Sunday, September 27, 2009

What a weekend

As usual, I am posting this on Sunday night after an exhausting weekend. But this time, it is after the BEST WEEKEND EVER. Ya, ya, I did some training and it was great, but this weekend was so much more than that. I don't even want to get started because I could really start crying right now just thinking about it. Emily and Josh's wedding in Hood River was amazing. The setting was breathtaking and was only out shined by our little pal Emily and her sweet husband. They were absolutely adorable and it was truly an honor to be present at their wedding. It was great to spend the evening with all our great friends and a bunch of fun new people.

I especially loved spending the entire weekend with Maritza, who flew in Thursday night and left this morning. We went for two great runs together and then today Zach and I capped off the weekend with our longest training ride ever. To quickly (I'll try) recap: Friday morning Maritza and I did a 14 mile long run along the Springwater trail. After a delicious post-run brunch at Isabel down the street, we all headed out to Hood River about noon and stopped at Multnomah Falls along the way. We arrived in Hood River and checked into the historic Hood River Hotel right downtown. A school bus picked up all the guests and drove us up to the Gorge Crest Vineyards where the wedding was held. The scenery was indescribable. See photos below. Absolutely amazing. The ceremony was perfect. Everyone cried. The dinner, the party, the donuts, the after-party, everything was incredible. The next morning, despite very little sleep and a moderate to severe hangover, Maritza and I went up to the Historic Columbia River Highway Trail and she got in 6 miles and waited for me while I ran 9. We spent the rest of the afternoon at a beautiful old farm with a view of Mt. Hood where we picked flowers and laid in the grass relaxing and talking. Then we headed to the house Emily's family had rented for a bbq and some more visiting before we headed back to Portland. I took Maritza to the airport this morning and then Zach and I went out and rode all around Clackamas County (south of Portland) and wrung every last bit of energy we had out of ourselves. In summary, best. weekend. ever.

I am really really happy and thankful for all the beauty and love in this world. I know, so cheesy. But that's what you get.

Let me recap my training week here, but I will try to keep it short. The photos of the weekend are at the end.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Rest
Unscheduled rest day. My legs were SORE from the trail run and I knew it would be a mistake to push it.

Wednesday: Bike
Spin class/1:00
No Alisa. :(

Wednesday: Run
4.75 miles/45:48/9:38 average pace
Deana met me after I got out of spin and we ran the waterfront loop. Great run!

Wednesday: Swim
3100 yards/1:20
Masters plus 20 minutes swim after class.

Thursday: Bike
23.8 miles/1:25:11/16.7 MPH
Same route I did last Thursday- repeated out-and-backs on the Springwater trail. Zach joined me but I refused to draft. I was a bit windy but I managed a faster pace than last week. Making this my fastest training ride ever! Ya!

Thursday: Swim
2200 yards/1:00
Masters

Friday: Run
14.0 miles/2:23:47/10:16 average pace
Long run with Maritza. :)

Saturday: Run
9.25 miles/1:24:17/9:06 average pace
Historic Highway trail in Hood River. First couple of miles with Maritza. :) Hungover from Emily's wedding, yet happy as a clam.

Sunday: Bike
70.0 miles/4:59:40/13.9 MPH
Clackamas ride. Hilly and CRAZY windy. I felt really good and stayed positive the whole time. The ride was slow but very challenging. Really fun way to spend the day with Zach. Seriously, like the entire day. With bathroom breaks and stoplights and everything we were out there for over 6 hours.

TOTALS for the week:

swim: 2:20 (5300 yards)
bike: 7:25 (93.8 miles plus spin)
run: 4:35 (28 miles)
total training time: 14:20


Right where I want to be and feeling great. Ironman Arizona is 8 weeks from today.

And now, photos. I decided to only pick a few of my very favorite ones. We took 400 pictures this weekend. Plus I have Maritza's 200 or so, plus a few dozen mobile pics to choose from. I can't get enough of them but if I started posting all the ones I like there would be hundreds. These are a few of my favorites. Enjoy! Thanks for reading, and have a great week!





















21 comments:

Petraruns said...

