Archive for Fitness
Medium Paced Run on the Dirt
Posted by: | CommentsIt was 330 PM in the afternoon with a nice break from the rain. I quickly donned my running clothes and told my boys to get a move on it! I really enjoy running on the crushed gravel path next to Alameda Creek. It seems effortless. We had a very strong head wind and that meant the 2 boys would be struggling with their bicycles. It was a key indicator that I needed to slow down. No problem for me. My legs needed an easy cruise.
As we were running in between the quarry lakes, I saw a guy pull out an 18 inch trout! I did a double take and turned around to see a rainbow trout. I ran anothe 20 yards and noticed another guy with a fish about the same size. Even though the lake is stocked, they were still big trout.
After oggling the fish, I let my boys sit down and eat the snack that mommy packed for them. They quickly devoured a cheese bagel, a plum and a peach.
I noticed storms forming all around us. The Bay Area is a great place for ever changing weather. Mission Peak was turning a wicked dark grey. To west we could see squalls. Directly over head were clear skies. The wind was coming from the north east which told me we were safe from getting drenched.
My boys were happy to have the wind to their backs. My oldest son Josiah said that it was not fair to have the wind to his face for half the ride and not have it on his back for the trip home. I told hit was a tail wind and that he just could not feel it. It’s true. A tail wind is usually not as noticeable.
Running the Trail With a Splash!
Posted by: | CommentsThis week we had a considerable amount of rain in the Bay Area. As a child, I lived for puddles and all the mud associated with rain. Come to think about it, as an adult, I love the mud too! I am a man with a tendency to teeter on the personality of a boy. My 2 boys are not so different.
When we arrived at the Alameda creek trail, my 2 boys asked if they could ride through the mud puddles. My first and only thought was “Of course!” I actually encouraged them to take on the largest, muddiest puddles. I baited them to go through the deepest parts. Both boys made sure that they rode through every puddle at least once. We even made a video of them going through the biggest puddles. I shot dozens of photos of them making a mess with no concern of ruined clothing or bicycles. I was on my weekly run and the entertainment was outstanding!
I was running and did not care to get my running shoes all wet. It’s not that I mind being wet. Running shoes tend to stink if they are not dried properly.
When we entered our house after the ride, my wife just about turned blue from all mud. She inspected the boys by walking 360 degrees around them. She was visibly distraught. I quickly herded the boys upstairs into the bathroom to wash all visible evidence of mud off them.
We quietly marched down stairs after our shower and pretended as if nothing happened. As far as the boys were concerned, nothing of the ordinary happened. They were in their element. Mud, dirt, and boys mix just fine. They would have been perfectly happy to go to our Wednesday night church program without a bath and without changing clothes. My wife on the other hand would not allow it. The boys often have to pass her “smell” test. I have to admit that even after they have showered, a blue cheese aroma sometimes permeates their bodies. Boys just don’t care that much about washing when they are 6 & 8 years old. Next time I think I will sneak the boys out of the house with all the dirt and mud on them.
Run to the Hang Glider Launch
Posted by: | CommentsThis morning was a nostalgic run with Andria and Nadia to the hang glider launch in Milipitas. The hang glider launch is significant because the best runs that I have had with Andria and Nadia have taken us there. I have been running with the girls for nearly 6 years. We are like brothers and sisters now. We get grumpy with each other. We put up with each others quirks. None the less, we do like each other. Nadia and I are not training for anything. A fast pace is not even on the menu. With trail running, we tend to walk more than run. Those steep hills are impossible to run and it takes more energy!
Since we were running at a moderate pace, I decided to take a lot pictures of us running through the beautiful country side. I started the photo shoot just before we entered the horse ranch.
Trail sign
The horse ranch was incredible. We saw a few dozen horses and I got close enough to almost pet the colts. The grass was fresh and green from the recent rains. The rocks had multi-colored lichen growing on them.
We were able to see several deer run across the hill side. I saw a total of 8 deer on this run. This is not unusual in this remote area.
We arrived at the hang glider launch in approximately 2 hours and thirty minutes. We took several photos over looking Silicon Valley. There is not enough room in the blog to contain the photos. I posted the slide show in Facebook. I am going to add a FlickR widget to enable faster photo viewing.
Crossing the gate into the horse ranch
Mission Peak was full of people. It seems that on a typical Saturday, several hundred people traverse the mountain. Considering that the population of Silicon Valley is several million people, this is a small number.
We finished the run in just over 4 hours. It really was fun. I feel like the 3 of us have grown up together after so many runs.
Hilll Run out in the Country
Posted by: | CommentsThis morning I was looking forward to running with my 2 running partners Andria and Nadia. Princess Nga is a fair weather runner and will stay inside even if some morning fogs hits her in the face. It rained on and off all day yesterday. The typical pattern here in the Bay Area is a break in storm patterns early in the morning before sunrise. I am no weather expert. It’s a typical phenomena that I have been experiencing for years. This morning I peeked out my door at 530 AM and it I could see thin clouds and stars.
