Last
Spring, I wanted to run to the beach. I didn’t want to run Hwy 22/18
to Lincoln City so I started looking at alternatives. I wanted a long
run, something 30+ miles. I considered the last 30 or so miles of Hood
to Coast ending in Seaside. I even looked into the last 30 or so miles
of the old Hood to Coast Route Ending in Pacific City. As I asked
around, someone suggested that they thought there was a route from
Valsetz through the coast range.
The Upper Valsetz River
I had only heard of Valsetz, the ghost
town, from stories. Valsetz was a company owned mill town in the
coastal range. When Boise Cascade decided to close the mill in 1988 the
literally erased the town of Valsetz too. It had once been home to
nearly 1,200 people. In 1988, the mill and the entire town, houses,
stores, the 2 lane bowling alley, everything, were bulldozed and burnt
to nothing. There is plenty more to read and learn about Valsetz, but it seemed like an incredible place to start a journey.
Where We Begin
Armed with a cache of maps, and fantastic sidekicks, the best route has been discovered.
Jeanne and Elliott - The Fantastic Sidekicks
...and he works for pancakes.
On
June 23rd, 2012, we will start at the headwaters of the Siletz river
just west of where the town of Valsetz used to be and finish in the
Pacific Ocean at Taft, where the Siletz enters the sea. The Siletz is
70 river miles long, our route will be 34.5. The first 7 miles will
follow the upper Siletz through Valsetz and begin down the Siletz
Canyon.
The North Fork of The Siletz
At mile 7, we turn up Gravel Cree, which is much more scenic
than the name implies, and over the next 3 miles cross the creek several
times. Then comes the biggest climb of the day, up and around Suncrest
Point. From there, it’s across the Black Saddle ridge line and then
mostly downhill. The last 8 miles are on paved roads, until we hit the
sand in Taft. The majority of the run will be on timber company roads,
which means some combination of dirt and gravel. Some areas are still
heavily forested and beautiful, other areas have been clear cut and feel
like you’re on the surface of the moon (well....if the moon had tree
stumps everywhere). I'm hoping to work out some GPS tracking as almost the entire route is out of cell range. The route is set, now more planning....and training!
11 days to Eugene Marathon. I’m not ready. I’m not where I want my fitness to be. Part of my concern is my weight, most of it is these black shoes.
The Weight. It’s one of my favorite songs. It’s also near an obsession. I know I’m not fat. In fact, I know it probably pisses most people off to hear me complain about my weight because I’m thinner than most people I know, including runners. There is, however, no escaping the fact that the more I weigh, the slower I am. Maybe it’s just turning the cause and effect train around. The harder I train, the less I weigh AND the harder I train, the faster I get. I always feel under trained from where I want to be. I also know that somewhere in the neighborhood of 145-148 pounds is my ideal racing weight. I’m going to be over 150 for Eugene, probably even 153 ish. I can’t seem to get below 155 for more than a day or two. I used to have a “5 pounds in 10 days” trick. For the 10 days before a big race, I cut out all beer and bread. In the past, that used to drop me from 152 to 147. Hopefully this time it will drop me from 156 to 151. The Weight doesn’t bother me on long runs, it just comes along for the ride. It’s on tempo runs or speed work that I really notice it. It feels like I’m pulling a cannonball behind me.
“Get your cannonball, now to take me down the line
My bag is sinking low, and I do believe it's time
To get back to miss Fanny, you know she's the only one
Who sent me here, with her regards for everyone”
The Weight, Band
I’ve worn the same Asics 2000 series shoes for 8 years now. They change the model number every year, though the shoe itself doesn’t change very much, which is fine with me. Every January I can usually find a great deal on last year's model and I usually buy a few pairs. This “great deal” is usually $70 to $80, a new pair cost over $90. This year when I went looking for last year’s model I couldn’t find any in the usual places. I finally did find 1 pair, Asics 2160 size 8.5 EE....in black. It might not seem I pay much attention to what I look like, but it doesn’t mean I’m unaware. These shoes are hideous looking, but they were $49. Now, I’m convinced they’re slow. When my Mom used to take me to get a new pair of Keds, I would go outside and run and jump in them before she bought them just to affirm that they would, in fact, make me faster. I think these new black shoes are only going to be used on slow runs.
Sometimes you have to travel through bad to get to good. My very abbreviated journey through a bad running life patch, ends up working out like a bad patch in the middle of a run or race. It seems to start with a kernel of belief that it you will get through it, even if you don’t know how or when.
After a fun run to the Baskett Butte on Thursday and a scouting run over parts of an upcoming local 5k course on Friday, I was ready for a long run on Saturday. I parked 5 miles from where friends would be starting at 8:00 AM.I left myself 42 minutes to cover the 5, though I know they never start on time. I ran at a very comfortable pace and came in at 8:02, feeling really good. I haven’t run with a group in a long time, and the 10 miles with friends went by very fast. The 5 miles back to my car was into the wind and I was feeling a little fatigued but still felt really good.
Good enough, in fact, to notice evidence of how illiterate we’ve become.
I live near here?
