Staying Local

Not ready to hit the trails. Still holding onto my seat from the 2023 wild ride. I’ve got a tree up still in my living room (fully decorated) and other remnants of holiday decorations around the house. I finally threw out the Christmas wreaths yesterday. I am going to miss that lovely pine smell. (All the more reason to get back to the mountains!)

We are only one week into 2024, I have a little time still to get organized and  to clean up the 2023 mess. The longer I wait to hit those trails though, the less capable I am to actually do it. Every day I don't get my legs moving up a mountain, I grow weaker, both mentally and physically. I can catch up on the mental fitness other ways (though that has been rare lately) and I try to do things that give me some fitness -- like take the stairs or park at the far end of the parking lot. Walking to the grocery store or post office is also a great way to keep some type of physical fitness (though it is waning!). So, I’m pretty much staying local lately with promises and hopes of at least hitting the trails a couple times before spring semester begins. Until then, I’ve been staying local. We’ve got lots of walking material here in my hometown, Dana Point, even some dirt trails. This week on one of my errand walkabouts, I decided to detour to the Headlands and mosey about the roped trails overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It was a beautiful sight. A great small start to getting my feet back to dirt.

Backup Plan

I was looking forward to trying out some steeper hills to test out my calf on Wednesday (3/23). So, I drove up Pacific Coast Highway to Alta Laguna Park in Laguna Beach (the Top of the World area). But then I had to ditch those plans when I realized that my pack bladder sprung a leak! And so I drove back home and did a 5 mile walkabout in my own town. It was beautiful. The weather was nice. But it wasn’t the same. I walked barefoot on the sand for a while. Even waded in the surf. Most of time though my feet came down on cement. My feet were definitely sore back at home (I’ve spoiled them with dirt!)

 

Old Shoes Finally Got Me!

Sunday March 1, weather reports said rain, so I didn't do a mountain hike/run as planned (And I was thinking big! That is my nature, my eyes are always bigger than my "stomach" -- not so much about food, just with goals in general. This is not necessarily good thing in my opinion. This mentality puts me in a perpetual state of coming up short. On the other hand, this mentality has also given me some great experiences. So, I suppose it's a good trade. Anyway, I digress!)

I wasn't too bummed about the weather reports because I just had too much to do. I couldn't give up the hours. So, I cut the drive time right out of the equation and ran out my front door beneath beautiful gloomy skies. According to my weather app, I was safe from rain for a few hours.

Wow was this run was a struggle (I can't really get back into road running, but I try!). I can't say that I felt strong during any stretch of this 6.5 mile run. But the beauty that surrounded me was immense. Really. It was superb: spooky clouds, green ocean waters, a cool breeze to the face. The gorgeous scenery coupled with the music streaming through my earbuds made this run, as miserable as it was, doable. However, I don't currently own running shoes for the streets. And I didn't want to take my newish trail shoes out on the road, so I grabbed an old worn pair of trail running shoes from beneath my bed. I threw in my orthotics stupidly thinking I'd be good. (I write "stupidly" because four days later my left foot still aches. It feels like the left front pad has been bruised, though there's no visible bruise. I can't be sure if it was the shoes, but I'm suspicious that old shoes finally got me!)

My route on this dreamy, dreary day took me along Pacific Coast Highway, Doheny and Capistrano Beaches, including the campground (which was empty), and back, then to the jetty where I looked across at the harbor, then over to Golden Lantern and back up to Pacific Coast Highway where I made my way home. I perhaps took too many pictures. It's a sickness, as I've said. 🤪. Oh, almost forgot. It rained toward the end of this run. And it was lovely!

Doheny Beach, where San Juan Creek meets the Pacific Ocean

Doheny & Capistrano Beaches

View of Harbor from the Jetty

Pacific Coast Highway, Dana Point, California

Making a Habit

The key to so many things that I want to accomplish, for me anyway, is making a habit. If I want to write well, I should write all the time. Great piano players make piano playing a habit. Alcoholics make drinking a habit. Habits run our lives. I start morning the very same way every single day: I turn on the computer and make a pot of coffee. Every morning. That's my habit. Once you've elevated some behavior to the status of habit, it's smooth sailing for that habit, it runs on auto-pilot, and it's very difficult to stop it. Just as difficult almost as breaking a habit though, is the making a habit in the first place. Especially so if it's a beneficial habit. Creating a good habit sucks. (This by the way is not necessarily so with bad habits).