Wow Jen that indeed looks like QUITE a weekend. How wonderful! The wedding looks fabulous, as do you and Maritza (and Zach) and you had such a great weekend of training despite / because of it. Fantastic!

Anonymous said...

Eight more weeks!! I can't believe how fast the time is going. You are staying strong and getting stronger..does that make sense???

the pictures are beautiful. Love your dresses.

Kim said...

FANTASTIC weekend jen! you always impress me with how much fun you and your friends have! the wedding and rest of the weekend pictures are truly spectacular. im so glad you had a wonderful weekend! (ps you look smokin hot at the wedding my dear!)

Alisa said...

Awesome! It was a pretty great weekend!

The pictures from Saturday at the farm are amazing. I've heard the "fruit loop" near Mt Hood is amazing.

All that training and you managed to squeeze in an equal amount of fun--love it!

kristen said...

GREAT picutres!!! I apreaciate the beauty in the world too. It's not cheesy.

Great bike ride Sunday. Your training is looking fantastic.

Kelly said...

Awesome pictures. I so heart Hood River and Multnomah Falls! That last picture is too cool.

The bride looks beautiful.

Great runs/biking this weekend too!

Beth said...

Looks and sounds like an amazing weekend! You and Maritza have the exact same smile in all the pictures of you two together!

Cindy said...

great pictures--the bees on the flower are so cool! and your sentiment wasn;t cheezy at all!ratemat

Gotta Run..... said...

Eight more weeks.... holy cow... time is flying.

Glad you had such a nice time with your friend. Way to fit it all in.

Amy said...

Love, love, love the pics. Sounds like a great weekend indeed!

And, wow, 8 more weeks!

Sarah said...

GREAT photos!! Still can't believe I missed it :(

And great training going, missy!

SavvyFitChica said...

WoW! What a great post! I know what you mean (without wanting to be cheesy too) when you have one of those weekends where you realize how lucky you are to have the people around you that you do. So very cool!

I love the pic of you guys laying in the grass... okay, who am I kidding, I loved them all!

Your little blue number was stunning! You look smokin'!

OMG- ONLY 8 WEEKS! EEEK!!! :)

Susan said...

It is so gorgeous where you live! I'm so jealous...your pictures are always beautiful! Glad you had an amazing weekend...love your dresses and the smile on your face. :)

RunToTheFinish said...

clicked over from another blog and was totally shocked to see Maritza in your post! Now I know you must be awesome because she is such a sweetie...a non-posting sweetie but none the less!

Anonymous said...

That does sound like the best.weekend.ever :) I love how weddings make you feel all lovey dovey and happy. Great job on enjoying the wedding and getting a ton of training done!

love the pics!

Marathon Maritza said...

I need all your pics! Especially the ones of us on the grass! ♥

Dude, that person who commented that we have the same smile in all the pics is so right....we have this completely-excited, sh*t-eating-grin thing going on because WE HEART EACH OTHER!

I miss you already. And awesome training week with all the stuff going on to boot!

Amy - the gazelle said...

great training & great pics!

You continually amaze me with your athleticism & perseverance!

ShirleyPerly said...

What a wonderful weekend of friendship, love and training!!

Seriously, I don't know how you fit it all in. And great job on especially that long ride in the wind. I know how tough it is to ride in strong wind (the invisible enemy). But come race day, you will be stronger for it.

Keep up the all the positive vibes and thanks for those lovely photos. Reminded me of my visit to the area recently.

Emily said...

I love the pics and can't WAIT to see them all. I've been gushing cheese for several days now over all of this (bad visual, but you know what I mean) and I'm so glad that you, MM and Zach were able to be a part of it. I am still glowing and love you guys at it all soooo much. What a great time! I never expected it to be THIS wonderful. Hopefully my feet do not hit the ground for a while.

Ewen said...

Geeze, Zach scrubs up pretty well. And you don't look too bad yourself Jen - I like the blue dress photo. And the moon over Mt Hood one. And the sunset pink dress one...

Awesome weekend. Hope you had a beer for me at the Hood River Hotel!

Aron said...

i thought i commented on this already but i just found it starred... hmmm :)

looks like SUCH an amazing weekend! between the awesome workouts and all the wedding events... love weekends like that :)