See, you really do have to travel through bad to get to good, some times. I finished at the old Eola Inn, now a Rockin’ Rogers, still with a lovely view of the dump, unless you aim the camera correctly.
The Willamette, still very high.
This week is back to a schedule, with a slightly improved frame of mind.
I have no idea. I suppose the best answer is to run out of it. It’s been a rough year, physically, that’s probably part of. It’s been a crazy wet winter and early spring, that’s probably part of it too. Although I really enjoy running alone, I’ve probably spent too much time running in my own head. I’m probably over the apex of my running performance life. At 48 years old, I think deep down, I might be realizing that my fastest times are behind me, and none of them are as fast as I hoped they would be before this happened. Maybe this just happens to everybody at times. Running has been awesome for me, because it very rarely feels like work. This is the first time in 8 years and 16,000 miles of running that I’ve started regularly dreading workouts. I’m fine physically. In fact after a year filled with a torn shoulder labrum, three sprained ankles, plantar fasciitis and other assorted ailments, I feel as good right now as I have in a long time. My race calendar is a little lighter this year than past years, but there is still plenty to keep me motivated.
There is the weight issue. I never really got down to racing weight, ever, last year. I hovered around 156 pounds all year and only got down to 154 for Western States. I can usually get under 150 for races. I ran Autumn Leaves 50 miler in October at 158 pounds and swore I would never race at that weight again, it feels like pulling an anchor around. After taking a few low mileage months through the Winter my weight hovered around 160. Lately I’ve been between 155 and 157, but with Eugene Marathon 4 weeks away, it looks like I’ll be racing in the 150’s. Maybe this comes with age too, I don’t know.
2 things have really troubled me, and ultimately forced me to take a few days off and really think about why I am doing any of this. One, I’ve cheated, and I’ve done it more than once. I run a weekly 10 mile tempo run, on a track. It’s just 40 laps, all supposed to be exactly the same time. Ideally, those laps should be 1:57.....but consistency is the key.....if they were 2:00 but consistent, that would still be a quality workout. A few times in the last month, I’ve cheated. Somewhere around mile 6, when it starts to get hard, I’ve stopped my watch and stopped running for a while, enough to allow my heart rate to drop and get some oxygen through my body, then started up again. Might not seem like a big deal, but it is. I’ve recorded the times in my log as if I ran them legit. I’ve even shared my times with others as if they were legit. The second thing happened on Sunday. 20 mile run planned, and the wind was 20 mph and cold. I headed out, into the wind, so that I could get a tail wind coming home. The first 3 to 4 miles, it was just incredibly cold, then the rain started. 40 degrees and a hard wind driving rain, right into my face. At the 7 mile mark, I could not convince myself to go another 3 miles into the wind. I started bargaining with myself, “what if I turn around now, take the tail wind for a few miles, then figure out where to add another 5 ish miles to the route after I’ve warmed up etc”. I turned around at 7.5, but I knew I was lying to myself. I knew I wasn’t going to add 5 somewhere else. I knew as I got closer and closer to home the magnet would just get stronger.
So, I’ve taken 3 days off. I got a fantastic massage on Wednesday. Deleted this week’s planned workouts in my schedule. Last night I ran what sounded fun. I ran to the Baskett Butte and had Jeanne pick me up at the trailhead. I didn’t wear a watch, the pace felt playfully fast. I saw a red tailed hawk, some osprey, a white tailed kite and a small herd of deer. Tonight I’ll run what seems fun too. More troubling than failed workouts or low mileage or aches and pains has been the fact that for the first time, running has not been an absolute joy in my life. I’m going to find the joy, miles and times will just have to come along for the ride.
The Ferry Run last Friday (actually now the 12th of August) confirmed, again, something I’ve known all along. I’m just not honest with myself.
"some things in life you cannot measure by degrees"
The run seemed simple enough, 29 miles, really flat. I had even scouted out the route by car ahead of time, carefully making mental notes to myself. I knew there was no public water between mile 7 and 16. I said to myself that if I really needed water there were farm houses I could get water from. I knew this wouldn't work, I know myself. It was hot, high 80's, no cover, my single bottle was almost empty around mile 12, but, “I don't like the look of that house” or “that one’s too far off the road” etc. “That one looks trashy, I'll see what the next one is like”, this went on for a few miles, all the while not drinking the last few gulps in my bottle, saving them forwhen I really needed them. Mildly dehydrated I came upon a house with sprinklers on.
Whew, barely made it!
I held my hat in the sprinkler to get it wet, then attempted to fill my bottle from the fan sprinkler going back and forth. it was taking forever, so with my bottle half full I got frustrated and quit. The water was warm, smelled funny and tasted worse. I was now only a mile from the Ferry, so I convinced myself there would be water at the Ferry. I knew there wasn't water at the Ferry, I'd checked it out earlier, but I was convinced, so convinced that I poured the nasty tasting water over my head, so as to not drink it by accident.
Looking South up the Willamette River, yes that's unusual.
