Hooked on Trails: 2016

2015 was a great year of running for me and I hoped to continue that in 2016. But I experienced a lot of change and turmoil in my personal life that carried over into my running.

Late spring snow run up Tanner Butte - one of my favorite gorge trails - still closed from the 2017 fires.

March: Pacific Rim One Day - 32 miles. There are only a few times that I've tried for big miles at Pac Rim. This was one of those days when I was just going for a 50k (plus 1, of course!). I was still riding on that fitness wave from 2015 and consider this my 50k road PR - I came through that mark in 5:25:16.

Showing off my kettlebell created muscles at Pac Rim - but really just a slightly less skinny runner

April: Tillamook Burn 50 Mile - 11:43. I'm pretty sure this was the first year of this race and while it was one of my slower 50 mile times to date, the course was challenging so not a bad time for me. I remember running with some out of town runners and feeling pretty good, although I did take a tumble.

It's not a true trail race without a little blood, right?

May: McDonald Forest 50k - 6:54. It was a muddy year so while not my best time at Mac Forest I'll take a sub 7 hour finish under those conditions.

Mac Forest Mud

This is when my year took a turn for the worst. My father passed away that June. (In fact, it turns out I'm posting this on the 6th anniversary of his passing.) I was registered for the inaugural NUT 100k, but the race was the weekend after I had flown out to Arizona to be with my father in his last days. His memorial was the weekend after the race. I was physically prepared for a hard race but emotionally and mentally I wasn't. Some well meaning friends told me I should run it for him. But I just didn't have it in me so I dropped out. My goal race in 2016 was Cascade Crest 100. I'm pretty sure I was still on the waitlist but in a good position to get into the race. However I ended up dropping out of this race too. I'd pretty much lost my mojo for racing.

July: Pick Your Poison 12 Hour Trail - I completed 3 loops for 43.5 miles. It was so muggy I could ring out my running skirt. Pretty sure this was the time Todd tried to convince me to go out for a 4th loop, even offering to pick me up if I ran a partial loop. But nope, I was done.

I didn't race for the rest of the year, but there were still a lot of adventures. I wanted to soothe my soul in nature on my own terms. In August, Marc and I went to the Mt Margaret backcounty for the first time ever. Mind blown! We showed our pictures to Bart (formerly The Little Guy, but then on the cusp of his senior year in high school) and he wanted us to take him so we went back the next weekend.

Hiking up to Coldwater Peak with Mt Adams, Spirit Lake and St. Helens lake in the background

Bart takes his first tumble and becomes a true dirtbag trail runner!

Me and the not so little guy near Mt Margaret

Also in August, Marc and I worked the Maiden Lake aid station at Waldo and pretty much had the best time ever. That's Scott Wolfe in the mask. Generally, what happens at a Waldo aid station, stays at a Waldo aid station, but there may have been some hijinks going on while waiting to serve the runners.