderie with XDog and the type of people who participate in these events has been amazing for us.  Like I've said before, if all 50 events could be XDog events... well, I'd be dead... but it would have been epic!

So, we had worked the race count so that the Great Pumpkin Cross Country Run would be Event 49, with plans to do the final event - 50! - in our new location in Costa Rica.  That race is this Sunday and will complete the Project within the year, with a couple of days to spare.

Fifty races in a year to celebrate me turning the big 5-0 last January.  The first event was The White River Snow Shoe 8k race, which seems like an eternity ago.  And - snow(!), which seems weird to think about while enjoying the tropics in Central America these last few months.

Anyhoo, we finished the run and hung out for quite a while, enjoying the goings on at Heiser Farms, watching the pumpkin cannons launch squash through an RV and at cars set up as targets.  Kids in costumes running everywhere.  Great fun and, knowing we were leaving this area, it was especially melancholy for us.  We watched as Batman led the kids on a run in the children's race, a race that culminated in the kids going down one of the big tubular slides to receive there bag of treats at the bottom.

The awards presentation for our race started, with Kevin calling out the overall and age group winners. Surprisingly, I won my age group!  Not surprisingly, the way it worked out, I was the only one IN my age group!  But I will take whatever accolades I can get, so gladly made my way up to receive my special winners XDog dog-tag.  Booyah!  Sadly, it was at this point in the day that we dropped the bomb on Kevin.

At every XDog race, I wore the same shirt - a bright yellow tech shirt with 'Chug Life' on the front.  You've seen it in the videos from the events, I'm sure.  It was stained and had some snags in it from all that XDog throws at you in their races.  I had not worn it this day, however.  We were presenting the shirt to Kevin as a thank you for all his love and support during the year.  Taking the mic from him, I explained briefly what we were doing and presented him with the shirt, which we had signed.  He accepted the shirt graciously and I think he appreciated the gesture.  I feel bad now because he was a little shocked and wasn't sure how to react.  But he quickly recovered.

As Kevin continued with the awards and random drawings for raffle prizes, he 'coincidentally' drew Camera Crew's ticket.  Payback?  You decide.  The prize - one free pumpkin from Heiser Farms.  A pumpkin coupon, Kevin announced, that she had to redeem and a pumpkin that we had to take with us.

So she did.

And we did.

More on our pumpkin later!

I've Neglected You - and I Am Sorry

Boy, a guy packs up his life, moves to a foreign country and lives where internet is sporadic, at best - and he just blows off all of his loyal followers.  What an ass.

Oh, wait - that was me.

In October 2013, six days after Event 49 in the 50@50 Project, Camera Crew and I put our stuff in storage and moved to Central America.  We had been planning this move for quite some time and that time had come.  So now, here it is - January 10th, 2014 and I am writing this in Costa Rica.  We spent two months in Nicaragua and are now in the San Jose area for a bit.

This project started just about a year ago, on January 20th, when we participated in Event 1 - XDog's White River Snowshoe 8k, a five miler on Mt. Hood.  It was the first event of what is to be 50 races in this year between my 50th and 51st birthdays.  The original plan was to make the last event the same as the first, to bring this crazy thing to a conclusion on snowshoes.  The 2014 race is this Sunday and I am a little saddened that we aren't there to participate.  

Okay - a lot saddened.  Plus, I miss Kevin.  And bacon.

But never fear!  My special day is coming up - 21 January - when I turn 51 years old.  And I am happy to report that we have registered for Event 50!  Yep, doing a race here in Costa Rica!  Now, it's nothing spectacular or amazing.  In other words, it's no XDog Event race.  We had hoped to find a stellar volcano run or some crazy night run, and we did find some races and results online from years past.  Unfortunately, none of those races are being held again, at least in the time frame we need to complete our objective in one years' time.

So we found this here race to do on the 19th.  We've been training and let me tell, the San Jose area is HILLY!  It's great for training but, man, gimme a flat stretch once in a while, will ya?!

So, there you have it - we're back!  I know, I still owe you a write up for Event 49.  We have some good video and pictures for that post.  Look for it in the next couple of days.  In the meantime, take some time and peruse the blog.  Get reacquainted with me and Camera Crew.  Relive the craziness of our four event weekend or Ole's Assault or the Dirty Duathlon or Ride-Row-Run.

