8th Leg: Fairview-Columbia to Troutdale Library

Date of run: February 21, 2014
Time of run: 5:30 pm
Temp: 50 degrees F (feels like 50)
Conditions: Slightly overcast, winds 0 mph
Distance: 2.3 miles out, 1.6 miles back (3.9 miles total)

Just what I needed: MUCH shorter run than last week's 12 miler, warm (for February), and absolutely NO wind. And this run was critically different in another pleasing way: Sidewalks almost the whole way, whereas last week had me running a a long stretch of Halsey with just a narrow dirt shoulder to manage in the rain.

Starting at the Fairview-Columbia Branch, I headed north and east on Halsey, accidentally passing my turn down to Arata, making the run just slightly longer. The last mile was a pretty steep climb up some side roads, but I made it OK, and soon came to the cute little Troutdale branch located in a cute little mall area.





I went to the small CD section and soon found three albums that caught my attention due to their cover art: Swedish pop group Those Dancing Days, folk/psych solo artist Matthias Hellberg, also from Sweden (and former member of hard rocking Hellacopters), and a compilation by alt-rock 90s indie faves Pavement:



On the way out I noted some cool looking chairs for the patrons to sit in and read, and as I stepped outside, I was treated to a beautiful orange-blue sunset:





As I headed down Glisan St into the Wood Village neighborhood, there were more treats in store: A gradual downhill decline for easy running, a nice sidewalk, some impressive new houses, and more picturesque views to the west and north:









As I approached the neighborhood of the Fairview-Columbia Branch, there were some cool street lights to brighten my entrance. Nice little area here, new development but with a retro feel (sorry, no pics of the houses as it was too dark).



There's a distinct point where east Portland ends and Fairview begins (about 201st Avenue) and the scenery abruptly shifts from run-down, nearly abandoned, to shiny new and safer feeling (though I did note several police cars buzzing about at several points during the run). As gentrification spreads east from downtown Portland, it feels like just a matter of time before these two forces meet in the middle. Where will the cheap apartments be found then? (Yeah, I'm fully aware of my civic ignorance. I'm running a narrow strip of main roads between two library points at a time. Not exactly a "big picture" view. But still, sometimes the transitions on foot are pretty stark.)

Hey, I've reached the easternmost point of the Multnomah County Library system! Time to turn around and head back toward downtown.


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As for last week's CDs: The One eskimO was an interesting one...a bit James Blunt in the vocals but very smooth and nice. Quiet but intense. Wouldn't you know it, the song that caught my ear the most was a cover, of Candi Staton's soulful rendition of a Patsy Cline original. All three have their merits.



As for the Nick Moss CD, Here I Am, well, it's really good blues rock (and I love the labyrinth cover art). Nothing really revolutionary, but the title track was pretty raucous, combining blues with more straight-up rocking, which was very nice. I would've loved to put a video/song link to it, but couldn't find one on the 'net. Here's a live track from the same year of the album (2011) which shows what he's all about though:

7th Leg: Midland to Fairview-Columbia Library

Date of run: February 15, 2014
Time of run: 4:00 pm
Temp: 45 degrees F (feels like 37)
Conditions: Rainy, blustery, winds 12 mph
Distance: 6 miles out, 6 miles back (12 miles total)

Longest run yet, and well, I wasn't ready for it, but there it was on the goal map. I figured if I got tired, I'd just walk the rest (that much I know I can do). I parked at Midland branch library and got started, noting the view outside the library doors was wet and dreary.





I headed east on Stark Street from 122nd, and the scenery wasn't exactly enlightening, particularly these two businesses that have become a familiar theme in far east Portland:





The second one struck me as a little weird: "Dark Vegan Playland"...? How Portlandia! A quick web search reveals...yes it's true, a vegan menu to go with your witch themed dancers. Good grief.

Farther up Stark - or was it Glisan now? - I came across this reclamation construction project. Now there's a place I wanted to explore! I could see the exposed inner staircases on the second floor and thought, "Wouldn't it be great just to climb around that with some friends?" Just like a kid.



Onward and outward, toward 223rd. It had been raining lightly during the first five miles, but as I got close to the Fairview-Columbia Library, it started to pour. And not just raining hard, but absolutely DUMPING water. And wind! There was no hope of keeping any portion of my body dry, so I just kept running, through puddles and lakes. (More like going for a swim!) And I'll admit, I got a little lost, as I couldn't pull my iPhone out of its protective plastic bag to check my Google map. But after about 15 extra minutes of running around, there it was. And a beautiful sight too: Shelter from a storm. I walked in, dripping water embarrassingly.





By now, I was really running late (no pun intended, really!) to make it back, to see Amy's play with Lisa. I grabbed the first two CDs that looked interesting, dashed back out the door, and headed out for a long, six mile run straight west on Halsey. Nice view into the oncoming sunset at least, and the rain seemed to be tapering (at least there were no more drenchings).





