Greetings from Portland! (That’s the city up there in the picture at the top of the blog, though it’s a bit rainier this time around.)
I’m having lots of fun, though I just got here Christmas morning. Christmas dinner with great people was followed by the most ridiculously awesome game of Catch Phrase.
Today I dragged my sleep-deprived self to a six-hour run that included Artic-like wind gusts, pelting rain, cold temperatures, and an occasional break in the clouds just to long enough to give us false hope. From 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. I was an ice cube while volunteering as a total of 69 runners — and one marathoning dog — ran a 0.95-mile loop around a park. Then I ran 6.2 miles. While it was my personal worst time in a 10k “race,” it was my longest run since Aug. 8, so I’m considering it a win. My stress fractured leg was fine, and my cranky tendon loved the non-flat course. (I’m told it was pretty flat by Portland standards. It was hilly by California Crappy Central Valley standards.)
The run was for Operation Jack, the autism charity I mentioned here before. The turnout was great, the organizers were awesome, and I’m glad people braved the weather, ran and donated. Here’s a picture at the end with Deb B.:
