A few readers of this blog have kindly commented that they were awaiting my Kettle Moraine race report, and I apologize for being so late with it. Although I was on vacation the rest of the week after the race, I couldn't blog much (or even read blogs--I'm so behind) due to competition for a very slow computer at my in-laws, in the few moments I wasn't out running around (actually hobbling is more accurate), usually entertaining my older son and his cousins.
When I got back, I had to work 3 overnight shifts over the weekend, which was more painful due to mismanagement of my daytime sleeping. I did get a little bit of Father's Day, with a trip to the Oakland Zoo in the late afternoon, before my last graveyard shift.
Today (Tuesday the 17th), would've been good to finish blogging, since my older son was back in daycare/school, and I had the day off. Yesterday I ran home 100 minutes on trails from the Toyota dealership after dropping off our Prius for routine 45k mile maintenance after power sleeping 3 hours. So you'd think that, only 9 days after a 100-mile race and no urgent need to get in any long training runs, and having already done a decent run yesterday, I'd be content to stay home, play with the baby, and blog, right? Hello?
REI in Berkeley has been calling us, asking when we were going to pick up these backordered Black Diamond trekking poles that we bought a few months ago using our 20% discounts. They finally came in last month, but with all the races, work, and our vacation, we had no chance to drive out there, much less do the greener option of picking them up on the way to my brother's in Marin. If we didn't retrieve them today, they were sending them back. They are such hardasses up there-- I guess they're tight on the storage space.
So this morning I am thinking, since we have to drive up there anyways, maybe I can do a point-to-point trail run... it's such a nice day.
I'm still recovering, and probably shouldn't be running so much this soon, so this was totally gratuitous. Run long, run far, for no good reason except that today I can.
Right after noon, I set out towards Chabot with my Ultimate Direction bottle, a squeeze bottle fuel of powdered Gu2O, two gels, my cell phone and trail maps of Redwood Park, Tilden Park, and a road map of Oakland/Berkeley, most of the above stuffed in a trophy Fuel Belt Del Fuego hydration pack without the bladder.
So Yahoo weather said it was going to be in the 70's. "YAH! I screwed yOO" is what Yahoo must stand for, since it feels like it's 85, and I didn't bring any electrolyte tablets. In Redwood, a connector trail to the West Ridge Trail that is supposed to be there isn't, and I have to backtrack half a mile as my fluids run out. Near Skyline Gate at the northern tip of Redwood Park, I resume the Firetrails 50 course along the Bay Area Ridge Trail past Sibley to Steam Trains at the southern end of Tilden. Luckily it is mostly shaded after Skyline and little less hot. Unfortunately my wife left her cell phone in Chicago so I am worried that she'll pick up the hiking poles and show up at the restaurant at which we decided to meet long before I can make it, but have no way of calling her.
In Tilden, after Steam Trains, I take Grizzly Peak Trail for the first time down, before zigzagging on my knees, still sore from Kettle, down paved switchbacks into Berkeley proper.
Over 30 miles in 5 1/2 hours including bottle fill-up stops and map checks.
I get to the restaurant, this Nepalese restaurant in Berkeley we had never tried before. I showed up 3 minutes before my wife and kids.
Lucas kept screaming for the lentil soup, which totally hit the spot after more than 120 increasingly sickening ounces of Gu2O.
Peter couldn't wait for the tandoori shrimp and the other things we ordered. So yummy! Gotta love the food in Berkeley.
first posted Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 10:35 pm
