It's a Twofer

Note to self: Camera phone has a reeeeally wide lens. Put something that has an interesting texture in the foreground. Panoramic landscapes are not ideal camera phone subjects.

I did the long run Saturday. I’d hoped for 19 miles, but a 10- to 15-mph wind on the last half of the trip reduced me to toast. I feel it was a good exercise in endurance (as in “endurance” athlete) and so am not worrying too much about the actual distance. The course I chose ran from Coyote Hills Regional Park east, on the Alameda Creek Trail.

I ran 8.75 miles out—to Mission Blvd in Fremont—and 8.75 miles back. Thank heavens I had left a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in my car. Not much else could have provided strong enough incentive to fight through that wind.

The day was beautiful, I have to say, laid out in brilliant colors against the emerald velvet of the surrounding hills. The wind scoured off any hint of pollution. Blossoms perfumed the air, raptors sailed and dove above.

A little closer to the asphalt, the infrastructure (meaning hips, knees, hamstrings, quads, ankles, feet) stayed strong. The thought that at my present level of fitness I could suit up any time and run a half marathon with minimal consequences cheered me immensely as I ran. I’m not marathon ready, but, barring disaster, should be by May 4.

The second part of the twofer came Sunday, when Z and I went for a gentle hike. Like the elevator in the bad joke, the trail had its ups and downs. But all in all we had a good time. We walked in Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve--just fyi, the wind was howling there also, though not with quite the force I had faced Saturday. Again the hills were greener than green, and the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches were to die for. (When you find a good lunch, it's worth at least one immediate repetition.) Z looks a bit grumpy, but that was before lunch.