Because you know you love us.

And because we've really missed you.  

Hugs and kisses - D 

50@50 Project - Event 48 - Portland Trail Series - Intro and Wrap

Note the difference in light. Someday we'll figure it out!

Intro:

Wrap:

When will we ever learn...
Oh, and sorry for the comment at the end of the wrap vid - delirium!

Running In the Dark - Take Two

Event 48 was the 3rd race (for us) in the Portland Trail Series in Forest Park.  As you (of course) recall, these runs are held on Wednesdays in the evening.  And this time of year, it's a'gettin' dark before the start of the race.  But we learned our lesson from last time!  Yessirree, we sure did.  This time we brought our handy dandy headlamps!  All prepared, just like Boy Scouts!

Yeah, except here was our conversation prior to leaving the house:

'Ya think the batteries are okay or should we change them out?'
'They should be fine, don't you think?"
'I guess so.  We haven't used them that much, I guess.'
Yeah, they should be just fine.'
'Awesome!  Let's go!'

Oy.

As stated above, it was pretty much dark before we even took off to start this thing.  The course was just under five miles and we felt this would be plenty easy enough.  Yes, it was Forest Park so there would be plenty of up and down, but 4.something miles - pffft!  Piece of the proverbial cake.  Or 'pie', for my wife.

The course started up Leif - okay, visible enough even in the waning light.  No twisted ankles, feeling good.  Then we veered off, up Wild Cherry and it was all over.  In the trees, it was dark!  Camera Crew was in the lead as we started the first climb up the hillside.  We got about halfway up and she turned on her light.  I held off, using the glow from her headlamp and the line she was picking up the trail to guide me.  But soon enough, that wasn't really working for me.  I turned my lamp on, stopped running for a moment, then held my hand up in front of my lamp.  

Okay, it was on but not putting out a lot of light.  Hmmmm.  I thought at first that maybe it just wasn't all that dark and so it just was too early to do any good.  But then I looked at Camera Crew's light and realized hers was a lot brighter than mine.  Insert joke(s) here re: intelligence, brain, etc.  

After a quick consultation and realizing that it was getting damn dark, we tried swapping one AAA battery of the three in each (Camera Crew's idea) and that really helped.  But unfortunately it still wasn't enough.  We came to the conclusion that we were pretty much done in.  Camera Crew was doing okay; I couldn't see shit in front of me and kept finding the edge of the singletrack trail as I moved forward.  Yep.

Fortunately, there was a battery salesman on the trail... just kidding.  Fortunately, the route for this evenings run was a sort of figure eight.  Started up Leif, a loop up and back down the hill to Leif and down toward the start, then another loop up and down, to Leif and the finish.  Well, we were still on the first loop and couldn't see much of anything.  We made the command decision to cut the route short, opting for safe rather than sorry.  We got back to Leif and headed toward the finish, skipping the turn off for the second loop-de-loop.  Even on Leif, which is a gravel road and not completely covered, we still had trouble seeing our path.  A couple of times we wandered toward the edge of the road, one of us pulling the other back as we made our way down.

The race coordinator still counted our times, which was nice of her.  Apparently, some others had issues with the dark.  We still covered three+ miles and so also made the decision to still count the self-shortened run as an official event in the 50@50 Project.  Don't judge.  We didn't see YOU out there.  Of course, we couldn't see anything, really.  For all we could tell, everyone we knew was in Forest Park that night! 

So, yeah, fresh batteries would have been awesome.

  

50@50 Project - Event 47 - Great Columbia Crossing - Intro & Wrap

Intro...

and wrap!

Astoria with da Miller's!!

Yes, I Know - I Am Waaay Behind!

So here it is - finally - the post for Event 47.  This race was The Great Columbia Crossing 10k in Astoria, OR.  Heads up, though - I may have trouble posting the videos for this event, at least until I get the phone thing figured out down here in Central America.  Cuz - yeah, that's where I'm sitting whilst writing this post.  To be exact, I and Camera Crew are currently on the island of Ometepe in Lake Nicaragua.  Google it.

