The Oregon coast can be a thing of beauty, and there have been many pinch-me moments looking out over the Pacific Ocean… listening to the crashing thunder of waves riding the sunset up the shore. Last Saturday, was not one of those days.
Heading into the 18 mile run up the coast I hoped for two things… little wind and no rain. Strike two. The wind was coming from the south… which just happened to be the direction I was heading for the next three hours… and soon after I started the rain began to fall.
I thought to myself… this is just a character builder. Any sane person would just call it a day… but in this world you have to be crazy to be sane. Running on highway 101 isn’t exactly ideal… there is a lot of traffic and when semi trucks pass feet away at 55 mph it can blow your hat off. Not to mention the rain they would pick up off the road to mix with dirt and toss back in my face.
Another thing about the road along the coast… it isn’t exactly flat. You hardly notice in a car… but the trek up to Cape Foulweather. Ah yes… and like Captain James Cook who made landfall in the Oregon wonderland in 1778 at the same spot… I proclaimed ‘this weather sucks’. The crest was the worst of the 1700 elevation change on the run.
I drove 9 miles into the course and hid some fluids and a snack earlier, and by the time I reached the halfway point I was cold and soaked. I checked in with my wife… and headed back out… after all… there was a beer at the end of the run.
The rest of the run was uneventful… but it did take quite a bit to get through all the lights in Newport. At the end of a long run trying to start after stopping is like trying to get a freight train moving. When I finally started crossing the bride in Newport… I could see my wife and kids waiting in the parking lot of the brewery below. I doubt any marathon finish could match that.
We were supposed to meet friends at the brewery… but apparently there is another Rough Alehouse in Newport that they confused the brewery with… so we relocated there.
All in all the run was fine… but they wind and hills did take a lot out of my legs. I hobbled through this week running… but somehow have to recover enough for 21 miler this weekend. Fun fun fun.
1 comment:
Ah yes, those "character-building" runs...what a pain. Good for you to get through it - nothing like beer as a motivational tool.
I'll be on the Springwater again this weekend, going all the way to the end of the line in Boring. Eeep. I hope I don't get eaten by a cow. :)
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