Well with all the working out I have done lately, I think my back revolted against me. On Saturday after the morning workout I was putting away a dumbbell and my back just seized up on me. It actually made me lay down immediately and I was stuck on the ground for about 15 min. I was able to make it home (thank god Adrienne was at the workout with me) and after several hours I could at least move from the Kitchen to the Couch. Sunday was more of the same, and Monday I just couldn't sit at my work desk for very long without being in pain. So I did my least favorite thing and made a doctor's appointment for Tuesday.
The doctor told me that I had an inflamed sacroiliac joint which is causing me to have muscle spasms (very painful). He prescribed some muscle relaxers and lots of ibuprofen. He also prescribed physical therapy twice a week for four weeks. Hopefully I feel better in two weeks, and I can get in a pool, but I think I am probably out of the gym for about a month. I guess it is better to happen now and not in the middle of summer, but it is pretty discouraging to be injured. One interesting tidbit from the doctors visit was I think he took one look at me and made the opinion I was really fat and out of shape. I wish people especially medical professionals could understand that you can be in shape without being skinny. I am not saying I should drop 15 pounds, because I definetly need to. However I don't like that he formed that opinion of me without ever discussing my lifestyle. I guess next time I will just have to explain to him that I really love my burgers.
Today I feel much improved, I am now walking around like a 70 year old man instead of a 90 year old man. If this progress continues, I might be able to walk normally by next week.
The sun was shining today so I went for another run today at lunch with Jason. Well I guessyou could say we ran 1/2 together and then 1/2 with me falling behind. It felt similar to last time I got a run in, so I know I have my work cut out for me. I definitely need to run with Jason at least once a week from now until the race season is over.
So along with my race planning, I developed a workout schedule for me to follow as well.
Mon: Jits and Swim Tues: Recreate Class and Swim Wed: Run at Lunch or Day Off Thurs: Recreate Class and Burger Club Fri: Swim or Jits Sat: Recreate and Jits occasional Day Off Sun: Recreate and Jits
I think three days of week swimming for 30 min will allow me to develop a stronger freestyle stroke which is what I am going to need for the Olympic distance. I am sure I will sprinkle days off on Wed or Friday, but I am going to try to follow this workout schedule the best I can. This will not only keep me busy, but it will keep me from boredom eating which is a bad habit of mine.
Over the last week, I went through and picked out the triathlons I wanted to run this summer. To push my self a little further this year, I have decided to run several Olympic distance races. It is going to be very challenging, as the Olympic distance is composed of 1 mile swim, 26 mile bike, and 6 mile run. Since I am a planner in my heart, I thought it a good idea to pick out the races so I have something to train for. The races I intend to run in chronological order are:
June 5th Sprint Triathlon at Blue Lake June 26th Olympic Triathlon at Pacific Crest July 10th Sprint Triathlon at Hagg Lake August 1st Olympic Triathlon at Blue Lake (Mid Summers) August 22nd Sprint Triathlon in Downtown Portland Sept 11th Olympic Triathlon Dalles Oregon
I might add more as the race season starts, but these are the minimum one I plan to run.
With this list composed, training with a purpose can begin!!
Last week at lunch I went for my first run of 2010. It was quite a wake up call. I didn't realize how quickly I would lose my running stamina. Since November I have been training jiu-jitsu four days a week (unless I am out of town), so I haven't become lazy. That being said, I quickly realized that running and rolling are much different animals. It was a good realization to have in January as it leaves me five months to get back into triathlon condition. So I guess it is time to modify my training routine to get ready for the upcoming race season. Part of that will include getting back to attending the Recreate classes more often. The hard part about that change is I have really been enjoying the jiu-jitsu and going back to a more regular schedule at the gym will require some coordination and lots of exercise which is not necessarily a bad thing. It is time to get dedicated and work my but off so I can run the races I want this sumer.
Yesterday I got the opportunity to run with my friend Sean during his marathon for moral support. I met him at around mile 18 and ran two miles to where his wife and daughter were waiting to cheer him on. We then quickly got into a car and raced to the finish line six miles away, so we could cheer him on at the finish. It was really a fun day, and I am glad I “participated” in Sean’s 2nd Portland Marathon.
