Big Basin Marathon and Lebron James

"We cannot live for ourselves alone. Our lives are connected by a thousand invisible threads, and along these sympathetic fibers, our actions run as causes and return to us as results."
– Herman Melville

 On Sunday the eighth, I ran a trail marathon in the Big Basin area of the Santa Cruz Mountains .That run finished at Waddell Creek at the Pacific Ocean. During that run, I thought about how much more difficult it is to run a marathon on the trails, compared to on the street. While running on the street, the runner has to look out and not trip on a curb or crack in the pavement. Of course, one also has to look out for and keep away from pedestrians and cars. I must admit that when I ran, at age 60, the Maui marathon, my first and only street marathon that that was fun as people were driving their cars honking horns, and screaming along the way.

While running Sunday, on that single track trail, I made sure to focus on the trail ahead. Sometimes, a runner can encounter honeybees or rattlers. I was pleased that I did not see any of those critters. However, there was a plethora of small and large size rocks that blended into the dirt trail along with protruding roots. And at times, I made sure that I could get underneath large overhead redwood trees that crossed the trail like a bridge. Other times, there were smaller trees laying across the trail like barriers. Also, a few places had real rocky areas that were extremely slippery and steep. I made my way carefully and did not fall or trip. Don’t forget that these trail races have elevation gains and losses. This particular run had about 3/5 of a mile of uphill and about a mile of downhill.

I was thankful that I was able to dip my hat into the Creek as the temperature was extremely warm. I was also pleased for the temperature change for the last 8 miles or so. Early on, during the run, I checked my heart rate monitor and was concerned that my pulse was so high, even while running the down hills. Not doing well in the heat, I made sure not to push myself and get into trouble with heat exhaustion. I continued to monitor .All in all, it was good and I and walked frequently, especially up the hills. I must have done everything right, since I didn't cramp or have severe symptoms from heat exhaustion.

On the other hand, Tony tripped, fell down and developed cramps while blocking the trail. Other runners looked at him and he told them that he’d be all right. Well, he got up and continued running without any other incidents. Later on we talked about Lebron James and his cramping up during the first game against San Antonio in the finals. Tony called him an unflattering term and said he wasn’t tough. He said all James had to do was run up and down the basketball court, while he ran 31 miles. On top of that, Lebron James fell to the basketball floor and his teammates picked him up. No one picked up Tony.

All in all, it was good as we stayed with ride and tie friends in Santa Cruz. George and Judy drove us to the start, met us on the trail and was there at the finish. Over the weekend we told ride and tie and running stories. George is a small animal vet, has artificial hips and still runs and rides.

It’s important that we keep moving, laughing, smiling, loving, bonding and appreciating.