Today my Twin Peaks training began, using my own customized plan (customized by me). And of all days, today, I really didn’t feel like running because I had a doctor’s appointment north from my regular trails. Afterward, I diligently drove to the nearest trails and put in my 6 miles on what’s called the Quail Hill Loop (located in Irvine, Ca). I thought this was a 2 mile loop, ends up it’s a bit shorter, so I ran it a little over three times. It was much like running a track, except with hills and a freeway view.
Today’s run certainly was not a fun run, nor was it a fast run (though a few times I glanced at my garmin and picked up my speed purposely).
Though the landscape looked only one color from afar (brown) there was lots of color dotting the landscape:
I'm no scofflaw, BUT I didn’t think this sign IN THE DIRT was for me, because that looked like a trail to me . . .
I took that “trail” toward this lovely outcropping (below). About a tenth of a mile up, I came to a fork. Deciding which to take I saw the biggest bobcat I’ve ever seen. The bobcats I usually see are at most knee high (as tall as my knees from paws to top of head). If I’m not mistaken, this cat’s head measured up to my thighs! He was moving slowly through the high grass. Not really wanting to deal with a bobcat today, I ran back to the loop. Then I thought, “Dang it! I didn’t get a picture.” And so I went back. Duh!! This time though I traveled the “This is not a Trail” Trail cautiously and without music. I didn’t see the cat, so I took the other fork toward the outcropping until it ended.
After finishing my second Quail Hill Loop, I reversed the loop, and after that ran until I finished 6 miles.
Back on Quail Hill Loop:
This graph looks way worse than it was. Notice the top elevation is only 300 feet:
