When this is the backup run...

...life must be pretty good :)

After much procrastinating and almost giving up altogether, I finally got myself out the door for a 12 miler. It wasn't all that pretty, and my legs were much more tired than I would have liked, but I did it, and that was the most important thing. This will be a good solo route, as it's pretty safe (I hope!) and pretty as well. I'm glad I got myself to get out and run after this morning's let down. Time to get serious about training :D

And what a beautiful run. This was the run that made me want to live in Santa Cruz over a year ago, just because I'd have the ability to do this run all the time. I hadn't done it yet, and it was nice to remind myself of how taken I was when I first experienced this beautiful place :)

San Francisco Photos

As the run itself was fairly unexciting I thought I'd just post some of the best pictures up here :)

It's 6am and I'm driving down to my parking spot. Lots more cars than normal since it's a weekday, but still not much in the way of traffic :) I love early morning runs!

The view from the start of my run of Alcatraz with Marin in the distance

The always fun hopper's hands, that I high-five on every city run. Read the story behind these hands. After I knew the meaning behind them, it made seeing them on each run more special.

The Golden Gate in all its glory

A pensive stare


Looking towards the City

Flowers at the gateway to the pacific

Last visit to the golden gate for a while!

Open Arms


Cupid?

The entire album can be found here

Quick Recap!

My Partner in Crime- Mike Palmer :)

I've promised Mike a good entry about our circumnativation of Mt. Tam on Sunday and plan to type up a nice one, but as it's finals week and I'm graduating in 6 days, now isn't exactly the time to be spending my writing talents (or lack therof) on my blog.

With that said, I wanted to just state generally what a great time we had out there! We ended up completing 22.5 miles and some decent elevation (not sure on actual numbers) and went all the way around Mt. Tam! Started at Ross Commons and went by the cataract waterfalls, up to a great view point (that has some name...) to Pan Toll, and then on some other cool trails back to Ross. Took about 8 1/2 hours to complete the whole thing :)


A big time zapper on this adventure was my pechant for taking photos! I ended up with the obscenely large number of 132 pictures after our journey!!! Lots of them were unexciting shots of forest singletrack that just didn't translate well onto the camera, but I did get some really nice pictures too (if I do say so myself :) ). Mike also indulged me by both allowing me to take pictures of him (to make the pictures more exciting) and taking pictures of me as well (I'm such a running tourist!)

One of Mike's many great shots. This one at Cataract Falls

He also showed me some great hidden treasures on Mount Tam. For those in the area, guess where on Mt. Tam these 'amusements' were taken!

Bonus Points if you know the story behind this!

Bonus points if you can site a potential literary reference here! (click on it to enlarge if you need to see it better!)

If you don't know the real story behind either of these, or aren't from the area, take a guess!

Child's Play

Well, after a long hiatus, I finally got to rejoin the TTT (tam trail trekkers) for an amazing run through the forests and hills of Mt. Tam. I woke up to 50 degrees and a slight drizzle, with a chance of real rain. Having been unable to fall asleep until after 2am and waking up at 5, I was tired, but excited about a good run.

No real traffic getting over, meaning that it took just about 45 minutes to get to Mountain Home. The fog over there was intense! The worst that I have ever driven in!!! I was a little afraid of driving off the road. I made it okay though, and had about 25 minutes to wait until the rest of the crew arrived, which is when I took some pictures of the fog.

(Mountain Home Inn)



(looking out over the 'forest' (or fog here!) It was really disconcerting, because I could hear all the birds and so I knew the forest was down there, but couldn't see anything!)



(A pretty tree in the fog. Look for this same shot in the later pictures)

Everyone else showed up around 6:45, and we waited around for a few no-shows until a bit after 7. The plan was to go out the matt davis trail to stinsen beach (a first visit for me!) and then back up the dipsea to steep ravine to (I think) troop 80 back to our cars.

I stuck with the 'walkers' again, only to discover that actually, we'd be doing more running as Lucy, the designated walker, was getting in shape for a half marathon (she was out there today after having cracked a rib last week on the run! This group is tough!) So much for my easy 'hike' day :)

The weather when we left was cool and foggy. However, after less than a mile, the rain started. Soon, moving became a matter of staying warm, so we tried to keep moving at a good pace (mostly walking). A new matter to deal with as well was the amazing amount of poison oak! It was everywhere!!!

Despite the coldness and the rain (I've really got to get a waterproof jacket, my little wicking jacket was sorely undersuited for today), it was simply beautiful. We came out in an open section, where Ken (the leader) informed us that this was the place he had seen a mountain lion a few years ago. With my fear of these creatures, I definitely didn't want to be out alone ;) so when he started running, I picked up the pace. This was one of my favorite sections because the rain was intense enough to turn our singletrack into a small muddy stream, and keeping my feet dry became pointless. I starting running with abandon down the trail, splashing everywhere and feeling like a little kid. I couldn't help by giggle softly to myself with glee...this was just so much fun!

We reached the end of the Matt Davis trail and headed over to the beach to use the restrooms (and see the beach!). On the way, per apparent tradition, we each grabbed a rock and played a game of hopscotch at a little playground. I've sort of forgotten how to play, but we improvised :)

At the beach, we discovered, lo and behold, there was a race going on! We arrived as the envirosport's 1/2 marathon was just about to take off. My running friend Sarah was running this race and I tried to see if I could spot her, but was unsucessful. We talked to a race director, and discovered they were running the same trails we planned to use to get back! Not what we had in mind. However, going another way would have meant an extra 2 or 3 miles, which we didn't have time to do, so we went with it. We stopped and ate some food here as well, trying to keep our energy up in the cold!

Ken is the director for the double dipsea (a race that, I think is now going onto my calendar!), and so knows that trail quite well. In order to bypass distance (and the crowds) we took one of the imfamous 'shortcuts' which, well, wasn't the best idea. The shortcut was horribly horribly overgrown with poison oak!!! It was completely unavoidable, and I"m really hoping that the tecnu I used will save me, but that remains to be seen.

We met back up with the racers, and headed up 'Steep Ravine' where we got to experience the famed ladder and lots of muddy trails and stairs.


Finally, after we got to the parking lot (perhaps at pan toll I think?) we got to leave the main race course, and had some more space. Only to discover we were now going backwards on the marathon course! Luckily the racers were pretty spread out at this point, and we just made sure to jump to the side when people came by. We cheered for everyone we saw, which people seemed to appreciate (though some runners were quite worried that they had gotten off course when they saw us coming). This part had some just fabulous running through redwood forest, with amazing soft runnable trails. So so so much fun!!! I honestly couldn't help from laughing out loud at how fun this part was. I'd give Ken a bit of space in front of me, then just 'fly' down the hill. It really felt like I was a kid again. It was amazing!

Eventually out trail ended, and we hiked up the 1/2 mile of road back to the cars. All in all, about 13-14 miles in a bit over 4 hours (including lots of stops!)

By the time we got back to the car, that area's weather was so much nicer. It was actually not that cold and the fog was starting to lift.

Some Scenery Shots!

(Me with the beautiful backdrop of Mt. Tam after a long and fun morning!)

(Shot of my lovely muddy legs (can almost see all the scatches!) That are likely completely covered in poison oak! My trail shoes are definitely broken in now)

(Sporting my new injinji socks! My shoes literally were filled with water, and yet no blisters!! I am officially sold. Plus, I get to put on flip flops w/out losing the socks :) )

(Check out that dirt tan line!)

(On the way home I stopped at In n out to use the facilities, and on my way back to my car, one of the boys working there looked at me, looked at my legs, and just stared. I answered his look by telling him that 'I just went on the most amazing trail run' with a smile in my voice :) I think this is the muddiest I've ever been!)

After the run we headed to the Dipsea Cafe for some much needed hot food and hot drink. Amazing restaurant with a ton of Dipsea paraphernalia on the walls! I had a great time hanging out with the rest of the group! I then headed back to Berkeley, stopping at REI for tecnu, and then finally getting home.

All in all, one of the best bay area days (or, really, anywhere days) a person could have :)

Some Days Getting Out There is Enough

Well, after getting 13 hours of sleep I woke up do a light drizzle and cold weather. Called Sarah about meeting up for a run, but the outdoors looked about as appealing to her as it did to me. We decided on a rain check (haha) and I settled back into bed. But of course, I was up, and it really didn't look that bad outside. I thought how cool it would be if I did a nice long run. I haven't done a long road run in quite a long time and it seemed like a good idea. So, I waterproofed the ipod and cell phone (i.e. wrapped them in a plastic bag), put some clif shot blocks and a gel in a clip on side bag thing, got the water and went out with the lofty aim of 18-20.

Anyone else remember that I ran a hard 11.5 Thursday night?

