trail tales

ah…here I am again! So awesome. It’s a clear blue sky kind of Sunday, with temperatures maybe somewhere in mid 40′s. Feels cold, but also good. Good in the awakening kind of way…Good in the “it’s a good day to run” kind of day. 

There’s a small crowd gathering here in one of the open spaces of San Pedro Valley Park in Pacifica. I look around and start taking notice; trail runners. trail race. Such a different vibe here than a road race. Less people. Feels a lot more casual. I’ve always loved this vibe and happy to experience it again. In line for the bathroom, I listen to the chatter of those around me…talking about the cold, the course…all I know is it looked about 3 miles or so uphill and then about the same back down. Let’s get to it. 

Our 10k race began 10 minutes after the 50km, marathon and half marathon. I was a little bummed i had not entered the half distance, but felt the 10k was more appropriate for today. It would have about 1200 feet of elevation and that quite manageable. The small lot of us began our journey….a gradual then steeper ascents up and up and turn and turn on multliple single track switchbacks. my heart was beating. a great thing. no music on my ears today…just the sound of my own breathing (which got heavier and louder as the steps ensued) and the sounds of my fellow runners ahead and behind me. Most of the trail was in the open, not shaded. A gorgeous day. One short downhill and then up and up again. we finally reached the top and I looked and saw the Pacific Ocean over yonder. A beauty. Keep going. Finally on the descent; time to fly. My small body quickly making it’s way down and down more switchbacks. Not very rooted, pretty smooth trail. Gaining speed and hoping to pick up ground on anyone who might be in front of me. but, i see no one. they must be flying too. I’m going fast. I like this…this semi out of control feeling…but I feel good. i feel confident in my steps and stride. I am not holding back. Keep going. Finally, we are in the last mile and I pass not 1, but 2 women and 1 fella passes me. He was really flyin’! I rushed passed the ladies and then found myself going full steam into a section that was basically a eucalyptus grove. towering trees. wonderful. peaceful. i kept plugging along and all of a sudden with about .5 miles to go, i hear footsteps behind me and kept a panic surge. i don’t want anyone to pass me. legs were really feeling it now after the 3 miles of flying downhill….ahhhh…keep going…..

i did. i stayed ahead.

i finished my first race of 2013. Came in 2nd in my age group women 40-49. pretty cool.

 

awesome day. can’t wait to do it again. 

Shoes worn: Brooks Pure Flow. worked great on these soft packed dirt trails.

Running for Coffee and Fun

Yesterday I made a spontaneous trip down to Santa Cruz. It’s about a 2.5 hour drive from where I live. I just wanted to get out of town and go somewhere fun. I needed to get away but I didn’t know how much until I actually arrived. I arrived, checked into hotel, changed into my running clothes and hit the road for a quick 3 mile jaunt to explore and kinda get my bearings. It was a beautiful late afternoon, just a hint of cool temperatures. I ran through the cute, packed in downtown, saw the coffee shop i wanted to visit (VERVE COFFEE) and just made a loop back to hotel. Felt great to move my body. I’m SLOWLY getting back into running….and being ok with that…

I felt myself excited and awakened by the new sights all around me. My senses were awakened. On alert. I wanted to take it all in. I love how a new place has this effect. I had been to Santa Cruz many times in the past….but i’m talking about 25 years ago….

After run, made my way back downtown to visit Verve and find dinner. If you don’t know, I’m a big coffee fan and love finding new good coffee and coffee shops. Verve did not disappoint! I went to 1 of their 3 Santa Cruz locations. Its located downtown on the main street, Pacific. The shop was spacious, tall ceilings and a large area for the baristas to do their thing! A decent sized crowd were sitting and doing THEIR thing. I ordered a Cappuccino and passed on the yummy looking Chocolate Chip Cookie. While my drink was bring crafted, I nosed around in the shop…looking at their beans, mugs, apparel (yes!) and other logo items. I knew i would spend more than a few bucks in this place! I picked up my splendid cappuccino and took a seat at the bar area that allowed me to watch the baristas. Love that! The VIBE in this place was a huge plus. Young, cute,  friendly staff. All of them. Welcoming!  

