One surprise after another

If you paid close attention to a few posts back, you would have known I was looking forward to a trail run with Christy Sunday morning. What? You don't remember? Humph! Well, to my surprise, HSE Lori asked if she and her little Mikey could join us. So we all went to Garin. Very happy to hear from her and Boomer was thrilled to have someone to play chase with. We took this photo before Christy turned around. She ran the day before and only wanted to run five miles.

It was raining, off and on. Since I had been on the coast all day Saturday, it didn't even occur to me that it had been raining over here in the east bay hills. Surprise! It did, and there was a LOT of mud. Here is my shoe:

And Lori's:

Lori and I were planning on running 8-10 miles. This route would have taken us off the muddy fire road and into some nice covered single track trails. Perfect. At the 3.75 mile mark, she asked me about a message I had received on my phone earlier. At this point I reached in my pocket to check it. Surprise! My phone wasn't there. Crap! This meant we had to backtrack on the same muddy fire road we just came up so we could try and find it. I thought for sure it was going to be in the deep wet grass and ruined. We got back to the picnic table where we had taken the photo and there it was, right where I dropped it. Thank God the grass wasn't too deep. My phone lives on. Lori and I got in a little over seven miles. Better than nothing.

Then, I got off work today at 3:30 and it's overcast but warm (72 degrees) so I called my husband and asked if he would like to go for a hike. Surprise! He said yes. ;)

Garin is beautiful in the late afternoon:

I thought this guy looked very unique. I wanted to kiss him but he didn't have that loving feeling look in his eyes, so I decided against it.

A little bit later, Keith and I are rounding a corner and I was talking about a previous time I was here and saw some bunny rabbits. I told him I had to get Boomer's attention quickly so he didn't see them and try to catch one. Right about then Keith says, "whoa, stop!" I thought he saw a bunny rabbit. Surprise!!! This is what he saw:

That ain't no bunny rabbit! It's the biggest snake I have ever seen. He was FAT!

Thanks honey, you saved me and Boomer from the big fat snake.

If you enlarge this photo, you can see Mission Peak on the far left side, that little tiny point. Santa Cruz mountains in the distance.

And this photo enlarged will show you the beautiful San Francisco skyline.

Boy, I really do love where I live.

I'm scheduled to work every day except Wednesday this week so I'll be squeezing in a run whenever I can. I may have to be happy with little 3-5 milers.

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

Volunteering at Miwok 100k

I spent 12 hours in the rain yesterday, volunteering at the Miwok 100k.

(Miwok 100K Trail Race - Official Website)

I was up at 4:00 a.m. and out of the house at 5:00 a.m. for my hour long drive to Mill Valley. My first assignment, after arriving at 6:00 a.m., was to get the numbers of all the runners as they came into the Tennessee Valley aid station at mile 11.9. I'd say it took about 1-1/2 to 2 hours for all 322 of them to come through. Now they were all on their way and would not be back until mile 58.4. So, after the last runner came through, a few of us went to The Dipsea Cafe for brunch. I had a pear, walnut and brie omelet with a very nice buttermilk biscuit. Quite yummy!

Welcome to the Dipsea Cafe!


When I got back, I changed into some running pants and went out to check a very small loop of the course (3.75 miles) to make sure there were enough pink ribbons for the runners to see when they came back through.

Here's my view of the ocean: (Nice, huh?)


Here's what I looked like all day:


This is why bright pink ribbons were VERY IMPORTANT:

Below the fog and not raining for a very short period:

Oh, here comes Rick (365me) at mile 58.4:

And......... there he goes:

I was taking the numbers of the runners again and waiting for a few of my friends to show back up. After Rick, Andy Kumeda showed up. I asked him about Catra. He assured me she was back there. I was still waiting for Mike Bohi who was supposed to be picking up Victoria to pace him. Right before I was getting ready to leave, I looked up the trail and heard Victoria's voice. However, Mike was not with her. She was running with Suzanne (sp). Apparently Mike had to drop somewhere. I'm sure we'll find out what happened. At this point I heard 52 runners had dropped from the race. I sure as hell don't blame any of them. Some people say they wouldn't have made it through 90+ degrees at Diablo? I wouldn't have lasted very long at all in the conditions yesterday. I guess we all have our limits.

