Morning Run With Gretchen

Yay!!! My back has healed enough to let me do some longer distances- this morning I made the beautiful drive up to Donner to run with ultra-runner Gretchen. She is as nice as she is fast, and this morning's run was well matched since she was sore from the Diablo Marathon, and I am still working on my endurance (and being careful with my achy back). (Not to mention that I'm slow anyway.) We mostly chatted around the lake, and it was the perfect day for a nice easy run-about 6.5 to 7 miles around. It was beautiful out! Here is a picture of... well, of a tree, but I meant to get the road shoulder that we set out on.

We also ran on a nice stretch of trail on the east side of the lake by the park too, and it made me wish I had brought my camera on the run. There was a little bit of snow that we had to walk over, but for the most part, can I just say how lovely it was to run on pine needles? So soft and cushion-y, and fragrant! Here is a quick picture when we got back to the car, thirsty, but not too sweaty:

I meant to take a picture of the mountains on the the west side of Donner, but forgot. Instead I took a picture on the way back out the front of my windshield just to give a taste of how beautiful it was today~

Thanks Gretchen for the invite! Hope your soreness is all gone now, and that we can run together again soon~ :)