I also ended up chatting w/ a gal who works there and she gave me a recommendation for dinner. I asked for “someplace casual with a TV to watch sports”. She directed me to SurfRider Cafe about 1/2 mile away. It was pretty packed but I got a seat at the bar immediately. Ordered a house-made Veggie burger w/ sweet potato fries and an ale called Dragon’s Breath. All very good! And again, loved the vibe in THIS place. Young, casual crowd. Very good and pleasant service. I think the VIBE i am speaking about is just very much Santa Cruz. Always been a very casual, independent, liberal place. Love that!

Saturday morning got up and went back to Verve for morning coffee. using my iPad, i found one of their other locations about 2 miles away and figured that would be a fun out and back route. So, off i went. There’s a river that runs thru town, The San Lorenzo River, and the route carried me on a path next to the river. Mostly flat, with just a little bit of incline. Gorgeous day outside. I could see the Boardwalk Rides off in the distance. And the Pacific Ocean. AHHHHH — Soon enough the short 3.6 mile run was over and again, i felt like i couldn’t run much more. for now!!

Got breakfast, walked around a bit, got cleaned up and headed to the Boardwalk. I went straight to the arcade and played my old favorite video games; Ms Pac Man & Centipede. Fun! I could’ve played longer, but had only a short time to get a few rides in and head back home. I chose 2 rides; Double Shot – which is just a straight ride up 125 ft. Super fast up and super fast down. a few times. I was facing the ocean and of course, great views. I was screaming and laughing the entire time. Other ride was the classic Giant Dipper roller coaster. More laughing the entire time. I love rides…i love the feeling of being locked in but totally out of control. SOOOO FUN. I really needed it.

This morning (Sunday) I drove just a short distance over to Mill Valley to hit some trails I had yet visited. These were right off of Tennessee Valley Road. I really had no idea where I was going, but i thought it would be easy to get back to the starting point, and it was. I ran, hiked up and came to some amazing views of the bay! Picture does not justice. 

The trail up was mostly single track with hard packed dirt. I could’ve worn regular road shoes but I had my adidas trail shoes on. Came to some fire roads also. A hefty climb, especially given my current level of fitness..but i sure loved being out there!

So…I am making progress with getting back to being as fit as i want to be. Here’s a snapshot of what i’ve done lately.

Feb 10: 6 mile trail run; Elevation gain 1,179 (highest elevation gain since last August!)

Feb 9: 3.6 mile road run

Feb 8: 3 mile road run

Feb 7: core workout @ home

Feb 5:  3 mile treadmill run

Feb 2: 4.25 mile trail run; Elevation gain 635 (makes me realize how this is really nothing compared to what i can do in muir woods)

Feb 1: 3 mile road run

So as you can see, February is off to a much better start than January. Thank God for HEALTH! I still have not picked any races. Basically, I’m just trying to get a base level of fitness back and go from there. I saw a lot of folks on the trails today and that also gave me a boost!

Also, these are the newest add to my collection:

Brooks Pure Connect. These are one of the minimalist shoes. Not the least MINIMAL, but mid range minimal. So far, so good. I like the feel..like they hug your feet. Good traction even on the trail I used them for last weekend. Got ‘em at a new specialty running store: San Francisco Running Company located in Mill Valley. If you are in the area, go pay them a visit. Good guys running the show!

my art

2012 Recap

Time to look back on the year of 2o12. A year of much, much change. A move across the country, a new job, a new relationship. Major events in my life. Here’s how the running went down.

January – in the early part of the month, I prepared to make my cross country move from Atlanta back home to San Francisco. I had a new relationship and was brimming with excitement. I was also full of angst and upset over a job I voluntarily departed. Leaving Atlanta was a big decision as my years there were so rich and significant in so many ways. And yet, It was time to go. To move on. In more ways than one.

