Yet ANOTHER free ski day (and an embarrassing situation)

This time it was at Homewood Resort on the west shore of Lake Tahoe. The drive was 30 minutes longer than to any of the other resorts in Tahoe. Keith was able to switch his schedule around and go with me again so he and I shared the driving (more on that later). Homewood also gave Keith a free lift ticket today which was unexpected and super nice of them. The weather was great. The views SPECTACULAR!

This is Heavenly Valley Ski Resort across Lake Tahoe, on the south shore.

About the driving -- Keith drove up, I slept. I offered to drive home and sorry to say, Keith let me. Driving into Roseville, a California Highway Patrol pulled me over. Here's the conversation that took place:

Officer: I pulled you over for your speed.

Me: Oh, what was it?

Officer: 81 (in a 65)

Me: Was it just me? I wasn't passing anybody, was I?

Officer: Do you have your license and registration?

Me: Yes I do! (hands DL to officer)

Officer: So, where are you comi....... WHOA! Is this you?

Me: Yes sir, it is. (laughing)

Officer looks at the license, looks at me. Shows it to his "ride along dude." Looks back at me.

Officer: Ma'am, can you please take off your sunglasses so I can verify this is YOU?

Me: Suuuuuuuure I can.

Bad news? He wrote me a citation for speeding.

Good news? I will definitely be getting a new driver's license photo this May.

I am not a PU$$Y!

When I read this post from Missy: Ironman, IronThings, TriThings, Life Things: Injured, Sick, Worn Out, Just Tired, What IS IT?, my jaw dropped! I have stayed in bed, skipped an early morning run before work because my dog was cuddling with me under the covers!! Well, since reading that, I have been thinking. Yes, I know I will feel much better all day if I get up and run, rather than stay in bed for that extra hour. There is no doubt about it. I know this. It's a proven fact. It's just hard to get out of my nice warm bed.

This morning, I did it! I left "pussydome". My alarm went off and when I reached to turn it off, yup, Boomer was there, cuddling. Two paws on my leg and a nose on my hip. UGH! I got out of the bed. He watched me walk across the dark bedroom. I left the room. Pretty soon I went back in to get dressed. It was 32 degrees outside. That warm bed looked mighty good.

An hour after getting out of bed, I was on the Alameda Creek Trail. Boomer and I ran five miles in the crisp, cool morning air. Yes, it felt great! It was probably one of the best runs I've had in a while. And yes, I felt good all day. Better than if I would have slept another hour, then just walked two miles around the neighborhood before going to work. It was cold, but I have ear muffs and gloves and running tights, so I was warm in a matter of minutes.

Thanks Missy, for the nice slap in the face. It's just what I needed.

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

Happiness is.......

Being back at Garin!

It was such a beautiful day outside today. The hills were so green, the sky was a stunning color of blue and the clouds looked like cotton. My initial plan was to do nine or ten miles. After a couple of miles, I thought I should shorten my run because I was having to go slower than usual (I know, that made me laugh too - slower than I usually do? You mean walk??). The trails were very muddy and covered with cow hoof marks. Apparently cows like single track as much as I do. I was not able to run down hill at all. I ended up cutting my run in half and only doing 4.5 miles. It was fine. After not being at Garin for over two weeks, I was happy just enjoying the scenery and watching Boomer run around.


I know I post a lot of photos of this bridge at Garin but depending on what time of day and which direction I'm running, it always looks different to me and I think it is absolutely beautiful every single time. Oh, and guess what? It's my blog! LOL

The trees are loosing their buds and gaining bright green leaves.

San Francisco can be seen in the (very far) distance. Lots of wind today made this possible.

These cows tried to block our way but I just spoke nicely to them, put Boomer on his leash, and they watched very intently as we walked by them. ;) They are so damn cute! I love his little pink nose. I would have a pet cow if I could!

We are supposed to have dry weather for the entire week. And with the time change, I can even run after work if I need to. Should be a great week.

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

Fun at Lake Chabot

I spent a lot of time here last summer when I was training for my first 50k. Boomer never accompanied me on those training runs because they were 18 miles or longer. He has not run more than 15 miles with me. Not that I don't think he could, I just don't want to have to worry about his hydration and food intake while trying to take care of myself during a run longer than that.

We did the nine mile inner loop around the lake today. No bicycles are allowed on about half of this loop. I feel a bit safer when bikes aren't competing for space on the trails when I'm running. The first 1.75 miles of the run was on pavement so Boomer had to be on a leash. But, once we hit dirt, he could be leash free. This was his bridge to freedom:

It was 3.33 miles before we hit the cool single track trails.

