I met up with Steve Bradley at 6OO AM ready to hit the trail and do some running.  It was 53 degrees and I was scantily dressed in just a t-shirt and running short because I knew that within an hour we would be hot.  It turned out be quite a reunion at the start because we saw 5 of our other lady friends (2 separate groups) getting ready to trail run up Mission Peak.  Steve and I were feeling quite studly with an entourage of 5 women.  This quickly dissipated as 2 of the ladies broke off from within a minute of their arrival.   The other group of 3 ladies left us after 40 minutes.  Back to Earth for Steve and I.

The spring flowers and green grass was better than visiting an arboretum.   The last dowsing of rain extended the wild flowers for at least another week.  I am always amazed at how beautiful the area is that we do our trail runs on.

Our first destination was Mt. Allison, approximately 2500 feet.  I completely lost track of time.  Not that it really matters.  We have a total time goal in mind and we stick to that for our trail runs.  I snacked on dried cherries, apples, and figs.  I lost interest in the high priced runners snacks and usually mix up my own.

Steve was in a time crunch, but I convinced him into doing a loop down to the horse ranch.  What a bonus that was!  We were able to see 20-30 beautiful horses running like wild horses on the trail.  As I was snapping pictures of the horses, they walked around me and I felt like Moses when he parted the Red Sea.  I was surrounded by an ocean of horses.

Everything was perfect about this trail run.  Both of us were not complaining about being tired.  Steve was gearing up for his trail run up Rose Peak tomorrow.  My legs felt like they had another 20 miles in them.  It’s a nice feeling when a 15 mile run is a “light” run.  This is not bragging.  It is what it is.

I broke off from Steve after being out 2 hours as I wanted to run over 3 hours.  I ran the trail up Mission Peak.  As usual, it was very crowded.  Being selfish, I wished that it was less crowded.  I am sure the hundreds of other hikers were thinking the same thing.  If I wanted solitude, I would have been on the peak at 6 AM.

In all my years of running, I usually come to the same conclusion about the trail run that I just completed-it’s one of the best runs in my life.

Steve and I both commented on a little secret goal that we don’t want a certain runner beating us when we race the Ohlone Wilderness run at the end of May.

As much as I enjoy looking at all the scenery on my runs, nothing beats great company!  I started out the run with my 2 favorite running girl friends, Nadia and Andria.  The three have so much fun trail running together.  Most of the time we talk about everything but running.    We laugh and talk about silly things.  It’s hard to believe that we put up with each other for as long as 6 hours on our run.

We had to part ways after only 2 hours of running as one of the girls was getting together with family members in the City.  It’s always hard to say good bye.  I almost talked Andria into running with me as I promised to get her back to the car by 12 PM.  She was ready to say yes except that her car keys and personal belongings were locked inside Nadia’s car.

I was able to ascent Rose Peak in exactly 3 hours.  It was cold, rainy, and windy on top.  I did not linger.  I ran as fast as I could to Maggies Half Acre for water and a few runners chocolate cookies.

I chose the exact same trail on the way back as I wanted to see  my friend Sue Corrie as she was running all the way to Del Valle with another friend.  I predicted to run into her around 10 AM as she started around.

I finished the trail run to Rose Peak in exactly 5:20 which is one of my best times ever.  It was an awesome run.  The wild flowers were splendid.  My running partners were great.  This run goes into my treasure chest of trail running memories.

When the ice skating season was over and it finally turned warm in Minnesota, my father gave me a used green bicycle with a fake crank up motor mounted on the handle bars that made a vrrrrooom noises when I pulled it.  I beat on this bicycle so hard that Dad bought me a Schwinn Sting Ray bicycle to withstand the punishment that I gave it.

I don’t think my father understood exactly what he was doing.  I was a kid and he was making sure that I was having fun.  As I got older, my addiction to being active increased.  I played baseball, hockey, football, track, broom ball, basketball, cross country, wrestling, and cross country skiing.  I was in excellent shape without ever having to “work out”.  Exercise seemed so boring and foreign to me.  I heard grown ups talking about it and I vowed to never  participate in it.

My point is that staying in shape should be fun.  I avoid painful activities at all cost.  If a person detests going to the gym, he will stop going even if he has paid a few thousand dollars for a membership.  I dare you to look at attendance rosters at your gym on January 1 and July 1.  I bet the attrition rate is greater than 50%.  The clubs bank on this and hope that you stop coming (as long as you keep on paying).

I have 3 fitness activities that I absolutely enjoy.  My first love is long distance bicycle riding, followed by in-line skating, and running.  I tend to run more than all the others combined because I can run just about any where.

Pick a fitness routine that you enjoy and you are guaranteed to stay in shape.  Additionally, it must be convenient and readily accessible.  This is your recipe for success to life time fitness.

If you enjoyed this and would like to see more fitness articles, please leave a comment.

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!