What’s baking on West Ridge? Me!

Having not run since last Wednesday, I ached to hit the trail.  Literally.  My right glute still bothered me.  But it is much better.  I couldn’t get out until 10 AM this morning which meant warmer, much warmer weather.  We’ve got a bonafide heat-wave here on the coast.

I took a call from a girlfriend running down into the canyon, which always gives me a kick.  I mean, who would have ever thought that I’d be running a trail while talking on the phone?  Not me.  We chatted about the writers’ conference when I reached Cholla Trail, which meant time to say good-bye.  I don’t think there’s a chance I could run up Cholla talking on the phone.  It’s too steep.

I ran Cholla feeling strong, no glute pain whatsoever.  It seemed to only bother me on the downhills and flats.  And then I ran West Ridge up to Top of the World.  Imagine baking a casserole (or cookies) and opening the oven door.  You know that heat that pours out of the oven?  I felt like I was running through that heat all the way up to Top of the World.  It was an oven!  Thankful that I packed fluids on my back, I had a feeling that fluids wasn’t going to make everything better (Calabasas all over again).

Joy filled me when I reached the top, one, because a breeze blew way up there, not a cool breeze, but a breeze nonetheless, and two, I always feel joyous reaching a summit.

I took off back down West Ridge.  White butterflies fluttered about the trail.  Dragonflies with bluish green wings flew about at eye level.  The sun still scorching, I couldn’t wait until I started the big downhill.  Then suddenly, a fast, zig-zag flying bug flew directly into my sunglasses.  I felt its wings flutter between my eyes and the inside of my glasses and then it was off.  What the heck was that?   It was bigger than a bee, a fly also.  It was not a butterfly, because though butterflies do fly in a zig-zag manner, they flutter.  They don’t zoom. 

A couple minutes later, another bug, about the same size flew into my hand.  It hit, and before I could see the thing, it was gone.  That’s when I thought the creatures that crashed into my glasses and hand were probably grasshoppers.  (Second guess:  a dragonfly, but I don’t recall seeing them fly at hand level.)  Mystery. : )

I ran down Rock It trail with much concentration.  All I wanted was shade. I yearned for shade.  Even a nice long downhill like Rock It trail didn’t provide much relief from the heat.  No shade, and not a single leaf moved from a breeze.  Finally at the bottom of Rock It, where I caught Coyote Run Trail, I stopped in the shade of a gigantic, sort of weeping tree.  I had to.  I was burning up, seeing orange blotches before my eyes.  After cooling off a bit, I ran onto Coyote Run for lots of shade, then back up onto Wood Canyon trail, running uphill, in and out of shade, so, so, eager to stop and cool down.  I tripped hard once on a root.  But caught myself before the fall (thanks to a stronger core!)

I need to get out earlier during this heat wave.  It took a couple hours to cool down after today’s run.  Still, I was glad to make it. 

View from Rock It Trail (parallel to Wood Cyn.  Aliso Cyn in the distance)

Lovely, lovely shade on Wood Canyon Trail

Miles logged today:  7.75

Elevation Profile

It’s not just the same ole’ thing, it’s one of my favorite places

Tuesday, my usual run day, I woke with terrible lower back pain.  Not spasms, just pure pain, mainly on the right side.  I thought, “Oh no, the auto accident injury has returned.”  I racked my brain what I could have done to injure my back.  Monday I swam, and I’ve only ever slightly injured my shoulder swimming – and that was once, a long, long time ago.  Swimming’s just not an injury sport for me.  I did some weights also and core work too, but nothing different than I’ve ever done.

Didn’t matter so much how I did it; the pain was killer.  And when I walked off the back porch, that pain radiated down into my right leg.  So painful this was I grew nauseated.  Ibuprofen did nothing.  I stopped after taking FIVE (over about five hours) and went for the ice instead.  Ice pretty much did nothing.  Needless to say, I didn’t run Tuesday, I didn’t do much of anything, except what I had to do.  In between drop offs and pick ups, I napped on the couch, a heating pad wrapped around my back.

By Tuesday night (I taught one class), pain was minimal but still present.  I parked so that I didn’t have to take any steps, because any step down continued to shoot pain into my thigh.

