Grateful

I woke to my alarm at 4:30 AM, after finding a difficult time falling asleep.  I needed to get out early so that I wasn’t not gone all day.  My boys don’t like when I’m away all day. 

Today, I scheduled my 20 miles for The Saddleback Mountains, running all but one trail that I will run in Twin Peaks.  Thing is, Twin Peaks runs them twice.  I can’t possibly find the time to run them twice.  Besides that, mileage like that isn’t in the training plan. 

I absolutely love running in The Saddleback Mountains.  But I was a little more serious than usual today.  I wanted to see how I timed on these trails.  I met with a group of three other runners, and we took off together up Holy Jim, all with different training goals.  Kurt R. was going for an awesome ten mile out-and-back up Holy Jim.  Cris and Keith, while going to the peak, were going for more mileage than I (Cris is training for the AC 100, Keith is his pacer).  Still worried about my knee, I told the guys not to wait for me, that they should run their pace, I know these mountains and will be fine.  Besides, the mountains were relatively crowded with hikers. 

Me, Kurt, Keith and Cris at Holy Jim parking lot in Trabuco Canyon:

Holy Jim was breathtaking, as usual.  It was green, full of blossoms, and the best part – my knee caused no problem.  I was so worried about my left knee.  If walking up steps at home caused so much pain two days ago, how was running up a mountain going to affect my knee?  I am so, so grateful that the problem is apparently gone. 

Scenes of Holy Jim’s beauty:

My best time running up Holy Jim is 1:42.  I’ve hit it only once.  Today, I hit it again.  Recovering quickly, I soon slowed my pace climbing the Main Divide toward Santiago Peak.  My best time making it to Santiago Peak from the Holy Jim parking lot is 3 hours.  I’ve made it in 3 hours a few times.  Most often, I reach it in over 3 hours.  Today, I hit Santiago Peak in 2:50. YAY!!! 

Even though I kept my own pace, I met up with the guys in a couple places after losing sight of them.  I came upon Kurt on my way up, and his way down Holy Jim.  And about a mile away from Santiago Peak, I came up on Eric and Keith as they ran down.  These guys are all amazing runners.

On The Main Divide, headed toward Santiago Peak:

The gnats attack.  They don’t bother me anymore now that I practice nasal breathing:  ,

Santiago Peak:

After a brief stop at Santiago Peak, I ran down the Main Divide, and ran a lovely single track named Upper Holy Jim.  It’s pretty technical at times, and I believe I could have run it quicker.  But I was still a little reluctant about my knee, especially on down hills.  I enjoyed the gorgeous views.  And with nostalgia, I remembered pacing my friend Hank at last year’s Twin Peaks as we ran down Upper Holy Jim.  We ran down it so dang fast, and in the dark – I don’t know how we did it with no falls. 

Upper Holy Jim:

Off Upper Holy Jim, I ran The Main Divide once again.  I still had power in my legs, plus the spirit to run.  Plenty of people drove by riding motorcycles.  A few passed in trucks.  I came across a couple hikers, but no runners.  Then came the climb to Trabuco Peak.  I knew that’s a tough climb, and there’s plenty room over the next four months to quicken my pace on that mile or so up hill.  The five plus miles from Indian Truck Trail (a trail that hits The Main Divide from Corona) to West Horse Thief took F O R E V E R.    But it always takes forever.   At least nowadays, I’m not fooled by false summits (those are so hard on the mental game). 

Plagued by fatigue when I reached West Horse Thief, I ran it with caution.  The trail was eroded more than usual.  And the rocks rolled beneath my feet running that steep switchback down to the canyon.  I knew Cris and Keith didn’t run West Horse Thief and probably took Trabuco because I was breaking spider webs all the way down the trail. 

 West Horse Thief:

I was not physically tired more than I was mentally tired during the final miles of today’s run.  I ran Trabuco Trail at a careful pace, as I had already tripped once.  Back at home, I recorded all my times in my Twin Peaks notebook.  And using crude calculations, assuming nothing goes terribly wrong, based on today’s performance, I would finish Twin Peaks (which has 17,000’ of elevation gain) in 15:20.  The course time limit is 16:30.  Still, I want to cut 1:05 off that 15:20.  I’ve got 4 months.  Can I do it???  I don’t know.  But I’m gonna try. 

Trabuco Trail:

Today’s elevation profile:

To the Top, Please

The alarm went of at 4:15 AM and I immediately jumped up knowing this was my last run to Santiago Peak this month – my last run TO THE TOP before I run it again as a pacer in October. 

