A Different Point of View

“Many of the truths that we cling to depend on our point of view.”
-- Obi-Wan Kenobi

When I was little (5 or 6 years old), I always took note of this quote when I watched Star Wars. I thought it was referring to those scenic view stops on the side of the highway – that you should go look off various ones of various heights and you might see things differently.

What does this have to do with today’s blog post? Nothing really, except a chance to quote one of the BEST. MOVIES. EVER. and lead into what I did today.

10 hours of sleep only did so much to cure a tired post-race body but it was a good start. I found some new sore spots when I woke up – calves, abs, etc. We started off the morning with a 4-mile walk for the dogs (including a stop at a nearby restaurant – bagel, lox and mimosas = perfect rest day breakfast) and then I dropped my bike off for repairs – it turns out my gearing/chain dropping problems of yesterday were a result of a bent part that is easily (and cheaply) replaced.

The day was so lovely and sunny that I suggested to Jeff we finally take his (convertible) car out for a drive up Mount Hamilton. This is the large mountain that looms over our valley and atop it sits Lick Observatory. Built in the late 1800s, it at one point housed the largest telescope in the world. The road to the top of the mountain was constructed in 1875, for the purpose of horse-drawn carriages hauling observatory materials to the top. As such, it is a reasonably gentle grade that climbs 4600 feet over 19 miles (but full of stomach-turning hairpins). This makes it a popular – albeit still challenging – ride for local cyclists. One of these days, I WILL do this ride!

One point of view – Mt Hamilton and Lick Observatory from the valley floor (note: I stole this picture from another website, you can tell because it's summer and the hills are all brown!)

Going up up up in the foothills

Early in the drive, looking back towards home

7.5 miles up and it still looks so far!

Grant Ranch County Park, where Jeff and I did Muddy Buddy last year

And then finally we made it to the observatory! I hadn’t been there in roughly 25 years and they’ve added quite a few telescopes and domes in that time. This one, however, was the very first, the one they built this place for nearly 125 years ago!

Jeff with the view to the south, towards Henry Coe (the insanely steep mountain climb from our first century ride)

Large crane in place to install the newest telescope next week!

View to the north – I LOVE these mountains in the spring when they are still green

The road back down. One of my few memories of visiting this observatory as a child is stopping on the side of the road so my brother could toss his cookies.

How could I not appreciate Obi-Wan’s words with this view of home?

I have a heavy build week ahead in training, starting out easy as I recover from yesterday’s race and ending strong with a really long ride to simulate Boise and test my nutrition/hydration as well as my longest swim ever. Enjoy the rest now for I will be back to tired soon!

Training totals for week 16 (April 6-12):
Swim: 3350 yards
Bike: 19.5 miles
Run: 8.4 miles
Total time: ~4 hours

(plus 1.5 hrs of yoga)