This was my first “real” weekend in my house in Novato and thankfully, it was a three day weekend too! I did my fair share of applications, but made sure to step away from the computer and enjoy the abundant sunshine and warmth that I exists in Northern Marin County. When looking for trails in Northern Marin, I know that I could have gone for the spots you hear about – Tennessee Valley, Mount Tam, China Camp…etc. All amazing locations!! But, I was looking for less time driving and something close that I could rely on as a normal route.
We have some winners!
Saturday this 6 mile loop (easily adding on because there were multiple times that I thought I was going to get lost) was less than 4 miles from my house and no highway needed!
Visitors are always welcome here. The path was shaded for the majority which is key if you want to avoid some heat. There was a substantial climb for about the first few miles and then a nice consistent downhill for some, along with a little bit of rolling through meadows (not shaded, obviously).
On Sunday, I did more of a hike without even getting into my car. On my first night of staying over a few weeks ago, I found this trail near my house but drove to the entrance near the highway. When I ran along it, I noticed that it was heading parallel to the street that eventually leads to my house, but I didn’t want to do more than an hour so by 30 minutes I did not see an ending in sight so turned around and returned to my car.
The other morning I noticed a trailhead exit onto my street and saw that I was right! It was the same trail that I ran along. Well, this made my day for sure! I used the hike as an applications break and walked down the street for an hour long hike!
The part that I ran along was pretty flat, but the part that I picked up by my house was rolling. Either way who could ask for anything better than a trail down your street?? I was on it for about an hour so it can make for a good length run!
Today, a friend and I redeemed our groupon for kayaking in Half Moon Bay that we had since April! These are photos after our 4 hour class because once the instructor mentioned capsizing, I was not going to be the idiot to lose her phone. The day was beautiful! We hugged the beach and cove while watching sea lions sunbathe 🙂
A beer and lunch was necessary after those hours on the water!!
Overall, the weekend was wonderful! I am settling in, with just enough time to pack up and head home to New York for a few days to see family and attend my Running Coach Certification Workshop with RRCA!
Off to bed since I have a bootcamp in the am!
Running on Faith 
How lucky you are to have such great trails so close to home! I’m glad you gave yourself a break from all the applications this weekend 🙂 We went kayaking about a month ago in Bodega Bay thanks to a Groupon. We got to kayak with seals which was really cool, but I was a little worried about capsizing! Luckily I managed to stay dry, though the boy definitely flipped his kayak trying to get a little closer to the seals.