Me and Maria Von Trapp

Recently I decided to run the “Backside” or what I call the backside of the former Fort Ord land near Laguna Seca. I hadn’t done this run in probably six months. I used to do it almost ever other week. The reason I hadn’t done it was simple - it’s brutal. I have to get really psyched up to run it because of some of the steep climbs. Some of those can be periods of extended torture. But the views of the Salinas Valley are worth the pain, especially on a sunny day. Those are days when I might run into hundreds of sheep grazing along the hillside.

Imagine that helicopter shot from “Sound of Music.” I’m Maria Von Trapp, arms open wide, soaking up the scenery, singing “The hills are alive...”
It’s just like that, except I’m wearing shorts and a sweaty T-shirt … and I’m too out of breath to sing … and my arms are pumping hard to keep my legs moving. But, other than that, it’s just like the “Sound of Music.”