Sunday, July 15, 2007

Briones

the last time i ran here was by mistake. i was trying to hook-up with a trail running group after work and was annoyed at missing them and had to really fight the urge to just go home. today i wanted to be here and wanted to explore some new trails.

as i gathered my gear i realized i hadn't charged my ipod....surprisingly though i didn't panic and it didn't really phase me, though i did think for a split second that 15 miles might feel ALOT longer than normal without my tunes. onward and undaunted i hit the porta-potty grabbed a map and plotted my route.
the weather was pretty mild at this point, bright blue and sunny but not too hot...though that would change before too long.

Briones for the most part is hilly and very exposed with an occasional oak tree to offer a little respite from the sun. after Abrigo, then past Santos, the first major climb, you have a choice to stay to the right and follow Briones Crest or go to the left and follow Lagoon Trail, i veered left in favor of something new.

for a change of pace i ate half of a pb&j sandwich before on the drive in. i decided to give the sport beans another try...i don't really like them but i had more of them than gels. i tend to go overboard on the fluids, a hand-held and 2 more bottles in my waist pack but better than running out midrun as there are no faucets along the trail. the weather did start to get a bit hotter but i think the lack of shade was more of an issue than unbearable heat.

i was grateful when the seemingly endless Lagoon trail tapered off into a nice shady spot where i stopped to eat a few more sport beans....that seems to be the trick ...stopping and chewing them vs trying to keep running like you can with gels.

Lagoon eventually intersected with Black Diamond (i think) and then Mott's Peak....this is a fiercely long ass hill...again i was happy to be on the downside . after another seemingly endless descent i was through with hills in favor of the flat valley trail. i was disappointed when i saw the trail begin to ascend...i was through with hills for today and turned around in search of flatter ground. i had a few side stitches, nothing a short bit of walking didn't quell, i just felt hot and wanted to be done. ten hot hilly miles would have to suffice for today.

this was a good run, not as far as i needed to go today but i was glad to be running on dirt again. i missed not having my tunes, but it was good training out of my comfort zone.

Mojo Interuptus

ok,ok,ok......so i've been in "party" mode for the past couple of weeks. but hey what the hell, a gal's gotta do what a gal gotta do to feel good about turning ...gulp...44, seriously!

for the first time in well over a month i jumped on-line this morning without any problems. i have only been able to acess the internet in a timely fashion between the hours 9 am and 4 pm, anytime before or after has been impossibly slow and i just didn't have the time or energy to call my server (sbc or att whateverthefucktheircallingthemselves) for assistance. yesterday i finally took the time and dicked around with 3 different people and in the end (no pun intended) was told that somebody else would call me in 2-4 hours to set-up an appointment.

needless to say i wasn't happy about it. in fact after i hung i sat there and stewed, proceeding to get madder by the minute. i then called back, waded through the same stupid teleprompts and once a person answered i said i wanted to discontinue my internet service.

apparently, i should've came to this conclusion sooner, because suddenly they became all sorts of interested and helpful. within moments i was on a 3-way call w/tech support on one line , a field guy on the other ...a technician came withing 2 hours ....problem solved.

so, the true test would be in the morning to see if i could get on line w/o delay...it's been a major PITA trying to log on before 9 am. i think that's contributed to my lack of motivation in the mornings too.....my whole routine revolves around a couple cups of coffee and a little internet intervention. sure i have books, inspirational quotes tacked up but i really like logging on super early reading blogs visiting various running sites...it gets me going.

right now i'm getting ready to hit the trails , probably Briones. the schedule calls for 20 but my last long run/hike of 17 miles was on 6/27....and with all the slacking off i've been doing since then i'm thinking more like 15 miles.

besides i'm too lazy to try to pick-up where i left off.