Redemption Run

I woke through the night once again, twice from leg cramps.  Still, I felt more rested when I woke for good (probably because I bedded down at 8:30 PM).  Also on the good side, our cold Southern California coastal weather warmed up a bit.  (We got around 43F!!).  Be that as it may, this morning I didn’t need the cold to kick my butt up the hill and start running.  I was raring to go.  My first race of 2013 is a mere 11 days off, and though I’m not even near the condition  I wanted for the race that started me on my way as a trail runner, I’m okay with that.  I just wanted to put in the mileage this morning.  And my race in 11 days . . . that will be a mini-vacation for my family, as well as, another training run for me as I edge closer to the Old Goat 50 Miler.  (Oh no! Here we go!!!)

This morning, I decided on about a 10.5 mile (approx. 17 km) counter-clockwise loop in Aliso/Wood Canyons.  Make that a lollipop loop – a lollipop that climbed Mathis Trail.  I took my two oldest boys up Mathis about two weeks ago, and felt like a bad mom for doing so.  But they conquered Mathis with little moans and groans.  As such, I thought I’d do a little redemption run up that very trail.  Dang!  It’s a toughie. 

Bundled up at Aliso/Wood Ranger Station ready to warm my bones:

Creek Crossing on Mathis:

Suiting down for the run up Mathis:

After that gigantic climb I ran across Top of the World, past Mentally Sensitive and did some bushwhacking back to the steepest trail in the park.  Now, when I run up Mentally Sensitive, I have been known to grow angry over how much the climb kills me.  I think to myself, “It shouldn’t hurt this badly!”  If you ever feel that way about an ascent, take my advice.  Run DOWN that hill.  When I ran down Mentally Sensitive this morning, I thought, “Heck!  No wonder it hurts so much.  This trail is STEEP, dangerously STEEP.”  Take my word, you can judge the steepness with a keener eye running downhill.  That’s when you really discover just how insane you’ve been all along running up that trail.  My original re-naming of Mentally Sensitive to Psycho-Path was right on.

Gotta throw in some bushwhacking whenever I can:

Running down Mentally Sensitive:

Today’s Elevation Profile (My new monthly goal is to run Mount Everest’s elevation every month – that’s more than 29,000’ [8,848 m])  Notice I’ve began keeping track of elevation gain on the mileage sidebar: