What's active rest? Its reccomended for runners on their off days. I'm recuperating from a back injury! Ouch! I got it last Friday stepping on a chair lift that wasn't there. I did it more than a few times until I moved the lever into the right space. I iced, I heated, I drank vodka and got a cursory massage in exchange for cookies. I wrote a Daily Dolphin about that, but what I did today was...

I went to Gray Whale Cove and played my 'ukulele. I dedicated the day to the Goddess Pele. I thanked her on the way down the stairs to the beach for keeping my family safe during the earthquake and I felt she heard me because I got a little emotional during the invocation. The weather was truly great, a light onshore breeze. Inspired I wrote the music to the Big Island Song, On the Road from Pahoa to Kehena. Its in the key of A and has a nasty bluesy turnaround. I was very pleased. Thanks Pele for blessing your son with a great local song. I'll ask you for more. Hey this vodka is for you! Thanks for leaving it in my icebox!!!

I tanned for 4 hours. I look great, I'm pretty sick.

I'm wondering if I should log what I ate. Probably. Today I ate 2 baby bananas, half a cookie, a snicker bar, home fried tortilla chips with salsa from a can and drank like a half pint a vodka and a half cup of day old wine. I was stressed, then remembered the vodka, thanks again. I don't know if I'll eat again, but I do have some fish that I need to fry either tomorrow or tonight.

Yeah, so I'm dealing with the injuries. Tomorrow I know I want to go and do a run. I'm not sure if I should do the Land's End to Golden Gate Park or an easy run on Ocean Beach. I'm leaning towards the former but I guess I'll figure that out on the drive down there.
 

Just completed the cycle of 5 runs from Lands End to Golden Gate Beach and back. Even though my back is still a little sore, I felt no sharp pain during the run, so I think I'm almost recovered. I did get cold toes though and my left foot cramped up when I got to USS San Francisco memorial. I think these Saucony's are to big just a little and the ground was cold. Need new shoes, but I'm on a budget. The OP sunglasses were a real kick, and yes I needed them. They are carbon grey like oakleys and they rang up at Ross as a "Sports Mask." Great eye protection for $7.99. No more bugs in my eyes.
I'm trying to figure out what to do for my next cycle. I know that tomorrow I'm gonna do an easy run on Baker Beach (Morpheus permitting) and do a long one on Sunday. I'm thinking of running Palace to Palace (Legion of Honor to Fine Arts) or going all the way from Lands End to Fort Funston. Its time to start linking my trails.
The run today took about an hour and 17 minutes, so I did run it slower, but felt strong at the end of the run.
Cooled down by looking for dolphins off of Eagle Point, but all I saw was a pinniped.
 

Golden Gate Park!  I'm obsessed with the beach!


 

im so proud of you... I'm glad you took this commitment of yours... and the karma that is going your way is totally intense...

im always here for support



 

DOLPHIN SIGHTING TODAY
Last sighting 13 October 2006
 

From: polynesian_metal


Date: Oct 20, 2006 12:06 PM
Subject Your Daily Dolphin Update is Back! WOW!!!
Body: I knew it was going to be a good dolphin day when the fisherman caught a 7 lb. striped bass.
Its warm in the city and felt like it was approaching 70 degrees farenheit at 8:30 in the morning. It was high tide and the sand was soft, so after doing two laps down the length of the beach and getting my shoes wet, I decided to just run barefoot in the shorebreak. It really felt great. Today was a fun run because I finished my cycle of runs from Eagle Point in Lands' End to Golden Gate Park yesterday. I intended to run until I saw a marine mammal of the non-human variety. Just as I was ready to quit and do a final lap to the north end where the boys in polystyrene body armor were sliding on the sand through the waves the dolphin pod appeared on the south end of the beach.
It was amazing. They swam right up to where I was and were cavorting only about 10 yards off-shore. They have gotten bigger since I saw them especially the baby twins and the 2 juvenilles. The pod today consisted of 5 individuals, the 4 I mentioned and the matriarch with the pink cheetah spots on her belly. I didn't see the dark one with the black cape. He is usally patrolling far offshore anyway. The pod was joined by a black sea-lion who was doing acrobatic leaps from the ocean while the pod swam around in a fairy ring. I'm pretty sure it was the same dark pinniped that I saw yesterday off of Eagle Point. Then the whole pod swam north to the middle of the beach and I pointed out the whales to the early morning beach goers and two kids building a seawall out of sand that was constantly being demolished by the waves. I stopped to talk to Lito (he said his name translates to "bad or little light") the fisherman telling him I knew the dolphins were going to be there when I saw him catch that big fish. "Oh, that's nothing, I caught a 20 pounder and he nearly dragged me into the sea!" said he. When I looked back, the dolphins dissapeared. All of a sudden they were nowhere. Then I spotted them again. They had split up, the juvies going north, mom and twins back south. I followed the 2 juves for awhile, got my clothes and when I was walking back to my car, they had rejoined the group and they all traveled along the coast southward.

The dolphin call is ALOHA! TALOFA!! TOFA!!!

I noticed how the dolphins are more muscular, and now so am I.
 

today is "active rest." Shot some pool at my sponsor's and am just winding down. Tomorrow I'm going to do my initiation for baytrailrunners.com. The founder is going to do 17 miles but the minimum requirement is 4. I'm going to try and do 12, but I'll run it how I feel it. 4 miles for me is a cup of coffee and I wanna push me harder.
 

FEATURED MEGA-FAUNA OF THE DAY: California Mule Deer Odocoileus hemionus californicus


by karwhit
 

Yesterday I did my initiation run with baytrailrunners.com. It was a 4 mile loop through Edgewood Park & Natural Preserve. I met the founder Rob Rhodes and two others, his co-workers Lisa and David joined us. I was a little nervous about meeting new people, but they all immediately made me feel comfortable. Lisa and David aren't as experienced as Rob, so that's why he chose an easy run. Lisa, however, has run a marathon, and David is very active, just out of practice.
Trail running for me is a very personal, new age, universal experience. It was hard for me to make small talk, cos I felt retarded. Although I never think more clearly as when I am running, I am clearly unable to articulate. Maybe that's why jocks get such a bad rap. Their intelligence is confounded because they are putting all of their energy into doing a repetitive task that takes enormous stores of mental power and muscular agility.
I had no problem keeping up with Rob and David, in fact it was kind of harder to pace myself slower than I would usually go because we were kind of holding up for Lisa so she wouldn't get lost on the trails.
The trails were beautiful. We started by running through open grassland with only a slight increase in elevation in pretty intense late morning sunshine. The park smelled of burnt sage, and I let this aroma purify and cleanse me and exorcise the residue of the nightmare I had that morning. About a third of the way we turned off to the left and descended for awhile through some shady and cool woodland where David spotted a 4 point buck. This continued for awhile and then there was about a 1.5 mile ascent up switchbacks with a grade no difficult than the ones that I am already used to. Because it was a Sunday, there were alot of recreational strollers of all ages, mostly in pairs or groups of 4 or more. The strollers far outnumbered the joggers, but everyone had trail courtesy and that is always nice to see. In all it was a nice run.
I felt like I needed to go more, so I let my group know that I was going to do another loop. Farewell, I survived a group run. Now I could go at my own pace, and I picked it up. I felt strong going through the flats and the downhills and powerful on the ascents. I felt I could do more, but wanted to just keep it within my abilities and not get into a stressful situation, which I could foresee if I were to continue.

