How To Save a Season In Just One Trip part 1

I've never been the kind of guy to ride or even strive to ride 100 days in a season. I don't live close enough to the mountain and I don't have that kind of ambition. Quality powder days are more my style. Problem is, sometimes timing, weather and circumstance just don't cooperate. This year was one of those years until I pulled off a small miracle in early-April.

Early season sucked. Mt. Hood Meadows is good enough to give me a media pass and I always try to make it up for opening weekend. The last few have been good. Cold, dry snow covered most of the terrain. This year, they pushed for an early opening and it was a 'white ribbon of death' scenario. They didn't even run the main lift. It was Buttercup to Vista to dining room table runner. This is all second-hand, of course, I didn't even show. Snow came at a trickle through December and a week into January we were still looking at only two feet of total snowpack. One big storm in mid-January brought plans for my first pow-day of the year. The rain that came after dampened those plans.

The alternating rain and snow of June-uary continued. One day, sunny and 50. The next, rain. January was mostly a bust, too. The second-best storm came as I was leaving town for Colorado at the end of the month. Luckily, it was snowing there, too and I got some good days in. Realistically, though, it was SIA and I was demoing boards and nowhere near mid-season form. I was almost glad to take a break every two runs. On top of that, it was a new resort and I didn't know my way around anyway. I took a couple good runs with a knowledgeable local guide (thanks, Gags), but overall it was more business than pleasure.

SIA. Intense.

SIA was, however, the source of my season-saver. Wasatch Equality was having a silent auction fundraiser and the deals were smoking. I picked up a bunch of gifts for family and one big steal for me: a four-day trip to Baldface Lodge for about one-third of normal price. Winter was starting to look up.

February came in hot. So hot that the entire city got shut down from the snow for a solid week. About the time I was going to head up to Baker for the Banked Slalom, my buddy from Bellingham was headed down here claiming that they didn't have any snow. So I stayed put. The mountain wasn't nearly as good as you'd hope when there was so much snow in town. A little inverted. Some rain. I got in a good day or two, but nothing consciousness-expanding. My first legit pow day didn't even come until the last week of the month.

March can be the best month of the season. Everything comes together, the base is built and the storms are a little more mellow. This March was unspectacular, especially after we just got done with a February that dumped 11 feet on us. Again, a couple good days, a couple fun days, memorable, but not all-time.

Now, I'm not Nose-dradamus, but I bet you're wondering, "What the hell did you do with yourself all winter? You weren't updating the blog, that's for sure." Actually, I spent a bunch of time in the gym preparing for pow days, so I wouldn't fold three runs in. I took my frustration out on some weird metal plates, some stretchy bands, some cables and pulleys. I climbed up some wooden and plastic walls a couple times a week. I ended up rather liking it. I even put on a little muscle. The whole time, my eye was on that Baldface trip at the end of March. If I wanted to charge for four days in a row of cat boarding, I needed to be ready.

Warrior Dash Learning

Over the weekend I did my most intense training for the Warrior Dash. I knocked off a four and a half mile run on a flat course in 35 minutes and ran either 3.3 or 2.7 miles (depending on whose map or GPS you trust) on a hilly course in 31 minutes. My confidence for the Dash is at an all-time high. At the end of the hilly run, I even did a bit of bear crawl under some playground equipment to simulate warrior obstacles. Nearby parents shared quizzical looks as they shepherded their children away from the crazy, ursine man.

Also, I'm getting a fair amount of contribution for my fundraising efforts. As of this writing, I'm still short of the $200 goal I set in order to wear a costume for the race. Not much short, but still short. Keep those dollars coming, race day is now inside a week!

One of the fun things about training has been discovering new things in my own neighborhood. For example, roses grow in any patch of grass left unattended. That's not news, this is the City of Roses after all. The fun flora doesn't stop there. Apricot, plum or plucot trees grow quite hardily and right about now anyone running on the sidewalks will have to navigate the minefield of their fruity droppings. I don't know when fig season is, but some of the trees in my neighborhood look like they're nearing harvest time. I've only ever seen one kiwi tree in my entire life and it just happens to grow six blocks away.

Just your neighborhood kiwi tree

This Sequoia 'totem' spreads her arms a block off the beaten path

Another thing I 'learned' in my training: running outside in 103° heat is just as miserable as 60 and hosing rain. I'm not sure which is worse. One thing's for certain, knowing I can run through those conditions was a big confidence boost. It's too soon for an accurate race day forecast, but my crystal ball says it won't be any worse than anything I've already been through.

Now, it's all over but the race. The hard training is behind me. I'll run a shorter route or two over the next few days, but nothing over a mile. Mostly I'm just letting my body recover from the hard stuff. In other words, I'm ready. I actually looked forward to and enjoyed my hardest training toward the end, so the race should be a good time. Barring catastrophe, I will compete and complete. Now I just need a couple more bucks and a kick-ass costume. Any ideas?

Portland Bridge Pedal

Any city that sits on two rivers is going to have a couple bridges. Portland has 10 and that's just on the Willamette River. During the Portland Bridge Pedal, applicants to the 10-bridge ride get to cross all but two (yeah, we repeated a couple and left out Burnside and Broadway). Now this was no bike lane traffic jam, we actually took to the roadway with the traffic blocked off.

Looking up the Fremont Bridge on a light traffic morning

 

 

 

Congressman Earl Blumenauer delivers the opening address

Widest 'bike lane' ever on the St. Johns Bridge

The finish area: munch a free snack, hear the pep band play Thriller

The sun was still high in the sky when we finished, but after 40 miles and about 5 hours of biking, I was done. No amount of free chocolate milk, Clif Bars, sports drinks, ice cream bars or popsicles could revive me. A 3-hour nap on the other hand...

Bridges: Now With More Running and Biking

Warrior Dash training is moving right along. Today I ran for eight straight minutes, walked for five, then ran for eight more. My knees feel normal, too. No painkillers required. My ankles feel a little worse for wear, but nothing I can't sleep through. Overall things are going much better than I expected. The shoes broke in almost instantly and are now quite comfortable. I'm not wearing them to the beach instead of flip flops, but they feel good on a run.

Speaking of running here's a picture of one of the places where I train. When I'm in the mood for speed work, I head to this bridge.

The Brooklyn Bridge:  51 stairs and 11 seconds to the top.

I know what you're thinking... it's because it's on Brooklyn Street. And because I have to go hard to make it through more than a couple intervals. Last time I did nine and almost fainted. Then I questioned my purpose the whole walk home. If only there was a mountain bike trail I could actually bike to. Thing is, by the time I drive to the nearest one, I'd already be done with a session at the bridge and back home. Sounds like an argument for me living closer to the mountains, I know. This running shit better have me riding harder come winter time.

Oh, here's a special little event I get to do this weekend, the Portland Bridge Pedal. Once a year, for one day only (just a couple hours really) Portland closes her bridges to motor vehicles and lets people bike across them. It's an organized event (unfortunately that means we have to pay) that draws thousands of bikers every year. This will be my first. A fun little 46 mile spin. See, training can be fun. It's still so strange to be writing about training. I feel like I'm talking about someone else...