The runs was part of the The Canyons 50k/100k. The race director organized a group training run on the course and it quickly grew to 85 or so people. We started at 7:30 and it was pretty warm for a January morning in the Northern California foothills. I was in shorts and a t-shirt and it only took about a half mile to get the early morning chill off. I ran with my buddy Ben for about 3 miles and then he shot ahead at our first big climb, I'm nowhere near his speed. Besides a half mile downhill with Maggie around mile 11, I was solo all day. And you know what, that was perfect! I love being trapped in my own head, there's so much stuff going on in there. Sure I saw various people I knew, especially on the way back, but even with 85 people you get very spread out in those canyons.
I quit using headphones and music a couple years ago and although I love running to music, I really love working things out in my head. That is definitely my introvert side. Running is the one part of my life that it's just me and my thoughts, good and bad. I'm fairly screwed up in my old noggin but that's for another blog...maybe. Seems like when I'm home, besides being a husband and a father, I'm on the computer and/or my phone. Don't get me wrong, I love social media and the interaction but it's definitely not therapeutic. Except for the funny people, laughing is always therapeutic.
After 4+ hours on the trail I was back in Foresthill with friends and beer (insert extrovert). Not only is good craft beer the nectar of the gods, it makes conversation fantastic. You don't have to drink beer for good conversation but it definitely is an ice breaker. We sat there for a few hours just BS-ing as we waited for our friends still out on the trail. We talked beer (of course), trails, beards and the likes. I can talk about those 3 things for hours. The only missing conversation was sex and baseball. Throw those 2 things in and I might have never made home from Foresthill that day.
Once I was home from the trails it was time to get ready and head out with the wife. There is no party like a trail runners party. We clean up nice and the conversation gets even better. At the pub we pretty much took over numbers wise. There was a slide show going with what seemed like all of Billy Goats adventures. That dude lives life that right way, from completing the John Muir trail to last year running UTMB in Europe. It was an awesome! Really, we'll all still see him quite a bit but it won't be on a weekly basis. Plus now we have a place to crash when taking our adventures south.
As it got later, and the early birds headed home, a handful of us already had plans to head down the street to the dance club and dance to an 80's cover band. Holy crap the band sucked! The music selection was awesome though. The beer, liquor for some, kept flowing and we danced to the wee hours. Dancing all night after a long run in the canyons, talk about being sore! It was a perfect send off for Bill.
From my introvert times on the trail to my extrovert times with my friends all I can think is, damn it feels good to be a gangster. Cheers!
(Rambling on this blog brought on by Stone Go To IPA)
Brutiful! I love it! haha Bummed I missed out on the run. Your pics are great!
ReplyDelete