A few things stood out to me during the festivities.
1. There was way more people than I expected participating. There were over 8,000 runners. That is 8,000 people deciding it would be fun to run 26.2 miles.
2. The atmosphere was great. Within the two miles of the course I ran with Sean there was a high school cheerleading team, a group of belly dancers, and hundreds of people cheering these runners on. I was astounded at the support for strangers from the community.
3. Running 26.2 miles really affects people in different ways. There were numerous people that were smiling at the finish and looked like they could run more, people that could barely walk away from the finish line, and people that had to be helped across the finish line. I don’t think I could ever run that distance, but it was really touching to see the runners at the finish line. One person in particular fell down within 100 yds of the finish line and couldn’t force his body to stand up. Two runners provided assistance to him, and he was able to cross the finish line being supported by what appeared to be complete strangers.
If I read the webpage correct, they are going to have a half marathon next year. If this is the case, I will definitely participate in this.
In case you are curious, Sean finished in 4:02:05 a pace of 9:14/mile finishing 2430 out of 8103. Now I really know that I slowed him down during our training runs.
Today I ran the Aluminum Man Triathlon. Being sick, I wasn't real sure what to expect. My goal time was 1:45 and I completed it in 1:44:18. For the most part I am satisfied with my performance, but I still see room for improvement. My swim was much faster, finishing in just over 14 min (4 min faster than my previous best). The bike was just under 53 min. I am not unhappy with this time, but I feel I really can improve this time with better equipment and more ride training. The run is where this race fell apart. Getting off my bike, my lower back really stiffened up, and I really just struggled. My time was just under 33 min, a full two min slower than my previous worst. I found my self having to walk sections, to try and control the pain. This was the most uncomfortable I have been in all three of my triathlons. Another issue I had on the bike and run was medicine. Prior to the race, so I could breath during the swim, I took some sudaphed. It worked wonders for the swim, but really was not good for the bike or run. It just really dried my mouth out. I felt like I was at the dentist with gauze in my mouth I was so dry. I guess next time I will suffer with the swim, so I can not be so dried out for the rest. A better option would be to not get sick two days before a race.
Not only did I meet my goal with the Triathlon today, but Michigan beat Notre Dame. This makes me happy! It is funny, because friend Brad was talking a lot of trash last weekend, and Now he won't field my phone calls. He can only avoid me for so long.
I get to fly my Bengals flag tomorrow. Adrienne told me I could fly it on game day. That will be fun.
Tomorrow is my third sprint triathlon for the season. I ran my self down traveling and now I have a head cold. I am not sure how tomorrow will go, but I thought I would post my goals. Hopefully I get in the zone and perform really well. My goals for this race are to continue to improve over my pace from the Portland Tri. I would like to see the following times: Swim 18 min, Bike 48 min, Run 29 min. This would give me a total time of approx 1:45. If I can hit this I will be satisfied. I will post the results tomorrow after they are posted online.
This past weekend was my man weekend getaway to Michigan. This year marked the 8th year that Scott, Jeff and I have made a trip to the Big House to watch Michigan play. It is for me the one big “guys” trip I take every year. Now that I am out on the west coast, it is a much bigger trip, which makes it that much more fun. Michigan won on opening weekend, and the world somehow feels normal again.
This trip also combines to be a trip home to see family and friends in Toledo. My parents were not in town for the weekend, but we did get to spend a couple of hours together in the Detroit airport as they were on their way to London. I stayed with my sister all four nights, and other than the train noise in the morning, slept well. It is interesting how the sounds that you are around all the time become less obtrusive. The post office by my apartment is like that. When I first moved in I heard it every night, but now I don’t even notice it. The trains are that way for them. On my last morning I cooked crepes for my nephew before he had to go to school. I think he liked it, and I do enjoy cooking breakfast, so it was a win win.
I have the triathlon coming this weekend. I am somewhat regretting signing up now, as I had a very lazy and gluttonous eating weekend. I had good intentions, and I had planned to go running but didn’t i never made it out. I am not expecting good results going in, so it will be interesting. I am going to get a couple of light workouts in this week leading up to Saturday’s race, but I don’t think I will really push hard until race day. With this distance matching Hagg Lake, Hopefully I can beat that time.
