Travel Diary

I arose around 9am and did a few more videos, all the while preparing for my long run. My trail would be the Iron Horse Trail once again. I’d finally get to try out the Dublin Blvd Bridge, which had been under construction for years. I decided to pass on the backpack and keep my weight down. I didn’t bring the drone anyway. Adding a lot of sunblock was also on my list.

Then I hit the road. I headed over to Owens Drive and under the freeway at Hacienda. Next it was the big bridge. They did a great job with it, and it saves people a great deal of time getting from Pleasanton to Dublin. No more long stop light waits. It was just a fantastic idea.

Then i headed north into San Ramon and just kept on running. My body was holding out okay, though I felt a blister starting. My knees were aching a small amount. In Danville, I put on my shirt and entered Lunardi’s, which is a fancy overpriced market. But I got a granny smith apple (as those were $2 a pound instead of $4 a pound like the other ones there) and a Rocky Road candy bar.

I ate the bar right away, and sort of regretted it—at least finishing the whole thing. It just seemed a bad way to curb my hunger. With the apple, I had no regrets though. Then I continued north. My body was now hurting some, though I wanted to reach a certain spot that had often been my halfway point. It just never seemed to come. My little toe was really hurting now. Finally at about 13.5 miles, I had to sit down and consider it the halfway point.

I checked my toe. It was pretty bad. I added a band-aid to it. Then had my power bar and headed south again.

I wasn’t done “running,” but it was getting sparse. There were a few times I wanted to pass up people, so I ran then, though not far or fast. After one such event, I checked my toe and saw a little blood. The blister has popped too. I added my last band-aid to it, hoping the damage was’t too severe. Then back on the trail.

My knees were really hurting now and I had to take a limping approach to protect my toe. I really didn’t think I was going to be able to complete the run, but have to call Uber for a ride to the hotel. I’d never done that before, though once I called a friend for a ride. I decided to tough it out.

At this point, the “run” became incredibly slow, like 24-minute miles. My legs just hurt too much. But I continued. It also grew darker and darker since it was now past 7pm. At least it wasn’t getting much colder. That helped a lot.

Soon, it was very dark. There were not many people on the path at that point. Just an occasional pedestrian or bicyclist. I used my iPhone flashlight to help some. I also was listening to the Raiders game, although whenever I would try to take a video, it would crash the app—and my phone. Like not just a little crash, but a catastrophic one, where I could do nothing, not even reset my phone or turn it off. It would at least turn itself off after about five minutes. I am thinking it’s because I am using a beta OS and it’s not quite ready for prime time. But hopefully someone is testing it out with NFL app and the camera app.

A fun thing was passing by the football stadiums of the highs schools, where they were having band practice at night. just something fun to experience, the horns and drums emanating from the stadium.

When I finally reached the hotel area, I headed to Smart and Final for a Heath Bar and then to In and Out for a fries and chocolate shake. No burger as I just don’t enjoy those more than once or twice a year. Finally, back to the hotel, after a stop in the lobby for coffee. Then to the room. Okay, then back down to the lobby since my keycard no longer worked. It’s just something that happens when it spends time so close to a smartphone, which it did for nine hours on the run.

I got that resolved and finally was in my room. I did have some food but then it was time for a long hot bath. The blisters didn’t look any worse, although I didn’t actually remove the bandaids either. I got some video work done and packed up for leaving in the morning. Then it was to sleep, which was a little bit of a problem. My right calf muscle (Tibialis Anterior) was incredibly sore and in a little pain from the demands of the run. I considered a pill for the pain, but I didn’t want to waste it, so i just muscled through it and finally fell asleep.