Incline Sunrise and more

Today was a busy day. Started out with a great workout up the incline at 7am. It was a nice brisk morning and a beautiful sunrise. Quickily headed down Barr Trail, showered and made headed into work. Saw lots of patients at work, came home ate some lunch and then headed into Manitou downtown with Fisher to people watch. It was coffin races day and they were projecting 8,000 people to be in town. It is an annual tradition were teams of people build these coffin like sleds and then race them down the main street of Manitou. Lots of people dressed in Halloween costumes. I met up with Melissa and some other friends. We ended up spending all afternoon in Manitou and even found a bar that allows dogs inside. It was a fun adventure packed down and I was exhausted by the end!

Jones Park

Today's adventure took us up Bear Creek Canyon trail from High Drive to Jones Park and then down Seven Bridges and up and over Mt Buckhorn. It was a very pleasant fall down. Shorts and t-shirt at then end of October and even at 9,000 feet. Pretty crazy. All three dogs had fun.

Heading down Seven Bridges.
Willie wondering what is taking so long.


One of the many seven bridges with a lone aspen still holding onto its leaves.
On the top of Mt Buckhorn looking down on Gold Camp with Mt Rosa in the background.

An attempt at a timed picture. Think I got a better shot of the bush.
Looking down at the Broadmoor and the many fall colors. Another fun adventure down in the books.

Pumpkin Carving

Last night, my good friends Peter and Taryn came over for dinner and pumpkin carving. I made yummy pasta and vegetable soup with bread and then we got right into the carving, gutting, cleaning and roasting the seeds. The above photo shows the results from left to right- Taryn, John, Peter, and Meghan. It was a nice evening with friends.
A closeup of my pumpkin.
Taryn and John's artwork. Peter was not able to fully finish his as his was very labor intensive and he needed to carve more out so it would glow better.

Melissa's Birthday Adventure

Today we celebrated Melissa's 30th birthday by summiting Pikes Peak. Her birthday is actually tuesday the 17th so it was her last summit of Pikes Peak in her 20's. The weather forecast was perfect especially for the middle of October. Neither one of us had been on the mountain since the marathon. John and Fisher came with us and my mom was kind enough to drive to the summit and give us a ride down. It would be Fisher's 1st official summit day too. All the other times I have taken him on the mountain we have gone at most to 2 miles below the summit and back down which is actually tougher than just going to the summit. He did awesome and it was perfect temperatures. It was in the mid 30's at the summit with minimal wind. We started about 8am in the morning and it took us about 5 hrs to get to the top. We were in no rush to get to the top and we really didn't run that much. It was nice to be on the mountain and not be focused on pushing hard and training. It was also nice because it wasn't too crowded for a weekend with only your more experienced hikers on the mountain compared to the middle of summer. We started to see snow in a few places once we got to Barr Camp and the patches of snow got a little bigger as we got above treeline. And a few places below the summit there was snow on the trail.

Taking a break at A-frame. You can see the snow in the background.
A-frame with the summit looming behind us!
About 3/4 mile above treeline. Just over 2 miles to the summit!
John and Melissa heading up. Just over 1 mile from treeline and a little under 2 miles to the summit.
Looking south towards Mt Rosa and Almagre Mountain.
Meghan lost in the boulders with the summit house in the background.
Willie and Fisher watching my mom coming up the Golden Stairs. She and Willie came down 1 mile to meet us and then back up. We are about 100 feet to the summit.
Just below the summit.
The summit! 14, 115 feet.

John, Me and Melissa! Shortly after summiting, we headed into the summit house for coffee, hot chocolate and the world's best donuts. I also gave Melissa her b-day presents. It was a great way to celebrate her entering into the 30's.
The northside of the Peak from Crystal Reservoir on our way back down the road! The temperature was in the 60's by the time we got back down to Manitou about 3:30.

Golden Hills Trail Marathon- Oakland, California

Just returned from what now seems like my annual trip to the Bay Area to run this great race. It was my third year running the Golden Hills Trail Marathon with my first year marking my first marathon ever! The race has become one of my favorite races for many reasons. It is a point to point course almost completely on trail (combo of fireroads and single track) with only the last
couple miles on paved bike/ped path starting in the hills of Berkley finishing by a Lake Marina in Oakland. It covers variable terrain with lots of climbing and descending on very steep hills (see profile below). Elevation gain is 4820 feet and loss is 4960 feet. As you can see from the profile, you climb almost 1500 feet in the first 4 miles but at the top of this section (ironically called the seaview trail) you have great views of the entire bay area. My favorite section (besides the seaview) includes running single track through the lush and very dense redwood forest but ultimately, the entire course offers a wide variety of tree species including pine, oak, bay and eucalyptus. The race is very well supported with aid stations every 2-4 miles full of lots of goodies and great volunteers. The marathon is put on in conjunction with The Dick Collins Firetrails 50 which is even more popular than the marathon. The 50 mile race starts where the marathon finishes,they turn around where the marathon starts and we all finish at the same place. Hence, the aid stations are stocked for an ultra race. We end up passing all the 50 milers about 5 miles into the race and it is very inspiring to pass all the runners and cheer them on. Another great perk to this race is the post race BBQ and finish area. They have ample food, drinks, beer, and endless dessert for everyone including family and friends who come to cheer you on. Plus you can get massages and all the finishers get wine glasses with the race logo on the glass, a technical shirt, and 1st place age group winners get a bottle of wine with the race logo as the label. Can't beat that. It was really fun running back on all the trails I ran on while I lived out her. It is really amazing how many trails and open space there is in the Bay Area (a huge metropolitian area).