My friends Sean and Melissa got married this past weekend, and I thought I would take a moment to wish them the best.
I finally decided to sign up and compete in the Aluminum Man Sprint Triathlon. The race is Sept 12th, in the Dalles, OR. It looks like it will be a really fun course with some great scenery. Adrienne and I are going to make a trip out of it and spend that night in Hood River. I will post results after the race.
Last night at the gym we did a 5 sets for each partner each set was 200m row- 20-24K swing-run a lap partner workout. I was partnered with Eric and we finished in 20:13. I am not sure why, but I enjoy this format. It is one of the workouts where I can really push myself.
Tonight we are going out for Sean's bachelor party. We thought of several options for this party, and we settled on a Taco Cart tour. It should be a fun low key night.
If you would like to see pictures from the Cupcake contest, click on the Recreate Fitness link to the right. In the blog they have pictures and a slide show.
Yesterday at the gym, we did the Fight Gone Bad workout. This workout is three five minutes rounds of one minute at the following Box Jump, Barbell Push Press, Row for cal, Wall Ball, and Sumo Deadlift Hi Pull. You total your number of reps/calories for the three rounds. I got a score of 304 which was much better than my 274 from February. It is always nice to see improvement.
After the workout, I think I took a step back as I competed in a cupcake eating contest. The rules were run one lap, eat 5 cupcakes each, and run another lap. There were three teams and Brian and I finished a distant second. The first place team had a competitive eater, so in my mind we finished 1st in the novice division.
This morning I got up and went for a run with Sean and Jason. Sean is working toward the Portland marathon and Jason wanted to punish himself. I have decided to run with Sean whenever possible so he has a training buddy for the Marathon. I have no plans of running a marathon, but if I can help him get ready I will. Originally the plan was to do a 12 mile run, but as it turns out the run.com web page had an inaccurate route distance and we actually ran got in 8.5 miles. Personally I thought the distance was just right. I can tell you my legs would have preferred even less distance, as they are very sore today. I will say that doing a long run (for me this was a long run) is mentally a challenge. There were several times where I just wanted to quit and walk but I knew I shouldn't. At roughly the 7.5 mile mark I caved and started walking. Sean ran back and I pushed to do a couple of 1 min walk/run intervals. After only a couple of intervals, I got a second wind and finished the run out much stronger. Pushing my limits doing something I don't really like is good for me. Even thought I don't really enjoy running, when ever I do something physically I have never done before it is satisfying.
Last night I had my first fall league softball game. The weather was gorgeous, but our playing was not. We couldn't string any hits together, and our defense was as bad as it has been this season. Hopefully it was just rust and we come out and play better at our next game. I know it is all just for fun, but I can't help but to be really frustrated and mad when we lose. I guess with certain aspects of my life my competitiveness will never go away.
After the game I went to meet the Recreate Burger Crew for our Thursday Burger outing. It turned out to be just me and Todd at the 5th Quadrant a small brew pub in the NE. The burger was actually very tasty. This burger is a bit different than our recent selections, as this is a more classic American burger. It didn't have any fried onion strips or pimento cheese. I had a bacon cheddar burger cooked medium rare. I found the toasted buttery bun to be better than your typical sesame seed bun. The peppered bacon was good. The meat had a sweet smokey flavor, but was a bit to greasy for me. Overall I thought this to be an average pub hamburger. I think if I went back I would try the bacon chicken sandwich.
Saturday is fight gone bad workout day at the gym. I don't remember what my score was last time we did this workout, but I do recall Nathan setting a goal for me. I guess I should figure that out before the workout so I know what I am shooting for. After the workout I am taking part in a cupcake eating race and a BBQ. The race consists of running a lap around the building, then eating 10 cupcakes between you and your partner, then running another lap. I don't remember the last time I ate 5 cupcakes in one sitting, and I know I have never ate cupcakes like that and then ran. It should be fun.