So strange.  I went to bed uncomfortable, then finally fell asleep on my back (I am a side sleeper).  I woke throughout the night, anxious wondering if the pain was there.  I wasn’t moving to find out.  6:00 am, I finally got up and NOTHING.  Absolutely no pain in my back WHATSOEVER.  I was bewildered.  I certainly didn’t twist and turn to test it out.  There was, I noticed, some tightness in my right glute.

Anyway, I’ll cut to the chase – I fit in a run on a Wednesday (another rarity – change is good).  I did run my favorite park to Top of the World, and since I ran it a little faster than usual, I ran back down via Rock It.  I felt strong, just a slight ache, not even ache, more like a tiny discomfort in my right hip, I concentrated on the rock trail, picking up my pace some.  As customary these days, I hugged the side of the trail of this popular mountain biking portion, when WHAM!  I smacked head-on directly into a branch.  I didn’t even see it because of the dang hat on my head.  It whacked me good on the forehead, but not good enough to throw me to the ground. 

Talk about adventure!  I’ll tell you, there’s ALWAYS an adventure, whether good or bad, it’s there.  At the bottom of Rock It, I ran a lovely, shady Coyote Run Trail, then wood Canyon for, I’m serious when I say this, a fantastic run in Aliso/Wood Canyons.

At Top of the World (Via Cholla & West Ridge)

Heading back down West Ridge, toward Rock It

Rock It Trail

 

One of my favorite places in Aliso/Woods (on Rock It after running into branch)

Miles run today:  7.69

Mathis Who?

Minimal time and the sun blaring, I opted for a shorter loop at Aliso/Wood Canyons today.  “Shorter” meaning, shorter than the big outer loop.  I thought, heck, if I cut off Wood Canyon Trail after only about a mile and run up to West Ridge via Mathis, I’ll make this trip 2 1/2 miles shorter than the “big loop.”   I thought my idea so grand, that I made another decision.  Why not cut Wood Canyon Trail even shorter and take a detour trip along Dripping Cave Trail?  It will add a lot more difficulty, but will shorten the loop a tad too.

Brilliant. : )

Sightings Board at the Ranger Station (notice sightings are getting crowded by “lost” stuff)

Dripping Cave Trail

Arriving to Dripping Cave AKA. Robber’s Cave

Taking a step back so you can see the cave (infamous because robbers hid out here during the “Old West”. ) Their markings (holes in the walls where they hung their things) are still evident.

 

After Robber’s Cave the climb begins on Dripping Cave Trail 

And then finally it's down, down, down with a few tricky steps toward Mathis Trail.

Running through brush canopy to end Dripping Cave & come out on Mathis Trail

Mathis who? 

Mathis is no friend of mine.  Mathis tugs and weighs down your legs, he gives you no shade, disturbs your breathing.  Mathis hurls mountain bikers at you.  Mathis pours salt all over your face to drip down into your eyes.  Mathis drenches you, but does NOT cool you off.  No . . . no, Mathis was no friend of mine today.  He gave me a hell of a time.  But I did not quit, and ran the whole way (at a tortoise’s pace :) 

On the good side, as difficult as running Mathis was, it made reaching West Ridge and ultimately Top of the World, even that more triumphant.

I ran across Top of the World to enter the park again for a run down Meadows Trail.  And there in front of me, a shepherd attempted to get hundreds of goats into a newly fenced-off area.  His job was tougher than my “fun.”  He’d get them all going in one direction, toward the fenced area.  Then suddenly, one or two goats at the back of the pack would turn around and run.  And then it was all over.  All the goats, like dominoes, turned and ran in the opposite direction as well.  The shepherd, wearing long pants, ran quickly from the front of the pack, to the back, to herd them all again in the right direction.  He was yelling something that I couldn’t make out and headed them back toward the pen.  Then he’d run off to the front of the pack, when suddenly, one or two goats would turn around and run in the opposite direction.  And yes, again, all the other adorable kids followed suit.  I stood watching, amazed, as this happened again and again.  Poor shepherd.  How or when would this difficult feat end? 

Finally I couldn’t wait any longer to find out.  I took off running down Meadows, rushed again, to make it in time to stretch, get gas and pick up our kindergartner. 

I made it.

