Trail running and tea tasting

Kathryn, one of my cycling friends,

is trying to train for the Nike Women's Marathon coming up in October.  She has a problem though.  She hates running!

Last week, she sent me an invitation to go tea tasting in Berkeley with her (she had a Groupon that was expiring soon).  I agreed, asking if we could incorporate a bike ride into the day.  As the day approached, I had a better idea.  I asked her if she would like to try out trail running.  She looked at her schedule and found out she had a "8-mile run on a hilly course with run/walk combined".  That sounds exactly like trail running to me!

I came up with a plan and told her where we'd meet.  She was a little nervous about trail running.  I brought Boomer along to help show her the ropes.

The trail starts off with some uphill so we hiked and ran until we came upon these beautiful single track trails.

At the 4-mile mark we turned around and went back the way we came.  Another thing that's so nice about trail running.  When you do an out-and-back, the way back is always a totally different course. 

As you can see, the weather was cold and foggy.  Perfect running weather.  None of us (I'm including Boomer) complained about it. 

She said it was the most fun she has ever had running!  I didn't have a doubt in my mind.

Then it was off to tea tasting.  We went to Teance in downtown Berkeley. 

We got there early enough so we were the only ones at the bar.  We got to choose three different teas to try.  Picture wine tasting, but tea instead.  The host was educating us on how the tea is made, how to prepare it properly and how to serve it.  We also enjoyed a piece of Mochi, a Japanese treat.

We tasted tea for a little over an hour and I will say, it was quite a bit of fun. 

It was a great way to start a Saturday morning and I enjoyed introducing my passion to Kathryn.  There's many more trails for her to see, whenever she's ready.


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