I went back to the gym today after taking Monday off to recover. My legs were very sore on Monday. I had to get up several times at the office and just walk around, as they wanted to tighten up. I went for a light bike ride yesterday evening just to get moving. I think that was a good idea, as today I felt much better.
The workout at the gym was a partner workout of :30/:30 consisting of the following: Wallball, Ball Slam, swings/ring plank, and finally mountain climbers. We stayed at each station for six :30 working intervals and then moved to the next. The mountain climbers made my quads really burn. I felt slow today during the workout, but it did feel good to move.
I found another Triathlon to do this fall. It is called the Aluminum Man Triathlon in the Dalles, Oregon 80 miles east of Portland. The name makes me smile, as it is a play on the Iron Man. I am not sure yet if I will do it, but I am leaning towards doing one more this year. For this one you swim in the Columbia river and then the run course is also along the Columbia. It sounds very scenic and fun.
I ran the Portland Tri this morning. It was fun but extremely hard.
The swim felt great. This was definitely my weakest portion of the Hagg lake triathlon. I sucked it up and joined LA Fitness so I could have access to the pool to train. It paid off, and made me feel like it is money well spent. Not only was I able to reduce my swim time (see below for results and analysis) I found I actually quite enjoy being in the pool. It is one of those exercises that I feel refreshed when I am done.
The bike was difficult. Both Sean (my training buddy) and I underestimated the biking portion. We had ridden on several occasions the portion of the bike route we had access to, and it didn't seem that difficult. However on race day, they had the necessary streets closed and we were exposed to the entire course. It was like a smack in the face. The course started out with a nice steady climb and then just past the 2 mile mark turned to a very steep climb 15% grade. Once I reached the top of this section my legs were spent. Then it was a mostly down hill back to the river front and on to lap two.
The run was mentally challenging. The bike took a lot out of me, and my legs didn't want to move any more. I had to convince my legs that it was going to be okay. This section felt like it took forever, and was painful every step. I managed to put one foot in front of the other and make it though. I wasn't really smiling at the end this time though.
Below are my results for the Portland Tri and Hagg Lake Tri. Since I am a big math geek, I have included some analysis to compare the results. Please note, that the pace results below are based solely on distance vs. time, and don't account for environmental factors such as swimming up stream in a river.
I tried like hell to get a table put in blogger to present my data nicely, but after two hours of trying, I give up. So in a text format here is a rundown of my results:
Hagg Lake vs. Portland
Swim: 0:20:40 vs 0:18:35 Pace: 1.45 mph vs 1.48 mph T1: 0:04:17 vs 0:03:52 Bike: 0:51:26 vs 1:03:46 Pace: 14.58 mph vs 15.47 mph T2: 0:02:27 vs 0:01:27 Run: 0:31:26 vs 0:29:35 Pace: 5.91 mph vs 6.28 mph
Some further analysis, to compare my results to the other competitors reveals the following.
Hagg Lake within my age group (30-34 Males), I finished 27th out of 31 competitors or I beat 12.9%. Overall I finished 241st out of 303 competitors or I beat 20.46%.
Portland within my age group (30-34 Males), I finished 14th out of 18 competitors or I beat 22.2%. Overall I finished 160th out of 274 competitors or I beat 41.64%.
Even though I didn't reach all of the goals I set for my self, I am proud and satisfied of my performance.
With my second sprint triathlon under my belt, I am convinced that I really do find this sport very satisfying. My long range plans are to complete an Olympic triathlon next year (twice the distance as the sprint). With a solid winters worth of training, I am excited to see where my times can go.
If you would like to see pictures from this race, please visit my flickr page. The link is on the right.
As many of you already know, I am running my second sprint triathlon of the summer tomorrow bright and early. I thought I would take a couple of minutes to post my goals. Since this tri has slightly different distances than my last one, I decided to make individual event goals as well as an overall time goal. So with that in mind, I have the following goals for tomorrow.
Swim 18 min to complete 750 meters in the Willamette River (Hagg lake was 800 meter swim that I completed in 20:40)
Bike 60 min to complete 16.4 miles (Hagg Lake was 12.5 miles that I completed in 51:26)
Run 28 min to complete 3.1 miles along the Willamette River (Hagg Lake was 3.1 miles completed in 31:26)
With transitions figured in, I am hoping to complete this in under 1 hr and 50min.
