Day 101.

Ten miles total – 3.1 of them with the Xterra Redwood Trail Run in Oakland and then the remaining 7 along the Stevenson Creek Trail in Mountain View.

Here’s the elevation profile of today’s run:

It kicked my butt.

The first mile was awesome.  We were on a nice, wide trail through the trees and periodically we would catch a glimpse of the wider valley beyond.  The path was mainly flat or downhill, so I was breezing along enjoying the scenery without even huffing or puffing.

Then came the first uphill.  And the second.  And soon I was a wheezing mess shuffling up the hiking trail only narrowly avoiding the mountain bikers coming the opposite direction.

For some reason, I thought the water station was at the halfway point, so as I passed the painted 2 on the ground, I assumed that they had marked the distance in kilometers and not miles.  You can imagine my surprise when a passing woman smiled and gasped, “I just saw the 3-mile mark; only .1 to go!”

Thanks to her, I sped up again and stumbled up the last hill and then down to the finish line.  Ma snapped a couple of photos of me climbing that last hill, and let’s just say they are not very pretty…  I will share one from after the race though – by this point I had caught my breath and sipped down some water.

After the race, I was so tired that the prospect of more walking was… less than appealing, but Ma and I made our way back to the West Bay & clocked 7 more miles.

Miles walked: 438 | Miles to go: 312