Some of you may know from my Facebook post that my back went out on me last week. I had the most painful, swollen knot right under my right shoulder blade. It popped up out of nowhere and put me down for the count. It was painful to walk, much less move my head side to side. I've never had anything like that happen before and still have no idea what would have caused it. I ended up taking the Monday after Western States off and this mysterious knot popped up Tuesday, in turn sidelining me that day plus Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. I had a couple big runs planned for over the weekend, but for some reason just lost all motivation to get out the door. So my little back flare up ended up turning into 8 straight days of no running. Easily the longest streak since I broke my toe back in September of last year. Not a big deal though. If my body doesn't want to run, then I am not going to force it out the door, especially when I am not really training for anything in particular.
Good news is I righted the ship today, but boy did I feel out of shape for the first 6 or so miles. Ended up getting in 14.3 miles at Wilder Ranch, as well as a little sunburn my shoulders. It was an absolutely beautiful day to be on the trails. It definitely felt a little harder than it should have, but I suppose that is sort of expected after an 8 day lay off. I guess that is a good sign that it is time to get my ass in gear. Sometimes I just need a good wake up call like today. It happened back in November for Boston, so hopefully this is the spark I need under my butt to get back to crushing a couple workouts per week.
A few pics from the last 6 or so miles from today's run. Pretty flat compared to the first 8 miles, but the views are unparalleled.
The Baldwin Loop single track down to the ocean.
A small stint of beach running.
Up on the bluff over looking the beach.
Hidden little beaches all up and down the coast.
As flat as it is, it really is tough to beat the Ohlone Bluff Trail.
These guys were just chilling and were gracious enough to let me snap a quick pic.
Love these rock formations.
Five miles of bluff running.
These guys didn't even budge when I saw them on the way back to my truck.
And I received some even better news upon returning from my run...I came in second place in the irunfar.com 2011 Western States prediction contest, just one point behind the king and know all of WS100 (and of course my good friend Chad Silker's coach), Andy Jones Wilkins. I predicted both of the winners correctly, as well as nailing my picks for Clark, Semick, and Kimball. Looks like that nets me a free pair of Montrail shoes, as well as a pair of Mountain Hardwear shorts. Heck yeah! Certainly made my day.
With that said I leave you with a song that has been stuck in my head all day. Till next time....
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