For as long as I've been running downtown, I have had the idea to complete the loop - to run all the way downtown, then run back home. In fact, last year I dated a girl briefly who challenged me to do that with her once, but we parted ways before that ever happened. Caleb,
my webhost, even said that there's a similar trail that runs along the west bank of the Willamette River, paralleling (in concept if not geometry) the Springwater Corridor Trail I love so much.
Well, yesterday was the day I did it.
I had always assumed that such a loop would be close to, or more than, 10 miles. Yesterday morning, I measured it out, using Google Earth, and found that the loop from underneath the Sellwood Bridge, downtown, crossing over the Hawthorne Bridge, and back to finish in the same spot, was not quite 9 miles. 8.8 or so. When I extended it to cross over the Morrison Bridge, that got it to 9.7. Crossing the Steel Bridge made it 10.9 - and I didn't want to push myself that far. Soon, but not this day.
So I added a short section in my 'hood to make the Morrison Bridge loop into 10.0 miles even. And I was off.
I assumed that for this distance I'd probably do no better than a 12:00 pace on average - faster at first and then slowing in the last half. That meant that I could expect to be out for 2 hours. A long time for me, so I wanted to be prepared.
The weather was nice - sunny and in the high 50s, but windy. 2 hours before leaving, I ate a small breakfast of oatmeal (Quaker Instant Cinnamon and Apples... mmmm) with soy milk, and a small cup of low-fat yogurt - total of 275 calories. And the route I chose had water fountains available at around 1/3 and 2/3 of the distance, as well as near the start/finish. And I took along some of my favorite Cliff Shot Bloks for energy along the route. That was all in preparation.
The run itself went well. I wanted to slow down at first to about a 10:30 pace but just couldn't bring myself to slow that much. I was keeping about a 9:45-10:00 pace for almost the entire run downtown. There were lots of people on the trail, bikers, hikers and runners, and most of them were much more bundled up than I was, which led to second thoughts. I worried that the wind would dehydrate me faster than normal (and my normal sweating is already pretty fast), so I took advantage of every stop for water that presented itself.
I also made it a point to say "hi" to every runner I saw. Not all of them said "hi" back but in most cases I couldn't tell if that was because they were assholes or just out of breath. I tried to say hi to the bikers, too, but they usually went by too quickly.
I saw some amazing views - as I said, the weather was sunny and almost cloudless. I noticed that the osprey nest in Oaks Bottom has been moved - either that, or one osprey has moved out and another has moved in to a different location. I didn't have to stop and walk at any point leading up to, and over, the Morrison Bridge, which is the first major hill I encountered along the route. I smelled an evil tar smell along the south waterfront - probably the stench of evil emanating from Homer Williams' condos. And even though the aerial tram is also evil and a money pit, the tower for it sure is pretty to look at.
I also passed the grand opening of the southern extension of the Portland Streetcar. They had a band playing and a small crowd of people. I thought about stopping to see if they had water but didn't.
The Willamette Greenway Trail is interesting and winds along and up and down small inclines, much unlike the trail on the other side of the river, which is mainly straight sections or slightly curved. It's also here that I can see the results of tension between Oregon state law, which says that public access to any navigable body of water can not be restricted, and developers' desires to build private homes on waterfront. In many places along the public trail, I saw signs that asked me not to step off the trail because it was private property.
The last stop for water and Bloks was in Willamette Park. And from there it was probably only 2 miles to my finish line. I did the most walking along there, though, and up and over the Sellwood Bridge. I was nearing 2 hours of continuous running that's a first for me. It felt good to hit the down slope of the bridge and run around the block where the strip club is (the Riverside, if you're keeping track) and push myself past my finish line. As I crossed it (where the trail meets Umatilla Street) I raised my arms and gave myself a "whoo-hoo!". 10 miles felt great! I checked my watch and was blown away - 1:49:08!
As I walked to the water fountain, there to enjoy my last couple of Bloks and some water, I calculated that I had just finished in
under an 11:00 pace! That rocks and rolls, baby! All that speedwork and short-distance training does help!
My next couple of runs are going to be easy ones, as I pay attention to the truism that running doesn't make one strong - it's
recovering and
resting that makes one strong. But Saturday was an awesome day.
