I started with the Kings Canyon Loop trail on East Bay Municipal Utilities District land. This path follows fire and maintenance roads, with occasional jaunts on single-track connectors. I think it is about 6 miles round-trip from the Val Vista staging area. I run the trail frequently. I find it to be an enjoyable run for someone trying to get outdoors and interval train. Taking on the loop in a clockwise direction from Val Vista a runner is greeted with an impressive 500 ft. climb over .6 miles. It gets so steep near the top that you aren't really running even if you are keeping your feet off the ground with each stride. Despite some persistent patches of mud I have observed over the past month that the trail is generally starting to dry out. It was a great day to try out some new trail running shoes. They were a necessary purchase following an embarrassing mud slide during a Brazen Racing half-marathon a few weeks earlier.
In truth, there is no way that one last long run 6 days prior to a big race will make me any more fit. It is more likely that I will be fatiguing my muscles to an extent that they will not be fully repaired come Sunday. But psychologically my lack of a good "big run" compels me to hit the trail. Never mind the fact that excess weight has been harder to shed this training cycle (must be something about getting older). Every calorie burned and not re-consumed over the next 6 days has to help my effort. At least I keep telling myself that.
The run starts out great. I pass a couple beautiful people in Western gear on a primitive car bridge. They were posing before a photographer, who patiently waited as I strode past. I wanted to say to the man in the group "Hey, Tex, where did you park your horse?"
While I don't suspect he had a horse, I did run into a herd of them only about a mile later. That is more like it. I was getting into that pastoral setting that I settle for as a cheap substitute for wilderness in the Bay Area.
Having already run a couple miles to get here, my quads had loosened up and my body was primed for the attack. I hit that initial climb with as much effort as I could muster. Climbing is the hardest part about trail running for me and it is also the most enjoyable part. Engaging in big climbs on alternating soft and hard soil makes it difficult for one's brain to get into a rhythm. Outside of my comfort zone the entire time, I kept stepping up until my legs burned and my chest panted. When beads of sweated started flying off of my forehead and onto the inside of my sunglasses, I knew I was "earning it."
And then it got more relaxing. The wind blew harder up near the top of the hill; the Bay's air conditioning system was in full effect. I rounded the crest and began a long mile with expansive views to the east. I stared at Rocky Ridge, surprisingly only a few miles away from my location. All the grass was green and it was hard to visualize how in a few short weeks everything would look less like Irish pastures and more like Kansas wheat fields just before harvest. I started my descent and came around to the reservoir.
I arrived back and Val Vista and realized that I had only passed two hikers, in addition to the other characters I mentioned. It was a nice little getaway. My run would continue on for 10 more miles but I enjoyed this part the most.