Here are my problems:
I started to get "cold toes" again. I think this isn't from the temperature of the ground but has to do with circulation and shoes. My shoes seem to be just a little to big, so maybe my toes are sliding around too much with my gait. I have to find some better fitting shoes, although these have great support and a great tread, I'm just a little to small for them. Maybe an orthotic would help, or new shoes.
Water. I think I am safe when I go an hour and a half without water. I always hydrate the night before and during my drive up to a trail. I feel comfortable now with a base of 8 miles, but I am trying to go for longer runs working my way up to a 12 miler pretty soon and not having water on the trail will be an issue. I like to feel free and un-encumbered while running, and I don't want to buy alot of gear, but I may have to find some sort of hydration equipment that doesn't bounce around too much and doesn't look to (ha ha!) queer.

But the positives:
I felt like I could have completed another loop, but water was an issue.
My back ankles and knees all felt great.
Didn't experience any pain or soreness afterwards, just a great relaxed lazy feeling.

The wind down:
Made a couple of text messages and phone calls from my car after the run and went to the beach. It was hot on the east side of the mountains, but when I got into Pacifica I drove into a wall of fog. I ate at L&L Drive Inn and went to the beach. I played my 'ukulele for like 3 hours straight. It was cold and foggy but still nice and mystic at the beach. I had to drive to Santa Clara afterwards and to avoid traffic took 1 down the coast to San Gregorio and then 84 through Woodside and it took me almost 2 hours to get there.

Today, I do nothing!
 

btw. I weighed myself on Ionass' scale and it says I'm 149 lbs. (67.59 kilograms)
 

Whats active rest? Eating donuts after driving 200 miles all around the peninsula for the last couple of days. Loading laundry while making lunch. Shooting pool and losing at the sponsors bar and making a Trix cake while watching Monday Night Football. Tomorrow is Palace to Palace.
 

FAUNA OF THE DAY: Domestic Swan Cygnus mansuetus

Image source: Lear, Edward (1812-1888)
Domestic Swan, Cygnus mansuetus
From The Birds of Europe
by John Gould.
London, Hullmandel, 1832-1837.
Original lithograph, created and drawn on stone by Lear.
Sheet: 15" x 22".
 

Palace to Palace is in the books!
Palace of the Legion of Honor

to the Palace of Fine Arts.

After stretching and warming up to some Hawaiian music, I began my run at 8:40 a.m. at the Lands End trailhead in Lincoln Park. I figured it would take me 2 hours to complete this circuit from Palace to Palace in about 2 hours because I estimated the distance at 12 miles and I seem to be running a 10 minute mile pace. I ran past Eagle Point at the start of the trailhead, past the marker for Mile Rock Beach, cut back up some wooden stairs and switched back over a small wooden bridge and up the trail to where it lets out at the parking lot behind the Palace of the Legion of Honor. This is an uphill grade with the links of the public golf course and the sea on my left, the Palace on my right. Up the wooden stairs that warn "no golf shoes" and down a courseway until I hit the stairs that lead to the gated courtyard of the Legion of Honor with the Rodin "Thinker" sculpture. I hit the Thinker pose, and ran back down the main entryway and sprinted around the fountain and back down El Camino del Mar. This little loop took me past my car where I took off my long sleeve outer layer and drank some water cached behind my front tire. I was feeling a little winded from the up-hills and the stairs during this little loop, but running down hill back to my car, I started hitting the zone and my breathing, heart rate, and stride became synchronized.
I continued downhill through the residential district of Sea Cliff feeling like a yuppy roadrunner. I noticed that o'hia lehua are planted in rows down the sidewalk along Scenic Drive. Cut up 25th Avenue then right down Lincoln Boulevard and through the parking lot for Baker Beach, stopping at the water fountain there to re-hydrate. I noticed the sea lion that was playing with the dolphins the other day, probably hoping to talk to them as much as I do. Then hit a new part of the trail which I haven't run before, past the battery on the beach and up a winding service road to get back on Lincoln Boulevard. I noticed that the trail maintenance that they have been doing recently on the coastal trail includes route markers to let one know the distance to the next significant scenic landmark. Good work nature corps. Then cut off the trail, downhill through the cypress and past the bunkers to come back on Merchant Road which takes me under the Golden Gate Bridge Through the little garden there and now I'm on my downhill descent to Crissy Field with the Palace of Fine Arts visible against the San Francisco skyline, my Palace 2 halfway mark before me.
Crissy Field is nice and flat with alot of other runners and dogwalkers and early morning strollers there. At the end of the beachwalk there is a bathroom where I take a piss and get another drink from the waterfountain. There is even an outside shower there. Then I cut through the park and The Palace of Fine Arts is right across the street.
I run through the collonades and past a class of elderly sketchers drawing the Palace pond and the mallards and domestic swans lazily swimming around in it hoping that these artists brought them some treats, and finally through until I'm underneath the great dome and yell, "Palace!!" because it is also an echo chamber. I run further along the pond, but can't circumnavigate it because they are doing a remodel on the east side. I'm halfway and feeling strong. Absolutely no pain and am continuing on in the zone. The flat part of Crissy Field is a breeze, but I'm getting cold so I put on my longsleeve top. I go up a steep flight of wooden stairs that are a part of the new trail restructuring that just been reopened. Underneath a brick tunnel that is cool to run through and finally past the jasmine in the Golden Gate Bridge parking lot. I go take another piss in the bathroom there, but there are no waterfountains, but there is a Bridge cafe that serves water and hotdogs at, I'm sure, exorbitant tourist prices.
Under the bridge again then I'm uphill Merchant Road and just as I am running through the bunkers, my problems start nagging at me. Its distracting and it takes some mental effort to suppress the anxiety and regain my concentration. Thinking about how the dolphins may be at the beach kind of helps to put these fears aside until I can deal with them. Anyway, that mental nagging affected me because I felt like I wanted to puke when I got to the top of the ascent and coming down started to get a stitch in my side.
I took the downhill on the service road really easy until my guts started to feel normal again. Ran on top of the bunkers at the beach through a social trail that cuts through the ice plant and stopped and had another drink in the Baker Beach parking lot.
Familiar territory again and now its all uphill, but its only a slight grade up Lincoln to 25th where it intersects El Camino del Mar, and I realize I only have 6 blocks to go. I pick up my pace a little and get to my car. Woohoo!!! Palace to Palace is in the books!!! I'm back at 10:45, just what I estimated.

I cool down by wrapping myself in a lava-lava and go to Eagle Point to look for dolphins. I do the dolphin call, but only a grey and brown spotted pinniped surfaces to see who's yelling. Come back and do the nice local thing of taking a group picture of tourists from Nashville and Ireland with the Bridge in the background. It was so misty one could hardly see it on the digital camera's screen.

Comments:
I'm kind of confused now what to do. This is the longest run that I've been on (2 hours) and I felt just as good if not better as I did on my shorter base runs (1 hour, 1.5, and 1.75). I'm gonna have to adjust my program and figure out what I should do. This takes too much time in the morning to make it a regular base. On the way back at the beach I figured I should do maybe 2 shorter runs and a long one at this distance. The next long run will be from Lands End to Fort Funston which is about the same distance 12 miles. Problem is, I'm running out of trails in my city.
Water wasn't an issue because I knew where the fountains were. And also pissing wasn't because when I was running where people go there were always going to be a public restroom coming up. The Fort Funston Route won't have any of these, so, hell I guess I better drink alot the night before and the morning before I go.
My gear was perfect, totally covered and no breakout of hives from cold moisture.

Problems:
Starting is a struggle, but it is good to get those harsh uphills out of the way and then its a long downhill cruise where I get into the zone.
Cold toes came and went, I kind of psyched them away, but I do need a better fitting pair of shoes.
Anxiety sucks! It makes me sick! Running helps to alleviate this but I do need to take care of my shit. Better Life=Better Runs.
That first cigarette I had when I was driving home tasted like shit. I better consider quitting, yet here I am, blogging away chain smoking like a volcano.

Positives:
I did exactly what I intended to do in the time I meant to do it.
Getting encouragement from online friends and talking about my intention with the gang at baytrailrunners.com helped to make it a reality. Positive support=positive results.
I just fucking ran a half-marathon for breakfast!
Scenic natural beauty and neo-classical architecture and sculpture makes me feel like I am an individual of mythic proportions.

Tomorrow, avoid running!
 

You know what I wish I had done?  I wish I had gone to this park while I was living in San Fran!!!   I just moved to Atlanta from there in 2002.  I actually really really wanted to go there and look around, as well as the Japanese Garden, but never got to go with any of my umpteen billion friends there. haha. 
 

Active rest? What's active rest?
Still feeling good after my last run, sad though because I was tired last night and lost all of my pool games in our league match. :( After the match, my team all drove down to the Hole and the Captain bought us consolation drinks. Went to Trannyshack to catch Monistat's number and pick up my keys cause she was the subject of a documentary and got videotaped at my house getting ready (having a drag attack). She and I got up, had coffee then went shopping for fabric for my executioner's cape and her pageant gown. I got a really fabulous black velvet that has sort of a gathered texture to it but could not find a lining that I liked. Monistat got some sparkly gold fabric. We also stopped at Thrift Town to find her a wedding dress. She couldn't find one, but found a wonderful petticoat for $9.99 and I got a super hot American flag knit tube top for $2.99.
I made potatoe salad for lunch and Monistat made chicken. I ate a little taste and picked some of the browned bits out of the pan. I'm on a diet ;) I have a load of whites drying and Monistat is on the floor making a pattern. We're playing Project Runway
 

This morning I was feeling a little crunchy because I completed most of my Executioner costume at my Aunt's and had to go to the Hole to wind down. I still woke up early at 7:30 so I was like what the hell, lets go talk to the dolphins. I stopped at Starbucks and got gas then headed out to the beach cranking Ozzy. I didn't really know what I was going to run today, I thought I was going to take it easy and do a familiar run, Lands End again, but driving down Fulton I could see the blue horizon and I thought, lets do a link and go to Fort Funston.
Parked at Ocean Beach at Balboa and did a little loosening and took off my top and took the fuck off. It was a rough start and it took awhile to get the crunchy feeling to go away. At Taraval I stopped at the old Art Deco public restroom, took a piss and drank water out of the sink. Past the Zoo and I started drifting in and out of the zone. Crossed the street to the beach and ran past the surfers getting ready to hit the waves. Down a trail of ice-plant and sand on the seawall then I was heading up the dunes into Fort Funston. Looped through Fort Funston keeping the trail on my left and ran down to the parking lot and slapped the landmark signage. Back up the trail and up the wooden steps of a sand dune. I ran them all and at the top there was another water fountain with a run off and pots underneath so all the dogs can have a drink too. Then I ran under the tunnel for Battery Davis and kind of ran out of trail so I came back and sprinted down hill and I was now returning. Ice-plant trail and past the surfers, back on the bridle trail down the Great Highway. I saw a runner on the opposite side of the street running in the other direction and noticed his body and thought that I don't look like that, then I realized it was Rob from Bay Trail Runners. I shouted out "Rob!" and gave him a shaka sign, he waved back. Then I started running past runners training for the Aids Marathon. It gave me a lift to see all of the runners today. I passed the park and now it was boardwalk all the way back to my car. It was a breeze and I feel so great right now.

Comments:
I have like a little sore throat that started on Wednesday. It only hurts to swallow, its very mild. It actually felt better when I drank water and ran hard.
There are water faucets along this route, this is a great link for the Coastal Trail.
Surfers are so hot to look at!
I noticed that there is a trail that leads up and through Sutro Heights Park that starts right off of Balboa. When I link the trails together, I'll run up this path.
I started at 8:55 am and finished at 9:30. Mapquested this circuit and it is 4.46 miles in each direction. So total run time was 90 minutes, 9 miles=10 minute mile pace. Right on!

Positives:
Felt great, killed it today and felt like I could run more.
I'm going to do this circuit 5 times to complete this cycle and then link it to the Lands End circuit. That will be about a 15 miler.
Explored new territory!

Negatives:
Sore throat. A little aching in my left achilles tendon on the inside of my left leg.
Blogging takes too much time.
 

Did that above circuit this morning. Ocean Beach to Fort Funston in back. All in all it was a very uninspired run, but I got it in the books. I don't know what it was, but my mind wasn't that into it. I did a few course variations, running back on the shore side, and through alot of sand at the intersections. No major anxietys, just annoying little mental nigglers. I got it done, and still I got guests from Guams still crashed out in my flat and I already did a major 9 miler.

Comments:
I didn't check the time but I left home around 9 am stopped at Starbucks and drove down to the beach. I was done at 11:30. I felt like I was running slow, slow.
To extend this circuit and do a long run I would most likely start at the parking lot at Great Highway and Sloat. This is where all the surfers park and there is a bathroom and water faucet there so I can rehydrate after doing the Fort Funston loop which seemed so slow today.
Maybe its the change in weather. It was so overcast today and maybe I was feeling a little seasonal disaffection.
Ran in blue spandex, fully covered and it seemed perfect, no coldness when I got going and no hives.
Don't know when I should extend to long run. Wondering if I should just keep these cycles of 5.

Positives:
I did it even though I woke up and was raring to go, into it was kind of like this is sort of routine.
No sore throat, easy to swallow

Negatives:
Got a stitch in my side as I was running back to my car, kept thinking about extending and running up to Sutro Heights to check out those steps, but I wasn't really feeling it today. Is a stitch from drinking to much or to little, I need to check out the causes.
 

I didn't know if I was going to go and do a run today.But after waking up and smoking a couple of cigarettes, I decided what the hell.  I am going to have to run when I don't want to and this would probably be a good day to get mind over matter.  I also ate alot of candy and partied on Halloween, but rather than just farting around the apartment I got off my ass and got.

Driving to Starbuck's I seriously considered turning around and going back to my apartment to do some chores, which now, I have decided I'm not going to do.  It was warm and kind of sunny when I got out of the Contour, so I was all "fuggit, just go," so go I did.