The Great Columbia Crossing is a very cool race.  It's a unique opportunity to run over one of the coolest bridges in the PacNW - the Astoria-Megler Bridge, spanning from Astoria 4.2 miles across the Columbia River to... to... well, the closest thing on the Washington side is a rest stop called Dismal Nitch.  Ummm... yeah.  Nice work, Washington.  For this one day a year, they close down one lane of the bridge so that 3500 crazy people can get dropped off at a rest stop and then run back over to Astoria.  That's how we roll.

Camera Crew and I have done this run twice before, a few years back.  It's  such a neat and well run event so we were excited to do it again, and even more so because our good friends Kyle and Raynee Miller were joining us!!  You loyal followers will remember Mr. Miller from the Inland Empire 50 Mile ride back in May, event something-or-other in the project.  In fact, it was a few text messages exchanged between Kyle and I that got us signed up for this race.  There was probably beer involved on one or both ends of the texting, I'm sure.

The race was Sunday morning but we had arranged to meet up in Astoria Friday evening because nothing says race preparation like walking around drinking with friends.  Since Camera Crew and I had the luxury of an early getaway from Portland, we arrived in Astoria around 2 PM, stopped at the Chamber of Commerce office to pick up our race packets and then checked into our digs at the Hotel Elliot.  This place is NICE.  The beds are fantastic, the rooms are comfy and THE BATHROOM TILE FLOORS ARE HEATED!!  Highly recommend staying here - rooms are a little spendy but affordable and it's a great location to explore the restaurant and bar scene in town.  www.hotelelliot.com  

Camera Crew and I had dinner at T Pauls Urban Cafe, a cute funky little place with great food and live music.  www.tpaulsurbancafe.com  The Millers showed up a little later and once they checked in, we checked out the Silver Salmon for drinks.  We like this place because when you order a cocktail, they not only serve the glass filled with your drink of choice but they also serve even more cocktail in a shaker in a bowl with ice.  It's like getting a full milkshake and then getting the blender  pitcher with in it!!!  Awesome.  After a few drinks and some good-natured banter with the bartender, we hit the hay.  When in Astoria, though, go to www.silversalmongrille.com    

We thought about going out for breakfast the next morning but the hotel puts on a pretty damn good buffet, so we opted for that.  Plus it's included in your room price, so why not?  After some chill time, we walked around town a little, then stopped into the Wet Dog Cafe and Brewery for a beer.  Cool place - huge space, gift shop, extensive menu, good beers (mostly).  www.wetdogcafe.com  After some more walkin' around, we hit the Fort George Brewery for lunch and more beer.  See, I told you that were getting race ready, right?  This brewery is quite a success.  Started up with partial funding by the Oregon Lottery proceeds, it's been wildly successful and they've expanded once or twice since opening.  They put in a canning line a year or so ago and make some really interesting and tasty brews.  www.fortgeorgebrewery.com  

After some down time at the hotel, we met up on the Hotel Elliot's beautiful roof top patio for wine and BSing around the fire pit.  

(Note:  I've been in Central America a week now, sweating profusely in the heat and humidity, so it's hard to think about sitting around a fire pit...)

The views of Astoria from the roof are pretty spectacular.  Unfortunately, a big part of that view is the damn bridge we were going to be running over the next morning.  I've said it before - we rarely travel anywhere without working in an event somehow.  Could we just come to Astoria to the great hotel with dear friends and just hang out?  Nope.

We headed out for dinner and had drink sand appetizers at Baked Alaska, right on the water  www.bakedak.com  This place is huge, with a formal dining room overlooking the   river, a wood-fired oven pizza place facing the street and a long skinny bar connecting the two.  We opted for the bar - the restaurant was booked until late and pizza wasn't the majority choice for dinner.  After drinks and snacks, we decided to walk around town a little before deciding on a dinner place.  

Lo and behold, it was Second Saturday in Astoria, an evening where the numerous art galleries open up and people meander around looking at stuff.  But wait!  Lo-er and behold-er, we soon discovered that many of the galleries serving snacks, wine and beer!!!  

Two words:  Yum.  Yum.  (Trademark 'KyleMiller, Inc.')

After entertaining ourselves for quite some time, with art commentary, wine and people watching, it was time for some dinner.  We went back to Baked Alaska and had dinner in the restaurant, although we ordered pizza, as it turned out.  Back to the rooms for some rest before our big run the next day!!  Woohoo!