I will post my results as soon as they are posted, hopefully tomorrow.
Well, my last post was nearly two months ago, and now that there are several things to post, I thought I would sit down and fill everybody in on life in Portland.
On Sept 25, Adrienne turned thirty. I think it was a little bit depressing for her. She kept talking about how frustrating it is that she was thirty and hadn't started her career. I kept trying to explain how it was really pretty awesome that she was able to hold out for so long. We had a really nice evening, as we went to the Portland City Grill for tapas and drinks, and then went to the Last Thursday street fair in the NE (Alberta). The street fair is really pretty cool, as they shut down a main street in the neighborhood, and many local artists, performers, musicians etc. sell their wears or perform. It brings a really interesting mix of people, so it is a great place for people watching.
On Oct 6th, Adrienne finally started work. Now she is officially a member of corporate america, as she got a badge and a cube. It is actually only down the hall from my space. Since she didn't have to be there until 9:00 for orientation we didn't go in together on her first day. That being said, I really enjoy going into work together in the morning. We catch the street car together, and get to chat in the morning the whole way to work. I think I will like working together. It reminds me of going to class together in college.
On October 24th, I was forced to address my wife as Doctor Menniti. This is the day that five years of hard work was granted with a PhD. For those that don't know, the process ends with a presentation to a committee of 5 PhD's. Two of which have to be from a university that is not your own. Adrienne chose to have two of her members from France, so she gave her presentation via video conference. So after you give your presentation to a general audience there is a short Q&A session. Then the general public has to leave and your committee grills you for another two hours. At which point they pass or fail you. Adrienne passed of course. It was really great to watch her presentation and I am really proud of her accomplishment. It was a long road with lots of ups and downs, but all in all the PhD experience was a good one for both of us.
November 1st, I finally got Adrienne to go hiking with me. She had been really busy since she got to Portland with the big push to finish her degree, so we hadn't had the time to go. With the fall colors it wasn't hard to convince her, but it did take some persuasion to talk her into a weekend off. Based on some reading about fall colors in Oregon, I chose to go to Silver Falls. I had went on my first weekend in Portland, but with the colors it was supposed to be even better. Let me tell you it didn't disappoint. It was fabulous. I don't think anything can really compare with colors in West Virginia, but there aren't to many waterfalls as backdrops for the colors. We spent the afternoon walking to a couple of the bigger waterfalls and took lots of pictures.
I am sure I will post again after the holidays, as we will be travelling. It will be nice to see family and friends.
Here are a few pictures from our hike. I will have pictures of the PhD day after Thanksgiving.
So since I haven't posted in a while I figure I will give you a recap of the last 6 weeks of my life. Starting with Adrienne's visit at the end of July. While Adrienne was here, we spent our time searching for a great place to live. By the end of an exhausting weekend, we had looked at more the 10 apartments, Adrienne had trianed at two gyms, and we went to the farmers market. By the time Adrienne left we had a new apartment picked out.
August 8th, I went to LA to watch Adrienne take the silver medal at the World No-Gi BJJ tournamant. It was a really nice mini vacation, as we stayed at a hotel real close to Hermosa beach. After Adrienne was done competing on Saturday, we went for dinner on the pier, and spent most of sunday relaxing and planning the upcoming move. This is also the weekend my buddy from work Brian played Handyman at our housing, fixing the items from the inspection. Much appreciated!!!!
August 15th is the day Adrienne and I closed on our house, and are no longer homeowners.
August 21st I met my sister in Dallas Texas to see my grandfathers grave, and officially say good bye. It was a really nice weekend spent with family. We did everything we wanted to do, and had a lot of fun together. It was a nice way to say goodbye and share memories together of Grandpa.
August 23 Adrienne got to Portland. I was in Texas Adrienne went to the new apartment today and got the keys.
August 24 Adrienne and I are finally in Portland together for good.
August 26 our stuff arrives. WOW!!! I don't know how we accumulated so much stuff over four years. It finally dawns on me that we have a lot of stuff to get rid of.
