Climbs and Crossings

WHEEE! I'm running the creek crossing,  but really I hoped this would be "so congested" that I would "have to" run through the creek. You know,  because running through the creek would just be the "smarter" option. So actually I'm a little disappointed right now even though I'm having the time of my life. I really just wanted to splash through that water.   Highstepper.  Going downhill is a controlled fall. This race finally convinced me to admit I'm a strong downhill runner. The uphill, on the other hand might be an opportunity for improvement.  Dipsea was an amazing and unique race experience, but it was also one of the most beautiful trails I've run. Ever. TRUE. 

Somewhere along the grueling uphill called Cardiac I ran up on a small blonde kid who couldn't have been more than 8 or 9 years old. He was walking. As I started to move around him on the left, he threw a quick glance over his shoulder at me and took off running. A couple minutes later I caught him again, walking, and again, he took off as soon as I got close. This would continue a few more times until his "take off" wasn't much faster than my slow trod up the hill. His stride was getting shorter, his pace slowing, and just as I thought he was finally going to give up and let me go around him we came to a pretty large tree trunk laying across the trail. This kid, that was looking like he was done for, and who can blame him after what we'd all been through in the previous miles, didn't miss a step. Propelling himself into the air with one foot, he landed on top of the tree trunk with the other, paused to get his balance and then jumped straight up into the ...

Another nice run downtown put on by Fleet Feet! This was the first year for this Memorial Day run, so the crowd was small, maybe a couple hundred people. The shirts were nice, the goodie bags were cool (popchips, granola, a JUMP ROPE!...) and some of the best, lively, supportive volunteers you could ask for. And can I just mention again, how cool it is to have Stockton Police officers posted up all along the course, because not only are we passing the scenic downtown waterfront, we're also passing the scenic downtown crazies and the tents under the freeway. The usual suspects and I headed down to run the 5k on Monday. A big Delta breeze was blowing in, so I wanted to get warmed up. In the process of warming up, I ran up on Alan Sanchez of Good Day Sacramento which means I was briefly on tv which means I was briefly famous. The proof is here: I actually started at the front of this race. Tony Vice of Fleet Feet was going lead the runners on his bike (cool). I even toed the lin...