By January 23, I was on the road, headed west. Over the next 10 days, I drove some of my belongings across our great country and stopped in a few places to stretch my legs and breathe in the air. I was able to run some miles in Oxford, Mississippi; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Flagstaff, Arizona (2x); and Las Vegas, NV (treadmill). My favorite runs were in Flagstaff. The temperatures were cold and my breathing labored in the higher elevation town, but i still loved it. A great little town in Northern Arizona.

January Miles: 75

February – February 1, I touched down in the bay area. Specifically, Petaluma, CA, where I would make my new home. Surrounded by old friends and a new love, I was pretty darn happy. And, for the first time in many, many years, I was without employment. That lasted all of about 2 weeks until I landed a new one and a great one, at that!

My feet and legs went to explore the streets of my new town in ways that I had never done before. I ran all over Petaluma and found that it was mostly flat and to to get any kind of hills, I had to seek them out. This was in stark contrast to Atlanta where hills are everywhere and flatlands are hard to find. It was refreshing to run in a new place and find my way around and notice new things. I spent the last weekend of the month in Ashland, OR and was able to run there as well. A post-snow run day was pretty fun.

Februray Miles: 54

March – I had signed up for a trail race so i needed to get some proper training in for this upcoming event. The only place to run trails in Petaluma is Helen Putnam Park. A good park to run in with mostly single-track, but it is not that big of a space so to run long miles (+6), you will be going over some of the same trails more than once. I was getting settled in to my work environment and looking for a place to live.

March Miles: 71

April – in preparation mode for a 7 mile trail race in Muir Woods which was mid month. A fantastic race. Just love running in that area. After the race, I began using a training program NIKE had designed for me to help me break 2 hours in the half-marathon distance. I started incorporating intervals and very specific strength training exercises into my training. Also started fooling around with Tennis and found I really enjoy it. But, wow…patience, patience, patience is needed on the court.

April Miles: 35

May – A month of shorter, faster runs. Continually saw my pace in the 8:30-8:40 per mile mark and was happy with this. Traveled to NY for work for a week and was very tough to keep up the running due to very long work days. Not fun sitting all day and then being too wiped out to exercise, but I did a little. A bit more tennis and more interval training.

May Miles: 52

June – at the beginning of the month, I had flown back to Atlanta to visit clients and also gather the rest of my belongings. I had to drive a Penske Truck from Atlanta back to SF. My 2nd cross country trip in 6 months. Whew!!! It was definitely not as fun or as fast as driving my BMW!! I took a different route this go around and ran in Dallas, Texas; Amarillo, Texas, and Las Vegas, Nevada. I was so happy when I got home and had NO MORE DRIVING TO DO! I joined a great local gym and was feeling good about my fitness level.

June Miles: 54

July – Early in the month was the heart of my 1/2 marathon training. I was feeling good about my pace, but wasn’t sure i had gotten in enough in enough long mileage. Prior to race day, my longest run was only 10 miles. But, otherwise, i was feeling good going into race day and knew I would have to push hard and trust myself. Race day was on July 29th and what a day it was. My previous best had been 2:01 and change. I achieved my new PR on July 29th at the SF Half Marathon with a finish time of 1:58:42. I was over the moon delighted. Can’t tell you what this meant to me. And to be back running in my hometown, with my love at the finish line…nothing better. A magical day!

July Miles: 65

August – bought these superfly new Nike shoes. Nike Flyknit. Super light, awesome and fun to run in. 

Fresh off the high from the race, I wanted to run another one. The NIKE SF WOMENS MARATHON was coming up in a few months, but already sold out. Luckily for me, I entered into a raffle for an entry and won. Decision made. I was going. OMG. I had about 8 weeks to prepare and was definitely nervous about the quick back to back. (although I realize some people run marathons every weekend, this was a lot for me, especially since I pushed my body so hard for the Half.) I got myself in gear and kept my expectations in check and went took to the roads.