Goat Crossing at Top of the World

 

Posing at Top of the World, about to descend on Meadows over Laguna Beach and a socked in Pacific Ocean, as goats make their master run about in this heat (to my right)

View from top of Meadows Trail looking toward Aliso Viejo and Santa Ana Mountains

 Elevation Profile  (Miles run:  9.34)

I Like Dirt So Much Better Than Pavement

I decided the big loop at Aliso Wood Canyons wasn’t the best choice today for an in-between-drop-off-and-pick-up-boys-from-school-run, so I decided to have some fun running through Canyon Vistas Park, up Cholla Trail, up and down West Ridge to Top of the World.  

I didn’t hit the trails until 10 AM, and I can finally say, summer is officially here in The O.C.  It was HOT.  Yet, it was beautiful (though I did forget, rather, couldn’t find my hat).  Despite the heat, running is back to “everything is beautiful” even on the dry, shade-less coastal ridges.  I’m feeling stronger with my emphasis on cross training and lower mileage now.  Though this trail run is never “easy”, I ran it with confidence.  It was certainly FUN today.

I noticed hawks, several of them here and there along the ridge, swooping down into the brush.  Beautiful birds.  Lots of mountain bikers were out too (I finally decided to stop calling them cyclists – they are mountain bikers, a different breed than those who ride on the road.  Just like with runners though, I’m sure there’s some who crossover : )  Me though, right now I feel like I probably won’t run pavement again)

The trail is so delightful, so, so very challenging.  I would have never thought that this buckle-shoe, dress girl would ever get a kick out of running, much less running on dirt.  (Tonight, by the way, was my first day back teaching, and yes, I did wear a skirt, blouse and black pumps with a silver buckle across the front!)

In the beginning, I didn’t appreciate West Ridge – it’s quite exposed and not very technical.  It’s a fire road, I suppose.  Now, though, especially today, I really enjoyed its ups and downs.  West Ridge is a lovely trail.  It is after all the one that leads to Top of the World.  And to me, Top of the World is one of God’s churches.

Miles run today: 6.11

Elevation profile:

West Ridge – Featured Trail of the Day Video

Racing Against Time

With our three sons back in school, I’ve got 3 different school start times and 3 different pick-up times.  It’s crazy!  I leave the house just after 7 AM for the first drop off, come back and then leave again about 8:20 for the 2nd drop off, and finally leave the home once again to make a 9:30 start time for drop off #3.  And these are just the drop offs!  I’m not sure how I’m gonna get my groove with this schedule.  So I thought I’d get my groove with some running in between drop off #3 and pick-up #1.  I had this crazy notion that I could drive to Aliso/Wood Canyons (twenty minutes from the schools) and run the big outer loop and get back in time to pick up our kindergartner.  I have been cross training every day since my last run after all.  I should be stronger and more able, right?  Right? 

I figured if I made it to Top of the World by 11:30, I could make it back to the car by 12:30 – time enough to stretch and get back to school for pick up #1.  (That was kind of stretching it too, because I had never timed how long it takes me to run across Top of the World back down Meadows).

First problem was:  The sun finally showed up today and with vengeance.  When I exclaimed to drop off #2 as we drove to school, “Can you believe it, of all days, the sun comes out,” he looked at me like I was crazy.

“Wadja expect?”  he laughed.  I thought he was consoling me, then realized he simply thought I was a little off : ) 

“When’s the last time the sun came out?” I asked. 

He just chuckled and said, “Ah, like yesterday!”

Silly boy.  We’ve rarely seen the sun all summer around here (which is partly why I suffered so much during Bulldog).  Well, I laughed and laughed at his response, practically all the way to school.

Even though the sun did pop in today, a cool breeze blew as I ran through Aliso and Wood Canyons.  I took my sweet time warming up, enjoyed myself and worked on a relaxed form.  I reached the end of Wood Canyon 8 minutes off schedule, which wasn’t good because I hadn’t even begun the real climbing.  I had forty minutes to make it to Top of the World, and though I never stopped, and consciously picked up my speed, I made Top of the World another 8 minutes shy.

With 16 minutes behind schedule, I thought (didn’t really know, just thought), I wouldn’t be able to make the big loop across the ridge, going down Meadows Trail in time.  And so I thought that I’d cut about two miles off the run by going down Mathis instead.  Surely, I’d be able to make the car in plenty of time to stretch and pick up #1.  I had to make pick up #1 – he’s my little guy!!