Parked where I normally do, right at Ocean Beach at Balboa, stretched some, noticed I didn't feel that motivated, but at least not crunchy so I took off.  As usual, my body likes to piss at all the familiar stops, so I did at the Beach Chalet, again when I got to the parking lot across from the Zoo, at Battery Davis, also stopping to get water at all those places.  Looped Fort Funston, knew I was doing good because I was able to run up all the stairs and back to the Contour, stopping to piss and drink at all the places I pissed and drank at I mentioned above.

It occured to me that running in the sun put me in a better mood than when I had to run the other day when it was so overcast.  I felt strong, and my legs were a machine on the flats on the way back from the Zoo as I passed all the sequentially lettered streets.  In the beginning of the run, I had to walk for awhile to get my shirts tied around my waist in a way that wouldn't impede me, and at the lights and piss/drink spots I allowed myself to rest for awhile.  Still as I was doing it I was glad that I was doing it.

This is the 3rd run on this cycle.  I have two more circuits to go before it is over.  I know the route that I want to do for the long run.  I want to start at the parking lot on Sloat and Great Highway, loop Fort Funston go down Ocean Beach, up the wooden stairs to Sutro Heights, through the Lands End trails up to the Legion of Honor, down El Camino del Mar to Baker Beach drink take a piss and run all the way back.  With this every other day routine, my next circuit should be on Friday, and am thinking about interspersing the long run on my day off Sunday (before the 49er's game if possible).  Then finish the cycle and its off to a new circuit~!

Comments:
Not wanting to run is just lazy thinking.  I'm glad I was committed enough to my program that I went today inspite of Halloween partying.
Have a sniffle that started on Monday when I bit into a sour candy and it ended up going up my nose and irritating my sinuses.  My immune system may be worn down a little, so better make sure I take care of myself this week.  I don't know if it is because I've just ramped up my mileage and have run consistently every other day for I don't know how long (check the blog) or because Torturers don't wear shirts according to their Guild rules and its been quite cold this weekend.
I started the run at 11:15 am and completed it at 12:55 pm.  Was that slow or fast?
Went to Baker Beach and saw the dolphins.

Positives:
Put the mind over the matter and had a good run.
Running in the sun topless is fun as hell!
I felt like a machine on the flats on the way back.
No stitches in the side.
No muscle soreness.  When done just a lazy relaxed feeling.

Negatives:
A little gastro-intestinal discomfort (acid reflux) coming and going, but definitely more frequently halfway through the starting flats.  Must be the coffee or what I imbibed the night before or from smoking too many cigarettes before I started.
Running on a flat surface for most of the run is kind of monotonous, but its probably good training cos I'm usually all over the hills.
Waiting at a stoplight is kind of boring, but it probably doesn't hurt to take a rest.
Occasional tweakiness in the knees and ankles.
I still need new shoes.



 

YOUR DAILY DOLPHIN UPDATE
Currently, I'm doing a 9 mile circuit that I start just down from the Cliff House on The Great Highway to Fort Funston and then I loop back, so I haven't been to Baker Beach in awhile.  Since I was off, and it was nice enough to run without a shirt, I decided to check out Baker Beach and see if the dolphins were there.

After having half a tuna sandwich from Safeway, kicking back next to my Contour in my American Flag lawn chair listening to National Public Radio on my car stereo,  I headed down to the north end of the Baker Beach.  I did some rock hopping and found myself in a secluded cove.  I stood on an outcropping rock and called the dolphins a few times.  I thought I could see a pod of them off in the distance, but without my field glasses they were to far away to positively identify.  Finally, I went back to put my shoes back on and just as I turned around to go back to my car a dolphin breached right before me.

This dolphin had a very dark, almost black gunmetal cape, and as he rolled, another smaller dolphin with similar coloring rolled right after and beside him.  The pair were no more than 10 yards offshore.  They were lazily traveling south, so I headed to a higher outcropping further north to observe.  They fished around the promontory that defines the north end of the beach where lots of mussels grow, and fisherman like that spot so there must be some good fish to eat there.  The dolphins were just so mellow today.  They circled that spot for about 10 minutes or more and headed on south and finally, I lost them from view. 

I was looking for some physical characteristics on each of these dolphins to help me identify which individuals they are.  I've seen a dark dolphin before, but never traveling with a smaller individual.  But then the darker dolphin is usually further offshore, so maybe it is a female and this is her baby?  The color on the cape and the dorsal fins were the only thing that I saw.  I believe that the dorsal fin and the way it is the same color as the cape and most of the dolphin is consistent with the one whom I call "Darquie." I just checked a photograph and it seems to jibe.  If Darquie was travelling with her baby then she is most likely female.  Also Darquie always seems to be somewhat separated but always around when the rest  of the pod appears, all of whom are lighter in color (like a battleship grey, and the matriarch has pink cheetah spots on her belly).  The main pod was nowhere in sight.  One other thing, because I didn't see the beaks of the two dolphins because they were swimming away from me I can't positively identify them as Bottlenosed Dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) yet because my source says that they range in color from albino to almost black, I believe that they are Tursiops.  Darquie is almost black in color.

Here is the queer thing.  Does the dolphin call really work, or do they just happen to be around when I am?  Constant observation has given me some sort of intuition about their behavior.  I even have certain portents that give me an indication if the dolphins will be around: the way the waves are breaking, the black pinniped, a hawk gliding above the cliff and keening, and other esoteric observations, all of which weren't there today. Am I developing a relationship with the dolphin pod, like, do they come out to greet me because I'm out there to see them?  I don't know, I'm just happy that they moved to the City.

I saw the 2 dolphins at about 2:30 in the afternoon today.  It was overcast with a very light offshore breeze.  The water was mostly flat and looked black and metallic.

Here is a photograph that I took earlier this summer of the larger dolphin I believe I saw today.



Note to self:  Remember to always pack your fieldglasses.



 

The last dolphin sighting before today's was on 20 October 2006
 

Smoking and Running

Here's something I replied to on a runners message board:

Q:
I want to start running again, but keep putting it off since I am trying to quit smoking.  I feel like it would be a waste of time trying to run until I have quit smoking all together.

And would it be a bad idea to start off in cold weather?

A:
I've been smoking at least a pack of Marlboro Red's a day since I was thirteen.  I ran a little in High School, stopped and then picked it up for about 1 year again when I was in my mid twenties.  Early this summer, I started a trail running program, starting off very slow (a couple of laps up and down the beach) and now pretty hardcore (9 mile trail runs every other day with a 12 mile long run, interspersed whenever).  The thing is I still smoke.

I don't think its a waste of time to start running even if you still smoke.  My advice is this.  Don't stop smoking, just start running.  Start off slow and gradually build to longer distances.  Try running trails, cos running on the road and breathing car exhaust is probably alot worse for you than smoking anyway.

You may find that smoking helps alleviate stress, so does running, and think about it, while you are running you aren't smoking so you've cut down just that little bit.  Also you may find that your desire for smoking may diminish if you start feeling healthier overall.  If you want a cigarette, just have one.  Don't stress or play mindgames with yourself and make yourself feel bad.   Smoke that cigarette and enjoy how good it feels.  Don't let other people guilt trip you into quitting either.  When you're ready you'll be ready.  No matter what you do, running is going to make you feel good (sometimes bad too) and the rest will follow.

