From neighborhood streets to creekside trail

Today’s run was a nice mixed route: I started on regular streets and then connected into the paved and unpaved sections of the Penitencia Creek Trail, following it all the way to Alum Rock Park. I really like this kind of progression—leaving home on asphalt, gradually trading cars and houses for creek, trees, and parkland as the miles go by.

Perfect “almost rainy” running weather

The forecast called for light rain, but the temperature turned out to be just about perfect for running, staying between 52 and 55 °F (11 to 13 °C). I left right after a light shower had passed, and for most of the run I only caught a bit of drizzle—just enough to keep things cool without soaking me. With about two miles to go, the light rain came back, but instead of being a problem it actually felt like a good, refreshing way to wrap up the effort.

Going solo this time

This one was a solo run—no bike support, no cameras following me, just me, the trail, and the audiobook in my ears. After several runs with family crew along, it felt a bit different to go back to being on my own, but the changing scenery from city to creek to park helped keep my mind engaged all the way to Alum Rock. Since I forgot my Insta360 X5 at home, I ended up recording a few clips with my phone along the creek inside Alum Rock Park, and it reminded me very quickly how bad the phone footage looks compared to the X5.

Goodbye, Murderbot (for now)

Somewhere along the miles today, I finished listening to All Systems Red, by Martha Wells, the first book in The Murderbot Diaries. It was fun having Murderbot’s sarcastic, reluctant-hero voice as company for these last few runs, and closing the audiobook right as I wrapped up this route to Alum Rock felt like a neat way to end both the story and the workout at the same time. I’m definitely going to check out the next book in the series to see where Murderbot goes from here.