Hippie Chick Half Marathon

11. May 2013 · 3 comments · Categories: Becky's Adventures, Healthy Living, Oregon, Running · Tags: , , ,

Back in December, I signed up for the Hippie Chick Half Marathon organized by the local race company Run with Paula Events. There were many factors that made this race appealing to me. For starters, I am a slow runner (who likes to take frequent walking breaks) and the race had a 4 hour time limit, catering to runners and walkers of all abilities. I’d never run an all-women’s race before and it supported a good cause — the Raphael House of Portland. As an added bonus, the start line was only 2 miles from where I live. I could have literally walked there…had I not been planning to also run 13.1 miles.

I picked up my pre-race swag at Portland Running Company on Thursday. I will be getting a lot of use out of my race t-shirt and reusable tote. I devoured the Luna Bar and a complimentary Iced Matcha Green Tea Latte at Peet’s Coffee as pre-race fuel.

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The half and quarter marathoners started at the same time and ran the first few miles together. At the starting line, we observed 26 seconds of silence in remembrance of what happened at last month’s Boston Marathon, which was a tragedy — but not a defeat — for the entire running community.

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I knew by mile 2 that the bigger challenge for me today would be the heat/humidity rather than the distance. Although I grew up in the desert, I still struggle with determining the right level of hydration and have previously fallen prey to both heat exhaustion and overdosing on water. I decided to take a slow, steady pace and enjoy the gorgeous scenery.

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At about 5-1/2 miles, we passed Vander Zanden Farms. It was a bit too late in the season for tulips, but the owners left us a welcoming message.

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We passed many other farms along this rural course, and as the miles rolled by I began to dream about what I would eat after the race.

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At around 7-1/2 miles, we passed the Old Scotch Church, built in 1873. Because I was running, I just snapped a quick photograph as I went by.

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In keeping with the race theme, our turn-around point just up the road was this groovy “70s man.”

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My left knee became a bit painful around the 10-mile marker, so I decided to slow down my pace a bit more with longer walking breaks. My main goal was to finish, rather than to beat a certain time. But once I hit the 13-mile marker, I made a mad dash for the finish line.

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In the end, I finished in 3:01:28. Rather than giving out finishers’ medals, we got these sweet necklaces.

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Dublin

26. March 2013 · 3 comments · Categories: Becky's Adventures, Photography · Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Everyone should spend at least one St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland. With an estimated half-million people crowded into the streets of central Dublin, it was a bit challenging to view the parade, but excellent for people watching.

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We finally ended up in a local pub, where we enjoyed a pint of Smithwick’s while watching the parade on television.

At sunset on St. Patrick’s Day, many of the major buildings in Dublin are lit up green. We didn’t make it back to the city center, but our hotel was near to the convention center.

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Monday morning we paid a visit to the National Leprechaun Museum, as both my husband and I were interested in learning more about Irish folklore. The only option to visit this museum is to be a part of a guided tour, led by a “storyteller.” While we did learn bits of interesting information during our 45 minute visit, both my husband and I felt it wasn’t worth the 12 euro price of admission.

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But we did enjoy the public art that is on offer throughout Dublin.

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In the afternoon, we meandered through the streets of the Viking/Medieval area of Dublin. Many of the buildings were built in the 11th and 12th centuries.

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We also paid a visit to the grounds of St. Patrick’s Cathedral, built in 1192, but occupying a site that was used by St. Patrick himself in the 5th Century.

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Because we were travelling in Ireland with a book group, many members who are themselves writers, we couldn’t leave Dublin without partaking in a self-guided literary pub crawl. My good friend Elisabeth kicked off the night with her exuberant narration.

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Over the course of the evening, we visited O’Neill’s Bar, The Duke, Davy Byrne’s and John Kehoe’s. Along the way, I enjoyed O’Hara’s Irish Red Ale, Bo Bristle IPA, Cork Dry Gin and Deep-Fried Brie Cheese as we followed in the footsteps of James Joyce, Brendan Behan, Oscar Wilde, Samuel Beckett and W.B. Yeats.

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On our final day in Dublin, we joined a guided walking tour of the 1916 Easter Rebellion, which I highly recommend to anyone interested in Irish history. The tour kicked off at the quaint International Bar, where it is never too early to enjoy an Irish Coffee laced with Paddy Whiskey. This helped me brave the freezing temperatures, snow and hail we were to encounter on our 3-hour walking tour.

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Throughout the course of the tour, we stopped at Dublin Castle, the City Hall, the River Liffey and the General Post Office building on O’Connell Street, each location having a significance to the rebellion. Although the rebellion didn’t turn out as planned by the organizers (15 of the organizers were captured and executed), a proclamation was issued declaring independence from the United Kingdom and the event helped pave the way for the Irish Civil War of 1922-1923.

Much of present-day O’Connell Street was destroyed during the 1916 Rising, and subsequently rebuilt. Following our tour, and upon the recommendation of our tour guide, we ate lunch at one such building that had been affected — The Oval Bar. I recommend their chicken curry, served with both rice and chips.

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