August Miles: 70

September – full on training for full marathon mode! And, I celebrated my 42nd birthday!! Again, was feeling good overall, but did not get in super long runs. Longest run pre race day was 16 miles. However, I felt steady and solid and mentally ready to keep pushing. It helped that i scaled down my expectations. All I wanted was to toe the line and be there and have a decent finish. A PR was out of the question.

September Miles: 111

October – Race month. The big day was Oct 14th, again in San Francisco. Another fantastic race experience. I actually was feeling pretty strong until around mile 20. I was also on good pace until then so I know my long run of just 16 miles was what had hurt me. Had I been able to get in an 18 or 20 miler in during training, i think I would have had a better finish time. However, I was still fine with the 4:24 finish. My 8th marathon was done and I was super happy!

Later in the month, spent some time up the north coast in Sea Ranch and Gualala. Small, quaint little communities. A great quiet get-a-way! And, I even went swimming for the first time in ages!

Last but not least, The SAN FRANCISCO GAINTS won the WORLD SERIES. I had been at Game 7 of the NLCS and that is a time I will never forget. Bottom of the ninth inning, the game was already won, cold & rainy at the park, everyone soaked and just screaming at the top of our lungs. What a freakin’ blast!

October Miles: 66

November – I tried to take it easy during the month and really rest, but that didn’t happen. I “should” have taken maybe 2-3 full weeks off, but I didn’t. I had some days where I wasn’t truly enjoying myself, but i still didn’t rest. On the positive side, I had an awesome Thanksgiving holiday. One of the best I have had in many, many years. Surrounded by love, new and old friends. A happy day.

November Miles: 52

December – last month of 2012. not a whole lot to say. Some running, but not a lot and some of the runs were uninspiring. A few were great and those were back on the trails at Helen Putnam Park. Rainy, cold days and it felt great! Unfortunately, late in the month, I noticed my chest was hurting. Weird, i thought. Well, a week or so later, I developed some kind of flu or something and am still recovering from this about 10 days later. I think I am at the end of it, but there’s no way I can run. I tried that and got set back even worse. I will wait for some good signs from my body and not push it. Its tough as I am becoming excited and anxious about getting back out there and trying to reach new goals. But, I cannot afford to get re-sick, so slow and easy is the plan for right now.

December Miles: 48

As I recapped this year, i am surprised to find i only participated in 3 races. It seems like I trained for more than that! Looking back, I found real value in the NIKE TRAINING PROGRAM. I believe it helped me increase my overall fitness and I enjoyed the program. For that race, I really needed to focus more on speed and I did and it helped me reach my goal! Highlight of the year in my running world. I’m continually learning about quantity versus quality. It’s so important and I know I have more to learn. I would like to spend more time cross training with cycling, swimming, tennis and maybe even yoga. I have more and more thoughts swirling in my head, but that will be for later. I’ll end this now, grateful for the year. Grateful to be alive and with an abundance of love and goodness. Need to be sure to continue to let it all in and believe i deserve it. That’s the challenge.

Thanks for following along and wishing you all the best in 2013. Go Get After IT.

Winding down…

 

I’ve scaled back on the running these past couple of months. After running my last race, the SF Nike Women’s Marathon in October, I thought it was best to simply rest a little. In November, I only ran a total of 52 miles and so far in December, I’ve only run about 40 miles. I noticed in November that my head and heart just were not fully into it. And my legs weren’t into it much either…so I kept scaling back. I am pretty tuned into my body and so…

So far in December, I’ve enjoyed the miles. I’ve run 2 times on the trails at Helen Putnam Park in Petaluma. The trails are hilly for this area, but it terms of elevation, not a lot. For example, the last run I did there, the elevation gain was a bit less than 800 ft. I mention this because I am considering running a significant trail race in April and if i do, i will need to find steeper and bigger trails to train on. The high elevation for the race are is 5000 ft…so…i must find other trails if I decide to do this race. Still mulling it over…

Over the next few days, I hope to post my review of 2012 and then what i hope to accomplish in 2013.

Still planning and dreaming. BIG. Hope you are too.

Cheers!

