Hills, hills, hills

Week 8 consisted of sitting throughout the day and more sitting and eating in the evening.  Hardly any running was completed and I felt so guilty thinking about, possibly, not able to finish the half marathon which is due in a couple of weeks.  So nerve wracking!

I was in Berkeley, CA for our organizations strategic planning for the year.  So much clarity was happening yet, my running was a bit flurry.  I love to run in the rain but I didn't seem to be able to get out on the street to run.  I would look up Bancroft west to the Berkeley campus wondering if it was possible to put in a run.  I'm not use to running on the streets in a city so I did feel a bit nervous and scared.  Until, I realized, I needed to put in another long run before the half marathon showed up on my doorstep.

On Sunday, I donned the layers of clothing and headed out on Bancroft toward the campus.
Quite.
No vehicles.
Bus
A couple walkers

I had googled before hand to make sure I made it to the Fire Trail not realizing how many hills were involved.  Which is a good thing, otherwise I wouldn't have made it out the door.  The landscape was gorgeous and it being at sea level, I had enough oxygen to last me 10 miles throughout 2 hours.  I was the only person out there until I saw feline paw tracks, fear rippled through me.  They were fresh tracks and I lost focus.  I began to focus on the outskirts of the tree line thinking I might get jumped so I picked up a couple of sticks, not sure how that would have helped me but I think it would have.  :)

Until, finally, I ran into a couple of ladies walking.  They instructed me to turn around if I wanted to get back to where I came from so I listened and as I admired the view again, I forgot where I was, just that it was an awesome day for a 10 miler!

Yes, I'm ready to complete the first half marathon in over 7 yrs!!

Run Claudia Run