1st Annual Birthday Run for Birthday Fun.

It's summer, and I'm not injured. Finally, my dumb ankle isn't trying to ruin my life, so I ran the hell out of my birthday. 33 miles for 33 years.

From the City to the trails. 

Lucky for me, it was a cool foggy summer day in the city. I loaded my pack with Gu and Glo bars and took off from the Castro a little after 7am toward the Marina.

There's quite a bit of up and down between those two points...

I made my way past Crissy Field and on up to the bridge, which, at this early hour, was pretty much empty except for a few cyclists.

Karl the Fog out in full force

On the other side, I crossed underneath the bridge to pick up the Coastal Trail and start the one mile climb up into the Headlands. I was hoping once I got to the top and made my way to the other side of the hills the fog would clear, but....nope.

It was really quiet and a little bit spooky for most of the miles to the beach. I was prepared to round a corner and suprise a mountain lion or a bigfoot, but the only thing that ended up suprising me were a couple dozen bunnies that intermittently darted out on the trail. I figure, if the bunnies are around, the things that eat the bunnies must not be around, so everything's good. For example, if I round a corner and a couple dozen bunnies are running toward me, I probably would want to join them. Pretty sure I aquired that bit of fool proof logic from Jurassic Park...

The fog began to thin as I got closer to the beach, around 14 miles in.

The turnaround

 I made my way to the sand to sit and eat. Surfers were out bobbing in the water and I thought about how not that long ago I was out here for my first trail race, an 8k. I ran in road shoes and had never seen the Marin Headlands before. I was scared of getting lost and of not looking like a "real" trail runner. That race was what started the journey that led to me sitting at Rodeo Beach three years later on my birthday, in the middle of running an ultra, feeling grateful that my life was as good as I could have ever imagined it to be.

The realization that I wasn't even halfway done knocked me out of my reverie. Up and at 'em. The trip back would be quite a bit of uphill, so I tried to zone out with music and just keep a steady effort.

I was just about back to the bridge and civilization when a deer exploded out of the side of the trail scaring THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS OUT OF ME. I heard a scramble in the bushes and then it jumped straight up into the air. I froze. It continued to scramble up the hill, and then just stopped.

The moment I stopped the video is the moment I realized it was coming back toward me. Now, I realize that a deer attacking me is unlikely, but try watching one with horns walk toward you. And look at you. It's creepy. It stopped at the bush at the edge of the trail that I assume it was enjoying eating before I interrupted it. Ok, deer, go back to your thing, and I'll go back to mine. I walked a bit before running again. Then, BLAMMO, another deer gave me a heart attack. This one scrambled away up the hill.
Son of a...
I started running again, shaking my head. I got another ten yards down the trail and one leapt across the trail in front of me disappearing down the hill. I concluded I had entered some sort of deer congregation that I didn't need to be a part of. I ran on cautiously, then one last WHOOSH of a blur of fur and horns scrambled in front of me.

It watched me walk by. I walked a bit, looking behind me, and just as I was about to run again, I took one more glance back and saw...

IT FOLLOWED ME

When I stopped, the deer stopped. When I walked, the deer walked. What. THE.

This went on for twenty or thirty yards...eventually, I looked back and it had meandered up the hill. When I passed a couple of girls a minute later coming up the trail, I warned them about the deer ambush they were about to enter..."DEERS? YAY!!!" No, you guys, like the kind with horns, that follow you. They probably thought I was nuts, but I would've welcomed a little warning that I was running into a deer tornado.

I was pretty much relieved to drop back down to the bridge and cross back over to San Francisco.

I made it back to Crissy Field and had intended to meet up with GeNene for my final six miles around the lagoon. I got there early and had a few laps to do to add on some miles before picking her up. Having not really trained to run that far, I knew I could get through it, but the unknown factor was how much it was going to hurt to run that far. It was starting to hurt.

"Do you need water? Don't sit down"
She's a pacing pro. 

33 MILES DONE

Celebrate being alive. Be grateful for the journey that has led to this moment. Appreciate and be thankful for everyone who offers their love and support. 

As my mom said to me, when she called to wish me Happy Birthday,
 "Keep running. Keep the fog out of your brain."

That's the plan...