Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Upper 30's and Rain

Comments: Up to Council Crest and back for 7 soaking, windy, cold miles. We have had many nice winter runs over the last few years. This was not one of them.

Runners: Carolyn, Sandy and Jim

Weather: Low 40's, Rainy and Windy

Comments: We ran my favorite 9 miles today. Up Marquam, Fairmont back to Marquam and down Terwilliger.

Runners: Carolyn, Sandy, and Jim

Weather: Mid 40's and Rainy

Comments: We ran the standard today - Burnside to Council Crest taking the shortcut back. Great to be back on the trail.

Runners: Carolyn, Jim and a couple hundred others

Weather: 30's and Foggy

Comments: Great race today. Carolyn set a 1/2 Marathon PR and I ran my second or third fastest ever. Not bad after running 1/2 M for over 15 years. Keep it up!

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Upper 50's and Wind

Comments: Nice easy 7 miler to the top of Council Crest and back. Our time of 1:23 is not bad. Now onto Run to Stay Warm.

Runners: Carolyn, Jennie, Russ and Jim

Weather: 50 and Cloudy

Comments: We ran a brand new loop today that suppose to be a steady elevation. Like a contour on a map. As you can see from the elevation chart we had a bit of climbing. 1250 feet of climbing. Good 11.4 mile run. Our pace is down in the 10's which is good for combination of roads and trails.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 60's and Cloudy

Comments: We went a new direction this week. North on the Eastside Esplanade and across the Steel Bridge. We made our way over to Lovejoy and took it up to Cornell. The Wildwood crosses Cornell and we took that past Pittock down through Washington Park and back across the Hawthorne... make that Morrison Bridge. Second time in 15 years of running downtown that the drawbridge interrupted us.

Runners: Carolyn, Jenny, Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Finally another Breakfast Run. We parked near Pine State and went up to Council Crest and back. Check out the mile where we gained over 500 feet. And a few of the miles we dropped below 9 minute miles. We earned those biscuits, blueberry cornmeal pancakes, bacon and eggs. Good Times.

Runners: Carolyn, Sandy, Russ and Jim

Weather: 60's and Sunny

Comments: We set a record today: Most Number of Trips and Falls. Everyone was doing it. We almost made our goal of 10 Miles at 9.78. Close enough.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Summy

Comments: The Tillicum Loop is a great 9 mile run the includes trails, road, a new bridge and 1334 feet of elevation gain. Or 1333 depending on the week. We ran it about 2 minutes faster than two weeks ago. Check out a few of those miles in less than 9 mile pace.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Sunny

Comments: New loop today. Pittock to Macleay to Vista to Marquam to Wildwood to some trail to some road back to Wildwood. 1500 feet elevation gain in 8.5 mile is good even for us hill runners.

Runners: Russ and Jim

Weather: Upper 50's and Sunny

Comments: Every 10-15 years I like to find a brand new route. Russ and I started with the familiar Marquam hill climb, Fairmont back down to Terwilliger loop. But then we took a sharp right going down Terwilliger and made it to Tillicum Crossing. This opens up many new possibilities.

Are We Running Faster?

The answer is yes. I downloaded my running data from Garmin and sorted through all the runs 8 miles and over by average speed. Five of the fastest ten were from 2015, four from 2014 and one from 2012. A look at the slowest 10 shows mostly 2011 and 2012.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Mid 60's and Sunny

Comments: It was good to get back to our other run. Great mix of trail, road , hill and flat.

Runners: Carolyn, Jennie and Jim

Weather: Low 50's and Cloudy

Comments: It was cold today! Fall feels nice on the trail. And the trail is better after rain. We ran up Holman and out Wildwood and then took the trail all the way back.

Runners: Carolyn, Jennie, Russ and Jim
Weather: Mid 60's and Cloudy Comments: So the Map and back is actually 7.75 miles! I looked it up and then I mapped it. Good run people. Carolyn had mercy on my and didn't pass me on Pittock Hill (then I really would have puked.) Out time of 1:40 was the same as a few previous Map runs. Now about the Breakfast run...

Surfers: Corey and Jim

Weather: 60's and Partly Sunny

Comments: Went surfing today as it is the last official day of summer for me. What a surprise!. No wind, sun was out and the surf was decent. I give the weather a 10 and the surf a 7.

Runners: Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 50's and Smokey

Comments: It has been awhile since we have conquered Council Crest. Good run Russ! 6.7 miles with over 1000 feet of elevation gain.

Runners: Carolyn, Jennie, Sandy, and Jim

Weather: 60's and Sunny

Comments: Ran a little over 9 miles today in Sherwood. A nice big hill takes up the first third of the run and then a gradual downhill and bit of running through the city of Sherwood. Good run.

Runners: Carolyn, Jennie, Sandy and Jim (and no Brody :-( )

Weather: 60 and Showery

Comments: Great 10 mile run today. I remapped it and even included the stairs down from the bridge. 10 Miles. We gained 1350 feet elevation in the very best way (see elevation map below.) We need to plan a little longer run with a tasty breakfast at the end.

Runners: Carolyn, Jenny and Jim (and a Father and Son for about 2 miles.)

Weather: Low 60's and Cloudy

Comments: We ran the most level section of the Wildwood today and still gained almost 1000 feet. Great run. It was fun to be joined by a father and son out for a hike that turned into a run and then back to a hike. First trail run in my Merrell All Out Flash shoes. They get a 10/10.

Runners: Jenny, Sandy, Carolyn and Jim

Weather: 60's and Sunny

Comments: We ran out Wildwood until it meets 53rd and then took the road back down to Cornell. We did get to skip going down to the creek a second time but still had a lot of elevation gain on this 9 mile run. It took us 1:44 which I think is pretty impressive.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: 70's and Cloudy

Comments: We did the Wildwood to MaCleay trail out to NW and back up Washington Park for a 6.67 miles loop. I think I would rather run in 50 degrees and rain than 70 degree weather.

