Happy dogs and lucky girls

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to show one of my favorite parks to a new running friend and her dog. Victoria, aka (flirty 'n dirty), drove down to Hayward and ran at Garin with me. Since I absolutely LOVE this park, it was a thrill to show it off to someone that's never been. I really wanted Christy to join us but she had already made plans.

Victoria and Neko

Boomer and Neko

We met at 8:15 and I took Victoria on a seven mile "tour" of the park. As soon as Boomer and Neko were off leash they were running around and chasing each other. Neko was romping through the creek quite happily. They were each picking up sticks (or logs sometimes) and taunting the other dog with it until the chase was on. They were running circles on the side of hills. I think they enjoyed the cool weather along with the soft, wet ground. I like watching dogs play like that. Victoria seemed to enjoy the park and see the beauty in it that I do. The big, old trees that drop huge leaves in many different colors. The small, rickety bridges that need to be crossed as you run. The beautiful pond and even the old farming equipment. It was nice spending the time with her and chatting, getting to know her a little bit better. :)

I took her on just a small portion of the park and deliberately on flatter areas. This is because I was a tad nervous about running with Victoria as I know she is a LOT faster than me. We have been at events together and her finishing times are way before mine. This is because, well, I don't run hills. When I learned about trail running, I thought it was so cool because of being able to hike the uphills and run the flats and downhills. I am trying to run hills more though. I know this is how the faster finishing times will happen. It's always good to run with a more experienced runner when you can. I'm so used to running alone or with someone who learned to run trails just like me that I just get in a rut. So, Victoria talked to me a little bit about hill repeats and speed work. I'm (gag!) going to (blah!) incorporate this into my runs, (yikes!) starting now.

Until later.............