We met in the lobby and loaded into the Miller's rig for the drive down to the staging area.  The walk from where we ended up parking should have counted towards the actual race mileage!  But soon enough, after a short wait in a quick moving line, we found ourselves on a school bus heading over the bridge to Dismal Nitch.  We unloaded and enjoyed an hour wait with 3496 of our closest friends.  Runners were supposed to start at 8:45, walkers at 9 but due to some delay in getting the bridge cleared and ready, we runners didn't get going til about 9:15 or so.  Meh, it's all good.

The race was underway!  It's about a mile from the start to the turn onto the bridge, then 4.2 miles across and another mile winding around under the bridge to the finish.  After getting onto the bridge proper, I looked up and not only saw Camera Crew ahead of me and pulling away, but also the big tall part of the bridge enshrouded in fog. In fact, I couldn't even see the trusses until I got to about Mile 3+, almost 4.  It was clear on the WA side, but the bridge was fogged in!  Once I got to the top of the bridge, I looked around and couldn't see much below, either.  Surreal.

I crossed the finish line and found CC waiting for me, smiling.  She rocks.  And after a short time, Raynee and Kyle finished up.  Good times!  I'm sure it was because of the race prep the night before.  (ahem)

Back to the hotel, showers and check out.  Goodbye hugs to the Millers.  Back to PTown. Another event in the books.  

Sorry about the late posts!  I'll get Events 48 and 49 posted this week!  Promise!!

50@50 Project - Event 46 - Wrap...

...and me rocking the tuxedo tshirt...

50@50 Project - Event 46 - XDog's Ride-Row-Run - Intro

Happy Anniversary, Baby - Let's Do a Triathlon!!

That's what ever couple says, right?  It was the day of our first wedding anniversary and we were about to ride 26 miles, paddle the Deschutes River for 3.5 miles, then run four miles to the finish line.  Why, yes, of course this was an XDog event!  It was Ride-Row-Run in Maupin, OR and it was quite a race!  It was also a great way to spend the day with my lovely wife, Camera Crew.

Maupin is a small town east of Mt. Hood.  It sits near the intersection of Highway 216 and Highway 197, on the lower Deschutes River, just a short distance from where the river dumps into the mighty Columbia.  There is pretty much one main street where most businesses are located.  Check out the town's website at www.maupinoregon.com  The entire community comes out for this event.  Most of the businesses support the race in one way or another.  

The Imperial Hotel was HQ for the race.  This is a beautiful place to stay!  Highly recommended!  There is a great restaurant onsite with really good food, serving a diverse seasonal menu.  The bar is small but well stocked and the bartender was quite sassy, a plus in my book.  The grounds of the hotel are huge - horse shoe pits, a sand volleyball court, a fire pit on a big patio adjacent to the bar.  There are a variety of room sizes, from small to suites, plus a full house you can rent.  No TV's or in room phones - also a plus in my book.  There is a TV in the bar, though, if you have to check the score.  Give the Imperial a look-see at www.deschutesriver.com  

Since it was our anniversary, we booked Sherar's Room for two nights, Saturday and Sunday.  This room is on the second floor, has a big deck with adirondack chairs and a spectacular view of the river.  Beautiful!  Of course, we once again screwed up a perfectly good weekend getaway with this event Sunday morning.  Meh, that's how we're wired, I suppose.

We drove over Saturday and enjoyed the scenery of Mt. Hood and the forest.  We cut off of Highway 26 to the less-traveled 216, eventually broke through the forested terrain and entered the high desert region of Oregon.  Lots of ranches and farms.  Very pretty country.  When we hit the intersection of 197 and 216, we followed the sign to Maupin, and immediately noticed that the road started dropping down.  Yep, we knew this was the road we would be riding UP for the bike portion of the race.  The road snaked down the hills until we arrived in Maupin.  We pulled off to figure out where the Imperial was located.  Once we got on track, we rolled through town, dropped down even more, crossed the bridge over the Deschutes and turned off on Bakeoven Road.  'Bakeoven' - I'm guessing it gets toasty here in the summer.