I drove in the dark.  Then I drove in the fog (scary).  I pulled into the lot at 5:30 to meet Hank.  A couple minutes later, we witnessed a flashlight moving down the road with a runner behind it.  That was Mark, fellow trail runner that I had the great pleasure of meeting for the first time this morning.  Then Michael pulled in, and we were off in my truck down that bumpy road to the trailhead.  They seemed to not mind my driving. 

Ready to hit the dirt (First off, behind us: Holy Jim, a 5 mile ascent) From left to right: me, Michael, Mark, Hank.

The gnats were out in abundance.  My pack was heavy because I’m so paranoid of running out of water, I packed it in abundance (about 136 fl. oz.!)  And my shoulder was still sore from this week’s fall. 

My calves stiff from the start, which by the way (if I haven’t already mentioned ) was uphill, I tried to pick up my pace some to keep up with the guys.  But they were far stronger and adept to running Holy Jim.  I hoped to make the top of Holy Jim in better than 1:50 (my time the last time I ran this trail).  The guys waited for me every couple miles, which really, really put the pressure on to keep up the pace.

View going up Holy Jim

The heaviness of my load weighed on me as I ran all of Holy Jim Trail.  I thought about stashing some  water and picking it up on the way down.  I realize this sounds odd, being that I was running up a mountain and all, but I was just too lazy to find a good hiding place for my water, not to mention taking my pack off to do so.  What I did instead was this:  I drank up.  With a cool breeze and reported temperatures of only 82F, I figured I was safe to do this.  Thing was, I didn’t figure how guzzling would upset my stomach.  At one point, a gnat flew down my throat.  Attempting to cough it out, I nearly vomited on my way up the mountain. Quickly, I decided, just SWALLOW THE GNATS (as Michael said, “consider it protein” : )  I took a big swig and down went that annoying creature. 

Fun.  Really.

I made it to the Main Divide in 1:45.  Mark turned back when we hit the Main Divide (prior engagement) and the remaining three of us took off for that difficult quest to the peak.  Forward, forward, forward – that’s all I could really do.  The guys up ahead, they waited for me around Upper Holy Jim.  And then onward and upward we ran/hiked.  A motorcycle drove by.  Then a brand new Range Rover slowly moved by me.  The driver rolled down the window and asked if I wanted a ride.  Did I look that desperate?  LOL.  I declined. 

I’m guessing 1.5 miles remain to the Peak.  When I took this picture, the ranges were moving in and out, that is, closer and then further from me.  Perhaps I needed more calories going up.

About a 1/2 mile left, I AM RUNNING OUT OF GAS.  This was the view to my left.

Finally at the top!

I found Hank and Michael resting in the shade at Santiago Peak.  And even though I felt I made terrible time, I actually made the peak a whole THREE minutes quicker than last time. 

View of The O.C.

Kinda shuffling around/goofing about at the peak

We took Upper Holy Jim down, a fully exposed single track.  It grew quite hot (but I had plenty of fluids) and technical as we went along.  From the Main Divide we made (Lower) Holy Jim which provided much needed shade.  At that point, I made sure one more time that Hank wasn’t having second thoughts about me pacing. 

I said, “Hank, I can’t hold a candle to you.  Do you think you can keep up this pace for thirty miles?”  (I will meet him at about mile 32 as his pacer.)  He laughed and said, “I’m going to be DEAD at mile 30, I just need you to get me in to the finish line.”  I don’t think he’s going to be “dead.”  But believe me, I am going to do my best to get him to the finish line.  I know these mountains, and even in the dark, I feel confident I can do that, especially since I will be starting off fresh on the Main Divide (I don’t have to make the climb up like today). 

Anyway, the guys ahead of me as we ran back down Holy Jim, I noticed Michael react to something, like a sting.  He abruptly stopped, grabbing his leg.  Hank stopped as well, and I feared a snake bite.  Ends up, a bee stung him and as a reflex Michael kicked a rock, which gave him the worst damage on his toe.  I actually carry antihistamines ever since a wasp attack about a year ago on Backbone trail in Malibu Creek State Park.  Michael took one, but his leg still swelled up from the sting.  These guys were amazing on the trail today.  A sting and a crushed toe would have taken a smile off my face.  It didn’t take a smile off Michael’s face. 

And we were off again!  Several cyclists made their way up the mountain in this heat, and they didn’t look happy.  I’ve heard, cycling is all about suffering.  But why not take off when it’s cooler?   One guy looked so miserable (he was walking his bike), I said something stupid like, “You’ve only got a little bit of sun to go.”  Actually he had a good mile before he was going to hit shade!

Upper Holy Jim

Running down Holy Jim (Lower Holy Jim)

I met up with Michael at the spring.  We both topped off, just in case.  When he took off I said, “It’s all about doing the time now.”  We had a little over four miles of rocky descent and about 6 stream crossings remaining.  I took my time using the spring to wet down my head and neck.  When I took off, I focused on kicking out the back so that I wouldn’t trip (and fall!).  Most off all I focused on staying in the present moment.  It’s a LONG haul down.  Amazingly it seems much longer running down Holy Jim than running up it.

Usually I suffer with anticipation on the down trip.  When’s this thing gonna end, where are the falls, will this thing f****ing ever end??? (Trail to Holy Jim Falls means I’m almost finished and it’s shade the remaining run).  It can get pretty annoying mentally, waiting for the end.  I have to report that staying in the moment made for an enjoyable trip down.  It also made for a slower trip down.  That’s okay, because I didn’t fall.  And best off all, anxiety was absent and I got to really enjoy the beauty.  (I tried not to think about how long the guys would have to wait for me at the bottom.)

When I reached the bottom, I ran past the creek, hollered out to my running friends, “I’m alive!”.  Nearby hikers taking in a snack laughed.  I ran to the truck got my ice chest full of water and Gatorade and hauled it back to the creek where we all took time to cool off in the shade and ice-cold creek water. 

Michael relaxes in pool after a nasty fall on the way down (still he’s smiling!!)

Soaking my bare feet

An amazingly refreshed Hank after relaxing by the creek

16.60 miles (26.72 km)  run today (a little under 5,000 ft. /15.24 m elevation gain).

Will I be ready???

Santiago Peak

Santiago Peak (known also as the “talking peak”) is the highest point in the Santa Ana Mountains.  It’s one of the two peaks of the region we call Saddleback Mountains, named after the two peaks that form a “saddleback” up there.  We can see it from miles and miles away.   When I moved out here more than twenty years ago, I never dreamt that I would “run” up to it.  I would have thought someone who did was a little bit insane.

I have never run to Santiago Peak as a trail runner.  I have never been to Santiago Peak.  But I needed to get up there, because a friend has asked that I pace him for the last twenty miles of a 50 mile race (the 50 miles has 17,000 of elevation gain!).  He will go to this peak twice; I will accompany him on the second time.  Honored to be asked to pace, I gladly accepted.  So, I figure it’s my JOB to get to know that peak well.  Time is fleeting.

I was very lucky to have three others accompany me:  (from left to right – Me, Tom, Michael, Jeremy).

I didn’t feel my strongest this morning.  I plugged away up Holy Jim which was nice and dark from shade at first.  The gnats came on strong at first too.  As soon as we got out of the shade and the climb began to increase, I fortunately lost those annoying gnats.  They focus on the face, fly into your mouth, up your nose, into your ears.  I spit out several.  And at one point, I felt something on my front tooth and upon investigating found a smashed gnat.

Fun.

The run up Holy Jim was fun too.  I felt confident that the heat would not attack us as everyone feared.

Running Holy Jim before the climb steepens

Notice the gnats on my face – just wait.

Digging deep to finish running Holy Jim

Jeremy was waiting for me at Bear Springs (on the Main Divide).  The gnats were out in extreme abundance, which is why Tom and Michael just kept on going.  As soon as I hit the Main Divide, I continued on up with Jeremy.  We stopped in the shade a ways up (when the gnats left)  so that I could pack an empty water bottle, put on a bandana.  Then all of a sudden, as we took off, a terrible, severe pain hit my calf.  I couldn’t figure out what happened.  If I had been alone, I would have turned back then and there because I really didn’t think I could take the pain all the way to the top.  I told Jeremy to go ahead, that I’d either catch up or text him if I turned back. 

I stretched, but could barely hold it.  I took some salt pills, and I moved onward.  Hiking.  I had come this far, I decided that I was going TO THE TOP.   I didn’t know how I was going to do it, when suddenly I realized something I read recently – that pain doesn’t exist in the present.  I know that sounds extremely odd.  Without going into pages on this concept, I’ll just say that I  focused on staying in the very moment I was in.  Surprise, surprise!  When I was able to do that, my pain completely disappeared!  Not for long though.  I couldn’t keep it up – staying in the moment that is.  The heat was growing and the climb grew steeper.

The Main Divide going up to Santiago Peak

Tom meets me on his way down from peak in hopes to beat the heat. 

