Nothing but running, and more running....

Not much happening on the blogging front these days. Life goes on but nothing particular dramatic. I did do some lovely runs this weekend, but you are likely fed up with me singing the praises of trail running up in the foothills. But we did 14 miles yesterday, and 26 miles today, so we are feeling ready for the Way Too Cool 50K in a couple of weeks (that’s Way Too Cool as in the town of Cool, California where the race starts and finishes).

We did see something interesting today – a nice set of mountain lion prints in the trail. Two sets actually, perhaps a mother and a cub; at least one was significantly larger than the other. I have never seen a mountain lion in the wild, but obviously they are around. Interestingly the tracks we saw were just a mile or so away from the memorial to Barbara Schoener, a trail runner who was killed by a lion in 1994. That’s one of the reasons that we never run alone out there. There’s safety in numbers and so long as you aren’t the slowest runner you are alright – no?

There are not a lot of attacks, as you can see from this website, but we are encroaching on their territory more and more.

Valentine's Day

As we move into another holiday season, albeit a minor one created by Hallmark Cards, my neighbours, true to form, have floated another inflatable device on their roof.


This time it is some kind of frog or toad with Happy Valentines day on it's shirt. I am not quite sure what the connection is between Valentine's Day and frogs is, but, it's the thought that counts. A Happy Valentine's day to you!

Online Driver’s Traffic School.

I regret to say that I got a speeding ticket on my motorcycle a while back (last November). The road was so good (coming into Truckee) and I wasn’t paying enough attention and there just happened to be a CHP Officer who had nothing better to do that afternoon.

So I paid my fine, and I elected to do the Traffic School Online to remove the points from my record. However, actually completing the Traffic School is something that I have been procrastinating on rather seriously. As the deadline to complete the test approached, the pressure began to build. However, finally, I got down to it last week and I filed the necessary paperwork today – if all goes well, my record will remain clean.

The whole purpose of the Traffic School is to make you read a lot of material and then hope that some of it sticks (at least until you do the accompanying multiple choice tests). The way it is organized is that there are periodic tests which you cannot proceed beyond until you have answered all the questions correctly. Of course, if you want to be devious, you can fly through the material to the tests and then open up a new browser page and Google for the answers. That, of course, would not be playing fair and I would never do that.

The Sacramento Buddhist Meditation Group

Last weekend was the 15 year anniversary of the Buddhist group that I have been attending with more or less diligence over the last 8 or 10 years. They had a small celebration to celebrate their survival and growth and to recognize the people who made it all happen.

It is a wonderful group – a non-denominational Buddhist group with equal opportunity being given to all types on Buddhism - Zen, Theravadan, Tibetan and any flavor in between. There are no demands to proceed down any particular course of study or to improve your practice in any way, though there are many opportunities to do so – the cafeteria style Buddhism that we are so good at in the Western world.

It was great to hear the stories of how the founders got the group off the ground and it is quite amazing how it has survived and grown over the years. It is a wonderful group of people that I feel privileged to have them nearby.

Angel Island Run

This weekend I did a wonderful run on Angel Island down in the San Francisco Bay. It was one of the runs organized by Pacific Coast Trail Runs, whose motto “Runs that aren’t races in beautiful places” certainly was true for this event. The weather left a little to be desired – it was absolutely teaming down with rain as we waited to board the ferry out to the island, and there were times on the first lap of the island when it just seemed like a bad idea to run in such conditions, but after a while it turned out to be just fine – a little muddy, but great running weather.

Angel Island is a beautiful place with stunning views of San Francisco, the Bay and Golden Gate Bridges, Alcatraz, and Marin County. It was the “Ellis Island of the West Coast” in that it was the processing place for immigrants coming into the country from the east and it has been a military base from Spanish times up until quite recently. Now it is a California State Park, and the Ranger’s house there is perhaps in one of the most beautiful settings you could ever imagine. I wonder how you get a posting to that position?

What a contrast to be running along secluded wooded trails one minute and then every now and again coming into the open and seeing these breathtaking views of the bay and city. Even on a grey day like this last weekend it was impressive. The run was 25km so we got to do 3 laps around the island (each one at different levels). Very nice indeed and highy recommended. The folks at Pacific Coast Trail Runs put on a good event.

A New Running Aid....

After being scornful of GPS devices for runners for the last year or so, I finally broke down and bought one the other day. The idea of needing to know precisely where you are on the planet and how fast you are running and what your way back home is always seemed a little silly for a pastime as simple and basic as running. However, I do admit that sometimes it just helps to know how far you have gone - so you can turn around at the right time because, if you leave it to your own judgment, you will likely always turn around way too soon.


