Purisima Loop With Dad

Mileage
Today: 10
Present: 910
Count: 126

What a find, this Purisima. And I still haven't fully explored what it has to offer. This 10-mile loop can be hiked or jogged or I don't even know what else. Then the spur out to Bald Knob and beyond. So much potential.

I am fortunate on so many levels to be able to go on a 10-mile trail run with my dad. I sure as hell hope that when I am 65 I can do the same. And we weren't exactly going slow either. He's a pretty tough guy to get to open up, which I guess is where I get it.

But midway through the run I probed a bit about what it was like to run after kids. He explained how he actually started running more once he had me. How time becomes more dear and if something is important, you find a way to make it happen. It was not only refreshing to hear that not everyone becomes a fat slob once they have kids, but just to hear him tell stories about his life.

There is something special in this place, I felt it the first time I stepped foot onto the mist-shrouded trails. I can't wait to go looking for it.

http://app.strava.com/activities/108948302

Extended Intervals Breed Morning Epiphanie

Mileage
Today: 9
Present: 900
Count: 125

I'm running well right now. Running smart and running hard. I have my routines down and its working well. Just need to keep putting in the time.

I charged hard this morning, looking for the CR at Heron's Head. I missed by a few seconds. Then later read that Jim Harbaugh would laud me as the first loser and deserving of derision. If you really want to leave it all out there, couldn't you have gone a bit faster? A bit harder? I could have. Another great mantra.

I sped off through the future of San Francisco, breezing past Pier 80, then 70 on down into China Basin. The past knocking around in my mind from A Negotiated Landscape, a fascinating account of history of the San Francisco Waterfront. Amazing to watch the past transform into the future.

Around the stadium after a fast mile and straight up Rhode Island, breathing hard at the top and coasting down. These interval runs are phenomenal, an amazing mix of cruising, pushing and sailing. I finish spent but refreshed. What a way to start the morning.

And given the roller coaster of negotiations at work, I need these runs to clear my head - to chart the path. Such is my role as skipper.

http://app.strava.com/activities/106971094

Run Back Through Time

Mileage
Today: 5
Present: 891
Count: 124

I'm slowly getting the hang of this getting up early thing. And while early for me may not be early for others, its a milestone nonetheless.

I ran back through time this morning. Through Bernal Heights and past Lundys Lane, marveling at how quickly somewhere can cease to feel like home. Back over Dolores, brushing past memories of hazy days and Jetta dreams, when running was the furthest thing from a priority. I ran, from time to time, back when my body didn't care what I put into it.

Having found the Fear and Loathing San Francisco Ultra, and seen the octogenarian sporting an "I train while you sleep" sweatshirt, I have found a new mantra to wake me in the morning. I ran this morning to our weekly breakfast, arriving early to read the paper. To actually read the paper.

http://app.strava.com/activities/106813534

Bayview Recon, Part 2 - Deeper

Mileage
Today: 13
Present: 886
Count: 123

My recent obsession with the nexus of urban farming and Bayview industrial real estate grows, leading me deep into the heart of where I should not go. This time I ran all the way to Candlestick, the soon-to-be resting place for my childhood dreams, pigskin fantasies.

Gazing out over Hunters Point, the sheer size and scope of what it could be is nearly overwhelming. But the dream, anyone's dream, will take decades to realize.

http://app.strava.com/activities/106813556

Friday Wife

Mileage

Today: 4

Present: 873

Count: 122

Maura has been sick all week so we wanted to get out there but take it easy. Crisp morning but given what the rest of the country has been dealing with weather-wise, I'm more than thankful that I can run in the morning in shorts and t-shirt and am just a bit chilly at the outset.

http://app.strava.com/activities/105326311

Prehike Warmup

Mileage

Today: 4

Present: 869

Count: 119

Nice and easy morning run, I've got a race this Saturday and I'm feeling good. My regular four mile track up and down the hill, around past my now old office and out to the water.

I'm reading a book about the history of the San Francisco waterfront and I'm starting to see this urban coast in a different light. Amazing how knowing just a little history helps connect the dots and these derelict, absolutely beautiful buildings start to whisper the future.

http://app.strava.com/activities/105326320

Family Bonding, Levy Fartleks

Mileage

Today: 6

Present: 865

Count: 118

After a long day of hauling our office up the hill, Maura and I drove out to Stockton to spend the night with my parents. We didn't exactly wake up early, but joined them on their morning run out on the levees.

Talk about flat.

We jogged the first half of the run all together, joined by their golden retriever Gracie. Turning off the levees to run along an irrigation ditch, my dad sped up and we ran together at around 7-minute miles for half a mile or so. He turned back with Gracie to run with the ladies and I turned it up, doing my best to hold sub 5 for as long as I could.

Didn't last long, but it felt good to open it up. I chased the dog and determined that she can out-sprint me. I guess I shouldn't feel too bad about that though.

I circled back and hung with the family, winding through orchards and hearing stories of Pam being chased by coyotes. As we neared the final straightaway, electric poles dotted the right side of the trail about 50 yards apart. My dad took off at the first and when I caught up, he said he likes to sprint between them through the end of the run.

Almost 65 and he's still sprinting. Love it.