Runners: Carolyn, Sandy, Jenny and Jim

Weather: 50's and Sunny

Comments: Same exact 8.4 mile run as last week. We have been talking about a Breakfast run so we'll have to plan one soon.

Surfers: Corey and Jim Weather: Sunny 60's and Windy Comments: Corey and I went to Short Sands to surf today. High Tides was around 10:00 AM so we left at 6:15 getting in the water about 8:15. There was a swell building from the WNW that was out of our league (7'-8') but we found that the North end of Short Sands is protected enough to provide some fun. We each had a few nice long rides. The next step is to catch the wave earlier and make a good bottom turn.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: 50's and Sunny

Comments: We went up Holman to 53rd and looped back on Wildwood for 8.4 miles. We had the motivation of loud talkers behind us on Pittock hill today. I think the same thing happened a year ago. Funny.

Here is a look at my last three years of running.

Runners: Carolyn, Jenny, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 50's and Sunny

Comments: We ran down MaCleay through NW over to Washington Park Today. The loop is 6.7 miles and took us 1:22. Good start to the summer running season.

Surfers: Corey and Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Corey had a great idea. Add entries to this blog when we go surfing. We went to Short Sands this morning. We left Portland at 5:30 and were in the water by 7:45. Great conditions: No wind, 55 degree water and 4 foot waves. Below is a screenshot of the conditions. The tide was going out and conditions worsening as we left. It would be better to surf on incoming tide at Short Sands. I would rate today a 8/10. Corey gives it a 7/10 because the period was only 8 seconds.

Runners: Carolyn, Sandy and Jim

Weather: Upper 50's and Cloudy

Comments: We ran the Friar Trot today. Same bad t-shirt, same course and nearly same time as last year. Building consistency into a running program is a great way to avoid injury. Let's keep it up.

Runners: Jenny, Ryan, Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Distance / Time: 9.54 / 1:53

Comments: I was planning a 10 mile route today but Carolyn brought a new guy. So we only did 9.54 miles. I thought it was between 8 and 9. Pretty hilly too. Good running everyone.

Runners: Carolyn, Jennie, Sandy, Russ and Jim

Weather: Upper 40's and Partly Cloudy

Comments: It was fun to have a big running group this morning. The more the merrier really is true when running 9.2 miles and gaining 1700 elevation. Notice on the graphic below there is a nice flat section in the middle. I want credit. Anyway, good job merry band of runners.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: 60's and Sunny

Comments: Thanks to a flexible running partner we started at 11:00 AM today. We parked near MacLeay park entrance and ran out and back for 9 miles.

Weather: Mid 40's and Cloudy

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Comments: We ran out to the Map and back in the Wildwood. I checked Strava and this was the fastest we ever climbed Pittock Hill of the 5 that have been recorded on Stava.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 50 and Partly Cloudy

Comments: We did Macleay Loop today for a nice 6.7 mile run. Don't tell Jennie but we did it 5 minutes faster in February when she ran with us compared to Russ today.

Runners: Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Showers

Comments: Russ and I had a little mix up on a meeting place. This happens once every few years. We made it work and ended up with a 5 mile run up Council Crest. This post is for last Saturday.

Runners: Carolyn, Jennie and Jim

Weather: 40's and Sunny

Weather: Today the run was a nice combination of trails and road. We didn't see anyone going up Holman Lane. I wonder why?

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 40's and Sunny

Comments: Ran the basic Council Crest out and back today. The moving time according to Strava was about 3 minutes faster than 1 month ago. Using Strava also gives us some stats about different segments and confirmed that it was a good climb. Carolyn led the climb the entire way. Good job.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 40's and Partly Cloudy

Comments: We added a little bit to our loop from two weeks ago. Strava went a little crazy on the Wildwood ( but we didn't.) I used MapMyRun to find the actual distance of 7.5 miles. Good run.

Runners: Carolyn, Jenny and Jim

Weather: Upper 50's and showers

Comments: We dodged a weather bullet today, kind of. The heavy rain over night let up. MaCleay Creek was as high as I have ever seen it. I took a video but it was kind of dark.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 30's and Sunny

Comments: Great weather for late January. This is the first Strava recording of the Council Crest climb. Someone has already set up a segment that included the Marquam trail hill climb. Nice sunrise this morning. Of course no run would be complete without encountering a clueless dog owner. Carolyn has volunteered to train them all.

Runners: Carolyn, Jenny and Jim

Weather: Lower 50's and Partly Cloudy

Comments: Went out to the sign and back on the Wildwood Trail. Very nice conditions for the middle of January (look back at any January run since 2008 to compare.) I am leaving my GPS watch behind and entering the Strava stage. The cool thing about Strava is the segment section. Over time we can try to work our way up the leaderboards of section that have already been created by other runners.

Runners: Jim

Weather: Lower 40's and Rainy

Comments: Went out on my own today and met Ruth and Corey at the end of my run at Jim and Pattys. Ran 9 miles in the rain. Speaking of end of the run. This may be the last post for this blog. Of course I'm coming with a new one.

Changed my mind. I'm keeping this blog for a awhile longer. I found a way to publish MapMyRun files.

Runners: Carolyn, Jenny, Russ and Jim

Weather: Low 40's and Rain

Comments: Same run again to Council Crest and back for 7.2. The cold rain was a surprise and it is hard to fool us after this many years running in the Portland weather. Good one weather.

Runner: Carolyn, Jenny and Jim

Weather: Mid 30's and Cloudy

Comments: Went to Council Crest and back using the shortcut for 7.2 hilly miles of trail. I am ordering a new battery for my watch.