Central Oregon Vacation

We got back yesterday from a wonderful 10 day vacation. We stayed at a condo on a golf course right in the heart of Central Oregon. Zach and I had 5 days to ourselves and we made the most of it. We spent every day completing some big, ambitious adventure, really pushing our limits. It was amazing.

Later in the week, our families arrived from all over. Zach’s mom and stepdad from Montana, my mom and dad from Montana, my brother and sister-in-law from San Jose, and my cousin from Nevada. Plus some family friends drove down for the day from Seattle. It was so great! I haven’t talked about it much, but my mom isn’t doing very well and this was a very important time for our family. It was hard, but I’m so glad we did it.

I ran a few times, three long-ish runs and a couple shorter ones. Mostly on trails but a couple just on the bike paths around the resort. I spent way more energy on the epic hike we did when we climbed South Sister and on our several shorter hikes and other adventures. I’m not sure if I overdid it or if I should have run more… but either way the 50k is in a couple of days. I am nervous but I guess that is normal!

Well I will try to pick just a few highlights… there are more photos then I know what to do with. Enjoy!

Saturday 8/27

Trail run along McKenzie River Trail and around Clear Lake (most of this was a preview of part of the 50k course. The summary: beautiful, and very challenging)

   

Sunday 8/28

Trail run along Paulina Creek, including quick swim in a waterfall pool.

 

Monday 8/29

Climbed South Sister, Oregon’s 3rd highest mountain at 10,358 feet elevation. Very tough, but not technical besides a couple snow/glacier crossings. A bit scary but so fun. 12.5 miles total, 5,500 elevation gain, took about 8 hours total.

 

Tuesday 8/30

Rock Climbing at Smith Rock State Park. I can’t even describe how amazing this was. It was challenging, exhilarating, and just completely awesome. Zach really blew us away- the guide couldn’t believe it was his first time climbing outdoors. He is a natural!

  

Wednesday 8/31

Hiked Black Butte with Zach’s mom and stepdad

 

Thursday 9/1

Hiked around Paulina Lake at Newberry Crater National Monument

  

Friday 9/2

Trail run with my brother Jon and his wife Bri, then kayaking, swimming, and relaxing all afternoon at Elk Lake

   

Saturday 9/3

Another workout with Jon and Bri, this time their Crossfit-inspired roller derby workout. Ouch. Later, we went and hiked through a one-mile long Lava Cave… it was freezing (40 degrees) in there, but so cool.

 

Sunday 9/4

Long run around the resort. I may have gotten a little lost. Later, we floated the Deschutes River in Bend- along with about 1000 other people. So fun! Then we had a pizza party and surprise early-birthday party for me. :)

 

 

Monday 9/5 we headed home. It was so hard to go home! We had such a great time. The best part of the whole trip can’t be captured with a camera- the time I got to spend visiting with my family. I will always remember this vacation.

 

Thanks for reading- I will be back with a 50k race report as soon as possible. :)