Having fun Getting ready for the Grand Canyon

The last two weekends have been great fun as we bump up our endurance training to handle the cool stuff we have planned for this summer.

On May 16th we did about 7 hours of biking for our annual 100 mile Reach the Beach bike ride on a tandem with Mary and James. No flats, amazing weather, almost no wind and close to 17 miles per hour average. Also a great leg workout without the pounding of running (we would do that the next weekend!!).

We once again stayed at the Craftsman Bed and Breakfast in Pacific City with Mike and Laura as our excellent hosts. If you are in Pacific City, stay at their place. An evening soaking in the hot tub with dinner at the Bistro catching up with new and old friends was how we ended a great day.

The following weekend was hills and Gorge running!

Trisha did some Dog Mountain repeats with Ronda, Micheal, Cheri on Friday to smash those quads into shape. Dog Mountain climbs straight up 2,800 feet in 3.2 miles. Up, up and more up!

On Saturday, I did about 7 hours of running in the Gorge. Herman Creek to the PCT then up to the Benson Plateau. We then hit the snow and blindly made our way across the Benson Way through the snow to the Ruckel Creek Trail. Pounded down to the Gorge 400. Across on the Gorge 400 trail and then back up on the Herman Creek trail to tackle the Nick Eaton Ridge. Then some amazing cruising down the Gorton Creek trail to finish up. Ronda gives a great account on her blog.

It was hard. It was amazing. I hit the toughest section of trail I have tackled. I was working as hard as I could and it took me 39 minutes to do 2 miles!! Try the Nick Eaton trail if you are really looking for a challenge!

Why all the training? Trisha and I are running the Grand Canyon this coming weekend. Rim to Rim to Rim. From the North Rim to the South Rim and back up the North Rim. 45 miles of fun with 11000 ft of vertical to keep you honest! We are ready and we just cannot wait!!