Easy Seven

Finally, it was time to slow down.  Slow down life that is, and get in some trails.  I’ve been working practically non-stop (substitute teaching and putting together the brochure cover for the district’s Adult School).  And I finally mailed our out-of-state Christmas packages (to Missouri, Texas, and England).  This morning the boys were off to their last day of school before the long winter break (17 days!), and I had some free time (even after running several errands). 

I was cold.  The trails were muddy.  The skies were blue.  The creeks were full.  And I didn’t fall  in the water once.  Not once.  But I did fall during this easy seven miles.  The story’s stupid really.  I slipped in a cement drainage ditch and slid down smack into the pavement.  In a split second I landed on my rear, my palms slammed to the ground, and then I made impact with my back.  Fortunately, my back was cushioned by the water in my pack.  Funny, I wasn’t even going to wear a pack because I wasn’t sure how many miles I would run.  Anyway, the entire trip was beautiful.  Even the fall (or rather slip). 

Tijeras Creek Trail:

Tijeras Creek Crossing:

Did it without getting my feet wet:

Arroyo Trabuco Trail:

Tired of Giving it a Rest

About the only cardio my foot can handle is the gym bike.  Tuesday I rode 30 miles.  I just couldn’t stand to sit any longer.  Slowly, very slowly, the pain is lessening in my right foot.  Pain hits worst in the morning.  And also after sitting.  You can imagine how I limped away from the gym bike after 30 miles. 

Yesterday, pain was at its lowest point in a long time.  Ice, heating, anti-inflammatory medicine and rolling did some good after all.  And dang it!  I was tired of giving my foot a rest.  I mean REALLY.  Just how long can I stay away from the trails?

I did make some concessions today – firstly, I chose a “flat” trails.  I drove to Las Flores, parked at a tennis park and ran down to Tijeras Creek.  From there I made my way to Arroyo Trabuco Trail.  This is the “flat trail.”   In 10.04 miles that I ran, I climbed more than 2,000 feet.  So much for flat!  No really, it was fairly flat.  What made the largish gain was the constant low grade climb for 5 miles.  Thus, my second concession.  When I reached 5 miles, pain was minimal and I wanted to run further.  But I forced myself to turnaround, just in case. I even hesitated, turned around again and moved further onward just to realize I was behaving like a child.  I NEEDED to turn around and head back.  

I should also note that the reason I returned to Arroyo Trabuco (beside it’s “flatness”) is that I’m still attempting to “punch through” to Trabuco Canyon so I can finish mapping out my “Tides to Towers” run.  (Tides to Towers – a run from my house, the beach “tides,” up to Santiago Peak, aka. Talking Towers). 

Tijeras Creek Trail Head (one of the many Tijeras Creek trailheads):

Tijeras Creek Trail:

I fell into the creek on my first crossing!

Arroyo Trabuco Trail:

Turnaround time:

Pain was very bearable when I arrived back at the truck.  Then I sat behind the wheel for about twenty minutes.  When I arrived home, I limped to the door.  Only now, at this late hour, does my foot feel some relief.  I’ve iced.  I’ve rolled.  And right now, it is nicely wrapped.   Definitely hoping that I continue to heal, and that my impromptu run today didn’t worsen my plantar fasciitis. 

Happy Trails!!!

Tapering? on Arroyo Trabuco/Tijeras Creek Loop

I love these gray, cool August mornings. What’s better than that for an early morning group run? Aiming for ten to twelve miles, I really intended on cutting back my miles, if not now, then this coming week. It’s the TAPER before Bulldog. I’m always nervous about THE TAPER, but now that I’ve got two toes angry with me, I think it’s best. Let’s just call it “resting up,” before Bulldog.

Anyway, Saturday morning, the group of four of us found ourselves lost (for just a bit) running the roads looking for O’Neill Park. Luckily, I wasn’t leading, because I still don’t have a good feel for the geography or direction of the local mountains. And we weren’t really even in the mountains, more like at the base. When we finally did find it, I was amazed to find myself on a trail in O’Neill Park that I’ve run before, but had arrived to by a completely different route. I had no idea we were even in the vicinity. I’m only now slightly able to recognize and name the peaks, figuring out the valleys and canyons – yikes.

Sheila, Kelly, Tom

The run was lovely, relatively flat, with minor rolling hills (except for a few moderate climbs towards the end). We ran through several creek crossings. And then, best of all, we ran through that charming shaded trail that the high school cross country runners call “The Jungle.” And when we got lost for a second time, well, not really lost, just off onto a dead-end trail, we spooked three deer. What a delight to see them spring away to take cover behind nearby vegetation. If I didn’t say, “Deer!” as soon as I spotted them, we may have had a better view for a longer amount of time.

Headed Towards "The Jungle"

"The Jungle"

So more distance added from the back-tracking there, Kelly jokingly hollered to me “How’s that taper going, Lauren?”

We ended Saturday’s run with some climbs in the sun. On the way back into the high school parking lot I caught a glimpse of the pool and yearned to hop that wall and jump in. Back at home, I didn’t nap, in fact, I didn’t feel wiped-out at all. So, Sunday, I woke early to quench my thirst for the pool and swam laps at the gym (2,000 yards).

Cattails

Awesome Old Tree (& gotta love that shade!)



Me, Sheila, and Kelly (perhaps a display of her and Sheila's newly coined phrase: Direction Disorder Syndrome)


Miles run Saturday: 13.83 (I guess, the taper starts this week, and Thursday and Friday REST – let’s see how that goes) : )