Well, my body sure did. After 6 miles I was tired, I was cold, and I really didn't want to go out for 2 more loops. I convinced myself to start out on another 6, seriously wanted to stop at 7.35, but told myself that I had made a commitment to at least 20 miles on the weekend. That meant I had to get at least 10 in today to make that happen. So, I kept going forward. I stopped to walk a hill just before 8 miles and had 3 blocks, which made me feel a little better (nothing like food when you're feeling down ;) ). Made it to the turn around point, but walked the steep uphill at the end of it.

Walking was nice so I decided to go up behind the stadium but walk the uphill for that. At this point some chafing on my inner thighs started making itself known. I always chafe there when my skin gets wet, and the constant drizzle definitely had that effect. I had brought a small chapstick tube with me, so I smushed that up and rubbed it on the affected parts, which seemed to work. Did that, ran down the other side, and the walked up the steep hill to the track, hoping that it would have the magic that it had last time. Well, I guess because it was slightly exposed on the one side, it felt a lot colder up there and after I got myself up to 11 miles, I was not too happy and feeling chilled.

So, I headed up the firetrail. Up and up and up. The fog was thick meaning I could see little around me or that far ahead of me. I'm sure that trail has some amazing views in clear weather. It was quite steep in parts and I wished that I had my trail shoes for what was sure to be a somewhat slippery trip back down (remember, its still all wet outside!). Finally I made it to the top of the hill and ended up at a spot I had gotten to via the other part of the firetrail before. It was nice to get my bearings and reaffirmed that I had made it pretty high up, as I had been up there before in good weather and been blown away by the view. After I had gone exactly a mile uphill (in 22:xx) I turned around and headed down. A couple parts had a nice singletrack on the side, which seemed a little less steep. I only was really afraid of falling a handful of times and soon it levelled out. Felt like the journey down took a lot less time and soon I was back out onto the berkeley streets. I did see what looked like a fun singletrack cut into the hillside that I want to find sometime when the weather was nicer, but I was really ready to go home.

Luckily at this point, home wasn't too far away. I ran the whole last mile back (at a fast 10:30) and finished up my 14 mile experience in 2:51:xx. For just over a 12 minute mile pace.

All in all, I'm glad I got out there. It wasn't that great of a run, necessarily, but I didn't give up when I wanted to at 7 miles and instead ended up with double that. Also, I really do feel I needed that great run thursday night, even though it meant I had a not so great one today.

(my lovely home on a nice day)

Now I'm going to have a nice hot meal and enjoy being bundled up inside :)

A Run of Many Parts

I had a very odd and broken run today, but overall very good. First, I ran 10.62 miles with my dad (with a .38 walk back to the house up a steep hill at the end). He's training for his first half marathon on April 22nd and this was his longest run ever! I'm so proud of him!!! I've also talked him into letting me email around and try to find a trail running group that he can join. He's been worried about his joints becoming damaged from the running, since he did lots of sports in high school that beat up his body a bit. I'm trying to be very non-pushing, but I have fantasies of us going running on trails together and maybe even doing races together someday. He loves hiking and such (did the John Muir trail, 220+ miles over a month after high school) and I think doing trail races would be a great thing for him. He's still a bit slow right now, and uses walking breaks, but, to me, that seems perfect for the trail running mentality ;) He's promised to come to the pre-race dinner with me for my 50k, and I'm hoping a bit that seeing so many other men his age doing the race will make it seem achievable.

We've got to get through the 1/2 marathon first though!

(My Dad and Me at Christmas with my first pair of trail running shoes and a tech shirt I got him for his 1/2 marathon training. We were both about to embark on new running adventures here!)

After the run I rested for a bit, had some water, and then headed out to the RSM lake, which is 1 mi. around. Got myself situated, shut the car door and realized the keys were still inside!. I used to lock my keys in my car quite frequently in high school, but hadn't done it since then. My spares are up in Berkeley, so I was definitely in a fix. Felt a bit like crying and sat for 20 minutes or so trying to figure out what to do. I then decided to run to a phone to call home (running is such a great way to deal with stress!), so ran the 1/2 mile or so to a pay phone. I didn't have money though, so I then ended up going to a B of A and they kindly let me use their phone. I called AAA and spoke to a very nice man who made me feel much better and talked me through everything. I bought their insurance, and they sent someone right out to unlock my car within 15 minutes.

After getting through all that, I finished up my run, doing another 4. 38 miles and a .62 mile cool down.

All together, my second run was 5.38 miles, giving me 16 miles for the day.

And it only took me 5 1/2 hours ;)