So I bought this nice little device – the Garmin Forerunner 201 and it is a truly amazing package. Just 3 in by 1.5 in, it fits nicely on your wrist and it gives you so much information – instantaneous pace, average pace, distance traveled, elapsed time, rest time (since it knows when you are not moving), even grade change - and it is accurate too! It even plots a little map of where you are relative to your start – enough to make sure you don’t get too lost on the way back.

I had so much fun with it, and, I confess, I am hooked. It will become as indispensable as the water bottle I carry I am sure (well almost anyway).

A River Runs By Us ....

We had quite a lot of rain in Northern California over the Christmas and New Year period. While I remained dry, thanks to the levees on the Sacramento River, there was and still is plenty of water flowing down river just a few hundred yards away from my door. My house is built in an area that would naturally flood every year if the river were not controlled, so I have more than a little interest in these things.

Here are a couple of pictures taken today on what was a beautiful Sunday afternoon here. One of the Sacramento River from the top of the levee close by my house; another of the Yolo Bypass – an area that is deliberately flooded by diverting water from the river in order to take some of the pressure off of Sacramento’s levees. That is Sacramento in the distance.



Since Hurricane Katrina and the flooding of New Orleans, everyone seems to be much more attuned to the potential for flooding. Individuals at the Army Corps of Engineers, who build and maintain the levees, have stated that New Orleans had better levee protection than Sacramento does! Now that New Orleans is devastated, Sacramento is the most vulnerable large city that is in danger of flooding. I would imagine flood insurance is selling quite well these days (I have mine already).

The New Car

So this weekend I bought a new car. Its something you have to do every 6 or 8 years and so I plucked up the resolve to deal with those car salespeople did the deal on Sunday. Actually it turned out to be quite painless in the end - it's just that I have this general mistrust of the whole car buying process and everyone involved in it. I just know that I am being screwed in some way or another.


Anyway, what I have is a 2006 Volvo XC70 in Lava Sand Metallic. It is a beauty! I am enjoying the new car smell, and being very careful with my driving (there is always that period of extreme defensive driving and careful choice of parking place until you get the first door ding and then things get back to normal).

Let My People Go Surfing

I have just finished reading Yvonne Chouinard’s story of his business life and how he built his company, Patagonia, into the company it is today. The book's title is Let My People Go Surfing (one of his early ideas was to allow people to take time off to do what they enjoyed provided the work got done – so if the surf was up, they could cut out and go surfing). I have always admired Yvonne Chouinard as a climber, adventurer and as a business person. He always seems to have done what he enjoyed doing, he has made some great products and he has one of the most ethical and environmental companies that I know of.

The sub-title of the book is "The Education of a Reluctant Businessman". I must admit, I have always felt somewhat like a reluctant businessman (if I can call myself one). Businessman never seemed to be a role you should necessarily aspire to. What on earth I was doing getting an MBA, I do not know - just one of those aberrations of my life in the 80's.

Anyway, I would highly recommend the book, as a business book, and as a good read for anyone who cares about the environment. It should be mandatory reading for any MBA program. If only more businesses were run with just a fraction of Patagonia’s ethics.

Olde English Bread Pudding

In recent years I have become a one-dish wonder (this is opposed to my previous career as a zero-dish wonder). Every time I have ever been asked to bring something to a dinner party, pot-luck event or whatever, I have produced a bread pudding.

Many years ago I came across this recipe for Olde English Bread Pudding, and being a big fan of bread pudding, I gave it a try. It was good, actually, even though I say it myself, it was great. So since that time, I have rarely diverged from that standard. With my limited cooking skills, why risk a change when you know something will work out and taste good.

Anyway, for posterity, here is the bread pudding recipe.

½ cup of Sugar
3 Large Eggs
2 cups of Whipping Cream
½ cup of Milk
2 tablespoons of Butter (at least)
½ Loaf of French Bread (day old preferably)
pinch of Salt
1 tablespoon of Vanilla
3 tablespoons of Currants (at least)
¼ cup Apricot Jam
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (at least)

1. Cut bread into squares and butter lightly (1/2 in to 1 in)
2. Arrange bread in layers in a buttered dish sprinkling with currants as you go
3. Whisk eggs and sugar together until blended
4. Bring Cream, Milk, Salt to boil and remove from heat
5. Gently but constantly whisk egg/sugar mix into cream/milk mix
6. Strain mixture over bread in bowl
7. Add remaining currants and butter to top
8. Bake in bain-marie for 40 mins at 350 or until golden brown.
9. Boil jam and sieve to remove the chunks and stir in Grand Marnier
10. Spread jam and Grand Marnier mix on top of the pudding.


Of course, as you will recognize from the ingredient list – it will taste good, it has to taste good with so much butter, cream, and sugar in it. While there are undoubtedly skills involved in cookery, your degree of success is enhanced if you liberally use these unhealthy ingredients.