Friendliness to all experience...*

*(Credit to Flora)

Firetrails Practice
(Lone Oak- Meadows Canyon- Seaview-Skyline-Return)
(14 miles)

To explain this run, I have to take you back to Miwok. As you know, the weather was um, miserable. Cold, wet, rainy-- not at all what everyone had predicted for May weather. Lots of ridiculous moments, as Suzanne pointed out on her race report. As we were leaving, (another Bay Area ultrarunner) Flora said, "Well, that was a day to be friendly to all experience!" I laughed then, because I understood what she meant-- everyone expected it to be hot, clear, beautiful, etc., and well, the experience was wet, muddy and cold. However, the Marin Headlands can be beautiful in all kinds of weather-- I thought that even the freezing, fog-blanketed, wind-whipped Coastal Trail had a certain beauty to it. So I got where she was coming from, but it dropped from my mind pretty quickly.

Fast-forward to yesterday. I got off work, totally excited about running a good, long run. The weather was beautiful, my knee is getting MUCH better, and I felt like I *should* be running well right now.

I started at the Firetrails turn-around, because I'm dead set on running that this year, and I'm going to start practicing running the trail NOW so that it's all very familiar when I have to run it in October. I ran the first couple of miles to Inspiration Point feeling great, but when I crossed the road to head up on the Seaview trail, all my energy disappeared and I felt like I was a lump running along. I felt SOOOOOOO tired. Normally, I'm a decent uphill runner, and I actually *like* running uphill for miles. Yesterday, I thought I was going to die if I ran anything that resembled a marginally steep grade.

The weather was still beautiful, and I took a little time to snap some pictures as I was galumphing along, but I was not a happy camper. I was totally resentful about the tiredness that was pulling my body down. It was ridiculous, I thought. The week after I ran Miwok, I ran several hard runs and I felt GREAT. I had taken it easy last weekend (school), and I felt totally justified in expecting my body to be performing well.

But it wasn't. I felt like I had been running for days, every step taking a major effort. All I wanted to do was stop. Then I started inhaling bugs (yay spring) and then, to make things even worse, I slammed my thumb in a cow gate. It hurt. A lot. By this time, I was about 7 miles out and decided to turn around, even more resentful about the crappy run I was having.

For some reason, I thought of Flora's comment post-Miwok. "Friendliness to all experience." I was having the experience of a crappy run. Or at least, the experience of not having my body do what *I* thought it was supposed to do. But really, was the run all that bad? It was beautiful out, and I was running through green grasses and wildflowers, with amazing views all around. Really, not so much to complain about. So maybe I'd walk a little more than I thought I "should"-- but so what? I had my camera with me-- I could use this time to take more pictures than I normally would.

And like that-- the run was fun again. I have been thinking about this since yesterday, and how so much of what we usually get angst-filled about is because it's not what we THINK should be happening. Recently I discovered just how much I'm among all the people who have been screwed by the mortgage crisis, and I spent a good day or so thinking about all the things I won't be able to do for the next year or so, but then it struck me that really, if I didn't have all these expectations, I wouldn't be so upset. Plus, I've been eating MUCH healthier as a result of my "don't buy any food outside the house" money-saving strategy.

And here's the kicker-- I took one of my favorite pictures ever on Friday after I decided to not be so focused on what was NOT happening in my run. Here it is--I like it because it isn't a view we often have of these flowers. It's a good reminder to me that there are many other ways of viewing an experience, and being open to them can yield beautiful things.

Tilden to Skyline- Firetrails practice

Firetrails Practice Run
(Lone Oak-Meadows Canyon- Curran- Sea View- Skyline- Sea View- Curran- Meadows Canyon)

(14.2 miles)

So many things to say about this run. First, I have been thinking about how much I love getting prepped and anticipating my long trail runs. I love getting my water bottles prepped, putting new songs from my "running mix" on my shuffle, putting my hair in braids (only happens on long runs) deciding which shok bloks I'm going to eat, and I really do love thinking about how I'm going to do something that will take a while, be difficult and feel a very good kind of tired at the end. There's something very comforting about all this. 

