Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Great Christmas = 40 miles of hiking in Yosemite

Brian and I went to Yosemite for 3 nights over Christmas this year and although we had a cross country ski trip planned it was glorious even without snow. I have been to more National Parks than I can count on my fingers and toes but I had never been to Yosemite. A crime, I know, especially since it is so close relative to San Francisco. We stayed in tents in Curry Village the first night which was cold but awesome. The valley floor was 19 degrees, thank you sleeping bag for being tough as nails! The next two nights we stayed in the Glacier Point Lodge. The lodge is a store and cafe in summer and converts to a ski in lodge in the winter when the road is closed. We hiked in since there is no parking overnight and had 2 nights of quiet, starry skies. I think I remarked on how lucky we were about once per hour. No people, lots of sun, crisp temps. Enjoy the pics!


Top of Lambert Dome

Where's the snow? Never mind, we are having fun anyway!
Half Dome in the distance.

One of the points on the way to Dewey Point.


Me, upon seeing Yosemite for the first time!

Sunday, December 11, 2011

Holiday Half Marathon, Portland, OR

I am in Portland, OR this weekend visiting friends tacked on to a work trip. As luck would have it I was also able to run the Holiday Half Marathon. The course was flat, had people singing carols and it was NOT RAINING. On the other hand it was 35 degrees and my heart rate monitor (which I was planning to use as my guide) was showing a heart rate of 215 for most of the race. I had a great time and let me tell you, it was easy!!! Not trying to brag but the rest of the day was rough!Look at these adorable trolls I got to spend the rest of the day with (below). These kids have enough energy to make you beg for another 13 miles. I hid under the bed for a monster game of hide and seek. We colored, we glued googly eyes and read stories. We walked to the store for cookies and then it was still only 3:00!!! It feels like running a race you aren't trained for and have no GU. These kids win their age group for sure!

Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Pure joy!


This weekend was the North Face Endurance Challenge. I was able to join friends on my mountain bike and head out on the course to watch the speedsters and mere mortals run by. I could go on and on but I will let these two pictures (thanks for taking them Sam) speak for themselves. Above is Cheyenne. Cheyenne is one of the busiest people I know. While training for the 50k she also was planning a wedding (the week before the race, talk about a taper strategy), building a business, training, networking and getting in some time with friends. In a run before the race she told me how running was "pure joy". I get goosebumps just looking at that picture because Sam caught that pure joy completely. Awesome work Cheyenne, keep on spreading the joy!

The above picture is our training grounds here in the San Francisco Bay Area. When people ask me why I run ultra distance, why I run on trails, aren't I bored, I just need to direct them here. Pure joy (I think I can see one of the trails smiling)...