Thursday, June 07, 2007

Change of Plans

well i never hooked up with the group. not for lack of effort or fear. i just have no sense of direction and couldn't find them. i thought i knew where the meeting place was and because i accidently deleted the directions i called and asked for them over the phone. while the guy on the other end was quite friendly he wasn't quite sure how to get me there from where i was coming from. after a few minutes i thought i understood and proceeded to Briones staging area.

from what i could remember of the directions though i should of been at a EBMUD trail head but of course i didn't really make that connection until about a half hour after the scheduled mtg time. so after the initial anxiety wore off i switched over to annoyed and contemplated just going home. but as fate would have it i noticed a few solo runners heading out.

as i sat in my car debating on what to do a car pulled up next to me . it had a handicap placard and a rather large older woman emerged from the vehicle. she wasn't a runner but was there to get her walk on. i watched for a minute as she headed for the trailhead and slowly worked her way down the path.

it was she that got me motivated to move my ass. it was a bit after 7pm by this time. instead of taking arbrigo trail i opted for the shorter but steep motts peak. the first 20 minutes bit bad. i really wasn't into running much less climbing right off the bat!

my goal was 3-4 miles walking or running and i decided to stop stressing and just enjoy the scenery. as i rounded the corner i noticed one of the runners from earlier and waved as we passed eachother. she was happily bouncing down as i labored my way up. i didn't know at the time but she had just finished one hell of a climb herself from the opposite direction.

isn't it funny how some hills can look scarier than they really are? in my already not-in-the mood-to-run state of mind the hills were downright evil but as i got closer they really weren't so bad.....that is, until i saw what lie ahead.

as i crested the last hill i saw "THE MOTHER OF ALL HILLS" i swear to god, this hill was steep and a mile long. i immediately perked up cause i happened to be at the top of this sucker and was in for a fun fast descent. my mood changed instantly and i bounced at full speed all the way down.

i got back to the car another 20 minutes later and came home to BBQ steak dinner.

so, i'm glad i didn't let my temper and negative tude get the better of me and now i have a new challenge at Briones. when i go back i'll definitey check this trail out from the opposite direction.