Turkey Trotting

I’ve run or raced on Thanksgiving many times. In fact, I can’t recall when the last time it was I didn’t run/race on the holiday. While living in Atlanta, I raced the Atlanta Half Marathon on turkey day many times and other times, I just went for a quiet run on my own. THIS year was a bit different. Now that I live in Petaluma, I found out there was a race on Thanksgiving…a local “turkey trot”. Only, this was not a “formal” race with paid registration and t-shirts, etc…This was simply a run organized by a wonderful local woman and this was year #6. To give you an idea of the “feel” of the event, here is some of the description from the website:

The basic idea is simple – a group fun run. No registration, no fee, no volunteer support, no T-shirts. Just running or walking with community and feeling darn good about the calorie burn before the big feast.

In lieu of a registration fee, we were to bring food items for the local food bank.

So…Sharon did the run last year and coerced me into joining her this year.  There was a 4 mile and 6 mile option. We both had said we would just do the 4 miler. The run started at a park about 1/2 mile from my house and it was fun to arrive early and see everyone milling about and bringing food, etc. We ran into another friend, who upon hearing I was running the 4 miler said, “can i challenge you to do the 6?” What? OK. I’m in. I have not been running too much and certainly not been running any hills so i figured it would be a good challenge. Pretty soon we were on our way. The first 2 miles are basically a gradual, steep, and steeper uphill into the heart of Helen Putnam Park. The next 2 were on narrow hard packed dirt trails in and around the park. A few times, we came to open areas that looked like this:

Tough place to run, huh?!! GORGEOUS! I have run in this park before but had not been here since last Jan/Feb when I was training for a trail race in Muir Woods. It was good to be back and be off the pavement. At the onset, I was relaxed and felt really low key  – but then once I started running and especially when I made my way into the park, my competitive juices took over. I kept noticing these 2 women in front of me and I just could not seem to catch them. Ever have that feeling??? I was passing some people, but still could not catch them. The 2 miles we did in the park were all up and down hills and on the downhills, I just tried to fly down them and I did! I LOVE that feeling of being in the open so free and when my stride opens up. AHHHHH! As I was coming onto the start of the final 2 mile portion of the race, the race organizer, snapped this photo of me:

Once I crested over this area, it was basically 2 miles all downhill to the finish. The 2 women were still in my sights and I started to push hard and harder and I guess they did too! My legs were burning and aching, my breathing was heavy and my arms were flailing about and yet…i still could not catch them. I probably got to within 200-300 feet and I just let it go. We were less than 1/4 mile to the finish but I just had nothing left. AND WHAT A GREAT FEELING THAT WAS!!! I found the 2 speedy women afterwards and congratulated them on a great run and we chatted for a bit. Soon afterwards, I greeted Sharon and I know we both felt great and accomplished. Awesome way to the start of what was a wonderful Holiday. Me at the end:

NEW TOPIC:

So, did you see it? Did you catch it? Of course, I am talking about the 3rd win of the season for the Underdog, Cleveland Browns!! They battled against their interstate rival, Pittsburgh Steelers last Sunday in Cleveland, on the banks of Lake Erie. Let me assure you, this is an intense sports rivalry and there is no love loss between the teams and fans. Pittsburgh was in the unfortunate position of having to start their 3rd string QB, since #1 and #2 were unavailable. Boo hoo. No sympathy here.

The Steelers played awful. They had 8 turnovers. Pretty much no team will win when they turn the ball over that much. Most of the turnovers were fumbles by the running backs, which I was surprised about, but hey, I will take it. Thank you. The Browns did what they should have done; they took advantage of these opportunities and played good enough to win 20-14, at home in front of their home crowd who cheer them on RELENTLESSLY! I’m telling you there is NO FAN BASE like that of the BROWNS! I followed the game online and was so happy they won, in case you couldn’t tell!