Okay, there was some sunshine in my day. Hal Koerner, (an awesome ultrarunner, Western States winner, etc.) pulled up in the parking lot. He tethered his doggie to his waist and headed out for a short run. I was completely star struck. The aid station captain, Stan Jensen, grabbed my camera and asked Hal if he'd mind standing next to me for a picture. He was very nice as he agreed to do it. Alas, my work there was done.

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

Crazy 8's

I was tagged by RunningLaur at When I get a little, run run run.... about (over) a week ago for Crazy 8's. I feel terrible it has taken me so long to finally participate. Just a little note about RunningLaur. She recently warmed my heart by taking a nice trail run and saying it was because of following my blog and seeing how fun it looked. I'm so happy I have inspired one person to get off the pavement and onto the trail. ;)

Anyway. Back to the Crazy 8 thing. I'm changing the last question and making up one of my own.

8 things I'm looking forward to:

1. Mother's Day. Sara is treating me to a pedicure and lunch!
2. Saturday. I'm volunteering at Miwok and I will get to see some elite athletes and some friends.
3. Sunday. I will be enjoying a trail run with Christy.
4. May 17th. Big Basin 25k.
5. May 27th. My birthday. I can't wait to turn 45 and get it over with!
6. August 28th. Our next trip to Yosemite when I WILL go to the top of Half Dome.
7. July 26th. San Francisco Half Marathon. I'll get to meet Penny, RBR, Aron and I'm sure many more blogger buddies.
8. September 13th. Our annual vacation to Jamaica baby!


8 things I did yesterday:

1. Laundry
2. Went on a 7 mile trail run.
3. Went to the grocery store.
4. Made dinner.
5. Baked a dessert.
6. Watched Giants game on TV.
7. Updated my blog.
8. Cleaned dishes.


8 things I wish I could do/want to do:

1. Reach the top shelf in a grocery store. Or in my house for that matter.
2. Always wear my hair in a ponytail or a baseball cap.
3. Wear high heels or cute sandals without my feet screaming at me for days on end afterwards.
4. Sleep through the night. Any night!
5. Live on baked goods or sugar coated jelly type candies.
6. Hire a housekeeper.
7. Live on a farm with one of every four-legged animal there is.
8. Rescue every dog and cat on death row at a shelter. All shelters if I could.

8 things I am afraid of:

1. Becoming injured and then being told I can never run again.
2. Icebergs.
3. Empty pools.
4. Spiders. Any size. Hair or not.
5. Someone I love dying.
6. One of my animals dying.
7. Earthquakes.
8. Heights.

8 people I tag:

1. Marcy
2. Missy
3. Penny
4. RBR
5. Aron
6. Victoria
7. Abby
8. Stephanie


Have fun!

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

A different side of Garin

Boomer and I showed Zoe a grand time this morning at Garin. I took a loop that included some ground I haven't been on in quite some time. It's mostly a rolling gravel road instead of my beloved single track trails. We did a total of seven miles. The grass is getting so tall, Zoe ended up having to hop through it instead of run. They had a lot of fun together. Everywhere Boomer went, Zoe was right there with him. Do yourself a favor, click to enlarge the photo so you can see both doggies smiling.

But of course, I started and ended on my favorite Dry Creek Trail. I can't explain to you the feeling I have when I am running along this trail. Every single time. I'm forever grateful that I am physically able to be here as often as I am.

This was the longest run Zoe has ever been on! She did this (plopped down in my back seat) from the moment we left the parking lot. She's either going to be very happy to see her Mommy tomorrow night (and welcome the rest) or very sad to have her crazy trail running/hiking/camping life come to an end. We've been home for a couple of hours now and she's STILL sleeping.

