Hiking Martinez: The Franklin Ridge Loop

Went hiking with my friend B on Saturday up above Martinez.  A general description of the area, starting at the Nejedly Staging Area is here.  I like the bit where it says, "you'll find a choice of three routes to the ridge, all somewhat steep."  The Hulet Hornbeck trail is "somewhat" steep the same way that a hurricane is "somewhat" breezy.  While not straight up, there were no switchbacks to offset the elevation change, and we had to pause several times on the way up just to catch our breath.  Once you get up to the Franklin Ridge trail, things are more level overall, but there's still another trip down the ridge and back up before having to descend once again to the parking lot.  A great workout, indeed.  From the top, the views across the bay  were amazing, but I actually preferred to watch the hillsides, with wild grasses rippling in the wind.

Sunday involved...another run!  The Serpentine loop twice, for 3.8 miles, plus a little extra running on the Edgewood trail to come in at 4 miles of solid running.  This was the first time I ran the loop counter-clockwise, and it made for much easier inclines.  (After all those steep slopes the previous day, I needed all the help I could get.)  I'm in ahead of my targeted training distance, which is fine by me.  This coming weekend, I might do this same four miles again to really cement the distance, or I might run just a little bit farther.  My legs feel fine today, though my running partner, P, is complaining of lots of soreness.

(Of course, the reason that P is sore is because this was his first run in quite some time.  I'm not sore because I train regularly.)

Did some basic weight lifting at the gym this morning.  Push-ups (against a bench, so I was able to do more reps), body-weight rows using the squat cage, pilates roll-ups, assisted pull-ups, and horizontal cable chops.  Lots of nice core and upper body work, and strenuous enough that I know I'm going to be sore from this tomorrow.  :)

Purchased my first stone fruits of the season at the Vallejo farmers' market on Saturday!  Cherries and apricots.  The two apricots were devoured after the hike; a cup full of cherries enjoyed with my lunch just now and more for the next couple of days.