August 26-September 14 - Lots of trips to Ikea, and lots of hard work moving boxes around and it is amazing to me just how much garbage you generate in a cross country move. I bet we have filled our buildings recycle bin with paper and carboard.
On a really cool note, our friends Rachel and Glen were able to come to Portland tonight and see our new apartment. We went to dinner at the Bridgeport Brew House (within walking distance to us). It was really nice to be reminded that we met some great friends while we were in Champaign. Friends that will be around for a long time.
So here are a few pictures of our great downtown aparment. See my Flickr page for more.
Well it has been a few weeks since my last post, and I have been really busy, entertaining guests out here in lovely Portland. As I indicated previously, my parents came to see me in all the way out here in Portland. They arrived on July 16th, and took a red eye flight home that left Portland at 12:00 AM on the 21st. I was able to work some the weekend before so I could take the Thursday and Friday off to enjoy the company. On Thursday, I decided to take them to the Oregon Coast. I have heard it was really beautiful and to me it didn’t disappoint. It was really cool and overcast when we got to the coast, but during our drive south it cleared up really nice and the sun was out. We stopped at Cannon Beach and walked on the beach, and through the city. I of course bought some saltwater taffy from the local candy store. It was a nice quaint little town with many bed and breakfast places just off the beach. I would definitely go back. After driving south, we went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory. It was very crowded. I think I read that they get over 1,000,000 visitors per year. They have an observation deck where you can watch them process 50lb blocks of cheese and package them into 1lb blocks. The automation is really fascinating. In addition to the observation deck, they have cheese samples which are really good, and they make really good ice cream as well. On Friday, we went to the 9:00AM IMAX showing of the new Batman Movie. I thought the movie was great, but maybe 15 min to long. That afternoon, we went to check out an apartment on the River. I figured we could do some advanced scouting before Adrienne comes out. On Saturday, we got up and went to the Farmers Market. We bought blackberries and raspberries and blueberries, and also bought some baked goods for breakfast. After the market, we decided to have another travel day, as we went to Mt. St. Helens. We had been previously in 1992, and my parents were there again in the late 90’s. I decided to take them to a different observation point than the one we had been to previously. I think it gave a much more direct view of the mountain crater, but not as much perspective on just how devastating the eruption was. It was really neat to see areas that had been planted at the same time, because all the trees were equal height, and all the trees seemed to have branches level with other trees. This gave a really neat optical illusion. Saturday evening we made Blackberry Jam (I don’t think I can get enough homemade jam) Sunday was a day of relaxation, as the only real thing we did was go to my office, and up to the Rose Test Garden. All in all an extremely enjoyable weekend for me, and when my parents came the fridge was empty, but when they left if was full of leftovers, which fed me for days.
My next visitor Nate, a buddy from when I lived in Cincinnati, flew into town late on Tuesday the 22nd. I was unable to get any time off for his visit, but since he had spent some time in Portland before, he knew his way around town and also had another friend in the area which was a teacher. On Wednesday, after work we went to see a free street show in downtown. It is really neat, as they shut down a city street at 5:00 on a Wednesday, and throw up a stage and let you drink and listen to music. After the show, we went to a local bar for a few more drinks. (we received an offer on our house on this day, but more about that later) On Thursday, we went to of Timbers (the local soccer team) game. It just so happens that they call it thirsty Thursday when the timbers play on Thursday and have great drink specials. It is always a good time, as the atmosphere at the timbers game is always really fun on thirsty Thursdays. On Friday, I was able to get out a little early, and we made our way down to the Portland City Grill. It is a restaurant on the 30th floor with great views of the city and surrounding area. After we had our happy hour food, we decided to make our way to the Portland Brewfest. It is at the waterfront park, and this festival has about 70 varieties of local and regional microbrews. It was a blast, as there were tons of people but it never felt really cramped unless you were in line. We sampled 8 different beers, and my favorite was a raspberry wheat variety. On Saturday we made our way up to Trillium Lake near Mt. Hood. It is supposed to be one of the only places your get a really nice view of the mountain, with water which gives a great reflection. The wind was a little bit strong to get a good reflection in the water, but it was very picturesque nonetheless. Sunday started with breakfast at the tin shed (really great food) and then we went out to the gorge and hiked triple falls. It was a 5 mile hike that took us by four different water falls, and ended at triple falls. At the top, there were many places to go out and sit in the river and relax before heading back down the trail. I think it was one of the better hikes I have been on in the gorge. That evening we went to a local bar called Laurelthirst. It was really crazy, as the band we saw on Wednesday was playing when we arrived, and the place was really hopping. After they were over, the place cleared out a bit and got real calm for the show that we went to see. It was a conglomeration of musicians that came together to play a few small shows in Portland. I guess the most notable artist would have been Paul Simon’s son. Monday was Nate’s final day in Portland, and he decided he wanted to spend the evening in the NE. After work, we met up in the NE and went to a great Creperie, another bar, and then went on back to the Portland City Grill to see the city at night. So as you can see it was an action packed week with Nate, and I went to bed really early last night to recover before my next guest (my lovely wife) arrives on Thursday.
