Andrew Molera State Park recovery run

Thursday 17th October

We were awake early again today having gone to "tent" early last night. It didn't take long to pack up the tent and other gear and then we headed a few miles up the coast to the Andrew Molera State Park where we had planned to do our first post marathon run.

Our plan had been to run down the trail to the beach and then run a mile or so on the nice forgiving surface of sand. However, we had not counted on the tide being in and there being, unfortunately, no beach to run on. Instead we headed along the coast path for a mile or so until it became apparent that there was not going to be a convenient loop and so we turned back. At a divide we took the Ridge Path which climbed quite steeply and continued for a mile or so before forking left onto Hidden Trail. This cut down through a wooded valley and across the river to rejoin our outward path. There were signs up warning of mountain lion sightings in the area. I was concerned that I would not be ale to outrun a mountain lion on post marathon legs. Martin was much more relaxed as he figured that he only had to out run me!

We did an easy 6 and a half miles and I was very encouraged by how good my legs felt. A slight tightness in the left calf and some stiffness in the right Achilles but that's pretty much the norm these days and both eased out once we were warmed up. Martin had a slight muscle pull at the top of his thigh but nothing that a few more days of rest and recovery won't take care of.

After our run we drove a little further up Highway 1 and stopped at one of the many incredibly scenic vista points to brew up some coffee. Driving the route of the Big Sur marathon caused us some nostalgia and though we have a policy not to run the same marathon twice we both felt that we would like to return and do this one again some day.

We decided to drive up to Santa Cruz next and re-visit the Natural Bridges Beach on the northern side of the resort. This is a beautiful beach with big sections of flat rock dividing small picturesque and largely deserted coves. It was another lovely day but the breeze was quite strong and cool on the coast and it is amazing how much colder the sea is just a few hundred miles further north. I braved a mid thigh paddle but it was much too cold to stay in for long and there was a very strong undertow, I certainly would not have wanted to get out of my depth here.

Later we drove onto San Jose with one brief stop to pick up a birthday gift before going to Sherry and Rich's house. As always the welcome was warm - it always feels like coming home to arrive there.