I called Andria at 600 AM to inform her that I was running a little late. She was still at home in San Francisco. Nadia had called her at 5 AM and said that it was raining. It may have been a light drizzle. By the time that I hit the road it was absolutely beautiful. My rule for me is that I always show up. I have never canceled on a run. Runners are weird. It’s just so addicting!
I changed my running plans on the fly and ran up Morrison Canyon road into the rural ranch country. The sun was just rising over the distant green mountians. Everything had a fresh look. The ground looked like it was steaming as the sun shined through the low ground fog. I ran past beat up old farm shacks from days gone by. One old building had a patchwork of green moss growing on the side. I wanted photos but could not find my large running back pack in the dark before I departed.
I saw my 4 deer running on the hill side. A flock of wild turkey were out on what looked like a family hike. The cattle were grazing lazily on the hills. It looked so peaceful. Actually, it was peaceful. It hardly felt like I had run at all by the time that I returned home in 1 hour and 50 minutes.
Running is so much more enjoyable when you a great roads with plenty of scenery to look at. When ever I travel in the country, outside the country, or visit friends, I always am exploring for new roads to run on. I have been running for 35 years and it seems like it just gets better!
Hill Run Up Morrison Canyon
Posted by: | CommentsIt was a cold and rainy day. The boys usually tag along with me on my week day runs. I love the quality time with them. Sometimes it’s hardly a workout because I am more like a sheep dog chasing the stray sheep. Today was no different. Since it was raining, I thought the boys would stay inside. They eagerly dressed up and were ready to go. Happy Zach was so excited that he forgot to put on his jacket. This delayed our start-again.
As we were crossing the rail road tracks, a strong wind kicked in and blew rain on us. I was a little concerned about getting the boys too much exposure. Plan B kicked in. I deviated from our normal trail run and veered towards the hills for protection from the elements. We ran along Canyon Heights Drive and turned left to the monster hill on Morrison Canyon. I found an old school bus stop bench with an ivy covered trellis for the boys to rest on and eat the sour dough whole wheat raisin bread that I packed for a snack.
I ran one fast hill 1/4 mile and joined up with the boys under the trellis for protection from the rain. I saw three deer grazing on the hill side. I looked for the wild turkey and did not see any.
My boys did not complain at all which is unusual. My kids are far from perfect. They cry, pout, and fight with each other. This run was a little too quiet. It must have been the rain. No wipe outs. No crying. No fighting. No kidding! Amazing!
We were out for about an hour and then came inside for a nice hot meal.
The tables turn as I age. I want to build relationships with my boys. I am not as focused about being number 1 in a running race-not that I won more than a few races in my entire life!
Run up 3800 foot Rose Peak and back
Posted by: | CommentsThe trail run this morning turned out to be quite the bonus. One of our member, princess Nga canceled at the last minute. Originally, I promised to get her back by 10 AM to to our car parked on Mill Creek road. While I am disappointed that she was not able to run, I was able to add an additional 90 minutes to the run.
Since this was winter run, Steve and I loaded up on the all-weather running gear. I had light weight wind jacket, Kelty hydration pack, flash light, gloves, running tights, beanie cap, and lots of food. Steve had this awesome fanny pack that I swear had an extra pair of shoes in it, 2 water bottles, extra long sleeve shirt, lots of food, beanie cap, flashlight, and other running junk that we swear by. I packed my cell phone in hopes of getting a signal-all for not.
We were running on the wet trail by 533 AM and was it ever dark! We were shrouded in by fog and clouds. There were no city lights as this was the real deal in terms of wilderness. Thank goodness for high tech flashlights.
The run up to Rose Peak starts somewhere to what I guess at 500 feet. While it’s only a 3800 foot peak, the trail to get to that elevation is unforgiving. It’s what I call 2 steps up and 1 step down. There was lots of muddy single track to add some fun. Most of the running trail was gravel fire roads. We hit the back pack area in 70 minutes. If we ever felt like quitting, this is the place to quit. We were watching the most spectacular sun rise over the Mission Peak range. The sun was illuminating these giant cumulus cloud that just barely covered the peaks. If you closed your eyes for a even a second, the cloud formations would change. Let’s just say that everything was dynamic.
Enter the wilderness. Two more hours of painful running ups and downs. At least we had a view. The sun rise was slow and provided us with a light show that would rival anything that Hollywood could produce. We looked down to the distant mountain range with a 2000 foot gorge that separated us. The oak and bay laurel trees were a dense green. From a distance, it looked like a back drop out of the Sierras.
We ran to the base of Rose Peak in 3 hours. I donned my winter jacket and beanie cap. It was cold. We did not stop at the top to enjoy the view, lolligage, or to eat. Like I said, it was cold. We proceeded immediately to Maggie’s half acre for a water and food stop. At this point we lost Andria and Isidalia. Not really. We just sped ahead and they made a u-turn at Rose Peak and started heading back to the car. Steve and I took a short break at Maggie’s and ventured to a new running route home through some private ranch property. It cut off this major down hill that we eventually had to climb out of. Steve commented that it was too boring. To me, it was just to steep. The illegal cut off provide awesome views of the front coastal range mountains.
