training update and waterfall pictures

We drove to Multnomah Falls in the Gorge today. It's only about 20 miles away, and even though we've passed by it lots of times we haven't actually visited since we moved here. It was cold but didn't start raining until we were nearly done with the hike. We hiked the mile to the top of the falls for a great view of the gorge. The waterfall is amazing! It's totally touristy but worth it. There are a bunch of pictures at the end of this post. :)

But first, training stats! I had such an awesome week. I rode outside on Thursday, ran in Forest Park on Friday, and then did a long run Saturday with some goal pace miles. Plus the scheduled million pushups.

Thursday: bike
10.3 miles/38:55/15.8 MPH
Waterfront/Springwater Trail
I wore Zach's heart rate monitor and was surprised to see I was working harder than I was on Tuesday's trainer ride (which was interval-ly!). I averaged 154 with a peak of 174. I think I don't notice the effort as much because the sweat dries and plus it's just fun.

Friday: run
6.0 miles/51:24/8:34 average pace
Easy run in Forest Park

Saturday: run
14.5 miles/2:00:45/8:19 average pace
Heritage Trail, Camas WA
Emily not only suggested this place, but had an amazing run the time she was there so I figured it was a great place to run fast. :) It's a 3.5 mile dirt (crushed gravel actually) trail that follows the west side of Lacamas Lake. It's got these little bitty hills that are kind of fun but kind of annoying. It was super windy too, but luckily we ran out and back twice so we only had the wind half the time.

We started with some easy miles to warm up- 3.87 miles at 8:15 average pace

Then 7 miles at Goal Pace (which for me to PR is 7:55). Those 7 miles were done at exactly 7:55 average! I didn't look at my Garmin the whole time so I was letting Zach guide us along and our splits actually ranged from 7:39 to 8:15. It was definitely hard but as we got near the end I got a second wind and finished strong.

The "cool down" miles were pretty rough! The final 3.63 miles were done at 9:08 average pace. I was toast and the wind was harsh and the little hills were sucking any energy I had left. I made a point to stop and read the interpretive signs about the local wildlife. Ha! I pretended to be very interested but really I just needed to rest. I'm ok with that though because I did the Goal Pace miles with only a 30 second or so break to suck down my Gu at the half way mark.

I'm very happy in general with this run! It was hard but I still have 5 weeks until my goal race. Plenty of time to rack up the miles and do speed work. :)

totals for the week:

run: 34.5 miles

bike: 1 hour trainer ride and one 10.3 mile ride outside

swim: 0 (Let my ears de-plug before I get back in the water. They are definitely better so I think this was a good decision.)

Multnomah Falls Pictures:

Me on the stone bridge:

From the stone bridge:

On the hike up:

Looking down the falls (see the bridge and parking lot on the right of the photo)

Columbia River from the top of the falls:

Mist:

Mist:

Zach, back down near the bottom:

Looking up at the top of the falls, zoomed in on the viewing deck: