So if I hate LA, I loves me some Bay Area. I could very easily live here. The climate is perfect. It’s breathtakingly picturesque. It’s very much an outdoor, adventure, endurance culture. And I’m a not so-closeted tech-geek. For this trip, I’m actually stationed in Palo Alto … satisfying the last of the aforementioned “loves” – technology. While the day was jam-packed with meetings, I managed to squeeze in some quality running.
I have been dying to run on Stanford’s ridiculously beautiful campus. A few weeks ago I contacted a teammate for potential routes as he recently ran for the Cardinal. Among others, he gave me the Campus Drive Loop, which I gladly explored. I left my hotel and jogged down Palm Road. Yes, it’s lined with palm trees.
I’ve been to Stanford a few times but always in a car and in a drive-by situation. This would be my first running experience. On Campus Drive, I trotted by Cobb Track and Angell Field (Stanford’s track) and made a mental note to swing by at the end of my run. Sufficiently warmed up after 2 miles, I decided to attempt a tempo at MP (7:35). After about a 1.5 miles, it felt a little too much like work for what I had planned for the day, so I backed off and just ran at a comfortable pace.
After completing the loop, I kept rolling until I hit the track stadium. Surprisingly, it was not locked. I saw a kid’s camp (lots of complaining going on), a trainer with a number of his clients and a few stragglers working out. I decided to jog for 800m and snap a couple of pics:
I screwed up most of the pictures (hence why I never take them), but those were the best of the bunch. Then I wheeled back toward Palm Drive to return to my hotel … it is a business trip. Gotta get to work! 
A solid start to the day with 8 miles at 8:27 pace.
Oh, but we are not done! Hardly peeps! After a day of endless meetings, I made certain I that doubled down on the Big Red goodness. I washed the running gear after the morning run and it was sufficiently dry to go out for round 2. Same route, same perfect weather, but with more peace of mind that I knew where I was going … despite being a circular route, I tend to be directionally challenged …
I expected to the legs to be heavy or at a minimum not as responsive as they were 8 hours earlier. Nope. I felt strong … more relaxed and in sync. (I wore the compression socks after the morning run.) Actually, I kind of hit a zone for a while, which certainly has not been the case for the last few weeks. I felt the best I have in quite some time. Not having to contend with 85% humidity will tend to do that to you. I didn’t pay attention to the watch and only glanced down towards the end of the run and noticed a significantly quicker pace. I was getting stronger as the run progressed and could have easily posted bigger mileage, but felt that 7 miles at 8:15 pace was a good effort for the second stint.
The obvious reason for the double is that it’s not every day I can whirl around a stunning, bucolic campus for distance. The other reason is that doubles will very soon find a slot in the regular routine. Marathon training plan coming …
For the day, a fantastic 15 miles. Also, confirmation of two certainties: (1) I’m not broken and (2) I’m never leaving Palo Alto.