I turned around and headed back down West Ridge toward Mathis.  That sun beating down on me was no help at all.  I really pushed it, because it donned on me that I was running in the direction away from the car for much too long before hitting Mathis.  I pounded that downhill trail like I never had before.  Still, I wasn’t going to make it!

Okay, okay, calm down Lauren (though I was really quite annoyed with myself).  You see, I knew when I finally reached Wood Canyon that this supposed cutting 2 miles from the run was a fantasy.  This loop was going to equal just about the same as going down Meadows!

At the base of Mathis, a little over 2 1/2 miles remained.  And I had twenty minutes to run it and still have time to stretch.  Thing is, that dang sun was really beating me up again.  I was wiped out.  I wanted to drop to the trail and lay down and rest.  At the same time, I was more than a little perturbed at myself.  I mean, “You can’t run faster for your kindergartner Lauren!!!”

No, I couldn’t.  I could barely run.  Thankfully, I did have a hat, and I still had fluids.  I needed to power walk a few times.  Staring at the watch, I simply began counting my steps as I ran.  That’s the only way I could get through it.  At some point, I chucked the idea of stretching.  And I ran into that ranger station and straight out to my car.  I threw my gear in and raced back to the school.  I think I hit every single red light, but pulled into the lot about 3 minutes shy of the bell ringing.  When my son walked out, he gave me a big hug, and didn’t even notice the salt that crusted every inch of my body. He was soooo cute.

Miles logged this morning/afternoon:  11.64 (which is the EXACT mileage of the big outside loop that I decided against)

ALWAYS AN ADVENTURE!

My Race Against Time

The Beauty of Spider webs and Oceans of Clouds

I set out this morning for a shortish run, but I wanted hills.  I’m sure you can guess, I was running somewhere in Aliso/Woods.  When I took off running through Canyon Vistas Park, the fog was so thick, visibility was low, low, low.  Big, slow drops of moisture dropped down upon me. 

At the bottom of Cholla, my left glute felt tight, so I laid down on the bench there and stretched it out.  While I was at it, I aligned my pelvis and looking up, noticed an beautiful spider web right above my head.

I ran up  Cholla in a mist, as fast as I could, noticing webs everywhere.  I ran in the same white mist a while on West Ridge, stopping to take photos of webs here and there.  And then concentrating on powering up hills, I almost missed the beauty encasing me! 

There I was running above an ocean of clouds.  A literal sea of clouds!  Can you believe, so involved with powering up my run, I nearly missed it?  Talk about not stopping to smell the roses.  The sun shined brightly on the ridge, while peaks from nearby hills poked out from the clouds like islands in the sky. 

Running on West Ridge (looking back at Saddleback Mountains)

 Me, Sweating in the Sun, in background a Sea of Clouds

 

In all, I logged 6.11 miles this morning on an out-and-back to Top of the World.  It was a good run.  Finally again, a run where everything was beautiful. 

No Place I’d Rather Be

I set my alarm for 6:30 and every time I hit the snooze button, my five-year-old (who had snuck into our bed) complained that I was waking him up.  After complain #3, I decided it was time to make a go at it, and so up I went and got ready for a run.  Thing is, I didn’t want to run.  Motivation, love for running is down right now.   But I forced myself this week, because I know that I’ll want to run again, and when I do, I don’t want to be out of shape.

I wasn’t sure where to run.  It would have been easier to just run out of the door and down to the marina.  But I wanted to go to Top of the World.  I didn’t want to run to the Top of the World, I just wanted to be there.  I wanted to stand up there, take it all in.  I sat on the couch for an hour before I got moving.

I still wasn’t sure how long I would run, what trails I’d take, but I knew I was going to the top.  I packed for a long run just in case and set out under lovely blue skies.  Up Cholla I ran, amazingly passing 6 cyclists (one had stopped to the rest, another was walking his bike : )  I simply stayed in the moment, placing one foot in front of the other, not a single thing on my mind. Then I ran West Ridge to Top of the World.  And I stood there and took it all in.  I felt tranquil, glad to have run to the top, even though I would have much rather slept the morning away.  Now taking in Laguna Beach and the Pacific Ocean and behind me the Santa Ana Mountains, well, there was no other place I’d rather be at that moment.

