A Weekend of Good Running

The weather was beautiful this first Saturday of March, so my husband and I decided to head up Bellingham, one of our favorite places to go, for a run and bike ride (for him). We started on Harris Street in Fairhaven and I went south toward Chuckanut Mountain, and he was going to go north along Bellingham Bay. Unfortunately for him, the valve stem broke off his rear tire, and since he has not ridden his bike in a long time, the tires were completely flat.

The view from the Interurban Trail along Chuckanut Drive was incredible! The water of Bellingham Bay was blue-green, and the San Juans were majestic. For about six miles of the 12 and half mile run, I could see the water. It was gorgeous! Even though I didn't get to run up any of the trails on Chuckanut Mountain, my legs were still pretty tired when I was done. I ended up with around 800 feet of elevation gain, so nothing challenging. I rate the Interurban Trail 0 for technicality, 1 for elevation gain, and 0 for elevation. I felt slow, but the beauty of the day overrode any disappointment with my run.

After my run, I had a great veggie sandwich at Avenue Bread. We then headed for Anthony's near The Bellwether Hotel and had a glass of wine, and a second one at The Hearthfire Grill, which looks right out over the harbor. It was a lovely way to end the afternoon.

We had a delightful seat at The Hearthfire Grill where we enjoyed the warmth from the wine and the sun.

This morning, I felt fresh when I woke up and hoped I would have a better run. I tried out John's GoPro Hero3+ while running in Redmond Ridge and Watershed. I am trying to decide what to take with me, if anything, on my fastpack to document the event. I put together a short video of my run. I hand-held the camera, so there's a lot of movement. I will have to work out something to attach it to my vest, as the GoPro chest strap is too heavy.

I was quite pleased with my performance today, running an average of 9:52 per mile. That's not too bad for a trail and while it's not a difficult course, it does have some hills. I was happy.

Next weekend, I'll try John's GoPro Session 5. We've been having trouble getting it work since we bought it for our trip last May to the Cook Islands. We think maybe the card was corrupt, so we changed it, drew down the battery, and did a hard reset. It seems to be working perfectly now, so I'll give it a try next weekend.

~LTR