Next up, they have a fantastic opportunity to secure their 4th win of the season against the truly awful Oakland Raiders. Since the Raiders are here locally, I watch some of the games on tv…and they are not easy to watch. They are one of the worst teams in the league….and I say this knowing my Browns are NOT that much better, but I believe Cleveland is a better team. And should win. Mark it down. I said it. Browns will win. Hope I’m not the turkey…

Here’s a pic of one of the best players on the team, if not The Best, Running Back Trent Richardson. He’s having an awesome season. Go BROWNS!!

Take a ride on the Dipsea….

So…the week post race was a fun one…ya know, I had that happier than usual feeling..fun to have the memory and experience of last weekend’s race.

As part of my reward and just simply because i have been waiting, patiently, for these shoes to come out, I went and got these new Nike Shoes.

They are the Nike Flyknit Trainer and I first saw them online about 6 months ago. Nike said they would not be released until the Olympics and if you have been watching, you might have seen some athletes running in these shoes.
They are pretty damn sweet! They fit like a glove…very snug..like a nice sock. The shoe feels like it hugs your foot. If you can wear a light shoe, with minimal cushion, you might like it. I am a neutral runner so I wear it just fine. Been running on it twice now and love ‘em. I must warn you…they are not cheap! I don’t mind spending $$ on running shoes. I’d rather spend there than on most other things.

The day I bought them was a super long day for me filled with lots of sitting and driving and so when I finally got home, i just HAD to take ‘em out for about a 2.5 mile spin. Nice!

Yesterday, I went for a get-a-way by myself in Muir Woods. I just wanted to be in nature and be lost for a little bit. Craved the time alone to be quiet, without technology/distractions, etc… I strapped on my Nathan pack and headed out for the Dipsea Trail starting in Mill Valley.

This is a shot from a section of 1 of the many stair sections.

I wasn’t in any hurry so i walked/hiked much of the steep climbs and ran the downhill sections. And basically, that’s what it is…up, down, up, down…and it’s gorgeous as I have mentioned before.

As I climbed, the sun that shined in downtown Mill Valley was now gone and we had this:

It was pretty awesome, actually. Felt like I could breathe better, hear better, see better. All my senses were on high alert. I felt calm, peaceful yet with a insatiable desire to suck it all in…everything. It was as if I was starved and dehydrated for days…

I came across a few people hiking/running in both directions, but there were ample alone moments as well. I went til about 3.5 miles out and then turned around. I had a severely steep downhill section here that was cool, but man…my legs are still feeling it big time. SOOOORE!

I ran back into Mill Valley completely content with my time in the woods. When can I go back???? A NECESSITY!
Was about 7 miles total.

Today, went to the gym and ran 4 on the treadmill followed by lots of core exercises. Aim is to keep getting fitter, stronger.

As I write this, I know my quads are in some hurt and I have no Advil. Damn. Can someone send me some. Stat. Thx.

Follow your dreams. Aim high. Don’t allow yourself to get discouraged by anyone or anything. You can make it happen. One step at a time!!

ONWARD!

Race Report; Muir Woods 7 Mile Trail Race

What a thrill of a race! 7 miles up and down and thru the Muir Woods in Marin, Ca, about 20-30 minutes north of San Francisco!
My friend, Sharon, took on this terrific challenge with me. While I have run many races, both road and trail, this was only her 3rd race ever. EVER. Pretty damn impressive that she even considered this race, let alone, toed the line and finish! Massive kudos to her!

The race was to begin at Stinson Beach. The race didn’t start until 9am, which I appreciated a lot. I love sleeping in even just a little bit on Saturday since I am up at 6am every weekday for work. So, we got a little bit of breakfast, coffee and made our way on the very windy, beautiful road out to the race start. The race was put on by Envirosports which produces a lot of trail races in the Bay Area and the rest of California. I had done one of their races years ago in the Marin Headlands and remember the crowd and energy being so low key, fun, and just without a lot of the hoopla you find at the bigger, much more expensive road races. Don’t get me wrong, I like those too from time to time, but it is super nice and freshing to experience a race where it is very basic, but very fun! Dave, the race director, stood on a picnic table and shouted out the instructions for each distance; 7 miles, half marathon and marathon.
Dave: repeat after me; ” you are gonna go up. And up. And up some more.”
You get the picture right? Us 7 milers, then would take a right hand turn and go down, down, and down some more. OK.