We arrived at the hotel and checked in.  We went for a walk around the grounds and immediately saw the setup for the race.  The bike staging area, the transition chutes, piles of kayaks and PFD's, the finish line.  Yikes.  The pre-race info said there was a packet pickup happening at 'the city park'.  We noticed that right next door to the hotel there was a city park, so assumed that was it.  After wandering around there, we found it was not.  So... to the bar!

Okay, actually the restaurant for a snack and a drink.  We asked our server where the city park was located.  She asked which one.  Ahh, we aren't so dumb after all.  Come to find out that there's another one on the main drag through town, up the hill.  We finished eating, hopped in the SUV and drove into town.  Yep, there it was - we had driven right past it on the way in.  We checked in, picked up our race stuff, chatted with XDog mastermind/evil genius Kevin and some other XDog regulars.  Thanks to Kevin giving us some props on the XDog page, more people are aware of our 50 event goal, so we get asked 'What number is this one?' a lot.  It's really neat.  People thought it was pretty cool that we were celebrating our anniversary in this manner, too.  That's a good feeling, an affirmation of the crazy.

We went back to the hotel and got some of our race stuff set up.  Then it was out to the deck for some chill time.  It's very relaxing there, very quiet.  We read a bit, talked about our wedding day a whole year ago (!) and recapped our year of insanity - that is, the 50@50 Project.  This would be event 46!  Still a little surreal to think we've accomplished so much in such a short time.  So I will sum it all up with:  Wow!

We had dinner downstairs in the restaurant, thought about hitting the bar for a nightcap but decided to retire early because, ya know, we were doing a TRIATHLON the next day. An XDog triathlon, no less.

We were up early Sunday morning, got dressed in our race clothes and hauled the bikes downstairs to get them racked in the transition area.  Then we hit the kitchen area off the hotel lobby for the continental breakfast fixin's to fuel up for the big day.  We figured we were as ready as we ever would be, so we hung out at the start area watching others get there gear ready.  It ranged from the very serious athletes with the latest gadgets and fancy bikes to the weekend warriors who borrowed their brothers' friends' cousin's bike to do the event.  Said it before, many times - XDog peoples is good peoples.  The best, in fact.

It was finally time for Kevin's pre-race instructions, then a walk over to the kayak transition area for a river safety briefing - how to put on your PFD, how to get in and out of the inflatable kayaks, what to do if you have an 'out of boat experience' - "I want your toes and your nose to the sky".  After receiving instructions, it was time to load in the bus.  Because, oh yeah, this year the race was starting Grand Prix style, with a mile run to the bikes.

So we were transported up to the city park (the one in town) and dropped off.  The bus was... interesting.  Painted in a wild pink, Grateful Dead-y fashion.  It took a couple of trips to get everyone to the start.  For the businesses that were open, the employees were out on the sidewalk to see us off.  After the usual last-minute banter, it was conch shell time and the race was afoot!  Now, we had sent our running shoes ahead to the kayak-to-run transition area and hadn't really planned for the starting run.  So we were in Keen sandals which, when cinched up snug, worked really well.  The run was all down hill so went quickly.  We heard shouts of 'Happy anniversary' as we switched to bike gear, hopped on and pedaled out.  

Of course, the route started with the same steep hill we had just run down.  Then it was through town (mostly flat) followed by the climb back up to the highway.  I am happy to say that the climbing was mostly done, except for some rollers later on the route.  After hitting the top we cruised through the first half without any trouble, although we realized it was a little chilly on the downhills.  A vest would have been nice, but I of course forgot it.  Meh.

I've written about XDog's unique mid-point torture, will-power tester 'Temptation Station' in the past.  It's there way of saying 'I double dog dare you'.  This being a triathlon, the diabolical lure of bad things to do during an athletic event was at about the mid-point of the 26 mile bike portion.  A smart man would have ridden by, waved at the volunteers and congratulated himself at his resolve.

We stopped.

Of course.

After drinking a 4 ounce beer, linked arms and all to celebrate our anniversary, I took a couple of glugs of really bad rum from a plastic gallon jug.  Oy.  Then, at the urging of the volunteers staffing this station and of two women from Germany who we REALLY wanted to party with later, I accepted the next challenge:  a ride through a slalom course on a 50cc minibike.  This 'hawg' was small - so small that I had to hold my legs up behind me because I couldn't lift them high enough to get my feet on the foot pegs up front.  I looked silly, but that is something I am not only good at but also willing to do to make memories.