Top of the World

Concentrating on getting a good picture at the top without falling backward down the slope, I forgot to smile : )

Heading back, I ran West Ridge for a while.  Then I decided on a detour and ran down Rock It.  Lovely Rock It.  I came across a guy running up Rock It barefoot.  All the way down I noticed his barefoot tracks in the dirt as well as plenty of bobcat tracks. 

Bottom of Rock It, I hopped onto Coyote Run Trail and ran it Wood Canyon.  And then I ran back through Canyon Vistas park, content that I had made this morning’s run.

Entering Rock It Trail

Colorful even in the heat of Summer (Rock It)

 

The Fun Stuff (Focus, focus . . . )

Still running DOWN?? Rock It : )

Some Shade on this 1.25 mile trail (still Rock It)

Coyote Run Trail

Miles run:  7.73

No; not Again!

Tuesday my hip ached so badly, I went to bed with a heating pad, then fell promptly asleep. The hip was just not right.  And I was afraid.  Good thing I had physical therapy in the morning.  And good thing my husband came to bed way afterward and turned off the heating pad.

Physical Therapy Wednesday 7:00 AM.  I bridged, lay on the table and my P.T. took a hold of my feet and said, “Your pelvis is so out of line!”

“What???!!”  I felt doomed. “What did I do?”  I asked.  “Am I running wrong?”

“No, it’s not your running,” he said.  “It’s the car accident.  You’re going to be unstable for a while.”

*#%***##!!!!

After an hour and a half of physical therapy, he showed me how to tell when my pelvis is out of line and how to re-align it myself.  I listened and even repeated the steps out loud, but with little hope in my heart.  

Before I left for the gym for some elliptical and weights, he made sure my pelvis was aligned.  I was amazed that my hip felt so much better.

After 65 minutes on the elliptical and 25 minutes of weights, I grocery shopped and returned home and promptly napped for a few hours, so relieved that my hip felt good.

Thursday morning, I was up bright and early for a 6 AM run with Tom and Sheila.  I tossed around the idea of putting in more miles than the hilly out-and-back planned.  My running friends easily convinced me that it’s time to cut back.

And so we went for that ridge run, under cool, almost cold, gray skies. On the way up Cholla, we passed two female hikers.  I jokingly said to one of them, “You know the park’s closed.”  She threw me a glare.  I picked up my pace some, because after that glare, there was no way I was letting that hiker pass this runner up on Cholla Trail.

I didn’t even drink from my handheld once on the way up to Top of the World.  That’s how cool and overcast it was this morning (WHEN THE PARK WAS CLOSED).   I was quite the talkative gal on this run too, more so than usual, because nerves are racking up over the upcoming week. 

On the way back, we came across two cyclists, one who had just wiped out, the other who was calling 911.  The guy who crashed was walking.  For some reason, I was looking for injury in his feet/ankles, being a runner that I am.  Tom stopped to talk to him for a bit.   I could hear sirens in the distance.  Later, my friends mentioned something that I hadn’t noticed – that the wipe-out guy was powdered with dirt head to toe.  

At the top of Cholla a county paramedic truck made its way in, as did one behind us on Westridge.  After running Cholla Trail, another paramedic waited at the bottom to help. 

Good to know response is so quick.  Perhaps though, it was the time of day. (approx. 7:30 am, by now).

I was still stretching after Tom and Sheila took off to begin their day when up the road walked a man with his two doggies – one of them a Beagle.  I stopped him of course, because I wanted to pet his dogs.  We talked and laughed about how stubborn Beagles are.  Turns out, his Beagle’s name is Daisy – just like ours : )

Back I home I was freezing, and my hip ached like the devil!  After  breakfast, I crawled into bed, still sweaty, teeth chattering, hip in trouble, and slept for a couple hours.

After waking I attempted my hip exercises, and  barely able to accomplish them, marched in front of the mirror like my P.T. told me, with my thumbs on my pelvis.  And sure enough, my right thumb ended up a good 2 inches lower than the left.  My right pelvis had rotated forward and down that much!  And so after doing the exercises to supposedly align my pelvis, I marched in front of the mirror again.  And wouldn’t you know it!  My pelvis was aligned – thumbs even.  Wow.  My hip felt much better.

