Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Why I love the SF Bay Area Part 2




Lake Vasona as seen from the Los Gatos Creek Trail.

Part 1 on why I love the Bay Area


Aka "how not to prepare for a 20 miler." And "why I'll never consider a goal race on the other side of the country."

Friday I took a 4 hour flight from Chicago to San Jose, Ca. Before the flight I ran 8 miles then quickly got cleaned up and went to the airport.

I flew 1st class thanks to L & his many miles of travel.

Short story: I forgot how to hydrate properly.


Flying is so dehydrating. Being in a pressurized cabin for hours on end is not ideal. I "hydrated" with 2 bloody Mary's and a sip of water. By the time I got off the plane I already had a small headache which I attributed to sinus issues from the flight.

At the Mikkeler bar I drank 3 beers and a bunch of water but was already feeling pretty ragged. By the time we got to the hotel I was a mess complete with feeling nauseous with a head splitting headache. And unfortunately this was no hangover. I took 2 aleve and drank a bunch of water hoping I'd be ready to go for 20 in the morning.


When I woke up (a bit late) I was pumped to run on my favorite place- the Los Gatos Creek Trail. It was a beautiful morning- mid 59's and low dew point. I was so excited to run from Campbell to Los Gatos (The first date for L & I for those of you keeping track).


Cute artwork on a bridge in Los Gatos. "The Cats" in Spanish.

I took off from the hotel and felt good. I had a bottle of water, salt pills and passion fruit gu. Nothing could stop me.


I even tried to make a new friend. But it hissed at me and flew into a sewer. Rude.

5 people said hi to me in the first 4 miles.


The hills were a lot larger than I remembered. I felt out of breath more than I should have. I was also drinking a lot more water than I normally do (yes, I analyze every freaking detail). At the 8 mile point on top of Lexington reservoir I decided to head back and call it at 16 miles.


Lexington Reservoir as seen from almost on top of a mountain...


The elevation profile of my run.


L and I met up and ran the final 2 miles together which was so nice. After I stopped running I felt so Incredibly sick which was probably from being so dehydrated as well as not eating anything past 3pm the day before. Not ideal.


So freaking happy to be running here again.

After the run we met our friend K for lunch before heading to Monterey for the wedding festivities. All I ate was a fruit cup and salt n vinegar chips.


Monastery Beach

An hour later I felt normal and hungry again. Soon after we were in Monterey for the wedding rehearsal. It was nice seeing friends we hadn't seen in a while.


During the rehearsal I went down by the water and took a plethora of photos. I stood with my feet in the Pacific Ocean. As the waves covered my feet with cold salty water, I smiled the biggest smile ever.



This is why I love this place.



- xaar

9 comments:

  1. Beautiful place to run, i can see why you miss it. The ocean is so awesome too. Sorry you didn't have the greatest 20/16 miler, boo, but at least you had a pretty place to run.

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  2. I'm surprised an alcohol company hasn't emailed you about a good hydrating drink mix to have before your long run!
    Sorry it was such a rough one and you ran into a mean cat! but at least you got 16 done and normalized not too longer after!

    An ocean foot selfie is a great way to end the post! I'm sure if I did it when out on the east coast, it would have been full of seaweed and sharp shells! hah

    I hope you can return to the area more often!

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  3. Oh gosh! That IS a hill! Geesh!

    I like all the gatos! Even a gray gatto! I wondered where Data was this weekend! Ha ha ha... me so funny... not. At. All.

    When I went to SLC for that race I was nervous about the "elevation" (in quotes since it's not even that high) so I hydrated like a boss - you are right - planes totally make you dehydrated. Especially if you drink. LOL!

    I am happy you still got that 16 in and felt normal later :)

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  4. I would love to run in that area! It looks beautiful, minus that hill of course. Glad you were able to tackle the run despite not feeling the greatest the night before. I always seem to get dehydrated when I fly and that is even after drinking a ton of water.

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  5. It is tempting to drink on a plane, but unfortunately (as you know) it is very dehydrating. Anyway, you did 16 miles and lived to tell about it. What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger! Anyway, love the pics. One day I will make it to that place.

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  6. Those pictures are stunningly beautiful. It's easy to see why people on the West Coast tend to be in much better shape than in the Midwest. How could you not be athletic and outdoorsy when you have such incredible scenery everywhere you look?

    I am in shock at the elevation spike on that trail, though. After running a hill like that, you are going to be in the most incredible shape back on the Midwestern flatlands. WOW!

    So sorry to hear about the dehydration (I have been there and it is so not fun). But I am really glad that you were able to recover from it so quickly afterwards!

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  7. Wow, a wedding on the beach in Monterrey sounds awesome! I was in the central coast a couple years back, and even on a cold, cloudy day, it was so pretty.

    I'm amazed you made it 16 miles in those conditions, especially with that elevation!

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  8. Eek, sorry to hear you had a tough run, but glad you were able to identify why.

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