Hagg Lake Mud Run

Seth ran his first ultra race of the season on Saturday, the Hagg Lake 50K. The course is notorious for being ridiculously muddy, and this year was no exception. Actually, rumor has it that the course was muddier than it has been in at least 3 or 4 years.

We left the house at some absurd hour of the morning (just for clarity, anything before 6am is absurdly early) and drove up the back roads to Hagg Lake. It's been unseasonably cold here, and the roads were coated in a thin layer of ice once we got closer to the lake. It made me miss the salt trucks of the northeast!

Once we arrived, we parked in parking lot down the road and walked down the trail to the pavilion (which had portable heaters-yay!) with Sailor dragging us along. Truth be told, he was dragging Seth. I was wearing Uggs with no traction and would have most likely been taken down into the mud.

It was a pretty chilly start to the race and running through the iced over parking lot looked pretty challenging!

Seth waiting for the race to start

Runners at the starting line

The race started with a 3 mile out-and-back up a hill and then back down.

Seth running back past the pavilion after the out-and-back

After the out-and-back, the race ran 2 laps around the lake. Usually, I try and make it to all the aid stations...but there was no parking at the second aid station, so I skipped by it and went directly to the third aid station. Since I was there so early, I worked on a little sock knitting until I thought that Seth might be headed up the road soon. 

Seth coming into the third aid station (about 13 miles in)

After fueling up, the runners headed back down towards the lake

Seth finishing up the first lap

The weather was perfect for running, and the lake was gorgeous in the sunshine:

While I was waiting for Seth to finish, there were a bunch of runners washing off in the lake, I can only imagine how chilly the water was!

Brrrr!

Seth finished in 6 hours! 

All the runners who came across the finish line were COVERED in mud, and Seth was no exception:

There's a reason the website is "haggmud.com"!

Are you sick of pictures of Seth running yet?! 

I don't have any fun knitting or spinning pictures to show off, but should have some tomorrow! I just finished spinning 8 ounces of the softest, most gorgeous merino for a custom job and am working on some beautiful merino/angora that should be done today! 

Love,

liz :)

McKenzie River 50K....and some knitting

First....the vest looks awesome! I like the tweedy yarn!

Second, Seth finished his 4th official UltraMarathon of the year (that doesn't include the crazy Grand Canyon run) on Saturday, the McKenzie River Trail Run. He finished in 5 hours and 51 minutes, which was about a half hour faster than the 50K he did in May! Yay Seth!

It was a gorgeous day...but started out a bit chilly, in the high 30s.

See Seth in his red bandana at the start?? 

Here's Seth coming over a bridge into the 1st aid station:

It was an out-and-back part of the course. Hence the man running in the opposite direction.

The second aid station was near one of the many waterfalls on the McKenzie River, Sahalie Falls:

yes, the greenery is really that green. 

The aid station was actually about 1/2 mile upriver from the waterfall, but Sailor and I got to check it out on the way in to the aid station.

Here's Seth coming into the fourth aid station...

and approaching the finish line....

We'll definitely be going back and exploring some of the trails, it's an absolutely gorgeous area of Oregon with miles and miles of trails. 

The runners all got a bag of swag which included a bottle of wine that was bottled by the race directors. Seth downed his after the race (actually, he didn't...but it makes for a fun picture):

Now, onto knitting. 

Back story: One of the preschool teachers I used to work with had a picture of her 3 month-old on her facebook page. Baby A had a diaper "blowout" at the apple orchard, and she only had an extra onesie and some socks that were too big. She used the socks to keep A's legs warm and I commented that she needed some knitted leg warmers. So...I decided to knit leg warmers and a matching hat. Because, really, doesn't every baby need leg warmers? I think so.

Pattern: Chubbie Wubbie Baby Leg Warmers by Nona Davenport

Yarn: Three Irish Girls Springvale Supermerino in Elsbeth

Modifications: None. I just wish I could borrow a baby to model them!

And of course, there has to be a matching hat:

 

Pattern: Aston by Stitch Therapy Brooklyn

Yarn: Three Irish Girls Springvale Supermerino in Elsbeth

Modifications: None.

I've also made really good progress on my Salem Hooded Jacket. Both sleeves are done and I have about 3" of the body done. The body is a little slow-going so far, but I think once I get past the textured bottom it'll go faster. 

I've been spinning a bit too...but forgot to take a picture of my most recent yarn. Next time. :)

Miss you!

Liz :)