On Sunday I went out for what I hoped might be a 10 mile run on the beautiful but paved Nimitz trail (the same one I was on the night before with my friend Sarah).
During the day it was much less scary, though I still ended up letting my fears dictate my run :)
My garmin has been temporarily misplaced (I constantly lose things, so I"m sure it'll turn up as I pack things to move) but I consequently am without a means of measuring mileage as a result. Luckily, this trail has posted mile marking to keep you informed :)
As I headed out, there were plenty of people out enjoying the beautiful summery day. Though it was a bit windy, it was still fairly comfortable in temperature, and the sky was completely clear.
I decided to try out the outfit I was thinking of wearing for the marathon, which included my brand new drifit cal shirt. Thought it would be fun to sport some school pride with blue shorts and my bright yellow shirt for the race, but wanted to make sure that the shirt would be comfortable to run in. It was!
It was hard to keep a continuous pace as I kept wanting to stop to take photos! The perils of bringing a camera on the run :)
Click on this one above to get a better look. The golden gate is in the left part of the horizion and mt tam is the peak to the right.
A close up of the golden gate!After I got a few miles out, the number of people that I saw began to dwindle. It was really enjoyable to be out there, but my legs were definitely feeling the effects of the 10 miles the day before (and especially the 6.5 fast miles with the group) I was still feeling optimistic about the distance.
I love the treat of being able to see Mt Diablo when I'm out running and knowing that that mountain has some special meaning for me :) It looked so pretty sunday with these beautiful hills in front of it.
The run was going quite well, but a little after 3 miles I ran into a formidable obstacle.
Cows! Not just on the hillside but meandering on the pathway! Now I'm very much a suburban girl (slightly urbanized by living in berkeley) but definitely one with no rural experience. So interacting with cows is definitely not within my comfort zone. I thought about trying to walk around them, but the pathway wasn't that wide, and the thought of getting kicked or something was fairly unappealing. After walking closer, I decided that this was divine intervention telling me 6 miles would be enough today and turned around to head back.
The sky was an absolutely brilliant blue and I really enjoyed how nice the evening was even at 6:30pm. These light evenings of summer are just so wonderful.
The 3 miles back went well, though my legs were getting pretty tired by the end. I was glad I only ended up doing the 6, a number that still put me over the 50 miles per week goal with a finishing number of 51.2 miles. My highest weekly mileage ever by 5.2 :)Driving home I had to pull over because I was given a simply gorgeous view of the city (click on it to get a better view of the skyline).
8 comments:
You certainly have some beautiful scenery to keep you company on your runs!
Cows are nothing to fear! My parents live on a farm in Kentucky with lots of cows. I like to run through the pasture and watch them scatter, they haven’t charged me yet!
Way to go on your highest mileage week! Thinking back to where I was when I ran my first 50k, you are far more trained then I was, and you still have 2 months to go, you are going to do awesome!
I think you two need to get together. Let me tell you...he's a cutie Addy! I've seen him in person. If he wasn't so darned young I might even have a naughty thought about him! LOL! Sorry...couldn't help myself. Have a nice day. Love the photos...
Wow, nice job on the 50+ miles Addy!
Good luck with the move. Yes, you will miss the city, but Santa cruz is beautiful. Running through redwood forests is wonderful!
ha! you crack me up Red! but you speak the truth, I am a looker, lol.
Josh- glad to hear cows aren't quite so frightening as they seem :)
red- haha :) Well, Josh may be a 'looker' but he's not my type! (and by type I mean guys who live within the same state ;) ). Now, meeting an ultrarunner in california who's my age...that'd be nice!
gretchen- thank! I'm excited for the day when I can do those 50 miles all at once :)
Yeah...I guess the distance would be a problem. Hmmm...have to keep looking. You can always meet somewhere in the middle. Have coffee in Nebraska?
Addy, you just have to shout at the cows. They'll move. We had quite a few to deal with during the Ohlone 50k last Sunday.
As for the 50 miles all in one go... Helen Klein Ultra Classic. November 3rd 2007. There's your date. ;-)
Congrats on a great week of running. I'm still recovering from Sunday. I had a calf issue to begin with, which was cured by the run, but now I have a nagging groin pain when I run. Fortunately, it's not stopping me from cycling or walking, so at least I'm still getting some exercise.
Good luck with the move. We'll have to find some good runs in SC once you've settled in.
--Terry
Great reports about your runs in the Bay Area, especially the east bay. I grew up in Castro Valley....your pics make me homesick...but in a good way. : ) Good luck with your move.
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