A long walk
Jun. 4th, 2006 11:38 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
klwilliamsI've been so busy at work (fifty-hour or longer weeks) that I haven't had very much time for walking, much less anything else that wasn't work related. With the Overnight walk coming up in six weeks, I decided to try an eleven-mile walk, just to see how I'd do, and that's what I did yesterday.
I took the Stevens Creek trail, which is a paved walking/bicycle trail that runs along Stevens Creek. My mother pronounces the name as Stevens Crick, which should give you an idea of how small the creek is during summer. Where I picked up the trail, it runs between houses and next to, across, and under several freeways, but you really can't see any buildings for the trees and bushes that line the trail. Where I started, the trees are oak and pine and the like, and the grass is mostly green next to the creek. It's like walking through the edge of a forest, something that I really enjoy, as it brings to mind elves and fairy tales.
After a little while, the trail runs right next to where I work (one of the key factors for using this trail, since it has useful bathroom and cold drink stops), and just past Microsoft the terrain changes. Instead of trees lining the trail, the creek and its line of trees are to the right, and the trail itself is open, and runs next to a tree nursery. At this point the grass has gone golden brown for the summer, and the breeze off the bay picks up.
A mile or so later, the trail reaches the protected wetlands area, where Stevens Creek runs into a salt marsh. Here, bright yellow mustard flowers line the trail, and deep green rushes grow in the marsh. The only water birds I've seen along here are ducks, unlike the wetlands farther north. The trail branches here, and I always take the short branch deeper into the marsh because it's so beautiful there, then take a wooden bridge (I adore wooden foot bridges) across to meet up with the other branch.
The trail has reached the bay itself, and runs along the edge of the bay. There is a cool breeze off the bay, and the grass here is almost white. The water yesterday was a little choppy, but it didn't seem to bother the birds. This section of the trail curves around along the bay until it reaches Shoreline Park, which has a golf course and a sailing lake along with a large grassy picnic area. The golf course has a restaurant (with bathrooms) where I picked up a cold Coke to go.
The trail itself runs along the outside of the park proper, and would continue on to the wetland area that I like to walk in that's farther north, but that connecting trail was closed (or I would have gone for a seventeen-mile walk yesterday), so I turned around and headed back.
It was a beautiful walk, and I made sure to drink lots of water and take rests when I needed them. I also needed quite a bit of Ibuprofen so that my knees weren't in agony the whole way. Even so, the last three miles or so were amazingly slow, since I just couldn't get my legs to move very fast. I'm worried that on the walk itself I might end up being too slow.
I'm going to start making time for more walks in the next six weeks, and plan to do another test walk that's as close as I can get to a full twenty miles before the day itself. Today I'm just a little bit sore, and my knees are fine, so that's very encouraging.
I took the Stevens Creek trail, which is a paved walking/bicycle trail that runs along Stevens Creek. My mother pronounces the name as Stevens Crick, which should give you an idea of how small the creek is during summer. Where I picked up the trail, it runs between houses and next to, across, and under several freeways, but you really can't see any buildings for the trees and bushes that line the trail. Where I started, the trees are oak and pine and the like, and the grass is mostly green next to the creek. It's like walking through the edge of a forest, something that I really enjoy, as it brings to mind elves and fairy tales.
After a little while, the trail runs right next to where I work (one of the key factors for using this trail, since it has useful bathroom and cold drink stops), and just past Microsoft the terrain changes. Instead of trees lining the trail, the creek and its line of trees are to the right, and the trail itself is open, and runs next to a tree nursery. At this point the grass has gone golden brown for the summer, and the breeze off the bay picks up.
A mile or so later, the trail reaches the protected wetlands area, where Stevens Creek runs into a salt marsh. Here, bright yellow mustard flowers line the trail, and deep green rushes grow in the marsh. The only water birds I've seen along here are ducks, unlike the wetlands farther north. The trail branches here, and I always take the short branch deeper into the marsh because it's so beautiful there, then take a wooden bridge (I adore wooden foot bridges) across to meet up with the other branch.
The trail has reached the bay itself, and runs along the edge of the bay. There is a cool breeze off the bay, and the grass here is almost white. The water yesterday was a little choppy, but it didn't seem to bother the birds. This section of the trail curves around along the bay until it reaches Shoreline Park, which has a golf course and a sailing lake along with a large grassy picnic area. The golf course has a restaurant (with bathrooms) where I picked up a cold Coke to go.
The trail itself runs along the outside of the park proper, and would continue on to the wetland area that I like to walk in that's farther north, but that connecting trail was closed (or I would have gone for a seventeen-mile walk yesterday), so I turned around and headed back.
It was a beautiful walk, and I made sure to drink lots of water and take rests when I needed them. I also needed quite a bit of Ibuprofen so that my knees weren't in agony the whole way. Even so, the last three miles or so were amazingly slow, since I just couldn't get my legs to move very fast. I'm worried that on the walk itself I might end up being too slow.
I'm going to start making time for more walks in the next six weeks, and plan to do another test walk that's as close as I can get to a full twenty miles before the day itself. Today I'm just a little bit sore, and my knees are fine, so that's very encouraging.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-06-04 07:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-04 07:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-04 08:47 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-05 12:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-05 12:09 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-04 11:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-04 11:53 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-05 12:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-05 02:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-05 05:24 am (UTC)I think it's fantastic you're doing so well with the walking!
no subject
Date: 2006-06-06 08:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-05 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-06 08:22 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-06 08:30 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-07 03:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-06-08 01:02 am (UTC)You go, girl!