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.)