There is a road we pass every time we leave or come home. It is gated at one end, and you cant see the other end, but what I love about this road is that it heads out into the hills, the green, cow covered hills. So Saturday, after service, with the girls on their bikes and Bubba in the jogger stroller, we headed out.
The run starts with a nice, long downhill stretch. It's not quad shredding downhill, but a slight downhill. Just enough that you can really open up your stride and pick up speed with a faster turn over w/o any knee, quad, or hamstring pain. Then we take a left onto the property of Cal State East Bay campus. Here we were now on a paved trail that curved into the hills and was a steady uphill. Just enough that you could feel the burn but still push through it to the top. The girls had a challenge getting up it, and Soph needed a boost right at the top, but they took it on like champs.
At the top of the hill is the college, we circled around it (it was empty being a weekend) and headed back down the same trail. Going down was a bit steeper than the first downhill section of the run, but not painfully steep.At the bottom of the trail we hung a right through a parking lot of the first of 8 baseball/soccer fields. This is the only way onto the closed road we had been eyeing. The road was a long, flat stretch, no cars, no people.....just hills and cows and a bit of fog in the distance.
After a bit there was a paved trail off to the left and I could just make out the familiar red and yellow that is usually a play structure of some sort, so I veered left and the family followed. Behind the trees was the neatest little park!
The entrance to the park was guarded by 2 signs, one on either side, warning of rattle snakes....could be a problem in the summer. There was a huge fenced off Oak tree and in the top a nesting house had been placed for a large, snake eating bird to come live. There was also a nice, clean restroom. So the kids played for 10 minutes while Brian and I figured out what this street was all about. Basically, it's just a street lined w/sports fields. I am guessing it's only opened in the summer, or when a field is rented out?? Anyhow, after 10 minutes we rounded up the kids and headed back out onto the street. The further down the street we went, I could start to tell the street was getting narrower at the end and was wondering what was going to happen. We didn't' know exactly what would be at the other end. Well, the paved road turned into a smaller, older, not taken care of paved road.
Then it ran into a metal fence.
There looked to be a trail off to the left, so I headed that way to see if it was passable w/the kids, while Brian went around the fence to see what was there. Brian's way won, and we headed round the fence onto a dirt fire road. That turned into a single track trail....my favorite thing! It was uphill and challenging for the girls and Brian pushing the jogger. At the top we came out where we had been on a hike last weekend. 
We were at the trail head that is on the other end of the street that dead ends at our back yard! So we were now back on pavement and a straight shot to home. Between us and home, however, there was a killer uphill! I have to say that Emma amazes me with what she can push herself up. She was up out of the saddle the entire climb and she just kept cranking and pushing herself up. She made it to the top w/o stopping, and I am telling you, this is a killer steep hill! 
I don't' know where an 8 year old gets that kind of drive and determination and willingness to feel the burn and keep going. Why would a kid do that?? I totally would have walked it at her age! : ) Sophie gave it a go and made it pretty far. I ran behind her giving her a boost for a bit before she called it done and hopped off. I am totally impressed with both of them...and my hubby w/his legs of steel pushing the jogger up this thing.
Once we all made it to the top, it was nothing but fast downhill until we got back to our front door.
You know when you find a new route and are in love with it?? I am not usually that enthusiastic about anything on a cold, damp, gray day. So to have loved this run as much as I did says a lot. We will have to do it a bunch before the trail fills in w/thistles this summer. It'll be a no go for anything w/tires once that happens! Also good news is that the next day, our legs felt no pain. With all the climbing and downhill, I was expecting to feel some soreness the next day, but no. It is just long enough, and just the right amount of challenging sections. With it only being 4.2 miles, we can be out the door and back in well under an hour. LOVE IT!!
There have been so many little things, like this run, that have made us so glad we ended up moving! You know what they say, every cloud has a silver lining. The cloud that was "the move" just keeps giving!
