I joined a walking team. I don’t think I’ve mentioned it yet. There are 12 of us and we are all veteran women, so we call ourselves the Belle Brigade. We are going to race in the annual Hood-To-Coast race here in August, which is when runners start up at Timberline Lodge on Mt. Hood, and run a relay race all the way to the town of Seaside, on the Pacific Ocean. It’s the largest relay in the world, with a limit of 1050 teams (and they have to turn teams away). Its about 200 miles long (320 km). I know. Wow!
The runners course has 36 legs and each person on a team must run 3 of them. However! There is another simultaneous race, the Portland-To-Coast walk. That course has 24 legs and each person must walk 2 of them. The Belle Brigade is a walking team, so our course is about 130 miles (208 km). It’s still a race, so we will be walking as fast as we can. If anyone is caught running, the whole team is disqualified.
Here’s a little taste of it:
As you can see, teams come up with themes and often dress up their support vehicles and themselves. We decided that purple camouflage is our team uniform. Purple camouflage happens to be popular enough right now that we are finding work out gear, hats, and raincoats in that theme.
Last summer when I joined the team, I started walking from my house, just to see how fast I was. I found out quickly that walking fast takes skill. It’s tricky to keep your speed up, and it takes a lot more endurance than I was expecting. I hadn’t really thought of walking as a sport, but now I do. I worked up to a 5.6-mile loop that leaves from my front door and ends at my front door. I can do it in an hour and 22 minutes, which is almost my target of a 14 minute mile. I’ve been walking it as often as I can, twice a week at best.
From the very first day, I started taking photos of things that interested me along the walk. I’ve been collecting them in a folder on my desktop called “walk scenes.” It’s the middle of winter and I know I have months of cold wet days ahead of me, so I decided to post my photos, sort of chronologically, and remember the lovely days when there was sunshine and I didn’t have to wear a hat and gloves when I walked.
Animals
Landscapes
Plants
Conscious Engagement 
A productive walk
In more ways than one! When I walk I’m training AND I get to see my country neighborhood. 🙂
Exactly
What a great race and how wonderful that you’re doing it! Your training takes place in wonderful environment. As for the unknown plant, it might be Chayote, also known as mirliton squash, an edible plant belonging to the gourd family… I think father has some in his garden in Piran. I wish you much fun training and a great race!
I tried to identify the plant this morning and it might be a wild cucumber – considered an obnoxious weed here. The pods look like they are partly hollow, or at least not very dense. I should have investigated a little more back then. Thanks for your encouragement. I think the race will be hard, and a great adventure. The bonus is that I’m having fun with a group of women that I only knew through work before.
Good for you, Crystal. I’ve always seen 154-minute miles as a challenge. And you are right. They are hard to sustain. Great photos. I can see the horse coming up for its daily pats. 🙂 Do you carry and apple? –Curt
Curt, I keep thinking about that: carrying treats for the horses! In the fall it would be easy, since there are apple trees growing wild all over this area. I’ll bet I could even get the llama to come to me if I had food. It checks me out, but doesn’t come close.
Works for deer. 🙂
Hmmm. Let’s make that 15 minute miles. 🙂
ha ha!! I think anyone could manage a 154-minute mile, even if they were on crutches!
That’s ambitious! Can’t wait to see photos from your walk in August and how you dress up etc. Great photos! Thanks for letting me imagine I’m walking along with you in that beautiful area!
Lenore thank you for coming along. It’s so funny, I had not even thought ahead that far to imagine my photos in August, but now I’m excited about them too! I may try to bring my camera on the van with us, if there is room, to document the adventure for the group. If it goes well, we might make it an annual race.
Fantastic. Love(d) walking in the countryside.
Keep walking (as Johnny Walker says)
Thank you! I’m glad you were able to come along with me, and yes, I’ll keep walking. 🙂
https://crystaltrulove.files.wordpress.com/2020/02/jane-walker-striders.png?resize=214%2C214
Jane Walker, now? 🙂 Love it. (I spent some time in Adveitising amongst other things…)
Apparently there is a Jane Walker, ha ha. Advertising must illuminate so many things in life. You’ll now see the world in a different way.
A different way? True. Though I don’t like current advertising much… Getting old I guess. 😉
What fantastic motivation to not just get fit, but spend time outside in a gorgeous environment. Good luck with the training, Crystal.
Hey thank you Jolandi! I agree with you on both counts. There is an extra bonus, and that is that my walking team is a bunch of awesome, sassy, strong women and we are enjoying each other and encouraging each other. Our team captain is always totally jazzed about this stuff and keeps us focused, which I appreciate.
Always a blessing to be in the company of awesome people.