Archive for trail running
Spring Time Trail Run To Mt. Allison
Posted by: | CommentsLast night I made sure that I packed up all my trail running gear so I could hop out of bed and hit the trail. I was in bed by 930 PM. I woke up without an alarm at 430 AM`. Read More→
Spring Wild Flower Trail Run Up Rose Peak
Posted by: | CommentsI made the trail running trek up to Rose Peak this morning. The spring wild flowers were still magnificent Read More→
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 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.
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.