We enjoyed 3.5 miles of beautiful trails, winding through lots of Eucalyptus trees, ferns, moss covered rocks. Boomer was having an absolute ball. I thought I loved single track!! This boy was born for the stuff. We only saw a couple of people on this portion of the run.

We hit the paved trail again, with about three miles left to reach the marina. The lake came back into sight.

I ordered a hamburger patty for Boomer to enjoy and I drank a Dr. Pepper before we headed home.

He rolled in some crap (literally, he rolled in $HIT!) so I had to bathe him in the front yard with the cold hose before he could come in the house. It was bad enough I had to smell it all the way home. Bleh! I wish I knew what dogs were thinking when they did this most disgusting act. Anybody know?

It was nice to have a change of scenery today. I always think it's so far to drive but really, it's only about 20-25 minutes. Most of this loop is in the shade, probably a good 85% of it. I'll need to remember that when summer comes. No available drinking water though.

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

Chris Tomlin concert

Sara went with me last night to see this guy: :: Chris Tomlin : HELLO LOVE :: - Home

She's such a great daughter. Nobody else will join me at these kind of concerts but she refuses to let me go alone. And, she knows she will always get a free dinner out of it. This concert was at San Jose State University. We had dinner at the Spaghetti Factory before the concert. Who doesn't love that place, huh? Mazithra cheese covered pasta. Yummmmm.

I can hardly wait for tomorrow. I'm off and the weather looks like it's going to cooperate. I'm looking forward to getting some much needed therapy out on the single track!!

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

Happy and sad

A weed is just a misplaced plant or flower. This one was definitely misplaced. It stuck out like a sore thumb. It was beautiful none the less.



I was so excited this morning when I woke up to blue sky. I was determined to run this morning, rain or shine so when it was "shine" I saw, it made me very happy. Boomer and I headed out to Alameda Creek Trail which was actually Alameda River this morning. You can see how much rain we have been getting. As we were running towards the bay, this is what the sky looked like in the distance:

We ran for an hour and didn't quite make it back to the car before those clouds caught up to us. It was nice to be out on the trail today. Boomer had a blast. The two two-mile walks a day around our neighborhood just don't cut it. Off-leash is where it's at for this boy.

Then this afternoon I went to a funeral. My friend Laurey (not HSE Lori) that used to work at REI with me, lost her son Friday night. When he was born 18 years ago, they told her he wouldn't live past six months old. Then they told her maybe it would be a year. Then it was five years. He turned 18 in January. Nobody should ever have to bury their child. It's heartbreaking.

If you have a child, go give them a big hug and kiss. Cherish every single moment of every day you have with them. I'm sure most of you do. But seeing a grieving mother can really make you want to do it even more.

For now.............

I have some questions that need to be answered!

Interview questions given to me by Holly at Go Holly Go. ;)

1. What race are you looking forward to the most? Explain.
Golden Hills Marathon in October. It will be my third year running it. I love the point-to-point run, the aid station peeps rock! And there's a bombin' BBQ afterwards - they even serve up non-meat options. I'm hoping to improve my time this year. I'm also optimistic about having Christy running it with me this time.

2. What motivated you to get into trail running? Why?
It's more a "who" than a "what". Catra (Dirt Diva) and I used to see each other while I was hiking Mission Peak and she was doing one of her crazy runs. She would always stop and say hi to Boomer. After seeing her there so often and at Sunol or on the Alameda Creek Trail, I finally was able to find out she had a blog. I wrote to here via her blog, she invited me to join her for a 10-miler at Mission Peak. I loved it! I had been road running for eight years but after just that one trail run, I was hooked. It's so serene, challenging, scenic, peaceful, almost spiritual at times. I could never call road running "fun" but I can call (almost) every trail run "fun." Oh, and have you seen the food at aid stations???

3. What is the most trashy TV show that you indulge in? Why?
I'm going to have to say "Swingtown". It was a great show. Nobody admitted they watched it, but everyone was watching it. C'mon, you watched it.

4. If you could have dinner with one person that you have never met, who would it be? Explain.
Without a doubt, it would be Goldie Hawn. She has been my favorite actress for a very long time. I think she is absolutely hilarious, she's gorgeous. I could imagine a cool little cafe' by a beach or in Berkeley. A casual place, nothing fancy. And we would laugh until we cried.
If Goldie's not available, then it would have to be Kenny Chesney. Enough said. ;)

5. What's your fantasy sport? Why?
Speed golf with your dog. To me, golf is kind of slooooooow and Boomer is never allowed to go along.


If you would like to play along and be interviewed by me:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by giving you five questions (I get to pick the questions.)
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.