Redwood Trail Half-Marathon

On Saturday (8/12/23), I ran the Redwood Trail Half Marathon, hosted by Coastal Trail Runs, in the redwoods of Oakland Hills. It was a wonderful experience. Although it is August, the weather was perfect, sunny and 70s. The trails were cooly shaded by redwoods, oaks and eucalyptus. I rarely get to explore trails in the East Bay so it was a real treat to run on interesting, new trails. We shared the trail with other hikers, dogs, and mountain bikers, but everyone was relaxed and polite. In addition, the trails were not that crowded, even though we started at the late-ish hour of 8 am (did I just say that?). Having both a dog and a mountain bike, I made a mental note to return more often. 

I had been worried about my left ankle. I think I've developed some tendonitis from rolling it on trails too many times. After a beach run with Juneau, the pain was flaring up again. My A race this year is coming up on September 10 (Ironman 70.3 Santa Cruz). The goal of this half marathon was to build endurance and strength for my upcoming race. My training has been heavy lately, as I push through this final "build" period of my training before tapering. My legs were still tired as a result of the Mt. Tam Century last weekend. Of course, that was kind of the point since running on tired legs will simulate my race conditions. 

The start of the race was crowded but informal and relaxed. Many were running much longer distances than me (up to 50k). My goals were to a) not get injured, b) have a positive experience, and c) get a good workout. I started slowly, walking briskly on the crowded trail. The crowd thinned out quickly, and I began jogging, carefully darting around those with a slower pace. The race started with significant downhill for the first several miles, so I was much slower than others as I carefully negotiated roots, rocks, and washouts. Listening to my body, I took it slow for about the first two miles, until I could warm up. I enjoyed some of the short uphills that appeared (those Tri Club run workouts with hill repeats are paying off!). When the trail leveled out for several miles in the middle, I settled into a comfortable base pace and enjoyed the views. 

Unfortunately, what goes down must go up when you are running in a loop. The last several miles were uphill with the steepest one about mile 8. I was forced to walk and bend forward, swinging my arms to pull myself up the hill. Eventually, the grade of the hill eased, and I could jog again. I felt strong and steady as I pushed myself to run up the final hills. The end came all too quickly. I was not fast, but I felt fresh and strong, and I maintained a steady pace the entire time. 

Bonus: I saw the biggest garter snake I've ever seen cross the path just before me at mile 10! It was at least 3 feet long, fat and happily slithering across the trail with a bright yellow stripe running down its side. 

I also saw an osprey sitting on top of a post by the 92 Bridge, overlooking the Bay. (Large raptor with black back and wings and a white breast.