Think about how good that cigarette is going to be when you finish your circuit.  Soon you'll start craving water and a sandwich before you have a smoke when you're done

Cold Weather a problem?  Don't wait another 6 months.  Real runners run in inclement weather, fake runners run when its nice and sunny. Layer properly and hydrate.   I think you're ready.  Go hit the trails.

Best of Luck

polynesian_metal






 

Yes, it is a cold.  And it is raining outside but muggy and warm.  I'm at the library looking for some running books just in case I have to take some bed rest.  I'm ok widdat.  I hope!
 

Today I mixed up my circuit. I woke up, naturally at 5:30am and felt like I could breathe clearly and had energy so I decided to do it. Instead of my usual start at Balboa, I drove the 280 and parked in the lot across from the Zoo. Out of respect to my cold I decided to not do Fort Funston and stay on the flats. It was good. I'm going to nap before I go to work and add comment later. This is #4 in the cycle. One more to go. I got a plan.
 

The cold is gone but worse, I got cramps, constipation and diarhea that started that day after I ate that free sandwich from Safeway.  I'm taking a break in my training because I feel that with diarhea I may be dehydrated and running would cause too much stress.  Still I think I can pick up the training again tomorrow morning.  Wow! too much information.  Anyway, I've been filling up the time by reading books on running and dolphins, so it hasn't been a total waste.  I also walked to take care of errands and get lunch today.  My weight is stable.  Still 149.0 on Ionass' scale.  Mentally, I feel much better, physically, so-so.  I'll have to see how it goes.  I'm on my period.
 

The cycle of Ocean Beach thru Fort Funston is complete.  I completed the 5th circuit today and my time was 1:35 for the about 9 mile loop, even though I tried to increase my speed.  I was plagued with fits of coughing that made  me want to puke mostly through the flats to Fort Funston.  After I had some water at the pukey cough seemed to subside.  On the way back, I ran strong through the flats and the mist and was at the Beach Chalet before I knew it.  I had a strong cough attack and looking down I noticed a ziploc baggie of psilocybin mushrooms.  Not good, I thought  to myself.  What if a dog ate it or some teenagers came across it?  So I jogged into the GG Park Visitors center, flushed the fungus down the toilet, threw the bag away washed my hands then went back to the toilet that I flushed the mushrooms down and pissed in it for good measure.  Had a drink and I was back at the Contour before I knew it.  Wow, I've changed!

Comments:
Coughing and puking feeling, but I never puked.  Residual of this ailment I'm getting over.  Felt strong physically and mentally, just a problem with the guts.  Thinking about cutting out the coffee and doing a mint/chamomile honey clove highball instead for energy and the warmth I crave in the mornings.
Great day for a run!  I was able to run topless through the beginning flats, but the fog got thicker as I approached Sloat, so I put my top back on.  Otherwise I was just in shorts for the first third of the run.
Began at 7:29, completed 9:35.
Have great new training ideas, will elaborate later.
Made it home in time to vote.

Positives:
Strong physically and mentally.
Completed a cycle with a few moderations due to illness, but its in the books.
Hope this weather holds out for awhile.
Didn't puke.

Negatives:
Coughing and feeling pukey.
May have to consider curtailing my tobacco intake, as well as my morning coffee.

 

Today I started a new training regime of hill repeats and speed training.  I parked at the USS San Francisco Memorial at Lands End, gently ran down the slope past the Cliff House, and up the stairs on La Playa and Cabrillo that lead up to Sutro Heights Park.  I did two of these circuits.  Then I sprinted around the park, dividing the circular loops into two sprints, intersticed by short walks.  I repeated this twice.
I have no sustainable speed.  And I was sore on top of the quads from the sprints.  I counted 120 stairs.  I didn't really enjoy it that much even though it was a short workout.  The day was beautiful, the cypress on the cliffs and the ocean seemed to be painted by a Renaissance Master.  I did feel pukey and coughy, time to cut the coffee and cigarettes out in the early morning. 
I intend to do this tomorrow, but do 3 circuits of each and follow up with a long ass run from Fort Funston to Baker Beach.
After I was done I went to Baker Beach, but it was high tide and the sea was rough.  The dolphins weren't talking and I thought better of calling them because I didn't want them to get smashed against the rocks.  I wouldn't swim in those conditions either.  The portents were lacking, even the sole fisherman decided to quit.


 

Hydration System Acquired. Its a Lobo by Camelbak. What it is is like an ergonomically designed backpack that holds up to 2 litres of fluid and has a dispensing tube. Its black and gray and made of lightweight, sweat wicking materials with a padded back with grooves for air-flow. Designed for cyclists, its appropriate for trail runners. I chose it because I think a fanny-pack with water bottles would drive me crazy. Better yet, it looks like a Fremen still suit apparatus. Now I have a solution for staying hydrated on isolated trails with no bubblers (I can still take a piss on the side of the trail, no need to recycle, this ain't Arrakis, its Mother Earth!). It features both a sternum and lumbar strap, and has lots of room for storing gear. I'm wearing it right now, I'm ready to go. It will weigh about 5 pounds and I'll probably have a few extra pounds of gear too. I have to resist the temptation to pack it full of shit! I gotta practice running with it. I'm tempted to do a long run tommorrow and see how it works. Maybe the Bunny Trail?
 

From now on it will be referred to as my stillsuit.
 

Hill Repeats and Wind Sprints x3. Where I park my car is called Point Lobos. I wore my stillsuit to get used to it on longer runs even though today was a short bout of strength training. I took the downhills more agressively and didn't feel as pukey as I did yesterday. The stillsuit works, its very lightweight when the bladder is filled and doesn't really impede my movement at all. I got lost on the trails a little. I still don't like this, and can't believe that I'm looking forward to a long steady run as a reward. I get to do that next. Then back to hill repeats and sprints, this time I'm going to do the Sand Dune at Baker Beach and sprint around the bunker with the rifle gun.
 

I rewarded myself for doing the hill repeats and wind sprints with a really long, really slow run from Baker Beach to Golden Gate Park.  It wasn't as long as I was intending, but it did provide a vital link in the coastal trail.  It was raining when I left the house and a little bit when I started at 7am.  It just got clearer and clearer and more beautiful.  It was good I had my stillsuit because the only water on the trail is at the very beginning and at the halfway point.  I felt strong and good.  I liked the muddy trail through Lands End to Point Lobos.  Glided down the hill past the Cliff House and on the return hit the stairs hard that lead up to Sutro Heights Park.  At the top of this ascent I began to cough and felt pukey.  It was the only occurence of that today.  After I hit the Palace and began the descent back down to the beach I felt a stitch in my side so had to take that segment slow.  Got back to the Contour at 8:42 so it was about a 100 minute 8 mile run.  Slow, but it was super hilly.  I feel great now.  Looked for dolphins on the beach, none in sight.

So now I got a new routine it will go.

Cycle One:
Day 1: 2x Hill Repeats, 2x Wind Sprints
Day 2: 3x Hill Repeats, 3x Wind Sprints
Day 3: Active Rest
Day 4: Really Long Run
The Cycle is repeated 3 times

Cycle Two:
Day 1: 3x Hill Repeats, 3x Wind Sprints
Day 2: 4x Hill Repeats, 4x Wind Sprints
Day 3: Active Rest
Day 4: Really Long Run
The Cycle is repeated 4 times

Comments:
Later

 

Active rest? What's active rest? Today I had a dance rehearsal for an hour for Monistat's Trannyshack Pageant number. Can you believe that these queens spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars on their talent revues and only get if they win one hundred dollars plus a gift certificate for some porn and maybe dinner. Think about it, each pageant goer spends $20 a ticket, can't a bitch like get at least $500-$1,000 dollars if she wins so she can at least break even. Like I've said before, tip the drag queens. We do it for you.

