A New Life - New Trails

Prior to my last post, I was noticeably absent for about a month and a half. "Why?" you might ask. Well, life has turned around 180 degrees for me.

I had to return back to L.A. from my travels early to attend to a family emergency. Everything turned out fine (thankfully) and it allowed me to spend some more time with the lady (never a bad thing) and rest up a little before moving up to Berkeley.

Pretty typical view from the trails in Berkeley.

The move was relatively painless. It's great running here in late summer. The lows are in 50s, highs in the 70s...PERFECT running weather. And quite frankly, I'm getting spoiled.

Eucalyptus forest

And the trails. Boy, the trails here are amazing. There are so many here in the hills above campus, it's a giant maze. What's amazing is how quickly the vegetation changes. One minute, you're in a giant redwood forest, the next on an exposed trail surrounded by brush and grasses, and then you might hit a eucalyptus tree forest. I supposed that's due to all the little sub-climates here in the area.

Redwood Forest

Unfortunately, school has been extremely busy. Generally, I'm on campus 12 or so hours a day, followed by around four or five hours of studying at home. That leaves little time for running (and sleeping for that matter). I may not be running ultras this fall (school is supposed to get less busy after the first semester), but will hit some of the many short trail races here in the area. There are so many to choose from!