After successfully completing the out and back slalom, it was time to talk Camera Crew into doing this.  It took some cajoling and persuasion, but we succeeded!  The 'we' being me and the German gals, mostly.  She cautiously climbed on and received reassuring instructions, then she nudged the throttle and took off!  She squealed with delight (and a little fear) the entire time, too!  She arrived at the finish, smiling from ear to ear.

Maybe I'll be allowed to get that Harley some day after all...

We rode away from Temptation Station feeling accomplished and smiling, with shouts of 'Happy anniversary' from our new friends.  The course went through this awesome slot canyon along a twisty road.  It was  lot of fun!  The road brought us back down to the river and we headed north to Sherar's Bridge to cross over the Deschutes.  It was here we saw some of the Native Americans fishing off platforms that jutted out over the rapids at Sherar's Falls.  They stand on the edge holding a long pole with a net on the end and snag the salmon as they come through the rapids.  We wanted to stop and watch for a bit but figured we should get rolling again.

The route ran south along the river and brought us all the way back into town, kinda from the opposite direction from which we left it.  We did have quite a headwind, though, so even spots where coasting should have worked it didn't.  So... head down and grind it out was the motto.

Before I go on, let's talk about this Sherar fella.  The room we were staying in is named after him.  And the bridge.  And a waterfall.  He ran a hotel in the area.  And so...

Joseph Sherar was a wagon road builder who operated a hotel, saloon, stagecoach station and livery where the wagon trains crossed over on their way west.  He and his wife ran the place from 1871 to 1907 or so - when they died.  He improved the bridge that was there as well as the roads leading to and from the crossing.  Anyhoo, read all about him here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Sherar  And remember - everything on Wiki is true.

Back to the race!  We rode along the river and into town, and to the Imperial Hotel for the bike/kayak transition.  This was perhaps the part we were both most nervous about.  We've both kayaked before but never together.  And neither of us had done any kayaking recently.  Just as we assume a tandem bicycle would NEVER work for us, we had some doubts about how we'd do paddling the river together.  I am (relieved) happy to say that it was a blast!  Yeah, we kept whacking our oars together and had a few mis-cues keeping the nose pointed downriver, but we did pretty damn well considering it was our first time.  And now we want to add this to our repertoire of sports we like.  We imagine kayak purchases in our future, for sure.

We even had one stretch where we paddled in sync for, like, 10-12 strokes and it was great!  But then we whacked paddles and that was the end of that!  There were some ripples and Class II stuff, nothing major.  It was super fun and was over way too soon.  We made our way to the right side of the river to the pull out at the wayside, pulled our kayak up on the bank and got to our drop bags for the kayak/run transition.  There was a case of Coors Light sitting on a picnic table and we were tempted but figured running four miles to wrap up this race was enough of a challenge.

Now, since it was our anniversary, I not only put on my running shoes but I also changed into my extra special tuxedo t-shirt!  Oh yeah!  We took off for the run back to the finish and, yes, the headwind was still a'blowing.  I had to turn my hat around to keep it from blowing off my noggin.  The miles went by pretty quick and we saw the hotel.  We cruised into the parking lot, into the finish chute and crossed the line arm in arm.  Triathlon triumphant!!  There were a lot of high fives and congratulations as we settled in, got a beer and a fantastic burger hot off the grill.  After eating and chatting with some fellow XDog-ers, it was time for awards.  As it turned out, because we rode the minibike at Temptation Station, we were entered in a special prize drawing.  And I won... a home brewing kit!!  Woohoo!  And later in the regular raffle I won a $25 gift card to Next Adventure.  But the best award went to Camera Crew for WINNING HER DIVISION!!!

We not only celebrated our anniversary, we were celebrated and we won stuff!  Kevin and XDog and the town of Maupin had put on a great event.  We couldn't have picked a better way to celebrate our first anniversary.  As the crowd went their separate ways, we hauled the bikes and our gear back up to the room and relaxed!  After showers and some hanging out time, we had a great dinner downstairs and hung out in the bar watching Sunday Night Football.  It was a wonderful weekend and we will always remember how we spent our first anniversary!

Now the question is - how to top it for a second!??