Back to the house on Tuesday the 22nd we received our first offer to purchase our house. We countered that evening, and the buyer accepted. The only drawback to the offer (other than the dollars) was the date on which the buyer wanted to take possession August 15th. I am really excited, as I get to have my wife here in Portland with me a full month before we really expected. I think it will add some stress to her life since she will have to take care of most of the stuff, all the while dealing with the stress involved in finishing a PhD. It will all be worth it, because we get to live in Portland together. Now, much to my relief, we get to pick our Portland apartment together, instead of me having to pick something and her agreeing from pictures. All in all, this is a great thing for us and I can’t wait to have her here with me enjoying the great summer weather. I foresee lots of hiking and small trips in our very near future.
So it has been a whirlwind couple of weeks for me, and I only have until tomorrow when my next visitor (Adrienne) gets here. I think we are going to go coffee shopping this weekend, and check out various coffee shops in downtown. Hopefully we can find a good one where she can spend lots of time writing in an effort to finish that PhD and start her job in October. One thing we will be doing is going to the Flugtag competition (http://www.redbullflugtagusa.com/Portland2008) this weekend at the waterfront. We will also check out a few apartments, and just relax. It has been two months since I have seen her, so I am much excited for her to be here in Portland with me. Not only that, I forget some times that she only spent 2 days in Portland, so it will be fun to play tour guide and explore the neighborhoods to find a place to live.
This past weekend was my first three day weekend here in Portland. It was nice and relaxing, and the weather was excellent. On Friday morning I got up and went to Krugers Farm (www.Krugersfarm.com) and purchased strawberries to make some jam. The strawberries here have to be the best I have ever eaten. Super sweet and very fragrant, no sugar required for eating. It was quite a process making jam, as I really didn’t have any of the required cooking utensils. It turned out to be quite an expensive undertaking this time, but next time will be very cheap. It was well worth it, as it has to be the best strawberry jam I have ever eaten. I think maybe next week, I will try blackberry jam, as they are now in season. After making Jam I went to see Hancock, and the I went to Jason’s house for a fourth of July party. All the people living in his building had a little potluck dinner on their nice front porch. It was really a nice evening, watching the fireworks along the skyline of SE Portland. We couldn’t see the main fireworks in Downtown, due to trees, but all in all a nice place to watch the skyline light up with fireworks.
Saturday came and I decided a movie would be good, so off to Wanted I went. It was as expected. I also spent the day going to several Columbia Clothing outlet stores. I didn’t realize it, but Columbia is local to Portland. There outlet stores are really nice, as they have everything from coats to shoes. Since living here, I have found that it would be nice to have nice hiking attire. I guess you could say performance clothes. So I went to the outlet stores looking for some Performance Clothes. What I found was a brand called Mountain hardware, owned by Columbia, at prices I could actually afford. It was a worthwhile trip, and one I am sure I will make again soon, as they are having big sidewalk sales in the coming weeks.
Sunday I went for a bike ride and enjoyed my final day off before heading back to work.
All in all a really nice three day weekend. My mom and dad are coming for a visit on the 16th of July, so I am sure I will have an update after then. Otherwise, I hope you all had as much fun on your long weekend as I did.
