What I Saw on My Run Today
NOTE: This post was written in July 2014. It's been sitting in the drafts folder since then, so today I decided to add a couple of photos and release this puppy into the cyberworld. It is now September, and all I can say about this post is that nothing it contains has been countermanded by my experiences since I wrote it. I still love my new town!
Okay, we're cutting to the chase today. No airy-fairy musings about the meaning or non-meaning of running, no angst over the joys or non-joys of running in an aging body. This one is just about what I did. What transpired when the rubber was hitting the road.
I started out going west on Vineyard, then made a right and headed south on Main. Main Street at 7 am was pretty quiet. It's lined with trees and interesting businesses--cafes, galleries, shops, and (as we say in advertising) more. The air was cool and still, with remnants of fog drifting away overhead. I never knew that coastal fog could reach this far inland, but it does.
From Main I turned right onto Old Bernal Road--thought I'd cruise by the middle school track. I slogged by the library and arrived at the track, which was buzzing with people! This weekend is the Relay for Life, an event where people sign up to walk in consecutively around a track for a long time (maybe 24 hours? 36?) after collecting pledges for money that goes to cancer prevention.
So I kept going. (Kudos, relay walkers, btw.) Can't quite remember what street I was on at this point (hey, I'm new in town), but I spied a trail heading south, so I went on it. Turned out it was the continuation of what farther north is the Iron Horse Trail--only this part is just the undeveloped roadbed. That in itself was a pretty interesting discovery--already I have called up visions of the developed trail heading for Pleasanton Ridge.
Even more compelling was the colony of feral kitties I disturbed. I saw at least four adults an five kittens; had to resist the urge to scoop them all up and take them home.
Because I'm writing this as it comes to me (no drafts for this intrepid blogger), I am allowed to present my morning as I remember it, which is not necessarily chronologically. That is to say, I just remembered that before I got the the railroad bed I saw an actual train station. Fact number 792 that I didn't know about this area: There is a commuter train, the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) that runs weekdays from Stockton to San Jose and makes numerous stops along the way, including one in Pleasanton. ACE was one more thing I stumbled upon--just looked across an empty field and there was the station, which I briefly investigated.
Meanwhile, back at the cats. I ran out the railroad bed for a half mile or so, then turned around and headed back toward town. I passed the senior center--turned in there to check it out because I love senior centers, with their smart and active oldsters and their various classes in dance, foreign languages, writing, singing, crafts--too much fun. I'll be back, senior center.
Back on the road, I came up behind an old guy (probably about my age) running fairly slowly. When I asked him how he was, he said he'd only gone three miles but was fading, and that he always felt better when it was over. I longed to jump on my soapbox about how wonderful it is to be healthy and active in our later years, but I could see that's not where he was. So we parted ways.
I made my way back to Main Street and at Stanley slipped off the road and descended to the lovely little trail that follows the Del Valle Arroyo. After a short cool and quiet half mile or so, I came back up to asphalt. I headed toward home, and made it in happy shape, but not before I stopped in at a large park where a "dash and splash" duathlon for kids was underway. I stopped and spoke with someone named Liz, who urged me to go to the Tri-Valley Triathlon Club website, which I will surely do.
From the park I made my way home. And 2 1/2 weeks into this adventure, our little apartment is indeed becoming identifiable as home. Living here is different from anything that has come before for me, but different is really all it is--it is not bad. So many new sights, so many interesting activities to contemplate. I'm liking it all.
Okay, we're cutting to the chase today. No airy-fairy musings about the meaning or non-meaning of running, no angst over the joys or non-joys of running in an aging body. This one is just about what I did. What transpired when the rubber was hitting the road.
I started out going west on Vineyard, then made a right and headed south on Main. Main Street at 7 am was pretty quiet. It's lined with trees and interesting businesses--cafes, galleries, shops, and (as we say in advertising) more. The air was cool and still, with remnants of fog drifting away overhead. I never knew that coastal fog could reach this far inland, but it does.
From Main I turned right onto Old Bernal Road--thought I'd cruise by the middle school track. I slogged by the library and arrived at the track, which was buzzing with people! This weekend is the Relay for Life, an event where people sign up to walk in consecutively around a track for a long time (maybe 24 hours? 36?) after collecting pledges for money that goes to cancer prevention.
So I kept going. (Kudos, relay walkers, btw.) Can't quite remember what street I was on at this point (hey, I'm new in town), but I spied a trail heading south, so I went on it. Turned out it was the continuation of what farther north is the Iron Horse Trail--only this part is just the undeveloped roadbed. That in itself was a pretty interesting discovery--already I have called up visions of the developed trail heading for Pleasanton Ridge.
Even more compelling was the colony of feral kitties I disturbed. I saw at least four adults an five kittens; had to resist the urge to scoop them all up and take them home.
Because I'm writing this as it comes to me (no drafts for this intrepid blogger), I am allowed to present my morning as I remember it, which is not necessarily chronologically. That is to say, I just remembered that before I got the the railroad bed I saw an actual train station. Fact number 792 that I didn't know about this area: There is a commuter train, the Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) that runs weekdays from Stockton to San Jose and makes numerous stops along the way, including one in Pleasanton. ACE was one more thing I stumbled upon--just looked across an empty field and there was the station, which I briefly investigated.
Meanwhile, back at the cats. I ran out the railroad bed for a half mile or so, then turned around and headed back toward town. I passed the senior center--turned in there to check it out because I love senior centers, with their smart and active oldsters and their various classes in dance, foreign languages, writing, singing, crafts--too much fun. I'll be back, senior center.
Back on the road, I came up behind an old guy (probably about my age) running fairly slowly. When I asked him how he was, he said he'd only gone three miles but was fading, and that he always felt better when it was over. I longed to jump on my soapbox about how wonderful it is to be healthy and active in our later years, but I could see that's not where he was. So we parted ways.
I made my way back to Main Street and at Stanley slipped off the road and descended to the lovely little trail that follows the Del Valle Arroyo. After a short cool and quiet half mile or so, I came back up to asphalt. I headed toward home, and made it in happy shape, but not before I stopped in at a large park where a "dash and splash" duathlon for kids was underway. I stopped and spoke with someone named Liz, who urged me to go to the Tri-Valley Triathlon Club website, which I will surely do.
From the park I made my way home. And 2 1/2 weeks into this adventure, our little apartment is indeed becoming identifiable as home. Living here is different from anything that has come before for me, but different is really all it is--it is not bad. So many new sights, so many interesting activities to contemplate. I'm liking it all.
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