It was going to be a long drive from San Diego to Long Beach, CA.  A two hour drive is not normally long – but then you have to adjust for another twelve hours because of a parking lot in southern California fondly referred to as Highway 405 🙂

I knew what was going to delay me further. I cannot drive up the coast without taking breaks to take in the beauty of the ocean. And knowing me, if I could find myself a strip of land along the ocean, I was going to put in a run.

When I left the parking lot in San Diego, Anand was kind enough to hold my car back as I ran to a hotel restroom to change into running clothes. And then dropped him at the airport and started the long drive.

Barely half an hour later, GPS let me know that there was an accident in front of me and traffic was backing up. That was all the excuse I really needed. Exited the highway and headed west and soon came upon Solana Beach.

Beautiful (albeit cloudy) views from the top of 100 feet sharp cliffs. And there was enough space between the railway track that ran along the cliffs and the edge of the cliff to squeeze in a 5K run!!

Now 72 hours of rest and then wait for the short month to roll in…

Running a little behind my target to hit 100 miles this month. Went out for a 10K run in the dark. The high winds felt good on the face but was a little worried if a twig or a branch or a whole tree fell on me. But I was not worried about getting run over. For the first time, I was able to use Neel Chatterji’s gift of the reflective vests. No doubt, Ram Narayan would notice that the shirt and shoes still match in color 🙂

Never run much in the dark. Enjoyed it. Probably need one of those miner’s lamps on the head. Stepped into a couple of puddles without meaning to.

10 miles in flooded trails. This one was for you, Roger! Happy Birthday!!!

Nothing like running out there on desolate roads in the heavy rains to make your mind wander about into Nature’s vast bounty.
But then again, nothing like a couple of well timed thunders rolling up from yonder to the back of your neck to make that wandering mind get back to attention on the double quick.

I simply have one question – if I have to constantly watch out for so many things – you know… flying objects, falling objects, wild animals, domesticated animals, insects, reptiles, weather, suspicious people….when will I ever focus on my run? 🙂

The first mile this morning was a breeze – it was a totally flat trail. Then came the sign in the picture suggesting steep grades. They were not kidding. The first hill was straight up 13 floors over 0.2miles. That is a 12.5% grade!! Fortunately that was the toughest hill. By the time I reached the end of the trail and came back, I had climbed up 32 floors over 2 miles. And, in the spirit of one good turn deserving another, went back for seconds. This time, once I reached the top of the first hill, I had to stop for 30 seconds and bend over to catch my breath.

In all 6 miles (10K) and 64 floors.

I am ready to go back to bed now 🙂

For 50 deg F temperatures, that was an impressive turnout of Bengalis – and not a monkey cap in sight!!! Fifteen runners this morning.

After the half marathon last afternoon, tried to push to see how much the body would tolerate. 5 miles in 45 minutes and then it was time to go to Starbucks!!!

It was a particularly slow one at 2 hours and 13 minutes… Left leg quads still stiffening up hurting the knees and hips…

… when you wake up to a 28 deg F morning and go “ah! Now I can run the dark”…

And you know you did the right thing when, upon reaching the top of the hill, you get to see the early morning sun peeking thru the trees…