TWIN ROCKS

Great news first. The Peanut is doing MUCH MUCH better. Thank you to everyone who has shown some concern. She is up and active and moving and I think a little bit BORED having been home all week. I guess momma and dadda are not that entertaining anymore.

After a long week of minimal running if any at all most days, I met my Fleet Feet running group at Twin Rocks for what was supposed to be a 3+ hour run. I carpooled to the trail head with Garmin, a running friend (Hi! Garmin, thanks for the Peet's today. Next coffee is on me!). I didn't subject him to my personalized Bon Jovi mix CD that I had listened to all the way up hwy 80. Maybe next time. :-)

More good news . . . I am now, once again, the proud owner of another Nathan Hydration Vest. Thanks to Jersey Dad's generosity this Christmas, and Coach Kirk for picking it up for me from the store, I was able to use my new vest during today's run. I think I am going to nickname my vest Hydie. Oh Hydie, how I have missed thee. Before hitting the trails I packed Hydie with the essentials: Gu, Luna Moons, electrolyte water, SCaps, tissue, Tums and Aleve. I was so thankful to have Hydie because the Gu's, SCaps AND the Tums were all consumed on today's run. Apparently whatever new thing I tried for breakfast this morning did not sit well and my stomach made sure to make itself known at about mile 4.

I also realized that just like last summer, I need to bring my phone or camera on my runs again so I can share with all my lurkers readers the wonderful sites I am seeing on these runs. Today's run in particular was gorgeous and since I had never run these trails before, I was constantly stopping and looking around me "oohing" and "ahhing" at all the pretty sites. I was also on Poison Oak alert. Apparently last weekend when my group ran these same trails, half the group came back with Poison Oak. I am highly allergic and do not want Poison Oak so I pretty much ran like Muhammad Ali today . . . on my tippy toes dodging every leaf, branch or twig that was sticking out on the trail. I also washed with Tecnu as soon as I got back to my car. Like I said, I am allergic and will be miserable if I get it. Keeping my fingers crossed.

At the start of the run I felt like I was going to die. I literally felt like my heart was about to pop out of my chest and land in front of me. The stats from my Garmin405 says in the early portions my heart rate max at times was 173. I wasn't sure if was because I had not been on any trails in almost two weeks but someone had mentioned that these trails are really hard to get a rhythm on because there are so many ups and downs and areas where you are almost climbing. I am hoping that was it because I was sucking some serious wind at times.

Fleet Feet marked the course well with pink ribbons and no one was lost. I may have had to pause quite a few times at some trail intersections but overall, a really really great run. Time wise it wasn't quite 3 unless you count the point halfway in where the group stopped, refueled and regrouped. It was close enough. I really liked the trails we ran on today and boy were they crowded! American River 50 Miler and Way Too Cool training has definitely begun for a lot of people!

While I was out battling the trails, Vans and the Peanut were home doing other things. The Peanut likes to delegate and not follow. Good thing her "followers" are of the plastic and furry kind.

The Gang

 She makes them nap on the stairs.