View Benchmark and sub peak solo: It was a perfect morning for a nice cruise to the summit of VB. I wanted to beat the storm so I started early and the temps were so good with no wind. I put on my ipod, selected my "Ritz Classics" playlist (New Wave classics from the 80's) and got into a good gear and just had a nice run all the way up. I only passed one runner and two guys on bikes on the lower trail, but above Ann's I didn't see another person the whole time. I loved it. When I hit the VB trail I was in a casual running apathy when "Murderous" by Nitzer Ebb came on and immediately my pace picked up. No way you can run soft with Nitzer Ebb cranking in the ipod. While I was on the summit of VB the sub-peak to the west caught my eye and I decided I wanted to run over there and tag it, so I took the most direct route, which required some mild bushwhacking, but eventually I made it to a 4X4 road that goes up to the top. At the summit of the sub-peak I was greeted by a big hawk that took off only about 10 feet from me and I watched it float away. The wind picked up and the temps dropped a little up there and I took a few minutes to take in the views and then I ran back down the road which eventually runs into the VB trail. The sub-peak added a little over a mile and I will probably add it into my VB runs when I have time. I was having a sweet run down, enjoying my music and when I was on the connector trail my toe caught a root and I took a hard digger in almost the same place that Jun did a few weeks ago. Luckily my handheld bottle took a lot of the impact, but I did bang my shoulder and my hip. Nothing serious, but it was a hard fall. The rest of the run was just a nice easy cruise back to the car. As always this trail didn't disappoint.
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