Sweating it out while the gnats attack full force (they don’t bite – they’re just annoying as heck!) If you click pic for a larger view & look very closely you should see gnats EVERYWHERE, look to chin, shoulder, bandana – you can even see their shadows.

Finally, we reached the peak.  All 3 of us meandered around the towers, took photos, readjusted, basically taking our sweet time before taking off.  I was WORN OUT.  The pain in my calf continued to bother me, but to a lesser extent.  The gnats were not at the top thankfully.  There were workers installing new generators.  There were motocross riders, motorcycle riders, mountain bikers.  No other runners, or even hikers. 

Why it’s known as “Talking Peak.”

Posing at the top

The view from Santiago Peak

Locating landmarks, our neighborhoods, etc.

Then it was time for the run down.  It had to be 100 F.  We took upper Holy Jim down to the Main Divide.  Spreading apart quickly,  I ran that single track alone.  It grew quite technical at the end with boulders and lots of twists and turns, not to mention steepness.  With that heat bearing down, I wanted nothing more than to reach Lower Holy Jim.  That’s when I would finally get some shade. 

I didn’t see either of the guys at Lower Holy Jim, so I focused on running quickly, careful not to trip.  I imagined the two were already down at the truck waiting for me.  I do not think that I can adequately describe just how hot that run was going down Holy Jim.  It felt like blow torches were scorching my legs.  My bandana had completely dried.  I guzzled down so many fluids (with Nuun tablets dissolved in it) that I feared that I would run out.  I brought with me 100 fl. ounces.  And I had one handheld left tied to the back of my pack.

After about a mile down this five mile trail I came across Michael in a shady part as he wetted down his shirt in the tiny creek that ran across the trail.  I was so hot I was a little confused and had just drank the last of my fluids in my pack.  Michael stood up and said, “I’m out of water.”  I told him that I’d split my remaining handheld with him.  Then I said, “Where’s Tom?”

Michael looked at me with a funny look.  “Tom?” he said.  Then, he seemed to me that he was confused at my comment.  “Ah, he left . . . Tom?” 

I had forgotten that “Tom” (the one who had already run down).  I was confusing Jeremy’s name with the other Tom I knew.  Finally, it dawned on me.  “Jeremy!  Where’s Jeremy?”  I don’t know if you realize my surprise that I even found Michael and then learned that Jeremy was behind me.  I was imagining they were way, way ahead of me.

So, there Michael and I were, stooped down in the shade, splitting up hot water when Jeremy came running up.  “I’m out of water,” he said. 

Yikes.  Now it was time to split up my water 3 ways, when Jeremy noticed that the source of the creek was coming from a spring in a small cutout in the mountain wall.  “This water’s filtered,” Jeremy said, “It’s coming from the ground.”  He filled up his handhelds, saw that it was clear and drank up.  Michael and I were reluctant.  Then I finally gave in, filled my handhelds and guzzled down delicious ice cold water.  I really couldn’t have cared less if I was going to be vomiting for it later.  Michael gave in too, and we were off running again, refilled for the remaining 4 miles.

Those four miles downhill were the longest, most difficult four miles I can remember in a long, long time.  Though I was able to keep heat exhaustion at bay, I fell once (more like slipped) and my ice-cold water turned downright hot.  No kidding! 

As I ran down Holy Jim, I got a view of the trail like I never had running up it.  I thought to myself, “I run up this thing.  I. AM. CRAZY.”  I felt like I never, ever wanted to run again. 

I came in right behind Jeremy to the truck.  And we both looked at each other as if to say “O. M. G.”

We found Michael laying down in the creek.  He had found a nice pool down stream that we couldn’t even think of walking to.  So we simply sat in the stream where we were to cool down. 

When I finally got back to my truck (parked about 5 miles away), my limp was strong.  Only after a cold bath at home and some stretching has the pain subsided a great deal.  I can now walk around without a limp.  And I’m pretty sure it’s a cramp not an injury.  I’ve just never had a cramp like this. 

One more thing, my little delusional moment when I thought I might never run again is gone.  I just probably won’t run tomorrow.  In all, I’m glad I made the trip to Santiago Peak.  And I plan to again.  The views were breathtaking.  The company was great.  I did feel a little badly being that I planned today’s run and it ended up so dang hot.  Hopefully today’s experience will make us all stronger. 

Approaching Holy Jim end

At creek, assessing leg for wounds due to fall earlier (nothing major, just two tiny cuts)

16.61 miles logged

+4,704 / -4,749 feet