I hit my first pole and was off. I don't really open it up like that very much these days and wow. I was back up on my toes and for a split second felt like I was in high school again. I felt fast. Really fast. I kept waiting for my hamstrings to tear but they held together. Man it felt good to be running like that.

The next couple poles were fast, but not as fast as the first. Turns out somewhere deep down there, I may still have it.

http://app.strava.com/activities/105326327

De Haro Hill Repeats x3

Mileage

Today: 4

Present: 859

Count: 117

Having resolved that my weakness is the ups, I started hill training today. I read up on hills and it seems like the general consensus is that there a handful of ways to use hills and that hills, more than anything, will make you faster. I can't wait.

1) Long hill runs. I do this already by virtue of where I live, so no need to change anything here.
2) Long repeats. 1/4-1/2 mile ups, run at 5k pace. De Haro is perfect, half a mile up either side.
3) Short repeats. 100-200 yards hard. Wisconsin by the Mews will be my proving ground.
4) Fast downs. See above, jog up.
5) Bounding. Not sure about this one yet, need to find the right grade but I get the explosion and power that can be gained.

De Haro from the north is this long, gradually steepening monster that peaks 2/3 of the way through with a final, long and deceptively steep final stretch. I ran into Nicole and Lucia on my first ascent, a welcome respite. I glided down the other side and hit almost exactly one mile from 17th to 26th. Quite a training track.

Up the other side is shorter, but steeper with more of the up early on. Its faster, but more intense with a longer rest back down the other side.

I felt like I was running too hard, breathing too heavy at the top. But the point is to push, I think. I did three repeats, my goal is to work up to six within the next month or two. So long as I keep at it, shouldn't be too hard.

http://app.strava.com/activities/105326329

Chilly East Austin Recon

Mileage
Today: 20
Present: 855
Count: 117

Cold. It was damn cold when I set off this morning on what would be my longest run in Texas. I dropped down the hill towards the river, doing my best to warm up in the chilly morning air.

With a loose course in mind, I wove into some urban wilderness before meandering through my little East Austin neighborhood of dreams. I ran up and down the streets, ogling at the houses and vacant lots, new construction and rundown shacks. And I started to wonder if all my time in real estate had led up to this moment, to this little slice of Texas.

Perhaps its been on the cusp for years, but it strikes me that with the river on one side, 6th Street on the other and downtown just a few blocks away, fast forward a decade and the neighborhood would be almost unrecognizable from what it is today.

10 miles I ran here, following the grid in my mind, exploring the nooks and crannies of this diverse, suburban hamlet of hipsterdom meets working class Latino. Such is the story in so many cities around the country struggling with the G word.

Nature calling, I glanced back towards the bathroom and found a bathroom. Relief, but after washing my hands and hitting the river trail, my fingers froze and it was all I could do to keep warm, gliding along the banks. I passed some Chinese fisherman with quite a haul. It was strangely out of place, like Chinese river fisherman now grow in every corner of the globe.

Warmed up, I focused on my run. In my mind I figured I'd hit about 20 -- ostensibly my goal for the morning -- and having meandered most of the first part of the run, I started pushing it. I wanted to get my average pace down below 7:30, ideally closer to 7. Which would mean I ran these next 7 or 8 miles pretty fast.

I started passing people before I hit the bridge, as the crowds swelled  and the air warmed up. The gentle path seemed downhill the whole way. I ran smooth and easy, but fast. The crowds thinned again around the other side as the trail petered out and I was once again back on the city streets. I carved the route away from the river and back through urban Austin, a weird mix of commercial, industrial and large-scale residential, mixes we just don't have here in the Bay Area: Not enough land.

I felt strong. Really strong like I could have kept going for miles and miles. I had barely touched my water and had brought limited food, just a few mini-candy bars which, while tough to open with frozen fingers, were amazing little boosts of energy -- something to remember for future runs.

I coasted home and drifted to a stop, breathing hard but feeling great. It was barely 11am with 20 miles in the bag. Not a bad morning.

http://app.strava.com/activities/102889339

Austin River Loop

Mileage
Today: 10
Present: 835
Count: 116

So much to say about Austin, much of it not belonging on this running blog. Suffice to say, it would shock me if I don't end up running this loop again in 2014.

Maura, Luchi and I hit the loop and after a quick misadventure under a bridge were on track and cruising around the lake with hundreds of other joggers, walkers and people out enjoying a cool but sunny Saturday morning.

My legs still felt tight after my last run at the lake so was really looking forward to the easy pace and gentle trails. Indeed, the next day my legs felt like new.

Maura drifted slowly behind us, not having running that much in the past month or two. Luchi and I chatted briefly, me giving him a couple tips on form and him complaining about shooting pains in his hands. Fair enough.

We made the turn and the trail quieted opposite downtown. It got simply empty then abruptly ended in a parking lot, signs promising the completion of the boardwalk in the not too distant future. And with the breakneck pace of Austin's development right now, I believe them.

Winding back on city streets with a mini-climb at mile eight, I resolved to hit the loop again before I left. We found the car and headed home, thoughts and smells of bacon rattling around in my mind.

http://app.strava.com/activities/102889334