Other than that I made enchiladas, but it came out more like tortilla lasagna cos I didn't use enough sauce. Next time they will be better.

Tomorrow, hit the hill repeats at Baker and go do another drag rehearsal.

Been getting some very needed, very much appreciated attention from Ionass.
 

Hill Repeats on the Baker Beach Sand Ladder x2 and Wind Sprints through Battery Chamberlain x2.  Kind of easy, felt like a warm up, still I could feel the lactic acid burning in my legs up the ladder and muscle breaking down during the sprints.  I like this rainy mild weather.  I felt like I didn't need cigarettes, but bought them anyway after working out, more from habit than craving.  I gotta go do a dance rehearsal, looks like I'll be busy all day. 

Tomorrow, x3

 

Did the same thing as above except x3.  Felt kind of crappy, have a little soreness in the throat, probably from running around in the rain yesterday.  Today was nice, spent some time looking for dolphins, but the tide was high.  On my last windsprint, felt like I was tearing up my quads and had to cut it short.  I don't know if this cycle is a good thing or not.  I'll just finish it and adjust as I need to.  Tomorrow as a reward, I want to visit the Bunny Trail and do a little variation and find a new trail up there.  Gotta go give Grandma a haircut.  Don't forget.  Also, first round of the Founder's Cup Playoff.



 

I looked at my throat and it is definitely infected.  Yuck, it is so sore and it fucking hurts.  Can't see a doctor for 2 weeks and it will probably be better by then.  Hope I don't have to get my tonsils taken out, that would suck.  Gotta off and on fever that accompanies the sore throat.  Yah, I feel like shit.  How do you do?
 

Woh!!! Fucked UP! I haven't worked out since then. It was Strep A. Had me freaking out with self diagnoses, but saw a doctor and got penicillin. Got into the lazy habit of sleeping in underneath warm covers and trying to save gas by not going to the beach. The insanity has to end, and I need to start from scratch. Hope this journey renews itself.
 

Inactive Rest? What's inactive rest??
Day 35 of not working out. A month long break. I have to say that I am feeling quite well, just quite lazy. Today I had the time to work out, but didn't using rain as an excuse. Its just so hard to get out of the comfy covers and go to the cold ass rainy beach. I don't think the dolphins were there, but I do miss them. I need to come up with a new program and work it as hard as I had before the infection. Next time I will no better and not go inactive for more than 5 days. I have to say, that I feel as if I have gained a few and lost some tone. Still adhering to my diet, with slight allowances for Thanksgiving (that was a major allowance) and dinner at Auntie's (I had a dream I ate meat, and the way the roast was prepared I got to relive that dream). Anyway, I guess matter is overcoming mind, and I need to polarize that sentiment. Yeah, no more than 5 days, come rain, sleet or snow.
 

Your Daily Dolphin Update is Back!

It had been my intention to do some sort of ritual to praise the dolphins at the beach for Solstice.  I had many visions of sitting at the beach in the dark in my fulgin executioner's cloak and bear fur lined hood in black leather and harnessed, booted, in a yoga pose reflecting on the dark days and casting light into the future. Yet that never came to pass except for in some realm where thought is action.

Right now I am listening to Laguna Sunrise by Black Sabbath, which is apropos because this morning at the first sunrise of this winter I drove down to the beach to kick start my trail running regimen.
 
It was cold, yet clear and around 8 o'clock in the morning when I arrived at Baker Beach.  The sun had not quite crested over the hills and cypress of the Presidio and the swells were huge and pounding into the beach as far up the strand as the marked off natural habitat restoration boundary.  I loosened up with some cursory stretches and joint rotations, never giving up my grip on my Venti.  I got back into my Contour to finish the rest of the coffee and check the time, figuring out what I needed to do to get back to work on time.  I looked out to sea and just at that moment, the unmistakable profile of a dorsal fin broke the surface.

I got out of my car, locked the door and shouted "Whale!" to a grizzled old guy in his beat up truck.  "Yeah, a dolphin..." he acknowledged.  The dolphin rolled traveling south and an infant rolled right beside her.  I was thinking that she was the dark dolphin who showed me her baby the last time I was at the beach, the last time I ran, over 5 weeks ago.  But these dolphins weren't quite as dark, they were more a tarnished gunmetal, maybe a trick of the light. 

I followed the dolphins, trying to make a count.  A second baby was trailing slightly behind.  "Oh," I thought, "these must be the twins."  But they seemed somewhat smaller yet they were perhaps about 15 yards offshore and I wasn't as close to them as when I saw them last.  I walked down the beach until they finally dived and disappeared.  That was the best homecoming I have had in a long time.

Charged with the encounter and infused with the love I feel for the dolphins, I did my intended run: through Battery Chamberlain, up the service road and down Lincoln Boulevard, looped 3 times.  I took it easy but felt better at the end of the circuit than I did in the beginning.  The dolphins gave me the inspiration to start this journey and after a long break they were here to welcome me back.

Although I have seen this local pod many times now, I have never looked one of these dolphins in the eye.  The way they roll with their melons out of the water suggests to me that they are extending all of their echo location all around them and with this sense, they are probably seeing more.  This is my intention for this new year and through this cold native season in which I was born.  Close my eyes and extend my senses in order to bring about a clarity that has been occluded by my own delusions.

 

Looped Baker Beach parking lot, Battery Chamberlain, Lincoln Blvd 4 times.  Kind of a struggle today.  But worked it out.  No dolphins at the beach that I could see.  Walked down to the north end after the circuit and sat for  awhile until it rained.
 

Today the wind was epic. I ran the Bunny Trail this morning feeling strong all the way up, but came down with a stitch in the side. On top of the mountain, I could hardly breathe because the wind was whipping around so fiercely. There was absolutely no one on the trail, and it had been swept clean from the recent storm. It was a post-apocalyptic run. Now I'm just hitting familiar trails to see where I'm at. I feel good.
 

Today's was a crepuscular run. I ran the Lands End Trail through to Sutro Heights Park. It was still dark when I set off, and I nearly took a header at the top of the stairs midway through the trail, but recovered. Ran through a muddy, clayey spot and found myself underneath the USS SF memorial on the newly landscaped trail above the ocean. Ran up those stairs and made a circuit around the park. It was truly beautiful. Looked for dolphins off of Eagles Point when I was done but failed to observe them.

Right now I am hitting my shorter trails to gauge where I'm at. Feeling pretty good, but not up to the depth that I had before the long break. Although I hit the trails 3 days in a row, I have no intention of doing it everyday. The only hard and fast rule right now is to not let more than 5 days pass without a trail run.

BTW: I woke up at 5:30 to hit this trail and then got home at 8 and took a nap until now.
 

