Mt. Tamalpais - hours to get up, minutes to come down. That was yesterday's ride from the Mission district to the summit of Mt. Tam in Marin County. Myself and four others from MA set out to conquer the 2,600 ft mountain north of the city. Tam is a big recreation spot for those who live in the city & Marin. It's home to trails for runners, hikers, and mountain bikes. Cyclists and cars take on Route 1, Panoramic & Pantoll Roads and if you go down the west side of the mountain, you have your pick of beaches to surf or swim at too.
We all met up at the Bridge and then rode down to Mill Valley. The initial 750 feet were God awful. The ride to Mill Valley was decent and easy, then all of a sudden you're just hit with an instant hill. We stopped at 750 believing we had to be 1000-1200 feet along the way... unfortunately, we thought wrong. I know 2600 feet doesn't sound like a lot, but it's a gradual climb. It's about 7-9 miles depending on where you start from. So you're climbing steadily for hours.
Sun, sunburn, heat, warm water bottle, melting granola bars, neck cramps, covered in dirt & grease, cars trying to rush to the beach, these were just some of the conditions. When we reached the amphitheatre, (there is a theatre built into the mountain) I think I had hit the point in the day where I was no longer in the right state of mind. I remembered that my first trail run started at that amphitheatre. The Mt. Tam Wild Boar 18k trail race - sponsored by Envirosports.
It was in May 2008, and I was such a newbie. I had idea what I was doing. I had no idea what trail running really was. Dave Horning, the race director gives a speech at every race and that day he started by telling us that "you're going to start out, and you're gonna climb and climb, and climb, and just when you think you're done - you're going to climb some more!" Well that was certainly true yesterday. But who would have thought that first trail race would catapult me into so many competitions in the bay area?
Riding by the theater was definitely one of those "whoa, I've come a long way since then" moments. I was probably still hung over from the night before, and most likely had a latte and a bagel with cream cheese (because who doesn't love a stomach full of dairy before an 18k run?), and I think I wore cotton. I ran fast & hard for the first few miles, then had to walk/run, and drank too much at the water station, so then I felt sick.... I was a mess. I swore I never would do it again. The people who sign up for these races are crazy, the people who organize them are crazy, who would construct such a course?!
I ended up running another 4-5 trail runs with Envirosports that year. In 2009 I did maybe a dozen or so more, including Alcatraz. It was my first time on Mt. Tam that day - the Wild Boar run. And since then, I have hiked, cycled, run, and mountain biked all over that thing. It might suck sometimes, but I never feel worse after working out on Mt. Tam. Obviously some learning lessons along the way have helped make the experience more enjoyable!
And yesterday was no different. When we reached the top - views were amazing. The ride down was awesome and well worth the hellish climb. This will be my last long ride before Tahoe - taper is officially starting!
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