Palm Sunday Run

Sunday, March 20, I hit the trails after church for solo Palm Sunday run.  It was also the spring equinox, as well as, the Persian New Year (which I know because the majority of my students are Persian).

Anyway, I thought it apropos to run Santiago Truck Trail and take the first steep unmarked single-track up to a cross monument that stands high above the trails there. Over time, people have placed a multitude of little items on the rocks that surround the cross – things like glass, and pieces of barbed-wire. I left the cross that was given to me at church that morning. It was made from palms in Tanzania.

Though the hills were a struggle for me on Sunday. I felt at peace with them. From the monument, I ran out to the vulture crags where I took a seat on the ground beneath the flags flying nearby. The the flapping sound of these flags whipping around in the wind added even greater peace and calmness that I think I really needed. After taking in the view of The O.C. beneath these flags for at least twenty minutes, I headed back and came up on two snakes – one tiny black snake and another larger brown colored one. I also came upon three or four solo cyclists. Total miles run this Palm Sunday:  7.73  with 1,439 feet of elevation gained.