My run today felt very hard. I had one of those "heavy legs" days. I felt like each one weighed 90 pounds. I ran very slow and couldn't quite get my breathing under control. It's so strange how every day is different when it comes to running. And there's really no explanation. Well, maybe there is, especially with women. :-[

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

Spring in Yosemite

For those of you that don't know -- the photo on my last post was of the magnificent El Capitan.

We left home at 6:00 a.m. Saturday for our drive up to Yosemite. Keith's cousin had been up there since Thursday so we were joining them for the night. This was the view of Half Dome from our campsite. Next time, I will be going to the top of that rock. No doubt about it.



Bridalveil Falls on the drive in:

Trees in bloom at Curry Village:

Okay, I don't "hotel camp", but I got over "tent camping" a couple of years ago. So sue me! I still consider it camping. I cook and eat outdoors. I just like to be a little comfy when I sleep is all. And warm. Oh, and dry if it rains. And I like to stand up when I change my clothes.

This picture is for you Rene. I was thinking of you when I took it.

Our campsite was right next to the Merced River. It's so nice to hear the river flowing when you are going to sleep at night. The water was so clear and cool.

Dogs are only allowed on paved roads and paths. Sunday morning, Keith and I hiked from our campsite, up to Vernal Falls with the dogs. This is the way up to Half Dome. I SO wished we could have gone farther but no can do with the furry kids. It was a lot of uphill hiking and about four miles round trip so it did feel good to be able to do at least that. I'd rather do that with my little family than be alone and go longer.

About half way to Vernal Falls:

At our turn-around point, Vernal Falls in the background:

After our hike we packed up and drove out about noon. It was a quick trip but I'm happy we went. It was a bit chilly, for my liking anyway. People were saying it was unusually cool. We have camping reservations in August and our kids should be joining us for that weekend. If I don't get up to Half Dome before then, I want to be sure I get to do it on that trip.

Upper Yosemite Falls on the way out:

It was nice seeing Yosemite in spring because of the flowers, the new growth on trees, and the flowing water falls. I'm anxious to see the difference come August.

I couldn't forget you RBR. I know how you love bridges:

I'm working a ton of hours this week, preparing for our HUGE sale that starts Friday. Wednesday and Sunday look like the only days I'll be able to run. I'm volunteering at Miwok 100 on Saturday. If I'm lucky I'll be able to do ribbon checks or sweep at the race. That would be cool!

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

Just a teaser

Yosemite cannot be described as beautiful. It is much more than that. I took many pictures. Went on a heart-pumping hike and a lot of nice walks with the dogs. Ate way too much way-too-bad-for-me food. (Why does camping always do that to a person?) Much to Keith's disappointment, we did not see a bear.

I will do another post about the trip, tomorrow night after work.

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

The love affair continues......

With Garin

I took Jana, my across-the-street-neighbor-with-two-doggies, out for her very first trail run this morning!! We did 4.5 miles and she did great. She and I have hiked together and she showed an interest in trail running so I gave her a taste. I warned her about how addicting it can be. She said afterwards that she really enjoyed it and she felt very good. ;)

I am dog-sitting a Jack Russell Terrier named Zoe, she weighs about nine pounds. She kept up with all the big dogs today. Here they are, patiently waiting for Jana to open the gate so they can run like heck.

I can't begin to tell you how marvelous it felt to be out on the single track trails again. This was my first run since Diablo. It was a cool 51 degrees at 7:00 this morning. Go figure! We're having a major cooling trend here in the bay area this weekend. LOL

I was here on Easter Sunday and everything was beautiful and green then. Not even two weeks ago. Now look how much brown there is on the hills. Still pretty though.

Keith and I are going up to Yosemite tomorrow morning, with the dogs, and we will be camping overnight. Yes, I'm bringing my running shoes. AND MY CAMERA!

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