Today I set out to do a long run and managed to do it and then some. The 15.5 miles was the longest I have done this year. The run was a lot of fun as I kept adding big chunks to it. I finally had to stop when I turned around at the Springwater I-205 path intersection. I seriously considered continuing on to Powell Butte but I had no water and no goo left. It would have been an additional 3.4 each way. It would have given me over 22 which was what my running-addled mind started to consider after the first 10 or so. It would have been good to do the first run of that length in three years or so, I don’t think I have done one that long since I was training for the Portland Marathon in 2006.

My run started with the route of one of the first runs I ever did regularly in the area. At the Wimbledon I left that route and headed up the train overpass. After a quick uphill I cut south to the entrance of the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge. After a quick downhill run past the frog pond a mother peeing with her daughter I hooked up with the Springwater Corridor and continued south. At the Sellwood bridge I considered crossing it and heading to downtown, a run I figured would be about 15 miles. Sounded like too much at the time. So I passed underneath instead and headed up to the neighborhood of mystery. After passing through in front of a golf course I exited and met up with the three bridges portion of Springwater. Soon after the last bridge I left the path and picked up a bike route through Milwaukie. Past Providence Hospital and into downtown Milwaukie I doubled back to the corridor and headed towards the i-205 path. Here is where I passed up going to Powell Butte and instead headed back through east county neighborhoods until I found some water at Mount Scott Park. My destination was going to be a pizza parlor and after one moment of deciding to just head home I made it and got my slices. I’m glad I did as I am going to eat the last one right now!