Almost forgot, didn't I? That would've been a shame, because of all the good stories I have to tell. Now I'm sure that some of you aren't as rapt about my running habits as others, but these two weeks were a mini-running Renaissance between bouts of sickness. The first part I've alluded to already: running in California. Livermore, believe it or not, is a lot of fun to run in. They seem to have dozens of trail systems for you to enjoy, which if you only want to get in five or six miles should be sufficient. But the one bit of grief that I always have is that they just aren't interconnected. Four miles of trails here. A two mile loop there. A three mile long path on the other side of the highway. But no easy way to get between each of them.
This last visit to Livermore, I stayed near the Bluebell golf course. It's more or less a suburb on the North side of town with undeveloped land bordering it. So, it really wasn't much of a surprise that my runs brought me face to face with a family of skunks (no getting sprayed luckily!), a possum or two, and relatively few people. One of the highlights was heading out early in the morning to run up Brushy Peak. Gorgeous view from up there, and I highly recommend a visit to that nature area for anyone in Livermore. The other major run was my long run out along Altamont Pass Road. The name should have been the first warning sign that it wasn't exactly what I was looking for since I had been hoping for flat and fast. Well, I got the fast all right as I was running on the shoulder with trucks flying by at 45 miles an hour (thinking back to this, why am I being timid about running through the streets of Oxford? It can't possibly be worse can it?). That made for a long morning, but worth it.
The rest of the runs in California varied a bit. While in Berkley I ran up the "Scenic Panorama Trail," which pretty much went straight up the side of a mountain. (and here I thought that there were no mountains worth speaking of out that way...). The best thing about this run, though, the banana slugs. Eight to ten inches long, the width of two fingers, and everywhere I looked over a one mile stretch of the trail that saw few people traversing it. I knew that the banana slug was the mascot of a UC system school (UC Santa Cruz to be precise), but I hadn't realized that it was because those things actually existed (as opposed to be the delusion of an intoxicated mass of students).
There rest of running in California was good too...Cloverdale was pleasantly quiet and peaceful for a nice long run on Sunday morning, with the exception of the local crazy...I don't know how I manage to find these people...There I am, getting my run on, when a car pulls up beside me and the window rolls down. "Praise the Lord brother for this beautiful day." Thinking that that would be all, I smile, nod, and say Amen to that. But, I was wrong. He then went on to talk to me about how the world was going to ruin. "And scientists..." I could just see it now when he said that....some global warming denier blaming scientists for our problems? But no, I was wrong. "And scientists say that the end times in the book of Revelations is upon us!" Yeah, didn't quite see that twist coming. After about a half mile he left me...only to have me catch up to him again at a stop sign. Why me? At that point, he started talking about the trials and tribulations of Job. So, I decided to turn down the first one way street that I could find so that he couldn't follow me anymore...
After California it was back to Albuquerque for a rather uneventful week. The totals for the two weeks were:
7/30-8/5: 77 miles
8/6-8/12: 84 miles
Last 365 days: 3086 miles
Next stop: Chicago!
This last visit to Livermore, I stayed near the Bluebell golf course. It's more or less a suburb on the North side of town with undeveloped land bordering it. So, it really wasn't much of a surprise that my runs brought me face to face with a family of skunks (no getting sprayed luckily!), a possum or two, and relatively few people. One of the highlights was heading out early in the morning to run up Brushy Peak. Gorgeous view from up there, and I highly recommend a visit to that nature area for anyone in Livermore. The other major run was my long run out along Altamont Pass Road. The name should have been the first warning sign that it wasn't exactly what I was looking for since I had been hoping for flat and fast. Well, I got the fast all right as I was running on the shoulder with trucks flying by at 45 miles an hour (thinking back to this, why am I being timid about running through the streets of Oxford? It can't possibly be worse can it?). That made for a long morning, but worth it.
The rest of the runs in California varied a bit. While in Berkley I ran up the "Scenic Panorama Trail," which pretty much went straight up the side of a mountain. (and here I thought that there were no mountains worth speaking of out that way...). The best thing about this run, though, the banana slugs. Eight to ten inches long, the width of two fingers, and everywhere I looked over a one mile stretch of the trail that saw few people traversing it. I knew that the banana slug was the mascot of a UC system school (UC Santa Cruz to be precise), but I hadn't realized that it was because those things actually existed (as opposed to be the delusion of an intoxicated mass of students).
 | ||||||
| Now imagine a forest filled with bigger versions of this guy... |
After California it was back to Albuquerque for a rather uneventful week. The totals for the two weeks were:
7/30-8/5: 77 miles
8/6-8/12: 84 miles
Last 365 days: 3086 miles
Next stop: Chicago!
No comments:
Post a Comment