Over July 4th weekend, Tom and I hiked Mt. Defiance. This 13-mile loop climbs 5,000' to the highest point in the Gorge. It is used by many as a training hike; I try to do it once a year to make sure that I'm in shape for the summer; this was my fourth climb. The parking lot was filling up quickly at 7:30am on Saturday. It was ideal weather, and Tom and I logged six hours of hiking time--which we were happy with until we met a pair of trail runners jogging it four times that day.
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| Mt. Hood |
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Mts. St. Helens, Rainer, Adams |
The following weekend, Tom played in his family's disc golf tournament. About four times a year, the Marshalls host a tournament on their forested 30-acre property northwest of Portland, where they built an 18-hole course almost 20 years ago. I tagged along to support Tom and help his mom with set up, t-shirt sales, and serving lunch. 50 people entered the tournament, and were randomly paired up to play two rounds. The overall vibe of the disc golf community is friendly and relaxed. I snuck out in between rounds to go for a trail run in nearby Forest Park. The weather was just perfect. Oregon summers.
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| Tom and his partner, Liam, placed 3rd! |
I went to Hagg Lake the next weekend for my second triathlon. Hagg Lake is one of the oldest and most scenic tri courses in the country. It's also a much more challenging course compared to Blue Lake. Despite that, I doubled the distance of my sprint tri in June by entering the olympic tri: roughly 1-mile swim, 25-mile bike ride, 6-mile run. I felt prepared on race day, and packed a positive mental attitude. I also felt grateful for the comfortable weather, and for my support team--Tom and his parents.
The swim was smooth (32 minutes). The water was warm but I wore my wetsuit for buoyancy and protection from bumping into other athletes. My transitions were also smoother than the previous time. The bike ride was the toughest part for me due to the steep rolling hills, totaling close to 1,700' gain (1.5 hours). The run was also hilly, but I focused on keeping a consistent pace (1 hour). I finished in about 3 hours, which was, believe or not, towards the back of the pack. I felt humbled by this, but also proud of myself.
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| My tri friend and neighbor, Jared |
