The last week of August through Labor Day weekend ended up being 9 days of travel! Five of the days had been planned for months to celebrate my husband’s birthday in Maine. Prior to our scheduled trip, I found out that I needed to visit California for a work trip. Twist my arm. My company is located just north of Malibu, in a town called Thousand Oaks. The elevation isn’t too bad – just shy of 1000 feet. I looked at the forecast, saw lower dew points and humidity, and couldn’t wait to do all my workouts.
My flight arrived earlier than expected, and I was left with an entire Sunday afternoon to myself. I visited Wildwood Regional Park; a colleague told me there were great trails.
Finding the parking lot was easy, and it wasn’t overly crowded with temps climbing into the low 90s by afternoon. Despite the sign at the trail head to watch for bob cats and rattlesnakes, I was undeterred. Plus, a friendly mountain biker told me which way to go! I ended up walking and running about 4 miles and was treated to spectacular views. I could still see where the fires happened last summer; not much has grown back.
I came back to the car elated with how my workout went and noticed just how warm my water bottle had gotten. The dry heat is real. I then drove down to Malibu to put my toes in the Pacific Ocean. Once I had my fill, I had the best salad for dinner. It was quite possibly the truest day of summer vacation I could have imagined.
I flew back home on Wednesday night, arriving home around 1:30 AM; just in time to catch our 8AM flight to Boston. Once we arrived, we rented our car and drove north to Kennebunkport, ME. Y’all. I thought I had fallen in love with the weather in CA. But, Maine has called my name and reassured me I’m an East Coast girl through and through. The Atlantic Ocean up there is a blue you dream about. It’s such a deep blue it nearly took my breath away at the beauty of the coastline. We had the best weather, and I managed to squeeze in a few runs while there.
But, y’all, it’s officially September– I can’t wait to wear my running long sleeve shirts and shorts; it’s my favorite running outfit!
The Peak of Good Running 