Oh My Goodness

"It's a great day to be alive!" - Travis Tritt

  (For those new to RunningAhead's maps, make sure you use the drop down in the upper right of map to switch it to Satelitte. You can also zoom in super close to see the trail. Also, if you move your arrow over the elevation map, it'll give you exact elevation in feet, and follows along on the map, so you can see where the hill is on the map.)

Heading up on Shell Loop Trail

Looking down into the valley I usually run out of, and would run back out of 5 miles later.

Trying to show you that the trail just drops off right there. It was really steep coming up.

My legs took a breather at the top.

I love, love, love this section of trail. I could look down on the right and see where I'd eventually be, but this grass covered amazing trail would first drop me down to the left into a valley, then back out of it.

Loved spotting this! Some smart runner has a stash of electrolytes waiting for him in a tree!

This ones out of order, but it was toward the end of the run, running back out Stage.

Heading down Little Yosemite, you can just make out the tops of Castle Rock's rocks.

I was glad at the top of Yosemite that I knew where the trail was. There was the marker...but you had to look around to find the trail head a few hundred feet away.

Briones to Diablo trail...just a beautiful, rolling trail through the hills.

My shadow says "Hi".

I had some fun getting the cows riled up.

I mean, really?? It's almost too much beauty.

This cow is not French. He's definitely never used a bidet. I offered him some water to help out his back bumper situation, but he declined.

 

I've had all day to find words to put down in this post. I'm still in such awe of it that no matter what I say, it can't possibly explain how good the run was. How great if felt. How beautiful it was. How exhausting the intial climb was, but how invigorated I felt at the top.  How every time I looked up from the trail all I could manage to say was "oh my goodness!" 

I found myself very misty, very grateful, thankful, joyful (insert any upbeat word you can think of) that I get to live here....that I get to run these trails and pretend they are mine because I never see anyone else out here. That my kids get to see this.  That I have this outlet and am able to have "mommy time", "me time", "alone time"...whatever you would like to call it, out here. For me, this is exactly the alone time I need, in the form I need it. It leaves my legs tired, but my mind wide awake. I truely felt so alive today, so recharged, so happy.

I'm sure I looked like a crazy happy, smiling, cow chasing, singing lady out there today, and I'm 100% ok with that! Not only was the scenery just amazing, I was watching it go by while singing to some greats - Alabama's "I'm in a hurry", John Micheal Montgomery's 'Sold' -Grundy County Auction, Tim Mcgraw's "My Best Friend", and lots more, but man did I belt out Travis Tritt's "It's a Great Day to be Alive".   How could I not?

"And it's a great day to be alive
I know the sun's still shinin when I close my eyes
There's some hard times in the neigborhood
But why can't every day be just this good?"