Thursday, September 10, 2009

Some of this, some of that

Boomer and I went for a very nice little run along the Alameda Creek Trail this morning. We ran through the Quarry Lakes area for a bit, where he has to be on a leash. I allowed him to stop at every drainage hole he could see and every shaded area. I even took him down to the water, where doggies are technically not supposed to be. It's his birthday and he wanted to get his feet wet, plus it was 76 degrees and 75 is the high of his "comfort zone". As we were running, I realized once again, running with Boomer is one of my most favorite things in the whole wide world to do. For dinner, he got some BBQ'd chicken and I think I'll give him a bowl full of whipped cream for dessert.

I was looking forward to doing the Golden Hills Trail Marathon for my third year in a row this October. I really wanted to do it. Better judgement (my husband) convinced me otherwise. Now is not the right time, with my ankle still healing and the arthritis in my knee. 26.2 miles is quite a long way. Yes, I could wear my brace and hope my knee doesn't hurt for the entire run. The longest run I've done since being slapped with the news about my arthritis is 8.6 miles. If I was able to do at least 20 and not have pain, then I would have argued my point and signed up. So, I'm doing the next best thing. I'm volunteering. I have been assigned to the Fern Dell aid station (mile 15.5), 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Hopefully I will be doing some ribbon checks before the race starts and sweeping afterwards. I will get to see many friends come through, and take care of them. It will be nice to still be a part of the race. I really enjoy this marathon.

I signed up to do 14K at PCTR's Skyline Ridge. It takes place October 4th. Christy and I are going to (hopefully) do it together. We're both signed up anyway. We never seem to stick together when we do these things. I'm very partial to this event because it was the very first organized trail run I ever participated in. I did the 23K back in March (or May?), 2007. I was hooked from that race! They didn't hold an event here last year, due to parking issues so I'm glad to have the opportunity to run in it this year. And, this 14K is the portion of the course I didn't get to see when I did the 23K. Exciting, right?

Tomorrow (Friday) night I'm going to bring home something very special. If I can get a good photo, I'll post it tomorrow night. I won't tell you anything about it but please know, I AM SUPER PSYCHED!!! I will tell you it's not an animal. ;)

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

8 comments:

Mel-2nd Chances said...

looking forward to what you're psyched about, could use 'happy' stuff anytime now :)

Glenn Jones said...

Thanks for the kind comments on my Whitney adventure. I have really missed backpacking a lot more than I thought.

And I'm glad that you can benefit from my REI habit/ I bought my first expedition down jacket from them back around 1968 when they were mail rder only from Seattle. Iwas so happy to see REI stores around when they finally decided to expand to retail! I *love* the equipment! I even buy my running shoes from REI!

Unknown said...

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!
You must do what is best for you.
I wanted to beat my time from last year, but now I may just want to stop and hang out with you at the aid station.
I'll be very happy to see your face.
I'm going to be in Paris, so if I forget to say BEST WISHES on your tri, I'm sorry. I'm saying them to you now. I can't wait to hear all about it.
Love ya!

RunningLaur said...

It always brings a smile to my face when you volunteer - you're so dedicated to the whole culture of trails and running!

Judi said...

very cool to volunteer since you can't run!

Looney said...

Hmmm. The Golden Hills Trail Marathon was missed in all my local event searches. Looks like a good event. Skyline Ridge looks like a good one to get back into things after a summer of influenza. One year I did it and it was 40 degrees out, raining hard and with strong winds across the ridges so that it was difficult to stand up.

Stuart said...

PCTR races are awesome! Say hi to Sarah and Wendall for me!

Aron said...

i have a good guess :)

YAY sounds like lots of fun stuff going on!! i want to do a short trail race with you! oct 4th is my next marathon though, are there any short ones after that :) we need to go on a run!!!!!! maybe not until oct 4th though, i dont want to hurt myself lol