Sunday, December 03, 2006

Sunday Run

i love sunday runs. t and m are still asleep when i fix the coffee and go about getting ready. i usually don't know where i'll be going and will log onto the computer or refer to one of my local trail guide books for inspiration. sunday runs are restorative in nature. there usually my longer and hillier runs but their also slow...sometimes i'm gone for 3 to 4 hours. and i often leave the watch at home.

the weather took a turn for the better over the last 48 hours and it is was gorgeous today. i noticed a few new pains in my foot as i got ready for my run. a weird sharp burning sensation on the top of my left foot. i didn't give it too much attention. it didn't last too long and was a non-issue during the run. though i noticed a lesser version of it again later when i returned home. circulation problems?

sunday morning slow long run routine.

coffee
oatmeal

water

3 gu paks to put in hydration pak
set-up hydration

layed out the night before:


clothing options
socks
shoes
gus
2 14 0z bottles gatorade
hydro-waist pack
small cliff bar

banana
lip balm

notice something missing from this list?

NO watch


i wanted to swim afterwards so i put together my swim bag. i should do this the night before next time

suit
goggles
cap
ear plugs
toiletries

this turned out to be a long morning. i left the house around 8:30 and didn't return until 1:00

the weather was warmer and i reconsidered whether or not i'd need the gloves. i brought them just in case. as i parked my car and started collecting my stuff i realized that i had forgot the clippy case thing for my ipod...ugh..and i was doing so well up to now. i decided to wear the gloves and that this would make it easier holding the ipod....for awhile it worked and it was easier to fast forward or skip a song since it was already in my hand...but then my hands got too warm and i had to figure out a new system.

i wasn't sure what to do with the gloves once i took them off. i first just shoved them in my hydro-waist pak belt...but then i worried that i might lose them...at 25.00 a pair i was concerned...so i shoved them in the teeny tiny zippered compartment of the hydro-pak.

the crosswind up on san pablo dam ridge was strong and i was glad i had applied lip balm...but when i wanted to re-apply it was hard to get to with the gloves shoved into my hydration pak....you see what is happening here right? this means i have to buy that cool bigger hydration waist pack i saw at see jane run when i frugally chose the smaller one i have now.

so i skipped trying fish out my lip balm and had to figure out what to do with the ipod because my hand was beginning to perspire. i tried slipping it down my jog bra...again moisture...so i slipped it in between jog bras. (i'm not busty at all but i feel too jiggly without the second one) this worked ok and i could still fastforward without having to take it out.
so, if you noticed a girl feeling herself up on the san pablo dam ridge today that would be me.

the run: 8-10 miles

i started out on wildcat canyon
rt. on Belgium
belgium turns into
San Pablo Dam Ridge
this eventually intersects with
Nimitz trail: follow back to parking lot and watch for a
a hairpin turn to the right...........

.........this is where i can't recall the rest of the trail names. i know my way and guess it's around an 8-10 miler. it's my 3rd time running this route and today i made it a little longer by taking the longer way back to Little Farm. i'm so ready for Tildens Tough Ten next year.
i never tire of running in this park, there's still so much to explore and learn.

wildcat canyon is basically a wide mostly flat firetrail that runs parallell the san pablo dam ridge

belgium is the hilly connector between wildcat and san pablo dam ridge

san pablo dam ridge meanders high above open cattle fields...
(one of the cows was so cute, it remided me of a big puppy. a big yellow lab puppy) i'm pretty sure i was hallucinating. by this point i had the beginnings of a dull headache that would last the rest of the run......i must've got dehydrated...the cool crosswinds were deceiving and i didn't drink as often as i needed to.

nimitz is a 4 mile paved trail

the end of the nimitz turns back to dirt and the hairpin turn takes you down into the valley, turn right and your down in 10 minutes
go left add another 10.
there both fairly steep descents in parts throughout....go right and it's an immediate drop...i chose to delay more knee pounding and went left. it starts fairly flat and gradually descends...though the bottom portion fucks with you a bit.

can't really afford to be as careless as i have been about taking supplements...most of my pill popping is in the form of ibuprofen. i use to carry my vitamins in my oversized hand bag when i was training this summer...i was better about taking stuff when i carried it around with me. towards the end of the summer i got out of the habit.

a short swim afterwards made all the difference in my recovery this afternoon...the pool at the Y runs on the cool side. normaly i'd complain about this but not today. i swam maybe 15-20 minutes, i took longer to prepare to swim than to actually swim but it still was a great way to come off the run. i sat in the jacuzzi for a few minutes and then hit the steam bath before heading back home.

we grabbed a bite to eat at Picante and then picked up a christmas tree. M and i will take our time decorating over the next few days. she's already banged out a couple of ginger bread houses.

i'd like to ask for a digital camera for christmas. i have to buy a second set of pictures on disk in order to use bloggers picasso to post pictures (which is probably not the most efficient way to go about it but it's all i know) ...i've put off the whole digital camera thing because of expense and lack of expertise. though it looks like their more affordable and user friendly these days.