Dave singled out a couple who had come from Vermont to celebrate their anniversary and run the marathon. They also led us in “America the Beautiful” before we got started on our adventure. As we sang, I looked around and just took some deep breaths and took in the moment. So incredibly beautiful: a gorgeous clear day, the voices of strangers singing together, each with his/her own thoughts and reasons for being there, the faint sounds of the Pacific Ocean wave and birds in the background….ah…..LIFE….LIFE.

The start was literally AT sea level, on the beach.

The marathon runners began first, half marathoners 10 minutes later, and finally us 7 milers, 10 more minutes later. Needless to say, I was ready to jump out of my skin by the time we finally got going at around 930am. When you are excited to race, you wanna go! LIFE

Sharon and I wished each other good luck and off we went. Physically, I thought I was feeling pretty good. Last weeks 5.25 mile run on this course was tough but I felt like my legs were recovered. I felt rested and ready to go. I wasn’t sure I was actually gonna “race”, but I thought I would take it as it goes and see what happens. Beginning a race on SAND is interesting and not exactly something I would continue to do. We got out of the sand and onto the parking lot pavement and within about 1/4 mile, we were onto the Dipsea Trail heading UP. Both Sharon and I were so glad we had tested out the course last week. HUGE BENEFIT. We knew exactly what to expect on the way up. Within just a few minutes, my heart rate was high, as expected. I ran as much as I could during these early 3.5 miles of mostly all uphill. The first section was a mixture of hard packed dirt, narrow single track trail, mixed in with some wider open areas that was tightly packed small rocks. As we climbed and got into the open area, the vast Pacific Ocean was to our right. The next section was where we switched from the Dipsea Trail onto Steep Ravine trail. Um….the name of the trail is NOT a MISPRINT or MISTAKE. Extremely fitting name. A very steep quick downhill and then all uphill. Steep uphill. Un-runnable uphill. Crazy steep steps uphill. Throw in a LADDER uphill.

Toss in some lush trees, narrow footpaths, lovely small waterfalls, a couple of short bridges, and ducking under a few fallen down tree trunks and there you have it: the path up. I am pleased to say that more than a few people stepped aside for me to pass them on their left. I was breathing heavy, but they were REALLY breathing heavy. Imagine lifting your legs as high as you can to climb a step…that’s what some of it was like. FUN!! CRAZY!!

My mind was so incredibly focused. My thought process was, “push. keep pushing. keep trying to pass people. get as far ahead as you can because you don’t want anyone to pass you on the downhill section. push. keep pushing.”

So, obviously, I WAS in race mode!
Felt awesome.

I finally go to the “top”, 3.5 mile point. There was an aid station, and bathroom but I didn’t need either because I had water with me. I sucked down the only gel i had and made me way onto the Dipsea Trail again and headed DOWN. YEAH!!!!

What a freakin’ thrill. I really picked up my pace and was simply going for it. I passed more than a few more people and was pushing. It was me against me. Me against the clock. I was flying. I was in heaven. This part of the trail was heavily rooted in some parts with rocks jutting out and causing me to be more careful; other parts were more more smooth…and then of course, throw in some more Dipsea Stairs going DOWN…steep stairs, slippery stairs, going down. Going down fast!!
I came to a section where I was alone for quite a bit and I got a second wind and I just felt like I was an animal, in our truest and most basic elements. I felt so free. Surrounded by beauty. I started screaming and yelling….

WHO-HOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!

In one of my last sections, I passed a young woman, probably 10-15 years younger than me) I passed on some stairs. Then, we came to one last very steep uphill section and she passed me. UGH! I wasn’t happy about this, but I had to let it go and keep moving as fast as I could. We were into the final stretch and moving downhill on some of the more open, wider trails. I got a 3rd wind and was moving fast, opening my stride and fucking going for it. Had to manuever around and pass small clusters of regular people hiking the trail…”keep pushing..keep pushing”
I was getting closer and closer to the young woman ahead…and bam, I caught her and flew past her and never looked back. I exited the trail and ran onto the pavement/road section that took me back to the beach. My legs were dying, but I had to keep going a few more yards, a few more yards. A few people were cheering me on as I came in and crossed the finish line!

