I checked the Coastal Trails schedule and they had their semi-annual Canyon Meadow run, which was new to me (one of my criteria) and not too hilly (another criteria) and less than an hour from my home - perfect, so I signed up.
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| Views from the top of the hills |
I hadn't been doing much hill and even less trail running, so my expectations weren't high. I also had spent the previous two days driving from the North Bay to Los Angeles and back to pick my daughter up from college. I got up early and drove out to Oakland and the weather and the park were beautiful. I got to briefly meet the amazing Yolanda Holder who was race walking this marathon the day after completing the very difficult Mt. Diablo marathon on the previous day.
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| One of my favorite running photos... a lucky shot. |
Not a great day, but it really went as well as I expected. I think I ran/walked the first loop in about 2:10 and then I added another 10 minutes on the second loop and finished in 4:30. It goes in my books as my 62nd marathon/ultra.
I brought my camera, but ended up not taking too many photos. One, because I was exhausted, but also because there weren't as many vistas as I had expected. Most of the trail was running through forest and trees, which is nice, but difficult for a novice photographer to take a picture. Especially while I'm running.
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| One of the few spots where the trail was wide and level. |
As always, Wendell and the Coastal Trail group was well-organized and put on another great race. I'm looking forward to doing a few more with them later this year. Hopefully I'll be in better shape for some hill climbing!
