The Dawn Jogger thought a bit carefully about where she was going to jog on this last day of 2011, and therefore the last day of Dawn Jogger 2011.The excitement was that she was actually jogging, as she had done earlier in the week, while still being cautious with the cranky knee.

Her instinct initially was to combine two favorites, Lake Lagunita and Big Dish. But as this was the end of the year along with the end of Dawn Jogger 2011, she decided to take a new path.

Last fall the jogging/walking path along Alpine Rd. to Arastradero was re-paved and slightly altered. This was the route she and the male DJ would take when they resumed their Saturday morning outings following his treatment for glioma and the various side effects they had to navigate. The male DJ would walk and she’d jog and then they would have breakfast Mike’s Cafe. So taking the slightly new path was also a way to remember the many, many years of their hiking together with trusty dog Cassie along with the life they had forged together post cancer diagnosis.

When she was in New York at New Year’s last year, the female DJ had started tracking her daily mileage though an online service called Map My Run. Her goal was to get to 30 miles a week, and while most of the time she didn’t make it, she didn’t fall too far short. She added it all up and found she walked/jogged/hiked 1,440 and 1/3 miles in 2011.

The route today was only 3.5 miles but she felt ever step as muscles woke up that aren’t used as much in walking. She felt good.

She’s blogged about jogging at dawn since 2005 (she thinks, she’d have to look it up). Time to move on. But maybe she’ll get a dog in 2012…