This was a good week, with a little treat, hiking up then running down the Matt Davis trail which is near Stinson Beach, CA. This is a pretty technical trail with stairs, ruts, and rocks to keep your feet constantly moving in all directions. I love technical so this was a treat. This trip almost didn't occur; however, family friends suggested going to the beach for fun and suggested the trail. We have only done it a couple of times and I really didn't want to go, just because I would have preferred to hike / run this with my family and felt I wasn't going to be able to do so. That said, once everyone got to Table Rock, which is about a mile up, everyone decided to turn around.
This was my chance. I told my wife I was going to hike a little farther and she gave me the all knowing be careful look. She knew I planned on bombing down the trail. I only went up another half mile, up to where I knew I had a 1,000 feet of vertical to run. I am glad I did, since the trail really got gnarly past Table Rock. I also didn't want them to wait too long for me so I knew this should mean that I would meet up with them towards the bottom.
Downward I went, and boy I had forgotten how much I missed this. Switchback, rock drops, tree ruts and all. Almost to Table Rock, I had too much fun, finding myself flying through the air. You know one of those moments you think "Okay, I'm falling, to the left is the cliff so I need to land on my right, in the bush. I hope it's not poison oak!" And down I fell. I sat there smiling. I checked myself out. I had scarfed my knee and my leg, now bleeding. My mind quickly jumped to Monty Python and said out loud "its only a flesh wound!" and got up and started running. The only irreparable damage was a small scratch on my new Garmin Fenix 2 which I was happy about only because it would remind me of this adventure.
I got back to the car just as everyone else was. My wife gave me a quick look up and down with the "I knew you were going to fall" look and all ways good!
The rest of the week consisted of a few more runs, training level. I am only getting my base back, so right now I am looking for consistency. The run down the trail at Matt Davis didn't affect my quads at all which means at least I have the muscle memory. I just need to get my cardio back.
This weeks stats:
- 11.1 miles
- 1,148 feet of climbing
- 2 hours 44 minutes of running
On face value, this looks like a backslide from the previous week; however I am going for being smart this time around, and baring another fall, no injuries. The even bigger accomplishment is that I completed my first 5 mile run. My standard short runs used to be at 5 miles, so it was nice to see my old friend: the "Mount Diablo Blvd" sign.On to my next week!
