When R at Livin the Fit Life, who is a fellow runner and 12 in 2012 member, let us know of her plans to run a virtual half marathon in honor of her 95 year old grandmother, I was automatically in! I had my Bay Breeze Half last weekend that I had already run in her honor, but last weekend I thought maybe I would just run another 13.1 and use that one instead.
I am currently living in Oakland, and am finding new running routes each day. You may think that Oakland is like this all the time:
But it's not. There are a lot of nice places in Oakland. And by nice, I mean hilly. According to Garmin, the total elevation gain was about 4275 ft. See the hill right around the 40 minute mark? It went on forever. Well, 10 or 20 minutes, but they seemed like forever.
I went uphill for a really long time and finally found the park I was looking for. I asked some bikers if they knew of a path that was fairly flat and then directed me to the Sunset trail. Either I was not on the Sunset trail or those guys mislead me because the next mile or so was variable. It did "flatten" out after a little while and I had a nice couple of fast, easy miles before deciding that I had no idea where I was and so I turned back. I did not go the same way; I decided to take a different trail, which went pretty much straight down (see above around 1 hour and 15 minutes).
The good thing about all these hills was the view. I had a view of the entire bay and San Francisco, including the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate. It was priceless and well worth the effort.
I took a photo for Grandma Lill and kept going down the hill.
Since I turned around too early, this is how I ended up not running 13 miles. Instead, I ended up with about 10.5. I have this hangup about after I turn around, I don't want to just run around in circles to add miles. I don't know why. But once I turned around, I was like a horse to the stables. So I ended up finishing with about a 10 minute/mile average. But, since I didn't complete my distance, I will just use my Bay Breeze for Grandma Lill's 95th!
I leave you with this. Wessssiiide!
Do you prefer out and backs or loops? Do you like running or walking in new places or do you stick with the same route? Have you ever been to Oakland?
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I went uphill for a really long time and finally found the park I was looking for. I asked some bikers if they knew of a path that was fairly flat and then directed me to the Sunset trail. Either I was not on the Sunset trail or those guys mislead me because the next mile or so was variable. It did "flatten" out after a little while and I had a nice couple of fast, easy miles before deciding that I had no idea where I was and so I turned back. I did not go the same way; I decided to take a different trail, which went pretty much straight down (see above around 1 hour and 15 minutes).
The good thing about all these hills was the view. I had a view of the entire bay and San Francisco, including the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate. It was priceless and well worth the effort.
I took a photo for Grandma Lill and kept going down the hill.
Since I turned around too early, this is how I ended up not running 13 miles. Instead, I ended up with about 10.5. I have this hangup about after I turn around, I don't want to just run around in circles to add miles. I don't know why. But once I turned around, I was like a horse to the stables. So I ended up finishing with about a 10 minute/mile average. But, since I didn't complete my distance, I will just use my Bay Breeze for Grandma Lill's 95th!
I leave you with this. Wessssiiide!
 |
| source |
Do you prefer out and backs or loops? Do you like running or walking in new places or do you stick with the same route? Have you ever been to Oakland?
I have never been to Oakland... or most places in California (I will remedy this some day).
ReplyDeleteI prefer out and back. I do not like running multiple loops or multiple out and back to hit a distance. That is what I have to do at my parents cabin. I have a 5 mile out and back. Doing that 3 times (which means running by the same peoples' cabins 6 times) drives me crazy (and makes the neighbors think I am crazy).
But... I do like to run the same paths over and over and over. I am not a huge fan of change! But my run club is good for me as it has forced to try new areas (and hills).
Holy hills!! I usually stick to the same route but it is getting SUPER boring! There are a lot of trails around me but I am too chicken to try them alone!! I really like loops but I have an out and back right now!
ReplyDeleteI like loops and I've never been to Oakland. Actually my favorite way to long run is to get about a 1 or 2 mile loop around a lake. They tend to be flatter and more scenic, and I will go right past the car in regular intervals so I don't have to carry gels or extra water with me.
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Way to get your hills in:) I prefer loop courses, not a fan of out and backs. I love running in new places and having new scenery.
ReplyDeleteHaven't been on the East side of the Bay! Nice pic and I am glad you had a good one.
ReplyDeleteI love to find new routes and places to run. Doing a new one this afternoon.
That is some serious elevation, well done! Nope- never been to Oakland. I do like finding new routes, but often stick to my tried and true because it's easier!
ReplyDeleteThat's some hill running! Ouch! Cool trails though! I hate out and backs, especially for racing. I don't want to see all the peeps ahead of me. ("How is she beating me?") I love loops. I'm moving to Detroit metro area in June which I'm sure people think the same thing about (as your pic above) LOL.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I prefer to stick to the same route when running long runs...basically so I can zone out instead of focusing on where I'm going...it helps me a lot. :-)
ReplyDeletexoxo from Trinidad
I prefer the same route, just because I'm a creature of habit like that. I don't even like going to a new grocery store. But I'm sure it's a lot of fun finding new trails to explore. It's funny that I get into such habits since I really like adventures.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is some serious hills!
ReplyDeleteI usually stick to the same route but go to different places!Now that I have a Garmin I will be more willing to run wherever I want to explore and just keep up with my mileage!
ReplyDeleteYes I've been to Oakland. I love finding new routes to run. During the week I usually run the same few routes from home due to time. On weekends and days off from work I try to find new routes. Especially for long runs. I prefer loops.
ReplyDeletegreat job on your run! I stick to some of the same routes for my runs, but would love to find a local trail. I ran the Grandma Lill's run too :)
ReplyDeletecongrats on your run, I need to try some trail runs this summer. I've never been to Oakland but I envy your weather year round!
ReplyDelete