Sunday, July 29, 2007

One is the lonliest number...

Well, I arrived at Nisene Parks only to find that I appeared to be the only runner looking for the Santa Cruz Track Club. After driving between the shop parking lot and the Nisene Marks parking lot looking for runners for about a half an hour, I gave up. I almost just ran by myself, but as I went to pay the parking fee, a big sign about mountain lions was glaring me in the face, warning me that, though rare, these cats were presents and known to attack, and to avoid hiking alone.

Now I know all these things, but unfortunately, I'm just not brave enough to run for extended periods through Lion country, especially on trails that I know nothing about. I'm also still living alone, so it's not as though someone would know if I suddenly vanished on the trails. I'm really missing Berkeley (and heck, even orange county) right now. I've really started taking for granted having a group to run with, and feeling quite dejected there there just doesn't appear to be the same kind of organization in the running group here. The woman who told me where to meet today was apparently on vacation, I think, so it's possible she got the times wrong, and neither the time nor the location match what's on the website. I long for group emails or a working group website.

I'm just really missing being connected to a local running community. I have heard nothing but good things from people I've talked to about the Santa Cruz Track Club, and hopefully someday I'll actually get to experience myself....

So, I'm currently charging my ipod and in a few hours I'm going to run the 1/2 marathon route that I've done twice before in races. There are a few miles of trails in the course, and it's overall a very scenic route. For now I'll stay in bed and do some homework....

On a lighter note, here's some pictures of campus from while I was driving back to my apartment

6 comments:

Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Bob - BlogMYruns.com said...

oops *edit*

It will all work out, just a little test that goes along with change :-)

You will plug in with some good runners in the area soon enough...

have a great week!!

and glad u sided with being cautious on the trails & opted out of running alone up in that new area...ur parents raised a smart child:-)

Rick Gaston said...

awww...I hope it works out eventually. Years ago I was injured training for an ultra and got into triathlon as a temporary distraction. It's become a permanent addition to my activities and I love the club that I got plugged in to. A nice change from all the long solo runs. Sometimes I even get people to run parts of my long run with me. Definitely scratches the social itch for me. I hope you find a good crew soon.

Andy B. said...

Sorry to hear you got shut down at Nicene Marks, Addy. It is a great place to run, and I must have run right by the lion sign - never saw it. Oh well, sometimes ignorance is bliss! :)

I, too, have been thinking about trying to start a trail running group around here - maybe call it the "Slug Runners" or something like that. While I have never run with a group (unless you call running in a race running with a group) it certainly would be nice to share some runs, training tips, and motivation from time-to-time.

I know it's hard to not worry, as sometimes I do myself, but the chances of getting attacked by a lion around here are pretty slim. They have a really good food supply available in the large quantities of deer present locally. Dusk to dawn are going to be the times to really watch out for, generally. I usually don't listen to music on runs, and keeping alert to what is going on around me is one reason. Just my .02!

Unknown said...

it's probably just a minor hitch, addy. before you know it, you'll have a regular group of runners out there with you.

Ryan V. said...

You know, I've never run with a group. Always solo or with one other person at most. But then again, I don't have mountain lions to contend with.