Location: Not Middle Earth
Sometimes you have a really good run. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does we are reminded of why we do this.
That happened for me over the weekend. I was out of town and headed up further into northern California, maybe a couple hundred miles West of Tahoe. It had been raining most of the morning and I was waiting for a break to head out.
Mid-afternoon, when the first lady took her nap, my moment arrived. I threw on my gear and headed out the door. I didn’t really have a distance in mind, but knew a familiar route that had a turnaround spot at a waterfall.
It was 4.25 miles downhill, which means for an out and back, the back would be all uphill. I have done this route before, but with my recent 50 mile event and my legs recovering strong, the miles flew by pretty quickly.
A view of the waterfall from the road.
It had been wet, overcast, cloudy and cold all morning which set the mood of the run. The weather hadn’t changed much, but the tall trees protected me from the sporadic rain. I found myself drifting in and out of a comfort zone. The steep incline prevented me from putting it on autopilot, but I found myself having that “brilliant” feeling for segments of the route. It was fitting that I had my Mizuno shoes on and it crossed my mind that THIS would be the perfect example of a Mezamashii run. Quick, where is the running shoe paparazzi?
The Mizuno’s take a closer look.
I finished in about an hour and a half, with some time taking pictures and walking around the waterfall. With the recent rain, it was flowing pretty strong.
One way to fill up your waterbottle. DO go chasing waterfalls.
I was glad I headed out and the legs seemed pretty comfortable with the elevation. Maybe they are getting used to running on the side of mountains. This route actually didn’t include the bottom of the waterfall. I’ve never been that far down the mountain… yet.
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Have you ever had an unexpected great run?
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What a great place to run! It looks amazing!
Awesome scenery! Happened to me today, always happens when I least expect it and i just relax!
Great photos! I’m desperately in need of a brilliant run; my runs have just become so dull since it’s so cold outside.
I want to run there!
Beautiful run! I tend to run the same routes over and over :( Merry Christmas!!
the last minute runs, with no expectations, are the best! looks peaceful.
love those unexpected great runs!!
Uh Oh! I’d be weary about drinking that water! You don’t want to get giardia! That wouldn’t make for a fun XMAS that’s for sure! :)
Have a wonderful holiday!
What an awesome run! I love the autopilot portions of runs. I had an unexpected brilliant run today. It was 4 miles with speed intervals at the end. I just felt really strong. I loved it!
Congrats on an awesome run. Those runs really do help you remember why you run. I had one last week that was without music and Garmin and just lovely. I don’t know the pace, but it just felt great! These views probably helped a lot too. Merry Christmas!