I was thrilled. Such a fun race.

I feel darn good about my results.

Placed 29 out of 139 runners
Placed 6 in my age group. Women 40-45

It was a great event and I hope to do more EnviroSport Races. And Sharon…well, I think she is HOOKED on trail running!

Onward!

Dipsea-do

Today, Easter Sunday, a friend and I went down to Marin and over to Stinson Beach to test out some of the trails for our 7 mile trail race next weekend. The race is put on by EnviroSports and along with a 7 miler, there will also be a half and full marathon. Um…after the 5.25 miles I did today, I’m more than ok with NOT running the half or full marathon. If you know Marin and the Dipsea and surrounding trails, you KNOW exactly what one goes through. If you don’t, well, I’m here to tell ya…it is NOT for the faint of heart, both literally and figuratively. I have run the Dipsea trails (via the DIPSEA race 3 times in the past) but because I have lived in Atlanta for the past 10+ years, I had not been on these trails in quite some time. It’s more than fair to say I had forgotten both how challenging they are and how utterly beautiful, refreshing, and invigorating it is to run on the famed trails. AHHH…so amazing.
Our 7 mile race will begin at Stinson Beach and go up! Basically, up, up up and more up, up, up. Up steep climbs, up steep, narrow wooded staircases amongst the glorious ferns, eucalyptus trees and tons of other greenery. We will travel over many small bridges, go over and under huge fallen trees, swiftly and carefully navigate our feet among heavily rooted and sometimes very slippery trails. We will huff and puff our way as we climb the many sections that are un-runnable to the common man/woman. WHO CAN RUN THOSE SECTIONS? I WANNA SEE IT! We will even go up and down a ladder. A LADDER! Pretty fun, actually. So…this is part of what I did and saw today during my 2.5 mile excursion UP the trail and another 2.75 miles down. LOVED the downhill. Felt like I had very good pace; was able to maneuver the steep and often tricky sections pretty well. I’ve always been good at those parts, which makes it more fun for me and am able to pick up some pace that i lose on the climbs. But, the beginning part. The 2.5 miles up…that was NO JOKE. I had a tough time getting going…it was early morning. no warm up. nothing. just start climbing. Plus, all week, I have been doing my new NIKE Training Program and I’m feeling it. Lots and lots of squat exercises, which is totally new for me. Legs have been sore all week. So, then throw the super duper trail run in from today and what do you have? Some super duper tired and sore legs. Need to try to find a hot tub this week. My friend, Sharon, and I did not run the trail together but we started together and then caught up afterwards. We we both smiling and feeling quite accomplished. We enjoyed a wonderful, delicious breakfast at the Dipsea Cafe afterwards. Where else would we go?!!

These pictures DO NOT show how tough the course is…but hopefully they show some of its amazing beauty. Another reason I am so glad to be back in the Bay Area!

Week 12 Run Report

Want to get caught up with a couple of posts, so this will be short.

Week 12 highlights: used a new local gym on a 14 day free pass. yay! Nice place and ample equipment, amenities, etc.. operative word: FREE!

Ran two days of 3.25 mile runs at 9:06 pace.
Ran Saturday at a local park/trail: Helen Putnam in Petaluma. Not a wide or large park, but steep and with beautiful vistas. Ran 5 miles in slight rain at the park. Felt awesome. LOVE running in the rain! Slow pace, but as expected with the terrain. Have a 7 mile trail race in a few weeks so trying to get in some race like conditional training. Not focused on ths upcoming race for “race” purposes. Mostly for fun and to get out on some Marin County trails that i love.
Sunday was another 5 miler thru town.

Week 12: Total approx miles 19