After an afternoon in Fallbrook, I did my mirror march again, and sure enough – pelvis aligned.  Yahoo!  In celebration, I did a two minute plank before walking down to dinner at the corner restaurant.

Miles run this morning: 6.11

Bringing Down the Mileage, Keeping Elevation Up

It's time for me to cut back the mileage.  But I'm going to keep running those hills.  No roads for me for the next 2 weeks.  Just hills.

Tomorrow it's physical therapy.  And then to the gym!

Miles logged run this morning: 6.11 (Thru Canyon Vistas Park, up Cholla Trail, Up Westridge to Top of the World and back.)

Running with a Straight Pelvis : )

Physical therapy update:  First, I don’t think I ever really posted details of the car accident and how I got injured.  Father’s Day, I was at a dead stop, and heard the accident happening behind me.  I wasn’t sure if we had been hit, because everything happened slow motion and I was confused by the crash sounds.  Anyway, I twisted around to my right to check on my boys in the back seat.  At that moment we got slammed.  It was that twist that did me in.  My whole right side was sore pretty much immediately.  It seems that the impact realigned my pelvis, where one side was higher than the other.  Neck, shoulder and side pain went away in a matter of days.  But that lower back, pelvis/hip pain did not.  So, back to the update on the physical therapy.  When I went in yesterday, my PT said that my pelvis was perfectly straight.  How it is that all those stretches, massages and exercises made it straight again, I do not know.  So – good news!! (My boys by the way thankfully – no injuries!)

This morning I went for a single loop, clockwise at Aliso Wood Canyons park.  That meant running UP Meadows Trail.  Tom met me at the ranger station and we ran up Meadows together.  It was tough!  My hip felt it before we even made the climb (I think it probably wasn’t the best idea to run up Meadows the day after physical therapy).

The sun really shined down on us as made that seemingly never-ending switch-back climb.  Arriving at the top we could not even see the Pacific due to thick fog.  A rainbow-like arch  hovered about the fog and above that, blue skies.

Tom ran back down Meadows Trail for a six mile out and back.  I continued onward for a little less than twelve miles.  After a short downhill then uphill asphalt run, I hopped onto the trail that runs behind the houses at Top of the World.  The trail makes a “V” – first a steep down, then a steep up.  Two cyclists made their way down the other end of the “V” as I ran up it.  Then suddenly, one of the cyclists ate it.  His bike crashed to the rock trail, making such a noise, I thought his bike would be shattered to pieces for sure (but it did not appear so).  Even though it wasn’t my accident, it seemed to happen in slow motion, just about fifteen feet away.  The poor guy flew to the ground, I gasped, relieved that his face didn’t smash into the rock.  He jumped up quickly. 

“Oh my gosh!!!”  I said.  “Are you alright?”

He didn’t answer, he didn’t even look at me.  Instead, I could tell he was pissed.  I knew that look – it’s how I have felt when I’ve fallen on the trail – like, damn it, I can’t believe I did that!

His friend behind him said, “Seriously, are you ok?”  No answer.  I continued running on past the two and didn’t say a word further. 

I got into my groove as I ran through the neighborhoods, arriving at Westridge a short time later.  I felt happy, relieved to have Meadows over with.  It was all basically down hill from here (except for minor climbs on Westridge).

About to descend upon Westridge

 

 Westridge, just after passing Mathis

Miles logged this morning: 11.65  Despite my hip, it seemed like a cinch compared to Saturday’s 21 mile run. 

Double Big Loop / Aliso Wood Cyns

In order to get my run-two-loops-back-to-back mindset, I woke early this Saturday morning, and headed for Aliso Wood Canyons for a back-to-back counter-clockwise big loop. 

I joined Tom and Liz who were running an out-and-back on Wood Canyon Trail.  What a delight to have company for the first 4.5 miles of my run today – I knew the next four hours or so after we departed were going to be lonely.  I don’t mind lonely sometimes.  In fact, a lot of times I like lonely.  But too much lonely can get lonely : )

Raring to Go!  Me, Tom & Liz

 
We departed at Cholla.  I ran up, trying out Tom’s Garmin, while he and Liz headed back through the magical Wood Canyon – downhill : )  It seemed like I ran Cholla stronger and faster than I ever had, then I looked down at the garmin, amazed at how much my pace had dropped from running on Wood Canyon Trail.  I decided after that not to look at my pace running up hill.

