15 Miles & Some Good Ol’ Running Cheese

Looking back on my Pier to Peak post, I’m not sure if I could follow-up with any worthy stories. But what I can do, is pour on the uber-cheese (we’re talking thick, creamy, clog your arteries movie nacho cheese here people; hold on tight)…

This weekend’s 17 miler turned into a 15 miler due to my poor calculations and the excessive heat, but nevertheless, it was the first run in a long time that reminded me why I love running so much. You see, I had every intention of doing a normal eight mile out and back route on the stale Iron Horse Trails of Dublin/Pleasanton. You probably have the equivalent of these trails in your area: standard and unexciting, but safe, reliable and efficient. But when my aunt asked if we want to run together, I said sure thing and left it up to her to pick the location.

She ended up dropping me off at some random trail in Livermore that I had never ventured upon and like that, I was off. It started with the normal asphalt paved trail where families walked their dogs and rode their bikes; it was just all sorts of swell and dandy. But what I soon discovered were strange and desolate offshoots that more than appeased my running appetite.

It wasn’t soon after I found the side trails that a coyote crossed my path. I know that shouldn’t be a big deal to some, but I immediately froze and said to myself, “HOLY CRAP! A friggin’ coyote!” I’m used to deer in Reno, but had never ventured upon a coyote. I whipped out my iPhone and tried to snap a photo, but the damn 3G failed me and was too slow.

Two and half miles down the way, I found this:

And because they told me not to, I went in. Unbeknown to me, there were tons of turkeys roaming loose! Ok, I exaggerate, there were only about six, but coyotes AND turkeys?!? This is amazing! Perhaps I’m easily amazed, but this was definitely the highlight of the early miles.

As I ran on, I found myself completely alone, running along gorgeous vineyards. It was the first time in a long time that I found myself just cruising. My body moving effortlessly in sync with my mind and heart. I wasn’t obsessively checking my Garmin or thinking about when I was going to be done,  but instead I was simply running at its purest because I could and because I loved it. Pure and simple.

But I’ll be honest, near the last three miles my little fairy tale ended as the 11 a.m. sun was beating the hell out of me. But, I prefer to remember the glamorous part of the run and not the sweet tan lines I now sport.

Overall, it was a great weekend, complete with a solid run, Mexican food and margaritas, SALT, prepping for Lola’s birthday (oh yes, I’m serious), family dinners, the Food Network, Lola, Chicken Face, Cody, K-Caj, work, cooking, cleaning and just living this little life as best as I know how. I hope you all had a fan-fricking-tastic weekend as well!

Annnnnd…now the sleeping princess for you. So presh.