The G Running Diary

Not a Marathon: 4/27/03

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Today Don and I ran on Coyote Creek trail. This is a paved bike path that is part of the Bay Area Ridge Trail. It starts at a little park just off of 101 at Hellyer Road. We paid our $4 to get in, which never bothers me because the parks need more money. I thought on such a nice day the park would be busier. There were some cars in the lot, but plenty of space to park. Don asked the Ranger for directions to the trail head. He asked if we were running and said good luck. Several people during the day seemed impressed with our little run of 3 and a half hours, 18 miles. If only they knew. But it reminded me of when 17 miles one weekend was the longest I'd ever run, and when I told people at work they were just amazed. It's good to remember the humble beginnings.

The trail goes south along Coyote Creek, which varies from a stream through lush grass to standing water under trees, to recreational lakes. It was a nice path to run along, even with the sound of 101 and the view of the backsides of company buildings never far away. I was looking for friendly butterflies but only saw one on the whole run. The whole trail is about 13 miles long. A little under half way down is a playground and bathrooms. It's quite civilized compared to some other runs we have done recently. We turned around somewhere in the lower half of the trail and headed back home. The weather was mild, and this was actually the first run this year where neither of us brought along any kind of jacket.

So that was our pavement training for this weekend. I can't say I felt good during the run, but it was a good thing to do, because we have planned some races on pavement. It does make me think of my earlier days of running which were mostly on pavement. I say it like it's long ago, but really this is about 3 years ago. Running in the afternoon on a work day used to feel really good. This is the time of year when it's easier to do that, since the sun sets at 7:54 today. I like the long days.