We caught up with Andria and her friend Izzy just after goat rock. They had at least a mile on us. We ran together to Hawks Roost and then Steve and I bolted to the car. We ran to the car in 54 minutes.
Total run time 5:42. Distance 21 miles.
Rest Day Work Out
Posted by: | CommentsI am not the type of guy that likes to stay inside for bad weather or to rest. Yesterday was my rest day for running. The weather was crappy and my wife did not want to walk. She said I should stay at home and relax.
It was 310 PM and rest was not on my menu. I quickly got the kids ready on their bicycles. I donned my in-line skating gear and we were off for 45 minutes of exercise. We brought snacks and a camera.
While it was not the hardest work out, it sure beat staying at home and resting.
Running For the Gold
Posted by: | CommentsI had a unique run with my 2 boys on the trail today. My oldest son suddenly had this fascination with gold. He found gold to be the most valuable thing on Earth. He was not talking about using gold to buy stuff like us adults. He was talking about making tissue paper out of gold. There were several dams on the levee trail where we run. He asked if a dam could be made out of gold. He suggested making bicycles out of gold. He pondered about making an entire automobile out of gold.
I was really getting into the conversation. I suggested making a complete house of out gold. Josiah said rather than using nails, we could use hot gold glue. What a concept! We came up with a gold inflatable tube. He also wondered what we could use gold dust for. I suggested baking bread or a cake. He did not think that would be very healthy.
Kids have great ideas. I did not want to shoot his ideas down and say that most of them were impossible or impractical. Fifteen years ago people were talking about what a waste the Internet was. Finding a mate online? Impossible! It’s great that kids have no ideas that their ideas sound silly to adults.
Diets don’t work, people do
Posted by: | CommentsI have my opinions about diets. Americans get fatter each year. Every year hundreds of new books are published on dieting. Yet, as a nation, over 30% of all adults are obese. I am not talking fat. Can you say OBESE!
Do you remember the movie Super Size Me”? I could not even watch the entire movie because it grossed me out so bad.
If you really think about, dieting is like non-traditional business vehicle such as network marketing. The vehicles themselves do not work. What really works is what a person wants to be.
I come from a family with 4 children. Everyone including my parents are fat. All are always on some crazy diet. I have the same genes yet I don’t weigh much more than I did when I graduated from college. Come to think about it, I have weighed between 175 and 185 lbs since 8th grade without dieting. I see myself only as a skinny person with a well toned body.
I eat extremely well. We eat mostly organic minimally processed foods. My typical breakfast is whole grain super porridge (oats, millet, rice, beans, rye, buckwheat, etc) topped with home made kefir milk (fermented). We never eat skim or fat free anything. We eat grass fed free range beef and lamb. Cage free chicken and eggs. We try to follow a diet outlined in the old testament of the Bible. No bottom feeder fish or pork. Our family copied this method out of book called “The Maker’s Diet” by Jordan Rubin.
I have my bad habits. I drink a cup of coffee every day. Occasionally I drink wine. I love gourmet dark chocolate.
I forgot to add one key ingredient to my skinny body-I am an ultra distance runner. I am sure the long miles that I have logged in over the past 32 years have something to do with me be able to so much. The key is still my decision to be skinny.
Have fun, stay healthy and be fit.
Running with the Stars
Posted by: | CommentsHave you ever watched Dancing with the Stars? I have to admit that I have been forced to watch it several times with my wife. I watched the episodes with Kristy Yamaguchi so it was not all bad. This morning I had a chance to run with the stars. No, Kristy nor anybody famous that I know of were running on the trail. I am talking about the real stars.
It was a clear, cloudless, starry night. We hit the trail at 5 AM. While ascending the first hill, we were greeted with a falling star. I know that a shooting star is not really a star at all. A “falling star” or a “shooting star” has nothing at all to do with a star! “These amazing streaks of light you can sometimes see in the night sky are caused by tiny bits of dust and rock called meteoroids falling into the Earth’s atmosphere and burning up. The short-lived trail of light the burning meteoroid produces is called a meteor”. (This is from NASA)
Who cares as long as what we saw were natural fire works. It’s some rocking burning up as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere.
As long as we continued to look up into the sky, we could see the shooting stars. It must have been a combination of no moon and a meteorite belt that we were experiencing. I saw no less than 15 shooting stars. One even appeared to explode. As night gave way to dawn, the fireworks show ended.
Up near Mission Peak, the ground was frosty white. It was a picture perfect winter day. Even if it had been rainy, the east bay hills always manage to take my breath away. The sun rise was amazing over the San Francisco Bay Area. The City (San Francisco) had a yellow glow to it as the morning rays descended over it. Visibility was at least 60 miles. Cold nights tend to open visibility possibilities. Mt. Tam loomed ominously in the distance like a sleeping bear.
This mornings run included Dan L., Nadia C., and Andria H.. We had only one cancellation. There were no stars in our group. All of us run because we love to run. Even more important than the run is the time spent together. It’s a special slice of time for all of us to run and let loose. We leave the fast pace of Silicon Valley in another compartment. It’s not like we can leave it behind. It’s more like putting it away in the closet for a while. It’s always there. But so is our run!