Hello everybody, It has been awhile since my last post, and a lot has happened in my life since then.To summarize the recent activities:
·May 14th I left Portland to travel home and see Adrienne.It was nice to get a hug and kiss after 5 weeks apart.I really did miss her
·May 15th We left Champaign to go to Italy to celebrate the near end of 12 years of college for Adrienne.The plan was to spend 6 nights in Rome, and 4 nights in Sorrento.See Adrienne’s blog for a recap of the vacation from her perspective (www.bjjchic.blogspot.com)
·May 26th Back to reality.After getting back to Champaign, there were lots of little projects to complete around the house.
·June 1st The house for sale sign was put in the front yard, and I again had to leave my beautiful wife to go back to the Pacific Northwest.
·June 14th My five year anniversary.I spent the day on a wine tasting tour of the WillametteValley near Portland.Adrienne spent the day at martial arts and then went for ice cream with our good friends Elizabeth and Bill.
So that is a little recap of the goings on in my life over the last month, which brings me to the June 21st weekend.My first visitor to Portland was Adrienne’s dad.He was on the west coast for business, and decided to travel to Portland and hang out of the weekend.
It was interesting playing tour guide, in a city that I have only lived in for a brief time.It was also fun, because I got to show him my bachelor pad (I don’t think he was impressed), the areas of town where I think Adrienne and I might live, and my office.Greg got in on Saturday afternoon and then left on Monday morning.Here is a list of activities:
My office
My Apartment
The Pearl District and NW Portland (potential locations to live)
The Market Street pub for a beer (as usual good beer but terrible service)
Salty’s for Dinner (supposed to be the best seafood in Portland, but I thought it was only okay.The best part were the views of the Columbia.
Crema for breakfast (really good coffee and baked goods)
Multnomah Falls and HorsetailFalls (you can drive up and see them, we did hike to the bridge at Multnomah)
Bonneville Dam and fish hatchery (a very large hydro dam with a fish hatchery where you can view the fish in the fish ladder)
Timberline Lodge (at 6000 ft up on Mt Hood for lunch.It was great to sit and watch people skiing in June.All natural snow, as they get an average of 21’ at the lodge every year)
Bridgeport Ale House at Hawthorne (Just an all around good atmosphere on Hawthorne.The neighborhood that in my mind sold Adrienne and I on Portland)
June 28th Weekend
HOT! HOT! HOT! That is what I can say for this weekend.The temperature this past weekend reached 99 on Saturday (a new record) and 92 on Sunday. I would normally stay inside and enjoy the cool house, but since I don’t have any airconditioning in my apartment, that really isn’t effective.So I went hiking with Jason (my office mate) and his soon to be wife Stacy.We went to Eagle Creek and hiked about 6 miles total.It is a really nice path, as it follows Eagle Creek.As you may have already guessed, there are waterfalls along this path as well.I don’t have any pictures of this hike, as the camera had a memory card issue and I forgot to bring my backup.A pretty big bummer since there are some spectacular views along this hike.At one point there is a little trail you can take which leads you down to the pool at the bottom of a water fall.Since it was really hot out, there were many people enjoying the cool water at this location and all along the eagle creek.
On a side note, the Hood Strawberries are finally in at the Farmers Market.They are ultra sweet, and really fragrant.I think I am going to pick my own berries this coming weekend if the weather is nice.Maybe I will make some Jam.
I just wanted to give you all an update on the geotagging of my photos. I have finally been able to get this feature set up and running. I have now geotagged all my pictures for my move to Portland, and my two hiking adventures. I had some technical difficulties, and battery failure on my travels as I am learning how this works, so not every picture got tagged. That being said, it is really cool to see on a map exactly where my photos were taken. To see the map function on flickr, there are several options. One way is from the main photostream page, there is a link to map. If you click this, it will blow up a map showing the locations of all my pictures. If you want to see the location of a specific set, click on the set link from the photostream page, and then click on map. That should take you to the map location for just that set of pictures. It is a pretty neat feature. If you have technical difficulties accessing this feature, please let me know as I have invested time and energy into making it work. Hope you all enjoy my pics.
