The Official Wall of Mark Keeler » trails

Spring Time Trail Run To Mt. Allison

Mark Keeler — Sat, 09 May 2009 19:49:44 +0000

Last 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`.

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.

Spring Wild Flower Trail Run Up Rose Peak

Mark Keeler — Sat, 02 May 2009 23:30:01 +0000

I made the trail running trek up to Rose Peak this morning. The spring wild flowers were still magnificent near the top of the Rose Peak. It is well worth the three hour run to get to the top. Trail running gives me the advantage over a hiker in that I can cover the same distance in half the time. I was weighted down this morning by all the spring rain. My trail running shoes soaked up water and mud like a sponge. Years ago, I had Nike Gortex running trail running that were impervious to water, mud, and dirt. I have yet to find a decent all weather trail running shoe after Nike discontinued the model.

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.

Run To Carver Park

Mark Keeler — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:59:36 +0000

Today I nearly sprinted to get out the door. I had on shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt. I looked at the mercury and it was a mere 29 degrees. I forgot once again that I was in Minnesota and it is still cold. I quickly changed into a jacket, added a hat and mittens. I filled up my water flask and I was out the door to Carver Park.

Within 10 minutes I was on the crushed limestone trail that is built on an rail road bed. It’s a killer trail. No cars and whole lot birds. I saw a few red cardinals. Three white tail deer darted ahead of me.

I made my first stop at the Tamarack Lake Bridge. It’s an old wooden bridge. I can hear the whistle blowing from days gone by. Only 25 minutes had gone by. I felt like I was 100 years back in time.

I was running around the lakes at Carver Park within 35 minutes. I darted through the woods where I usually get tormented by biting deer flies. I out smarted them this morning because they do not come out for another 3 months.

My 90 minute run was a slice of heaven for me. I had time to reflect my thoughts of my brother Mike’s recent death. I remembered that from dust we come and dust we return. Life is lived in cycles. Mike’s cycle was less than most and greater than some. We don’t know the hour or the day. Because of this, I choose to live like there is no tomorrow.

Trail Run in The Dirt to Sunol

Mark Keeler — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 20:45:05 +0000

On Saturday mornings, I usually wake up before my alarm goes off at 4:30 AM because I am so excited to go on my weekend trail run. This morning promptly at 4:25 AM, I woke up feeling very rested and ready to run. I had everything packed up last night except for my camera. I ate a good size bowl of super porridge(millet, oats, rye, amaranth, quinoa, millet,etc) with cultured kifer milk and raisins and a large mug of jasmine green tea.

We had 2 new editions to our running group this morning, Sue Corrie & her dog Rio. She had 1 or 2 cancellations and so did I. It was Sue, Andria, and myself. I changed the route slightly to accommodate Rio. Dogs really don’t like running on a paved road for 4 miles. Neither do I! After approximately 2.5 miles, we hopped the fence and were trail bound in the dirt to Sunol!

It was a clear starry night. Temperature was about 45 degrees. Perfect! We started out with flash lights on and shucked them after a mile. When we hit the trail everything was so green. It was like being in the dales in Ireland. No, I have never been there. It’s my blog so I can write and fake it if I have to. We ran to the top of Mission Peak and saw a spectaculiar sun rise. We did not linger as we were in the running mode.

When ever we get a new addition to our group, I am always leary. The person could either be really slow and mess up our pace or the person could be super fast and kill us! Sue was kind of like a Goldilocks girl. Just right! Andria and I not really training for anything, so we are very flexible. Sue is training for a what seemed like a half dozen races. Been there/done that with kids. God bless my wife for putting up with my 6 hour long training runs.

At the sign in gate to the Ohlone wildnerness we spotted a lone runner. Runners are rare at 6:30 AM anywhere. Practically non existent here. It was Steve Bradley! We ran with him to Sunol. Steve and Sue had never met. Their only connection is an old baby jogger that I gave to Sue 4 years ago. Steve gave it me 8 years ago and I needed to get rid of it. I suggested they become friend on Facebook a few days ago without realizing the baby jogger connection. They live a few streets away from each other in the Niles district of Fremont.

We reached Sunol in 2’15″. That was excellent considering that we ran Mission Peak before running down to Sunol. We took a nice long break and ate dried cherries,apricots, figs, cocoa nibs, nuts, and other running power food.

I have been running for 35 plus years. This may seem like a bragging moment-running is almost like walking now. Trail running seems effortless because we enjoy it so much. Don’t get me wrong, by the time we are finished, I am very tired. When I started ultra running 8 years ago, I would go home and go to bed after a 4 hour run. Now I go home and play floor hockey with kids and walk 3 miles with my wife.

After our 20 minute break at Sunol, we had the monster hill to climb. It’s approximately 1500 vertical feet to climb out of Sunol. I would be lieing if I told you that we ran the entire hill. We walked.

I am a die hard runner. However, I rarely talk about running. It’s kind of boring topic. Running is a life experience. Each run is different and somewhat philosophical. If I read someone’s blog about how many hill repeats, track work outs, and sprint works, I would be so bored. To each their own. I run the trails to see the beauty of God’s creation. I love the ever changing weather patterns. I get to see deer, cattle, goats, wild turkey, hawks, and occasionally a mountain lion.

Today was very special because I got to run with Andria and Sue. Running is not about running. It’s not glamorous. You stink when you are done. Your muscles get sore. Most of the time you do it alone.