Woke up hella early to pick up the Cabster from the airport. Dropped him off at home and then decided against all bodily protests to go ahead and work out. I did an easy circuit, Baker Beach, and added two more laps to torture myself. Punishment, yeah it was easy. No dolphins spotted. I went to the produce store and got home and made myself an egg white omelette with mushrooms, spinach, bellpepper and onions and ate it while watching my team get not quite massacred. I'm scheduled for a disco nap with the tv on the game to rest up before the festivities of this eve.
Running with a little soreness in my foot, probably from my stumble on my crepuscular run the other day. Its in the right arch, and is sore, loosened up during the run, but when I flex my toes I can feel it. Pressure on it feels really good. An aching muscle.
Cab's crashed out.
 

OK, so I guess its normal to party excessively on New Years Eve but I got up and worked out anyway. I don't know how or why I did it, but I did. It was a nice day with the flags lying flat, so I knew it would be great at the beach. It was sunny and there was a mist of fog just over the bay coming through the Golden Gate, but it was really sunny at the beach. Driving down there I noticed all the runners and that was great but I realized how much I like it when I am the only one on the trails and this being a holiday and all, people are out in force keeping their resolutions. I didn't make any by the way. So I ran from Baker Beach Parking lot, through Battery Chamberlain the service road, up Lincoln through the Golden Gate Bridge area and hit the trails behind it. On the way back under that tunnel I found that they reopened the trail that goes under the Bridge and I can stay on the trail of the Presidio Bluffs all the way back to the beach. So I learned a new trail today. Bonus. It was too nice to go home right away, so I walked up and down the beach and drove up to the Bluffs again to look for some dolphins with my field glasses. Didn't see any. Oh and it was nice enough that I got to run with my shirt off on the way back.
So I am still hitting the easy trails. Working up again to where I was. Still the run was short and I could do more, but am still taking it slow, but doing it more frequently, hoping to keep it up.
 

I had a 4 hour break today, so I decided to go hit the trails. I was at my house and then out in my spiderman suit and camelbak and drove to Lands End to begin my run from Eagle Point by 12:25. I took that trail and stayed down low, running through the newly installed trails of the Sutro District. Basically, they just wind around and then come back up at the bus stop across from Sutro Heights Park. Down the incline past the Cliff House and slolemed through the potted plants in front of the entrance to that hideous monstrosity. Crossed the street at Ocean Beach and through the wooden trails that lead to the stairway back up to Sutro Heights Park. Up the stairs of the artificial promontory look out and down, back through the parking lot for the USS SF and stayed on top of the trail this time, through that clay patch that still hasn't dried out and those stairs, I couldn't run up them all today and had to power walk. Woo! I was done when I hit Eagle Point and checked the time on my mobile and it was 13:11. I looked for dolphins for a moment because I can see Baker Beach from there, but didn't see any, again, today.

Although I felt kind of slow, and had to walk up part of the stairs I still did this little over 5.6 mile circuit in 36 minutes, so I guess I wasn't too bad. I didn't really need the camelbak for this short run, but its good to get used to it. Its really comfortable, but I could really feel the weight of it as I was doing stairs. Anyway, I'm glad I have this hydrating system and should just make it routine on these trails that have no water.

I should talk about how I feel physically. Today I woke up drained. I went to an awards party for the pool league, and went to the Hole with my team and played pool and got some sympathy shots for my birthday. I went to bed by 23:30 and even woke up at 05:30 wanting to run, but it was still dark and the sun doesn't even rise this time of year until almost 07:30. So I begged it off and stayed in the sack. I made a commitment to not go more than 5 consecutive days without running, so I achieved that goal by running this afternoon. But physically, I have a little cough and sometimes sneeze. I'm coughing up small amounts of yellowish sticky mucous. Cigarettes taste funny. It started on New Years Day and I don't know if its getting better or worse. Its from the partying during the holidays, no doubt, and the expected impact that those activities would have on my immune system, throw in the weather and walking around in an executioners cape on my birthday night and you should get the idea. I didn't notice that pain in my foot until I was going back up the stairs around Mile Rock on the way back, so that is healing well and its obvious its a muscle strain in that foot (right foot, plantar). It was brisk, somewhat gusty, but not really a bother, and super clear and sunny. I felt like I could have run in shorts and no shirt after coming out of the Lands End trails, but just wanted to get this circuit done in a hurry.

So being done alot earlier than I expected I stopped at the Castro to pick up 2 pounds of coffee. It took about 15 minutes to find a parking space at home and I was getting road rage, but then I ended up parking on Langton near Brainwash. Walking back down Folsom I got a call from work telling me that my 3:30 pm appointment had canceled. So I'm done for the day. Sucks.

I just ate lunch. I'm gonna take a nap.
 

Maybe I should have stayed home today.  When I got  home from my run and grocery shopping while looking for parking I got hit by a bike.  I was crossing the intersection at Harriet and Folsom, then I heard a "hey"  I slammed on my breaks and looked, just then  a bicyclist came carreening into my car on the passenger side.  My window was down and he actually ended up partly inside my car.  Good thing the window was down and I slammed on the brakes.  He hit the softest part of the car.  It sucked.  I feel really bad about the guy, but he wasn't hurt.  His front tire was bent.  We exchanged info and said that he would contact me in a few days.  I'm stressed, but don't think its my fault.  It is an accident.  No one intended this to happen.

Anyway I ran from Baker Beach to Chrissy Field.  It took an hour.  The trails were great.  Felt strong at the end of the run but this sucks.

 

5 days w/o run. Oops on that commitment. Now I'm trying to take care of my financial fat.
 

Not today but yesterday, I ran from Ocean Beach (beneath the Cliff House) to its end, just past the Zoo and before Fort Funston. It was a great run. I got up at 5:30 am an was there to begin by 6:45. I finished at 7:58 so it was a probably a 70 minute run maybe 7 miles. It was pre dawn when I began. Cold and clear. I layered and had my hydration pack on. I felt strong during it and could go.
I just got back from a long langourous date w/ Ionnass and let me tell you. Wow. I weighed myself on his scale and I am packing 154.5 lbs. Thats exactly 5 pounds over when I weighed myself there last. Its like I'm carrying two fortys, minus the glass. Ionaas said he liked me with more weight. I think I really adore him.
Lets see if I can hit it tomorrow. Pick a trail any trail, and go!

I just checked mapquest and its about 4.17 miles each way. Lets call it 8 at a great pace.
 

Got up around 11 am today, and felt groggy and sore. Tia called me up and asked me if I was going to the beach today and mentioned that she would like to come. I told her it would take about an hour for me to get ready. I didn't really feel as If I wanted to run. I felt like I embarassed myself last night and revealed too much about how I felt talking into the pillow when it was time to go. Oh well. Love is an emotion that addles the brain, and try as hard as you will to be rational about it, it just isn't going to happen.
I made a pot of coffee and was dithering, finally I called Tia to come over so that I would get myself out of the house. We drove to Baker Beach and she camped out on a lawnchair on the beach while I ran the circuit from Battery Chamberlain to Fort Point. It was a shorter run and I explored a little underneath the bridge. It was cold, but running got me hot so I was doing my circuit in my tights layered over longjohns and a tank top. I felt strong. Coming down the service road I was flying. I joined Tia on the beach, and she said that she saw the dolphins. The dark one and her baby. We took a walk up to the north end and then came back down to the ghetto. I made lunch, watching VH1. I called Ionnas when I got home and left a message, trying to stay and sound cool when all I wanna do is launch into him. Merge again. Wow, I got it bad. Still, I think I'll have to stay cool and back off for a minute. Yeah, I love him, and I want to tell him, but if I do, I don't think I'd be able to be without him. That vulnerability of mine. Having to reveal and then know that I am needed is fucking hard!!!

