Every year I think might not run the local Turkey Trot. It has been such a pain for many reasons. First off, they lost my registration TWICE last year. They do not start the runners in waves (though there are more than 10,000 runners) and most importantly, the whole race is on pavement.
But I’ve run the Turkey Trot for many years. It was my first race. It was the one that really set me on my way with running. I can walk to the race from my house even (big, big plus). The Turkey Trot holds a lot of nostalgia for me. And I have been known to be very nostalgic.
Well, this year, I went and did it. That is didn’t do it. I did not run the Turkey Trot. Instead, I ran with a friend on dirt, beautiful soft DIRT (& some rock : ). And it was lovely.
When we arrived to Aliso/Woods Canyons the air was FREEZING. That is literally. The wood post fence we climbed over had a layer of ice along it. Though I wore long sleeves, I wasn’t prepared – I wore shorts, didn’t have gloves or a beanie. So I wore my scarf tied over my head like my great-grandmother, Babcia used to.
After turning onto Wood Canyon which was still in the shade, we took a little detour onto Cave Rock Trail so we could get up on that rock into the sun. That didn’t really help warmth-wise. But the view of Wood Canyon from atop that rock was spectacular, green hills, blue skies with a bright sun beaming down promising to warm us up soon, very soon.
I had the bright idea to shortem the trip to the top by not running up Mathis. Instead we ran through that shady magical Oak Grove Trail and UP Car Wreck Trail. There was no running for me on the steepest parts of Car Wreck. Even hiking it was a chore. But it surely warmed me up.
So let it be known, running up Car Wreck is not actually a short cut. : )
A “runnable” portion of Car Wreck Trail
Sheila and Me at the top of Car Wreck, finally warm
Reaching the top of Mathis (via Car Wreck) was such a chore that the uphills remaining were pleasurable to run. We ran on up to Top of the World, and from there across over to Meadows, which we took down to Wood Canyon and back to the ranger station beneath gorgeous skies. Truly a run to be thankful for on a day that I am glad to remember all the things that I am so thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!!
Top of the World
Miles logged Thanksgiving morning: 9.25
Elevation Profile:
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was utterly freezing in OC yesterday morning.
ReplyDeleteWe've definately got a cold front in the OC. I have a pocket designated for beanie and gloves in my hydration pack for now!
ReplyDelete10k for a Turkey Trot! WTH?
ReplyDeleteWell, I was a little lazy in my writing. The 10,000 includes the 5k, 10k & kids races. My race (the 10k) had 4,000+ runners this year. It's so packed, it really is ridiculous.
ReplyDelete