Unfortunately, I started getting leg cramps about two miles from the library, and walked/ran/limped the remaining four miles back to the car. I wasn't a happy camper at this point: very wet, hobbled and unable to push my pace to get to the school in time for the start of the play. But I pressed on, swearing frequently, until I made it back to the car, quick changed into dry clothes, and got to the play in time to catch Amy's scene, which she performed hilariously. Well done Amy!




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Last week's CD finds at Midland Library:

Spanky & Our Gang, Best of Spanky & Our Gang
I couldn't remember these guys when I looked at the CD cover but after hearing the lead track (their highest charting single, from 1967), it came back to me, a hazy memory from the AM radio days of my childhood:



Nice enough stuff, but nothing nearly as memorable as the Mamas & Papas "California Dreamin'," music in a similar vein. Ah, the 60's, wish we could just take the flower-smelling and navel-gazing part and leave the rest. Maybe we can now?

Martyn, Ghost People
Oh, so this is what "dubstep" sounds like. Techno updated for the 2010's. Pleasant enough, but I'm not sure what to do with it, except bob my head and dance a bit in place. Just too samey between tracks. That's the problem with genres like techno, dubstep, and drum 'n' bass: They have to stay within pretty rigid musical boundaries (rhythm, instrumentation, etc) to fit the genre, which ultimately gets repetitive and tiresome. Or maybe it's just me and my uneducated ears?

6th Leg: Holgate to Midland Library

Date of run: January 31, 2014
Time of run: 3:00 pm
Temp: 46 degrees F (feels like 37)
Conditions: Partly cloudy, 82% humidity, winds 12 mph
Distance: 3.9 miles each way (7.8 miles total)

Another long run, but thankfully a lot flatter than the Capitol Hill to Sellwood-Moreland one.



Injury update: Left ankle still sore, but mainly from the external bruise rubbing the shoe instead of inside the ankle itself. Right small toe had bad blister (from the new basketball shoes), hard to walk with it, but happy to discover once running I didn't feel it much.

This week's run was from the Holgate Branch (SE 79th & Holgate) to the Midland Branch (SE 122nd near Stark St). I headed east on Holgate, immediately passing historic Eastport Plaza (which contains a movie theater I went to a few times in my youth back before there were many major theaters in the city).



Not much else to see along this street (except the occasional car on blocks),



until I came across the Memory Garden, a lovely new little space dedicated to those suffering from, and affected by, Alzheimer's.



After a relatively painless and uneventful run, including a somewhat treacherous stretch of Powell Blvd (busy road, no sidewalks), I arrived at the Midland Library, with some impressive signage, welcome drinking fountains right inside, and a surprisingly expansive main floor.



Didn't take long to find the music section, and I flipped through the CDs on the rack nearest me, the M's, randomly coming across an album by Dutch dubstep artist Martyn which looked interesting, and then moving down a couple racks and coming across a Best of Spanky & Our Gang, a late 60's group in the Mamas & Papas vein. I couldn't really remember them but it seemed like a nice balance to the dubstep, so why not?



I made my choices quickly and checked out, eager to get back on the road before I cooled down too much for the 4 miles back to the car. I took a different route on the way back, to avoid the hectic traffic of Powell and the somewhat depressing landscape of Holgate. And a good choice it was, as I saw some new developments in real estate, a nice wide-vista view from the I-205 overpass, and a surprisingly quiet footpath along the other side of I-205 that went for about half a mile after.



After some nice neighborhood sidewalk running, as I neared 82nd Street, I reentered a more seemly area of town, which included this rather depressing looking small house decorated with Christmas lights:



Heading down 82nd I also noted the Plasma Center is doing good business, probably a symptom of our still sluggish economy, but hey it's needed so good for them:



And back to the car, none the worse for wear and happy to say ankle and sore toe holding up very well. Was also happy to run in my new shirt (nice and comfy!), an incentive reward for donating to the Friends of April Hill Park, a wonderful local organization that's raising money to build a boardwalk sorely needed in a park near our house.



Oh, and I just discovered an error in my mapping. I originally intended to take a left (west) at Holgate and head up and around, ending at Gresham Library,



But instead I enthusiastically headed east across I-205 to Midland. So now I'm going to keep going east, loop back at Gresham and then head back west. The down side is I'll have a really long run between Rockwood and Gregory Heights branches, but the good thing is I'll finish the whole run in a nice big loop. Much better symmetry, like an star constellation! Nice to finish at home, right?



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As for last week's CD: Boris, Attention Please. I've listened to various Boris releases over the years and none of it really stuck...until now. This album really worked for me. I've got a soft spot for heavy guitars with ethereal female vocals, and this definitely does it. Nice find! (Love that Mellotron-like sound; so cool.)