Coal Mine Ridge

Went running today at Coal Mine Ridge (Portola Valley) with Chris today. Running peoples! Running! With Chris!!
It was divine. Coal Mine Ridge has one of thee best slightly sloped, narrow as hell, winding single tracks on the planet. You have to be careful to avoid the hikers around the blind corners, but it is really really really fun and I have not hit a single person yet nor made them fall over the edge. Great place for a nice short local run in a beautiful place.

In news of the stupid, I went and got myself signed up for Enviro Sport's Muir Beach 25K run in mid April. I knew I shouldn't and couldn't run it, but I signed up anyways. Luckily, Todd has promised to keep me to 5 miles only and walking the rest of it. With both of our will powers combined, I think my chances are good not to hurt myself.

Chinese Herb to help with Running at Altitude?

An instructor recently mentioned that taking the herb formula Sheng Mai San several weeks before going to a higher elevation actually helps to deal with altitude. I'll have to test this out one day.


Name: Sheng Mai San "Generate Pulse Powder"
Ingredients:
Ren Shen (Radix Ginseng) 33.33 %
Mai Men Dong (Tuber Ophiopogonis Japonici) 33.33 %
Wu Wei Zi (Fructus Schisandrae Chinensis) 33.33 %

Two Trail Trips Mushed into One Quick Post

Arastradero Preserve, Palo Alto Easter Bunny who was pretty much the first and probably only rabbit that didn't immediately run away upon being sighted. It even stayed for a photo op. Very appropro on Easter day.



Returning home from another run at Fremont Older, Cupertino. Chris and I saw this guy on Hwy 85 and I made him take a pic.







Chris and I have spent the last several weekends hitting the parks and running. It's been great and it's a beautiful time of year to be out.
More Pix:
Arastradero, Easter Sunday
Fremont Older, the week before

Um..barf?

Upon re-reading my previous post, I have to admit it came across as rather puke-ishly sunshiney. I'm mortified. Even if it was true, it does not fit in with the Short & Angry...at....all.

It's a Good Afternoon

Today is a study at home day. Normally I go to the gym in the morning but today things got a little mixed up and I decided to do a workout late afternoon. I did a really nice 40 minute treadmill run at incline, hopped off, did my core exercises and stretches, and then walked out into the beautiful sunny afternoon back to my car. It all felt so good. I had not done a late day workout in so long, I had forgotten what they were like. The bulk of my workouts "back in the day" were late afternoon/evening runs.

Not really anything momentous to report except that it just gave me the happies. The running felt amazing too. I think the running and then walking outside and seeing runners all over the neighborhood as I drove home made things feel that much more tangible. There was a moment of envy as I watched them, but then I reminded myself that spring has barely even begun. I have a whole year ahead of me.

Skyline Ridge

This past Saturday marked my 2nd trail run of the year and it was as good as the first, if not more torturous in how much sheer willpower it took to NOT run the trails.

Todd and I showed up bright and early to help out at registration, which I actually love doing. It's a nice way to say hello to people, match faces to names, and try to stay warm before the sun comes out.

All distances started at the same time at this race and the shorter 14K distance split off immediately towards the Russian Ridge side of the mountain. The trails wound around the hills, through forested area and then back out into the wide open hillsides with incredible views. The trails themselves were mostly mild inclines and mild descents. There was little in extreme variation. Thus the torture. Turn after turn I ran into the kind of trails that called for you to sprint them with a big smile on your face. Alas, I kept myself in check and hiked it. Technical difficulties arose when I could not decide whether to run the milder uphill slopes or not. They weren't exactly the type of steep incline that I was trying to restrict myself to. My answer came right after hitting the aid station. In front of me was a gentle slope that became a steeper incline towards the top. I decided to start my jog at the bottom and see how I felt. Well, just a few jogs in, my lower back gave me a little jolt, so there was no more of that for the rest of the run. I stuck to the steepest parts and hiked the rest, taking lots of pictures and enjoying myself. The sun had lifted by that point, so the chill was mostly out of the air and it was a nice hike/jog back to the finish where I helped myself to peanut M&M's (yummm) and was teased by Aaron while I waited for Todd to finish.

Bonus: I ranked Bottom Ten this time. Actually #10. Sweet! :D

Scott Dunlap ran up and said "Picture Time!!", so we both stopped and snapped these pix.




















More Photos of Skyline Ridge Trail Run