Thanksgiving Trot + Trails

Event #1: Turkey Trot

(4 miles)

This picture is from the trails portion of the day, but today was my first race back! True, it was a short four miles, and it was definitely not as fast as I've ever run, but it was a race and my foot didn't hurt at ALL. (I would like to say the same thing about my poor hamstrings, who were forced to run hard when I'd only done easy running up until now.)

It was lots of fun though-- my mom and I did the race, while my dad and my friend Jen went on a 25 mile bike ride. The weather was beautiful too, as can be seen in the one picture I actually took during the race.

Event #2:

Hiking on the Jesusita Trail (portion of the 9 Trails course)

(Tunnel Trail- Jesusita-Tunnel)

4 miles

Then we picked up my brother and his dog and took off for our family's favorite trail destination-- a small outcropping off the Jesusita Trail that has views of all Santa Barbara in the front and the Santa Barbara foothills behind.

While I did not get to do the 9 Trails course, (well, no one really did, as it got moved to Ojai because of the fires), this trail is part of the race. I've mentioned Santa Barbara foliage and general appearance in postings and this trail is very typical of other Santa Barbara trails. Steep climbs through dry scrub and sandstone lead to beautiful views.

One reason the city has been very worried is because of the post-fire qualities of scrub bushes like this manzanita- this bush has certain oils that keep the small bit of water it needs to survive inside, but when this plant is burned in a fire, the oil makes it difficult for water to sink into the ground, heightening the flood danger in any kind of storm.

Another fairly typical sight on Santa Barbara trails is streams like this, overhung with big sycamore and oak trees.

I hope to run some more in the next couple of days, but for now-- time to prepare for the wine-tasting biking adventure!