So today I decided to run part of the Firetrails course, as I will be running it in October. I have started to get worried about the fact that I signed up for a 50 mile run, which I have never done before. I alternate between having conversations with people who have written me off as certifiably nuts, and conversations with people who could be utterly crazy already, who talk about things like "best aid station food" or toenails falling off without blinking an eye. 

I started at the Lone Oak picnic tables in Tilden Park. This is the turn-around point for Firetrails, and I figured that getting used to the second half of the course on fresh legs might help me feel mentally prepared... or not. The course follows Meadows Canyon up to Insipration Point, at which point you turn right on the road and continue until you hit Sea View. Sea View is one of the most hiked trails in Tilden-- it climbs onto the ridge and gives you views of the Bay on one side and San Pablo and Briones Reservoirs on the other. Today the fog obscured some of the views, but it was definitely warm above the fog.

While it felt good to run this section this morning, I kept thinking about how I would be running this on legs that had just completed a marathon. Um, yeah. 3.5 miles of more or less continuous climbing. It's pretty gentle (no Ohlone trails here), and none of the climbs seem interminable, but it's a pretty long section of uphill from Lone Oak to Vollmer Peak. From Vollmer Peak and the Steam Trains, the trail crosses Skyline Boulevard and continues on a single track trail. The trail took me a moment to find-- it's a smallish sign, but it's also directly across the road from the entrance to the Steam Trains. 

I now love Skyline trail. I had never run on this trail before-- and it's definitely worth running. It's East Bay MUD land, so while you don't need a permit, you cannot take dogs on this section.

The trail winds along the side of the ridge, more or less heading downhill until you cross Skyline Boulevard again. From here, the trail begins to have much steeper inclines-- I kept trying to slow myself down because I didn't want to have to run all the way back up the hills I was running down! This area was shaded and relatively cool though-- oaks and bay trees stretch their branches over the trail, providing a bit of respite from the sun. 

As soon as I turned around however, I started to feel it, and this has caused me a relative degree of panic. I was exhausted going up some of the hills, and running everything was just not an option. While the second half of the run went quickly in some ways, I realized that I need to run A LOT MORE in the next couple of months. Fortunately, my knee seems to be doing tremendously well, but I need to not be this tired after 14 miles if I'm going to run 50 in October! 

Overall, good run-- I will be running more of this area in the upcoming weeks. 

Tilden is a great place to take dogs-- you can have them off-leash as well. However, it's impossible to take dogs on EBMUD lands. 

Finally, a bit of the local wildlife that made an appearance this morning...

Salsa withdrawal... on the trail??

Tilden Regional Park

(Wildcat Creek- Jewel Lake- Laurel Canyon-Wildcat Peak- Nimitz Way- Meadows Canyon- Nature Center)

(5.5 miles)

You know you've been without salsa for too long when you start dancing by yourself on the trail. I had my shuffle with me today, which I haven't used in a long time, and when Fulanito came on, I simply needed to have a moment in the middle of the trail. Maybe I need to get out this weekend...

Today was another needed run. I am SO tired of working on the computer right now. I have been trying to finish a paper today and get some other work done at the same time... with highly limited success on both tasks. I didn't really think I should be running steep hills, but I wanted to do a little bit of hill running-- especially to try and get a view of the current view-- or lack thereof.

This trail started at the Nature Center at Tilden Regional Park. It is true that Tilden is not necessarily my favorite place to run, but I used to run here a lot, and it brought

back some memories. The trail starts on Wildcat Creek trail, which I could take all the way to the Wildcat Canyon trail head I usually run from, but instead I turned off to take the miniscule trail shown above to Jewel Lake. The raised wooden walkway is only a quarter-mile long, but I think it's one of the prettiest little moments possible in all of Tilden. This tiny walkway leads to Jewel Lake, an adorable little lake/large pond that usually has a population of ducks and/or turtles. (For those who have children, this walk from the Nature Center parking lot to Jewel Lake is probably a great option for the 2-4 age group.)

