Weekend Adventures

Oh, what a weekend....maybe the most adventurous in awhile. A lot of fun, but not the most restful...haha.

Saturday, I did my last long run before the nothface marathon. And, I might be in trouble (I only made it to 15 miles...maybe 15), but it's such an adventure every time I'm out there.  Saturday I had planned to run to the lighthouse, back to the car, and then do another loop in a different direction. But, I couldn't figure out how to run to the lighthouse...why would the trail be labeled on the map?  So, I went a different route, and ended up finding one of the trails on the race course, so I ran Alta until it ended, and then all the way to the starting end. And, found several places where the trail went off state land and onto private land. Which you were allowed to cross, as long as you stayed on the path, kept your dog on a leash, and cleaned up after your dog. The benefit to running through the trailhead was that there was a map, so I figured out how I would get back to the car...what fun is simply going back the way you came?

So I planned a new route...Alta to the end, pick up SCA, then the costal trail back to the visitor's center.  Then I could assess the distance and decide if I needed another loop on one of the closer trails. Of course, nothing goes according to plan....especially when it comes to trail running. So I'm running along, feeling great, enjoying the awesome views of the SCA trail (single lane trail on the side of a mountain), when I see it.......

A kitty....a rather large, muscular, kitty. Crossing the trail and running up the hill. Too big to be a bob cat....which leaves one option. Yup, definitely a mountain lion. And, as I later found out, there is one living in that area, and they're warning pets and small children to stay away....

Good times. Luckily, I had plan B - there was another trail a bit back that would take me to the trail I started on that morning, thus taking me back to my car. So, I backtracked. And got back...but then it was cold, and I was stiff, and it was windy. I got back to the visitor's center and actually went inside, and....it's pretty cool. Half store and half museum, lots of cool stuff to look at. And a good place to thaw out. Of course, then I didn't want to run anymore....but I made myself walk a few miles to get them and some more time in. Saw the hostel and the art center...cool to see, but still cold, so I called it a day. Despite the race....I decided that I was doing it (and trail running) to have fun. So, I'm going to have fun...have an adventure...and hopefully finish. If not, well I'm the first to admit that I probably bit off more than I could chew with this. And I'm still up for next year....50 miles would be cool, right??

We had a somewhat low key night....friends over for dinner....cookie baking....sent a pizza back for the first time in my life. Let me back up, we ordered pizza from Paxtis, the only place that delivers to us...not the first time, and probably not the last. We get the pizza an hour later....and one of them looks like it's been tipped over. The other, well, it looks like its been kicked down a few flights of stairs. So, I call them...not sure what I'm hoping to get, because this has never happened before. They were very nice, and offered to bring us new pizza. An hour later, we had decent looking pizza to eat. Great customer service. And lunch for the rest of the week.

Today we went on another hike, to further break in our boots for Everest. I took Brian and one of our friends on the trail I ran a few weeks ago. Great views of the bridge, and of course we went off the main trail and found a bunch of bunkers in the hillside. Some connected underground. Sadly, they were all covered in graffiti and full of garbage. But, still really cool to see. I love the headlands...so much cool stuff to see.  I also ran into one of my former classmates...cool to see him too.

I can't believe the weekend is almost over...and I'm back to the craziness. Is it December yet?  Really, is it mid December yet?  Then school will be over too. I can't wait for graduation. Really, I can't wait for Black Friday. I definitely had nightmares both nights this weekend....that I hadn't set the alarm, and was late for work/to deal with whatever crazy had come up now. Just like I used to dream about new flow and inventory when I was an assistant manager in college...glad to see some things never change. Haha....it will all be over soon.

Until next time....over and out.