TALES FROM THE TRAIL (AND SOMETIMES THE ROAD TOO)

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Not Quite Mt. Everest

I got out for my first run since Calico.  Wow.  My calves and shins were tight.  I stretched them after a half mile, and then again at 1.5 miles.  Then I headed off to the steepest hill in the park: Mentally Sensitive. 

Mentally Sensitive was a BEAR to climb today – a grizzly bear.  Sheesh!!!  I actually found myself staggering.  In my near delirium, I noticed a guy back about a quarter mile.  I never see anyone climb up Mentally Sensitive.  This guy was really moving. And he wasn’t running, he was hiking.  He passed me pretty quickly, in super spirits too.  He stunned me with his ability.  I could tell he was a runner by his attire and his gear, yet he didn’t run one step up this trail (that I saw).  He marched up that gigantic hill.  In my miserable stagger we spoke briefly, and he was so positive over the difficulty, visibly happy over it, I thought to myself, I HAVE TO practice his strategy.  His strong hike beat my run by a long, long shot.

Overall, I had a wonderful run in one of my favorite wilderness parks (Aliso/Wood Canyons).  I ran what I call The Big Loop, about 13 1/2 miles.  And I ran it faster than I have before (by about 15 minutes!)  Being my last run for January, I came up short running the elevation of Mt. Everest for the month.  Almost 8,000’ short.  That’s okay.  I’m bound to do it in February with Old Goat a mere two months away. 

Some of the beautiful moments on today’s run:

Today’s profile:Running Big Loop Aliso clockwise 1-30-2013, Elevation - Distance

4 comments:

  1. I've seen people hike like that before. I try my best to do it as well but I'm not fast yet. I plan on working on it a lot later this year. Mt Everest! Lol!

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    1. Thanks for reading Johann. At first I thought Everest elevation in a month wouldn't be terribly difficult. Now, I'm finding that it's quite difficult! Perhaps I will make it in March when one race will equal about 13,000'. :)

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  2. Replies
    1. I know Glenn. It was so odd to see so many deer at once, I couldn't believe my eyes. And their coats were so dark, at first it confused me so much I thought, "What are those calves (not sure if that''s the plural of calf)?" And they didn't even budge when I stopped to take a picture. I think this proves there are no mountain lions in this island wilderness. :)

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