Once I reached Jewel Lake, I took Laurel Canyon for a half-mile or so, until the Wildcat Peak trail forked to the left. These two trails climb sharply-- and it was here, in the middle of a hill-climbing moment, that I felt the need to do some solo salsa. Fortunately it was the middle of the week and no one was around-- but let this stand as evidence for the tragedy that could befall the world if I do not get some dancing in soon... who knows where I will next be forced to shake my derrière?

At the top of Wildcat Peak, visibility was pretty dismal. Normally one can see across the Bay, and all the way to Mt. Diablo on the other side-- today it was completely grey in front of me, and this was the view looking to the northeast. The body of water is San Pablo Reservoir, where I am planning to run soon.

I'm sure people already know about the fires in Northern California. The terrible visibility is partly from the smoke and partly from fog-- it's pretty cold and unimpressive as far as weather goes right now.

From Wildcat Peak, I took Nimitz Way. This is a paved path that leads from Inspiration Point, and it's one of the most popular places to run/bike/rollerblade in Tilden, but there were few people on the trail today. After I reached Inspiration Point, I took Meadows Canyon to the right and ran back to the Nature Center on a long and gentle downhill--and my knee felt great!

To end, a picture of some late-blooming wildflowers. As seen in the picture, Tilden and the surrounding hills are pretty brown and dry right now (hence all the fires), but these flowers were exploding in pink right next to the trail. I think they're wild sweet peas, but maybe I should ask my amateur botanist mother--the birthday girl, as I mentioned earlier today. (There's another way I'm turning into my mother! I want to know more about plants!)

Dogs? Well, they are not allowed in the Nature Area, and they have to be on leash on Nimitz Way, but they can be off leash on Meadows Canyon. Go figure.

Tilden? Well... I guess.

Tilden Regional Park

Quarry-Big Springs-Sea View (5.1 miles)

Ah, Tilden. We used to be close, Sea View and I. Whenever I had someone come into town, we hiked Sea View. Whenever I wondered "hmm...where should we go hiking?" it was this trail. Tilden, the jewel of the East Bay Regional Park System. Tilden, the backdrop for countless pictures atop the Sea View Trail. After visiting the REI annual sale today and making my entry into running geekdom official by purchasing a Garmin 305, I thought what better way to initiate my new gadget than by returning to this site of so many memories. We would be reunited, Tilden and I, and it would all be captured on my new toy.

Now I do not want to disparage Tilden, because it is a wonderful park. There are many more things to do (particularly for families with kids) than there are in say, Wildcat or Redwood. There are pony rides, a carousel, the Botanic Gardens, animal petting at the Little Farm, swimming at Lake Anza and many, many picnic options. But returning to Sea View trail was like seeing a picture of some guy you had a crush on in high school and thinking, "Really? I was all excited about him? I mean, he's all riiight, but really-- what was that all about? There's much better options out there." I can hear the wave of protest swelling-- Tilden is Bay Area history (which it is) and it's tradition (which it is)-- this is blasphemy, what you are saying!

Here's the thing: I've been running a lot of different trails since then, and guess what? I'd recommend them over Tilden. Part of it was probably the weather (rather unimpressive, as you can see from the picture), but it doesn't have the views of Wildcat's San Pablo Ridge trail, even on a clear day, and it doesn't have the dreamy forest quality of Redwood. There are lots of Eucalyptus groves, and several stands of pine trees along Big Springs trail, yet overall I was not as excited as I hoped to be. I'll come back and do some more trails, as this is one of the most popular parks of the East Bay, but if I had one day to do a trail run in the East Bay, I'd go north to Wildcat or south to Redwood.

Two of the three members of our running crew today did not care about my disappointment with Tilden and found it to be an enthralling location, as Tilden is yet another place to take dogs off-leash in undeveloped areas. So if you need places to run your pup, keep it on the rotation-- just make sure Tilden isn't your ONLY rotation for trail running in the Bay Area...