I'll hit the trails tomorrow, try to torture myself with a long run thats outside of my capacity.
 

It's been awhile.... but I'm back online. I need a less expensive internet solution, no doubt. I love the high speed cable, but 50 bucks a month for myspace and googling dolphins is quite alot. At least I am able to book clients through e'mail. Maybe I can write this off.
But anyway, seriously, its all about trail running and dolphin talking. No dolphins to speak of, but I have been communing with nature on my trail runs and exploring and blazing new trails. I don't know when I last blogged, but I'll give us a rundown--backwards...

31/1/07 Baker Beach to Arguello Gate Loop This is the run I have been working on and I do it in about exactly 80 minutes. Today was my 4th completion of this circuit. I have been trying to refine this trail and stay on as much dirt as possible. It starts at Baker Beach, at Battery Chamberlain, goes up the service road then to Lincoln Blvd where I cut across Immigration Point, an overlook. I cut through this picnic area and up some stairs and begin a downhill descent. I run past the Wine Bunker and through some residential area in the Presidio nearby the maintenance gate to the Presidio Golf Course. Hit the Bay Area Ridge Trail through a cliche cathedral of Eucalyptus and Redwoods, cross the street and I'm at Inspiration Point. Run down this Ecology Trail and come out and down a road till I hit Presidio Blvd, swing a right at the 29 Sunset Bus Stop and go down over a small bridge over a creek, then I'm headed up Lovers' Lane--the oldest continuously used road in San Francisco and a sharp ascent of about a mile uphill to the Arguello Gate. Theres an overgrown shrub of Rosemary and Sage at the Gate and I picked a few stems for a fusili and basil and tomato pasta I'm gonna make for dinner. Then the run goes downhill past Julius Khan Playground following the old wall of the Presidio. Uphill towards the end and it is the main entrance and clubhouse for the Presidio Golf Course and then you are right across the street again from Inspiration Point. Back track on the B A R T cross Nauman and make sure you stay on the trail that leads back up to the trail just before the wine bunker. I hit a segment of the San Juan Bautista Historic Trail (which is in Carmel and Monterey and Gilroy too, I discovered this weekend) Stay low down on the trail past the picnic area and pass the shrine to the runner who died from a hit and run, down the cobble steps of Immigration Point and run across the lawn, hop a guardrail and your on the Coastal Trail again, where, they cut too many trees down recently. Down the big Sand Ladder on the Sand Dune and hey!!! You just ended up with a kick ass run and you are on the North end of Baker Beach looking for dolphins.

The first part of this circuit is hard because it is all up hill. Once you get to the top of the picnic area you are cruising downhill past the Wine Bunker and some great trails. A slight uphill on the B A R T takes you to Inspiration Point where one can see the Exploratorium and Alcatraz. Nice downhill work on the Ecology Trail and then Lovers' Lane is an arduous workout. Smooth cruise through JK and a little more hillwork. Recover on the BART again then its all downhill to the beach. This is a great run. I estimate it to be between a 7.5 and 8 miler, with lots of room to explore.

So now I'm back home, blogging, smoking a cigarette having a cocktail and getting ready to do chores once I get all this backdated blogging dun. Listening to ENSLAVED, of course.

Sunday 28/1/07 Point Lobos and 17 Mile Drive, Pebble Beach Not a trail run, but some mellow and loving hiking with my main squeeze Ionnas. Walked along the beach and saw some otters at Point Lobos. The San Juan Bautista Trail picks up here. Bananas and ice cream...YUM!!!

Saturday 27/1/07 Baker Beach to Arguello Gate Saw a big red coyote on the trail. Bob came down and hung out on the beach while I did this run.

Wednesday 24/1/07 Baker Beach to Arguello Gate Refining this trail. Instead of going back on the BART I followed the wall and ended up at Mountain Lake. I ran through the golf course and had to hop a fence then ended back at the Wine Bunker. No need to go this route. Running through a golf course isn't my idea of trail running.

Tuesday 23/1/07 Blazing this Current Circuit, BB to AG, but did it differently... Ran up an insane hill on the back roads to get to Immigration Point. Then I went down the wall of the Presidio and passed Julius Khan. Ran through some residences and ended up on the ecology trail. Ran uphill to Inspiration Point and found my way back. It took awhile, I didn't know where I was going, but it was cool that I did this blaze cos now I have a great new trail.

Sunday 21/1/07 Baker Beach to Golden Gate Bridge Just a tune up and fun run. Recovering since I saw ENSLAVED for the first time in Oakland and got their autographs (except Ivar's) and Grutle handed me his beer after the show. An easy one but look what the fuck I did on Friday...

Friday 19/1/07 San Francisco Zoo to Golden Gate Bridge. The longest run ever! 17.2 miles Just like it says. I had no intention of going this distance, but the day was beautiful and I just kept setting goals before me. I was just going to go to the Cliff House, then I said Eagle Point, then I was all might as well just go to Baker's then since I was already almost there said, fuck it, lets go to the Bridge. It was really good going all the way, struggled a little on the flats on the Great Highway on the way back but I made it to the Contour. Going this distance, I am convinced that I can go Marathon length on my own. I really felt like I kicked ass, and accordingly, bragged about it to everyone for a few days.
If I continue on to the Palace of Fine Arts I will definitely exceed Marathon Distance.

Thursday 18/1/07 Bunny Trail to the Bunker on top of Devil's Slide Extending this familiar run a little. I had never been up to that Bunker atop of Gray Whale Cove. Its majestic. By the way, I ran straight up the mountain. No need to really do this again because its a laboured run and its easier to build up steam on the switchbacks.

Tuesday 16/1/07 Bunny Trail through Ranch and up Highway 1 in Pacifica Set off exploring. Ended up in a marsh when I cut through a disused trail and had to bushwack my way out. Found a great ranch with a stable ran through an agricultural field and up Highway 1. Don't like running against traffic very much, but felt accomplished in what I did.

Monday 15/1/07 Baker Beach to Golden Gate Bridge My easy tune up run. Tia came down to the beach with me and she said that she saw a dolphin.

Saturday 13/1/07 Ocean Beach to Zoo I think this is where I am caught up. Ran down the Great Highway Median on the way up and all the way down on the sand on the Beach. Thinking about Ionnas, I picked up a perfect sand dollar. One day I'll give it to him. Perhaps with the batch of cookies I intend to make for him.

Wow, So! I have been feeling like I have been lazy for not going running every day I meant to, but looking back it seems like I have covered alot of miles and found new trails and saw more wild life. Not bad for an old bastid who just turned 38 4 weeks ago!!!

Keep Runnin'
 

Baker Beach to Arguello Gate. Got up early and ran it pretty strong. Trying to get it done in under 60 minutes. Today was 70 minutes. Gotta power more uphill and stop pissing on the trail. LOL.
 

WAKE THE FUCK UP AND GO TALK TO YOUR DAMN DOLPHINS!