Fueled by Fine Wine

Number three is in the bag! And seeing as I am having a hard time going up and down stairs today I might as well update this.
Fueled by Fine Wine as an absolutely stunning course put on by the Dundee Vineyards Association in Dundee, Oregon in the Willamette Valley (now make sure you pronounce that correctly). The course covered a variety of terrain, from asphalt to gravel to farm paths through the vineyards. From descriptions of last year's course we knew we were in for something special and something challenging, these race organizers love their hills. I will never again complain about having to head up 8th Ave to UBC, at least with 8th there is a block or two of warm-up - not the case this weekend, over the start line out of a park and boom there's the first hill, that went on and on and on (or so it seemed), we climbed through the residential area of Dundee before venturing into the vineyards and heading back down again to Fox Farm Road, it was very challenging to not turn off and head straight back to bead as we ran right by our home for the weekend, Fox Farm Cottage. More hills were to follow, and more vineyards, and more hills, you get the picture. The most challenging hill took us for a loop around vineyards with some of the most spectacular views. Thank you to Newton for the Tuesday night training sessions - I know they helped, and thanks to Kate for the trail runs on the North Shore, they sure gave me the confidence to run downhill on farm tracks and to conserve energy by walking up the big ones. With one more hill at mile 12 the finish line was finally in sight, and not only a finish line but a fantastic medal and wine tasting with at least 20 local wineries, can you say pinot noir at 9:30 am?
The organizers were correct, you may not get your best time but you will have your best time - it was a fantastic experience. (Dave may disagree but perhaps he took the run a little too seriously :))

Here's a few pics, you'll note you don't see many people actually running up those hills, in fact I don't think I've ever seen such a large portion of the field walking the hills. 

On the other thing that I am supposed to be working on while doing all these runs - well the last couple weeks have not been all that productive but...I have nailed down my research questions and am continuing to expand my background knowledge learning all about advocacy coalition theory, tenure and promotion policies and practices, and also exploring qualitative research techniques. I'm also exploring means of keeping my work organized, OneNote is looking promising but I've got to figure out what office 2010 has done to my laptop, they don't like each other. Another month of so of reading and processing and then it will be time for comprehensive exams in early fall - if I can figure out the paperwork that is.

Next up - the Delta Half sometime around August 14th.

Is it time already?

Yes it is - time for number three.
Later this week I will be hopping in the car for a drive to Portland, eventually ending up in Dundee, Oregon for the Fueled by Fine Wine Half Marathon. Plans for this trip have changed a little (well maybe a lot) since we first decided to venture to the Willamette Valley. What was initially going to be a family trip to the Oregon coast ending up in Dundee for a little wine and running, has become a father-son road trip across the US. Dave has been talking about getting a classic car for a while, and a little more than a week ago he found what he wanted - a 1966 El Camino. A day later and a few hours spent watching e-bay he was an owner - one small problem though, the car was located in Anna, Illinois (where?). After a busy weekend of planning I dropped Dave and Michael off at Seatac airport, they flew to St. Louis, got a ride to Anna and picked up the "kami" (as it is now affectionately known) on the morning of June 29th. Since then they have been making their way across the US: Sullivan, Missouri, Kansas City, Grand Island, Nebraska, Cheyenne, Wyoming, and currently in Evanston, Wyoming. We will be meeting up in Portland probably on Wednesday this week, and then will spend a few days exploring Portland - I think the boys may have had enough driving by then and a trip to the coast may have to wait for another year :)

When we do finally get to the half marathon location, we will get to enjoy running through and by a number of Willamette Valley wineries, and then get to sample the wines at a tasting after the run (no wines on course this time). Won't be looking for any PB's this time around, the route looks just a tad challenging (although they say the hills aren't quite so bad this year).

Stay tuned, I'll be back with a race report and restaurant reviews in a little over a week.