This year there were record number of marathon finishers 142 with both the female and male course records broken. The 50 miler had 235 finishers. As for my race, I felt great for the most part with only my legs suffering the last 6 miles. My lungs could have gone forever but that is the benefit of breathing almost sea level air. I always seem to meet cool people on this race and end of running a portion of the race with someone which helps pass the time when you are running for close to 5 hrs and keeps your mind off of tired legs. I knew hadn't been pushing the pace over the course of the run but this was ok as my body had not been feeling 100% over the last couple months training prior to the race. I was happy with just having fun and finishing. I succeeded! I finished 15 minutes slower than my PR last year (4:28:31) in a time of 4:43:07 and 2nd in my age group (30-39) and 11th female overall. My brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew met me at the finish line and we hung out at the finish, watching runners come in, eating yummy food and enjoying the sunshine! We then packed into their minivan and drove across the bay to my cousin Liz and her husband Mathew's house in Marin Country to continue the post race celebration.
So now that I have finishing narrating the race, I have to also highlight my other activities in the days leading up to the race and post race. I flew into San Fran two days before the race and stayed with my good friend Crystal and her fiance Russ in Walnut Creek. Crystal and I went to PA school together and she has lived in the East Bay ever since graduating PA school. She works in a Ob/Gyn clinic. Luckily, she had one day off work while I was there so we spent the day catching up, visiting trader joes, going for a short walk with her dog Kali and finishing the day with a gigantic dinner of burgers and potatoes (see below). They were rather difficult to eat because they were so huge but delicious.

Crystal showing off the giant burgers! Yummy!

The day before the race, Crystal let me borrow her Prius so I drove over to the start of the race and ran for a couple miles just to get my legs moving and take a few pictures. These are views from the Seaview trail just about 2 miles into the race.
Views to the east of Mt Diablo which is the tallest mountain in the near area reaching 3,864 feet. When I lived here, I would often run up the mountain (12 miles roundtrip) or take my road bike up the paved road which climbs 3,249 feet in 10.8 miles. I quite a few unique experiences on this mountain including encounters with taratulas both alive and dead, rattlesnakes, coyotes, and even snow! You can see for miles at the top of this mountain and another cool bonus is there are many water spigots scattered throughout the park where you can refill water bottles. Unfortunately or fortunately, it is a state park and dogs aren't allowed so Fisher never got to share those experiences.
More views from the Seaview Trail looking westward towards San Francisco and Mt Tamalpais which rises 2,574 feet just North of the Golden Gate Bridge.
Looking east ward!
After enjoying a short run, I hoped on the BART into San Fran to meet my friend Laura, her mother, and her new baby Hudson. Laura and I played soccer together at University of Puget Sound and she has been living in San Fran for about 5-6 years now. It was great catching up with her and meeting Hudson.
Laura and Hudson.
More views of Mt Diablo driving back to Crystal's house in Walnut Creek.
Crystal and I race morning at Tilden Park in Berkeley. It looks chilly but by 9am start time I had shed down to shorts and t-shirt and wouldn't need any other clothing the rest of the race. Thanks Crystal and Russ for welcoming me into their home, letting me borrow your car and getting me to the race. The next few shots are pictures I took during the race.
You can barely see but San Francisco is in the background. This is about 2.5 miles into the race.
Mt Tamalpais
The Seaview trail. 3 miles.
Heading down into one of the many forests. 8 miles.
The giant redwoods. 13 miles.
The hills of Oakland. Dusty and dry. 19 miles.
More hills of Oakland. This was the hottest and dustiest part of the course. 22 miles.
The finish results. The winning female came in at 3:43:47. The winning male came in at 3:06:39.

Hanging out at the post race BBQ with Russell and Sunny. Like the green hair look? Was trying to provide more shade for baby Russell.
Sunny chillin' on dad's shoulders. Thanks to Ben and Jenny for supporting my running addiction, meeting me at the finish and driving me around!
Back at Liz and Mathew's house. The morning after the race.
Getting prepared for fatherhood!
Getting prepared for motherhood.
Brother and sister.
Breakfast out on the patio. Ben made almond waffles! Yummy!
Family time!
Brother and sister time!
Sunday after a late breakfast, I headed into San Fran with Liz and Mathew as Mathew was off to see the 49ers play with his English buddies and Liz was hanging out on the rooftop of a friend of a friend's very expensive house in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood to watch the Blue Angels fly show over the Bay. (It was fleet week in the city).
The British fan club all decked out!
Liz's friend's Bernese puppy Jefferson.
I was able to hang out long enough to see this amazing house and the unimpeded view from the rooftop before I had to get to the airport. Views of Alcatraz, boats, and the smoke path of the Blue Angels.
Lizzie and me.
Golden Gate bridge view from the roof.
Girltime, wine, hors d'oeuvres, sunshine............the high life!
Lizzie celebrating!
Wish I could have stayed longer hanging out with the girls but I had to catch my flight. I had to walk with all my gear about 1.5 miles to the BART station as it was much faster than driving or taking a taxi with all the traffic in the city for Fleet Week. Then it was an easy 30 minutes to the airport on the BART! Worked out great! Thanks to Lizzie and Mathew for all their hospitality!

It was a great trip and cannot wait for next year. Maybe I'll attempt the 50 miler next year!