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.

Runners: Carolyn, Jenny, and Jim

Weather: Mid 40's and Rainy

Comments: It was bad weather but good run day. Didn't have much traffic on the trail. Only a few diehards. Once again my watch turned off. I think I will get a regular watch and just use MapMyRun.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid-40's and Cloudy

Comments: Great to see Russ back out on the trail. Hopefully I can solve my watch issues. I captured the first 5 miles but then my watch turned off.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Rainy, Windy in the 40's

Comments: We did the Council Crest out and back today. My watched failed so I had to look up the run. When I search my Garmin site for runs with the title Council Crest w/Shortcut this is what I found:
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Runners: Sarah, Amanda, Carolyn, Scot and Jim

Weather: Mid 40's and Cloudy

Comments: It was great to run the EWEB Run To Say Warm today. It was also great to have Sarah, Scot and Amanda join Carolyn and I. Let's keep it going

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Upper 40's and Sunny

Comments: Ran a great new loop today starting at Pittock. We ran down to the Broadway Bridge and over and then down to Hawthorne. We could do this some run starting and ending at he Hawthorne Bridge. That would put the big hill towards the beginning of the run instead of the end.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 40's and Cloudy

Comments: Perfect running weather today. We went over the top of Council Crest and down to the new trail that leads to Terwilliger. We can't call it the new trail for long.

Runners: Carolyn, Sandy, Russ and Jim

Weather: 60 and Rainy

Comments: Started out in dark with heavy rain. Good thing Sandy had a flashlight. The weather cleared up and we had a good loop. My watch isn't charging so I had to copy the route below (interestingly we did this run exactly 1 year ago.) We did between 9 and 10 miles.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Low 60's with 88% Humidity

Comments: Yuck! I hate today's weather. Too warm, too humid. I am looking forward to a healthy Russ and nice cool weather coming up.

Runners: Carolyn, Amanda, Russ and Jim

Weather: 60's and Cloudy

Comments: We went 8 3/4 miles in about 1 hour and 40 minutes today. Amanda went her own route and went 9. Nice addition to our usual route up to Council Crest and back. We went further downtown and crossed the Steel Bridge. This made the usual 6 2/3 mile route 8 and 3/4 miles. There is a math problem in there somewhere but we are a running, not a book club!

Runners: Carolyn, Sandy, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 50's and Sunny

Comments: Good run today. Good luck to Sandy at the CA adventure race and good job Russ, your recovery is almost complete.

Runners: Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Ran up to Council Crest and back. No map because my watch was not plugged in and did not get charged. Good run Russ!

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 60 and Sunny

Comments: Welcome back Russ! 5 is a good start. We'll get you back to speed in no time. Good loop today.

Runners: Carolyn, Sandy and Jim

Weather: 50's and Sunny

Comments: I really need to start taking a phone / camera. Today we met an unlikely pair of runners out on the trail. Not the typical 130 lb runners( okay the little guy maybe.) They were going 16 today and certainly knew their way around the trails. I'm sure we'll see them again. Nice to have a guest runner out. Any time we get over 2,000 feet elevation gain it is a big deal. Good job.

Runner: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Upper 50's and Sunny

Comments: "I made it! I made it! The rest is easy from here I made it!" We crossed paths with the most enthusiastic runner ever. I'm not sure where he parked or how far he had gone but he was happy to be where we was at the moment. Good elevation gain today.

Runners: Jim

Weather: 60 and Cloudy

Comments: Second week in a row with no running partners. I don't think I should run unsupervised much longer. I ran up Cornell and then 53rd. Who does that?

Runners: Jim

Weather: 60 and Sunny

Comments: The route from my house to Jim and Patty's is not bad. I start downhill, then fairly uninterrupted all the way past the Hollywood district to 15th Ave. Then over to Prescott and back towards Jim and Patty's.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: 60'a and Sunny

Comments: Sometimes an easy run up Council Crest and back isn't so easy. Just seemed difficult today.

I would like to explore more of the Wildwood trail. Here is a map of section beyond firelane 1:

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 60's and Sunny

Comments: Nice 10 mile loop today. The gradual climb along 23rd is difficult, then we slog up through the park back to the Wildwood. Good training run.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 64 and Sunny (no wind.) Comments: Sorry Russ! I should have double checked my text. Hope you had a good run without us.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 60's and Sunny

Comments: I forgot to post this last Saturday:

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: 60's and Sunny

Comments: Looking back three years this is the longest July run to date. 10 miles is the new normal. Hopefully this pays off in the fall when we start to train for RTSW.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Perfect

Comments: This route is turning into the summer basic run.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Nice to have our entire running group back together for a run. Good 10-miler!