Still cloudy on Westridge, the air was plump with moisture.  Cyclists road the ridge in hoards.  Hikers in groups of twenty, maybe more made their way along the ridge as well.

Running Westridge, Top of the World not even visible in the mist

After a quick pit-stop at Top of the World, I chatted briefly with two runners, one who just ran a half marathon through Napa Valley vineyards.  Though I was aiming for a five hour run, I didn’t worry too much about chatting a bit.  I mean, life is more important than running, right?  With a bottle full of water and two dissolved Nuun tablets I took off, running the streets to enter the park again, run down Meadows and complete my first loop in a little longer time than expected.  I was okay with that, so happy I was to make that left back onto Wood Canyon, and begin my second loop without stopping.

Gray skies, misty air, I ran Wood Canyon at only a slightly slower pace than the first time around.  I waved Hi to fellow runner Matt as he passed in the opposite direction.  Several cross country high school runners passed in the opposite direction as well, on what I figured was an out and back up Wood Canyon, because they carried no water. 

Running up Cholla was tougher the second time around, and I began to really feel it in my hip.  Westridge was a joyful as usual – I love that rolling hill type of trail.  Though Westridge does have two very difficult stints, they are toward the end, and relatively short. 

I ran into the park as I did on my first loop, as I wanted to check my hydration level (if you know what I mean).  After some off and on shoelace issues, I was off again running through the neighborhoods to re-enter the park near Meadows Trail.

Top of the World for the 2nd time – the sun now gracing us with its appearance  (Not sure where I’m at here, possibly near Meadows, I think I’m looking toward Aliso Canyon . . . actually I HAVE NO IDEA, strange)

At Meadows for second time, about to descend (I am drenched!)

  

I ran down Meadows as several cyclists made their way up and down that difficult switch-back.  Sure I was tired, but delighted that I wasn’t drop-dead tired.  I took the first half of Aliso Creek Trail at a slow pace, rather clumsily, but then picked it up for the second half, pushing it to finish strong.  I never tripped.  I also didn’t kick my ankles once – now, that’s an improvement.   

Miles logged this morning:  21

Elevation Profile (thanks to Tom – I’m new at this, so I had to work on this shot a bit before getting it right, and it isn’t quite right visually.  If you know the trails there, Wood Canyon isn’t quite as steep as it seems in this graph – approximately miles 2 thru 4 and 11 thru 13).

The Big Loop Clockwise / Aliso Wood Canyon's Park

Sunday Morning's Run -- had the bright idea to videoblog instead of a write blog. Would have been much, much easier to write up this run.  Very difficult to fit 12 miles into less than 10 minutes of video. Learned a lot though. And added some music to maybe make it semi-interesting : )

Fun, fun run (despite how I look at the end)

Sportin' a New Do' on a Loop to the Top

The one reason that has kept me from cutting my hair is running.  I thought that I NEEDED to pull my hair back into a ponytail to run.  Well, I ran a loop to the Top of the World this morning with a new do' and found out it ain't so.  I can run without a ponytail.  I can!

Running up Cholla Trail trying to catch cyclist (never did)

Overlooking the Pacific At Top of the World after cool, but sweaty, yet joyous run up Westridge Trail

After feeling so weak again with this weight training, I felt strong this morning upon reaching the top.  Prior to today's run, I actually felt like my hips were getting weaker!  Of course, that's a big worry with me.  Weak hips means I'm going down for the count one of these days SOON.  Today tells me that I've got to keep up the strength training, despite the fact that I have not learned to love it (I suspect one of these days I will).

Just when I entered the park again on Meadows end, a hawk swooped down into the grass.  And then like a thief, it snagged a snake and took off for flight.  Then like nothing the bird seemed to lazily meander in flight making his way closer to Meadows trail.  There he swooped back down into the brush to, I suppose, gobble up the snake.

These are the sort of things I get to see on the trail.

Making my way back into the park, via trail behind Top of the World homes

Running down Meadows (Eyes alert for snakes)

Bottom of Meadows Trail, about 4 miles left to run

Deer on Wood Canyon Trail

Miles logged this morning:  10.2