There wasn't water on either side of the Ferry. Jeanne came out to check on me around mile 15 and road crew me in, I was pretty nauseous and bitchy. She informed me that there was absolutely no shoulder on the road until Lincoln. I knew this, I'd scouted this out too, making a mental note that there was no shoulder for 5 miles. At the time, that didn't seem very far, and just stepping off the road when a car went by, didn't seem like itwould be a big deal. Stepping off onto steeply sloped loose gravel every few minutes started out as annoying and quickly bloomed into outright frustration. By the time I'd reached the Lincoln store at mile 20 I was ready to quit. I started the "dismount", waist pack unhooked and flung into the back of the car, same treatment given to sunglasses and hat, and the complaints started pouring out. She handed me a Coke and said, "drink some of this and lie down for a few minutes", and as has happened many times, like the commercial of life, I was reborn.
I'm not sure where I was, exactly, but I was 15,000 miles from where I started.
It wasn’t a pretty finish, but the last 9 miles were much better than the previous 9. It’s a beautiful run, one that I intend to do again. I think some consideration could be given to day and time of day that the 5 mile stretch of the Salem-Dayton highway with no shoulder is run. Late afternoon on a Friday probably wasn’t the best planning. I went passed 15,000 miles, somewhere in the middle of some hop fields and boarding the Ferry on foot with the other cars was a treat.
Ventis Taphouse was too full to get in, when we got there, but sushi is never a bad second choice.
Next up, Hood to Coast, which is more about social endurance than physical endurance, then Autumn Leaves 50 miler the last weekend in October.
To celebrate the opening of the new Venti’s Cafe and Tap Room in Salem, I’m very loosely organizing a Ferry Run for Friday August 12th.
Gallagher Fitness and Venti’s Cafe are co sponsoring a GFR/V2V, Venti’s to Venti’s Run/Walk every Friday for the next six weeks. You register at the Downtown Venti’s between 4:00 and 7:00 PM then walk or run to the New Venti’s, earning you a $2 off coupon for an entre at Venti’s and a $3 off coupon for Gallaghers.
The Ferry Run will start at the New Venti’s at high noon, run through downtown Salem, out to River road in Keizer. We will then take Wheatland Ferry Road, cross the Wheatland Ferry, .for free on foot. Then come back on Wallace Road over the foot bridge to the Downtown Venti’s to register. Then it’s just 2 more miles to the New Venti’s for eating, drinking and relative merriment.
The total round trip route is about 29 miles, a map can be found here. I was planning to take about five ish hours to do the first 27 to the Downtown Venti’s then walk the last 2 miles in. There is plenty of water along the course and numerous stores. There shouldn’t be more than 6 to 7 miles without easy water access and about a 15 mile stretch from mile 7 to about 22 without any stores. Jeanne will be able to be out on the course and we could easily arrange a water drop somewhere near the ferry. There could easily be ways for shorter distances too.
If you’re interested, email me at owensx41@gmail.com and we can coordinate etc.
I don’t normally pay birthdays much mind. In fact, I prefer something bigger to be going on so that my birthday isn’t a big deal. For some reason, it’s feeling like a big deal this year.
A brief recap of my 48th year:
Jewelia got married on the Oregon coast. It was, in the interest of accuracy, the day before my birthday, but I needed some highlights.
Jewelia and Tyler
My first DNF ever came on my first 100 mile attempt at Lean Horse in South Dakota. I felt like I learned so much from this experience and maybe I did. And maybe there is just a lot to learn.
Where the Buffalo Roam
After only completing 55 miles at Lean Horse I felt like I had a bunch of training I didn’t use up and attempted a Boston Qualifier in Tri Cities in October. It was probably my best marathon effort ever, but very strong headwinds for the last 10 miles proved to be too much.
7 Brides Tap Room
I took the month of November “off”, only running 70 miles for the month, then in early December found out I’d been selected in the lottery for Western States. My training was going along so well, including a 35 mile run to 7 Brides Tap Room in Silverton, OR and then the first of three separate sprains to my left ankle, including one during Peterson’s Ridge 40 miler, my second DNF.
My ankle almost permanently looks like this now.
In between these sprains and recoveries I managed 70 miles at The Pac Rim 24 in Longview WA.
This picture is only here because Elliott is so cute.
Then came a very fun time at the Western States Training runs, Memorial Day Weekend.
I'll be back.
Followed a month later by Western States, which was the trifecta for DNFs.
So, what have I learned. Not much, unfortunately. I wish I could point to one specific thing, either in training or on race day, but it’s been a combination of things, that mostly just boils down to train more and get more experience. I do have the feeling of unfinished business for these three races, but am in no big hurry to settle any scores. I’m going to run on a Hood to Coast Team, and event I’ve always described as more social endurance than physical endurance. Then set all of my sights and training on running a 50 mile PR at Autumn Leaves in October. PR is 8:46, but I’m really gonna shoot for sub 8 hours. After that I’m probably going to give in and get the much needed surgery to repair a torn labrum in my shoulder. I originally injured it last November attempting a crazy stunt, even by my standards. I injured it throwing a towel over a shower rod at a hotel in Pasadena. My seasoned advice? If you ever find yourself, freshly out of the shower, in a hotel room bathroom in Pasadena, just leave your towel on the floor.