Summer running thoughts 2014:

1. Add volume by more frequently running slower 4-6 mile courses.

2. Keep weekly trail runs at 10+ miles.

3. Do weekly track workout using the following chart:

Runners: Carolyn

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Another 10 miler! looking back into May that makes 5/7 for 10 milers on Saturdays. Not bad.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: We ran up Holman LN to 53rd and then all the way up to Fire Lane 1. Took Wildwood back and then returned on 53rd. We can increase this run easily by running Wildwood all the way back.

Runners: Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Sunny

Comments: Nice run up to Council Crest and back. Bring on the summer running!

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Great 10 mile mix of hills, trails and road.

Runners: Carolyn, Amanda, Stacey and Jim

Weather: Upper 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Carolyn set her PR for 10K with a 49:22 and Amanda set a PR of 56 minutes. I won my age category again but no "Winner" string bag this year. That's for the best. I had a fun race at the end with a perfectly good stranger.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Upper 40's and Cloudy

Comments: Up and over Council Crest for a new loop including Fairmont loop, the new section of Marquam trail and Terwilliger. Probably about the best 10 miles you can run in Portland.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Low 50's and Cloudy

Comments: We created a new route today that starts and end on the Wildwood but is mostly Northwest and Downtown. My data on my watch was full so it would not record this route. MapMyRun is a great alternative. It is very accurate except in Washington Park so take 0.5 miles off the total. 10.5 is a good run. I am much better at estimating mileage after running for three years with my GPS watch.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 40's and Partly Cloudy

Comments: Another new loop: Up Broadway, then Fairmont to a new section of Marquam trail down to Terwilliger. We will be doing a 10+ run in two weeks.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Perfect

Comments: My GPS was not charged up today so we stuck to the trail to measure the run. We used to the blue 1/4 mile marks on the tree to go 1 mile pas the bench. 2 extra miles makes Pittock Hill WAY harder to go up. Good run Sister.

Runner: Russ and Jim

Weather: 50 and Light Rain

Comments: We found a new trail today that connects Fairmont Loop with Marquam trail. Considering all the rain it was in pretty decent shape (just like us.)

Runners: Carolyn, Karen and Jim

Weather: Mid 40's and Rain

Comments: Carolyn brought a guest runner and we didn't lose her so that was good. A cold rain at he end was some of the worst weather of the winter. We are all ready to some warmer weather.I think the weather messed with my GPS. It made our out and back look more like a loop. Ignore the 5K elevation gain. More like 1500 ft.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 30's and Sunny

Comments: Nearly the same run as Feb 22 in about the same time. I remember more complaining a month ago so we must be getting in better shape.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 40's and Cloudy

Comments: Good trail run today. Credit for the 2 mile climb goes to Carolyn although I accept responsibility for the last 1/2 mile. I only found one inaccurate place on the elevation from my watch of about 500 feet. That leaves 2500 feet we actually climbed. Well done!

Runners: Russ and Jim

Weather: Low 40's and Cloudy

Comments: Decided to take a run up Broadway today. About 27 minutes is not bad. It was fun to run over by the Zoo and finish with a big downhill through downtown.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Low 30's and Sunny

Comments: The run seemed kind of difficult today because was ran about 30 seconds per miles faster than usual for a hilly trail run. Good job troops!

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 40's and Rainy

Comments: We did this run Nov 2nd in nearly the same time. We started that run out a bit faster today but finished today's faster. Mile 7 was under an 8 minute pace. Back to the trail next week.



I did a little research and found something interesting. We did nearly the identical run two years ago (Febuary 25th 2012) and our moving pace was 1:15 slower per mile than today! Now I'm going to look up how we did in the Shamrock 2012.

So each should be able to run Shamrock 5-6 minutes faster than two years ago. Hmm......makes me think twice about not signing up.

Runners: Jim

Weather: Low 30's and Cloudy

Comments: Six inches of snow and 1/2 an inch of ice crust on top makes for an interesting run. Yak Trax on my running shoes provided traction. The 7 miles at an 11:00 minute pace felt much farther and faster.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Low 40's and Partly Cloudy

Comments: The same run as three weeks ago in the same time almost to the second. Prediction for next week is some kind of weather event type of run - Rain, Snow, Ice - something. Our run of good weather winter runs has to come to an end sometime (pretty good sentence for a math teacher.)

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Low 30's and Sunny

Comments: Interestingly we did the same exact route one year ago. Today we ran it 5 minutes faster and my average HR was 10 less. A lot of credit goes to the 10k series for providing year-round motivation.

Runner: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Upper 40's and Showery

Comments: We caught a nice break in between heavy rain and wind today. We ran 4 minutes faster than last Sept.

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Upper 20's and Sunny

Comments: Raced the Y2K14 10K in Forest Grove this morning. What a great way to start the year off.



The first graphic is splits from the race a year ago. The second one is from today. The the most significant improvement is HR during miles 5 and 6. Going faster and working less sounds good to me.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 40's and Cloudy

Comments: Ran from 24th and Quimby up to the Wildwood, out to Leif Ericksen and then back. Enjoyed a good breakfast at Stepping Stones. Good Times.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 40 and Cloudy

Comments: New trail! Okay it was a little muddy but great to make new routes.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Sunny and low 20's

Comments: What a great adventure run! Layers, Hotties, and watch out for ice. Doesn't get much better.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Sunny and Mid-20's

Comments: What a cold start to the RTSW. Carolyn got abandoned, bit and may have bonked but still ran under 2 hours. I'm not sure how Russ sleeps at night with all the lies he tells "I can't keep up this pace." Uh ya you can. And I finally ran what the online race predictors told me I should be able to based on past races. Carolyn was 13/34 in age group and I was 10/24. Russ was 7/17. Carolyn won that contest. Good racing!

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Low 40's and Cloudy

Comments: Last long run before RTSW. Good loop up Council Crest and over to Terwilliger. We seem to keep dodging the bad weather. Hopefully our luck will continue through next week.

Runners: Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Finally made a run to Stepping Stones! Thanks to Ruth, Dezi and the boys who met me at 24th and Quimby. It was exactly 10 miles from my house after I went to 25th instead of 24th. Overall downhill is the way to run. Why didn't I think of this years ago?

Runners: Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Thought for sure this was going to be the first misery run of the season. Guess not. Great weather. We stuck to the road to get ready for RTSW.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 50 and Cloudy

Comments: Another great weather day and good loop. Unfortunately the Run to Stay Warm will not have such great conditions.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Low 40's, Sunny

Comments: Great running weather. Over all time was average (1:25) but the moving time (1:08) was very good. Only the second time we have ever had to wait for the bridge, this time on the way back. Oh ya and Carolyn saw a big rat and screamed bloody murder.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Upper 40's and Cloudy

Comments: Almost 2K of elevation gain over 11 miles is a good run. Great weather too. When our long run reaches 13 miles we will celebrate by finishing at a good breakfast spot.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Mid 40's and Sunny

Comments: Another good loop. Looks like we are 1 month ahead of last year. We did nearly the exact loop last Nov 2nd in nearly the same time. Time to sign up for Run To Stay Warm.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Upper 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Good loop today. Congratulations Grandpa Russ!

Runners: Carolyn and Jim

Weather: Upper 50's and Partly Cloudy

Comments: Pretty sure we are the first to run the new trail from Marquam trail over to the Terwilliger. Will be nice when its done. We can still run on the existing trail. We mixed up the new bridge with the old one. It is still in place down the trail. According to the map there will be more access from Fairmont road. That opens up more options for a combination of road and trail.

Here is a link to the map of the project

Runners: Jim

Weather: Low 60's and Sunny

Comments: Poached my own race today. I was signed up but didn't notice the numbers needed to be picked up at Skyline Burger. I thought the numbers would be at the start so that is where I had Ruth drop me off. So I just ran and timed myself. No big deal.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: Upper 50's and Sunny

Comments: Nice to get back to loops versus out and backs. Just have to make the circle a little bigger each week.

Hikers: Carolyn, Brian and Jim

Weather: 60's and Sunny

Comments: Dog Mountain is the steepest hike I have ever been on. If you like a hike with a great view at the end this one is for you.



Here is the elevation chart:

Runners: Russ and Jim

Weather: Sunny and Upper 50's

Comments: Yet another mid week run up the hill. I would love to continue 6-7 mile runs during the week after school starts.

Runners: Jim and Russ

Weather: 60's and Sunny

Comments: Good run up Council Crest - again - seems to be the go to course for the summer.

Runners: Jim and a few hundred others

Weather: Lower 60's and Partly Cloudy

Comments: I am finally figuring out how to run the second half of a race faster than the first. It is about time!

The first picture is from January when I went out too fast. The second is from August with a negative split second half. The August run had a major hill climb. Running negative splits resulted in a lower average HR:

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 60 and Cloudy

Comments: A good summer run. We experienced a little more wildlife than normal. I swallowed a bug and Carolyn jumped over a mole that was eating a slug on the trail. Good Times:

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 50's and Cloudy

Comments: Heavy traffic on the Wildwood today. Even talked to guy from out of town who wanted to make sure he was not lost. Happy Anniversary Russ!

Runners: Russ and Jim

Weather: 60 and Partly Cloudy

Comments: Better to be running late than not at all.

Runners: Jim

Weather: 60's and Cloudy

Comments: Took a rare solo run up Council Crest today. It seems way harder when the pain is not shared.

Runners: Carolyn, Russ and Jim

Weather: 60's and Muggy

Comments: And again we inch the long run a little longer. Good job guys. Next stop the bench.