Some years ago, running was my habit. I didn't need much motivation to get out and run. It was part of my routine; it had become habit. It wasn't always like that of course. The process of developing the habit was long and took a great deal of patience. I was about 36 when I dabbled in running again (the first time being during my teen years). Though I had keep active most of my years with other sports and activities, I couldn't run a street block without it feeling that my heart was going burst out of my chest. That pissed me off, which is the catalyst for my subsequent running years. The road was very slow; it took months, perhaps more than a year (I don't even recall!) to have the endurance to run ten miles. By then of course, I was already hooked, the habit had been formed, and just like all habits, it stuck with me for a long time, until it didn't (injuries and life took me down).

So, here I am once again systematically trying to make running a habit. Fortunately, I can run much more than a street block. I ran five miles at the harbor this past Friday (Nov. 1). Five miles is a lot more difficult than it used to be, that's for sure. It didn't kill me though, and it didn't feel like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. My goal for this run was just to establish a routine, get my feet moving for consecutive miles. It's all part of Phase I (Getting Started) on my road to Calico -- then I will bide my time (in other words force myself) until it becomes habit.

5 mile harbor run:

Harbor Runs

The days have been warming up. It's not quite the hottest part of summer yet on the coast. But we are inching closer. Just a mile or two inland the temperatures are in the high 80s (F), and a mere five miles in, you're looking at the 90s. But here on the coast, we've got high 70s and low 80s still in the third week of July. Certainly not too hot for short harbor runs.

It still is not fun. 😣

2.75 mile run along bridge and harbor island (7/20/19):

 3.5 mile run through Doheny and campgrounds, the jetty, wharf and marina (7/22/19):

Harbor Run

I was okay with not getting my Friday hike last week, mainly because I got in a good 11 mile hike the day before. Friday (1/25) , I had a faculty meeting 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. After that I set up office at the downtown Starbucks, right up from the harbor. I accomplished much over two large coffees (with added heavy whipping cream that I brought in myself!). Later, I enjoyed a small amount of nuts, cheese, and salami for lunch (or rather breakfast, because it was my meal of the day). This was a great big Starbucks, with lots of room. I have to say that I felt quite comfortable working away at the big desks they've got set up there.  I parked myself next to an outlet so that when the batteries ran low, I was back online.

I think that I packed up at Starbucks a little after 2 p.m. Being that I was already dressed for a hike (because I originally thought that I might do that, but decided that I had just too much to do), I decided to go for a short run (umm . . . TROT) down at the harbor. It really was a perfect day for it -- mild weather, cold but not cold enough to require extra clothing more than a thin long sleeve. So, I strapped on my Amazfit watch and hand held my phone for 4 miles, mostly along the marina, and then out to the beach past The Marine Institute. There were plenty of people mingling about, but nothing like tourist season. And there were lots of birds. Wildlife on the seaside on this particular Friday was mainly birds (but lots of squirrels too). Pelicans hung out at the wharf, seagulls swooped low to the water, and ducks dilly-dallied around the marina waters. Talk about pleasant.

To think that I have driven thirty, sixty, ninety minutes to hike or run elsewhere, when I have this a half mile from my home!

I can't get a very good account on my speed because of the little stops I make along the way to snap the photos that I just cannot resist taking. I can't imagine that it added up to more than ten minutes though. Nonetheless, here are some of my Amazefit Stats (as they do differ from my Strava stats, and that still annoys me):

Miles: 4.00
Total Time: 59:44
Calories (allegedy!): 301
Avg heart (bpm): 165 (doubting the accuracy here, seems high for an average)

Who knows when I'll get out there again. Happy for any opportunity. It makes life so much more bearable.

Harbor Daze

My Friday hike wasn’t a hike, but instead a nighttime run. I’m not talking about yesterday Friday – I’m talking about last week Friday (11/30)Times have been busy, actually hectic a bit. But hectic might just be a state of mind. My hike wasn’t a hike because Friday morning I had a faculty meeting. Got out about 10:00 am, then had breakfast with my husband at a local Mexican restaurant (eggs & chorizo). That all seemed well-worth it, except for the fact that I was scheduled to teach a 6 hour Microsoft Excel class the following day. So, I really needed to get out and move my feet on Friday. But I didn’t. In fact, I did everything else instead of that. And then finally, I resolved to do a cardio workout at my gym. I even packed a gym bag (which is different than my running bag). So, even as I drove away from my home, I was planning on hitting the gym. But I didn’t hit the gym.  I hit the harbor with a quick 4.24 mile run (not hike).

I forgot to bring my ipod, but I still had music in my ears. On the island, there were a couple of seals barking in the harbor waters.  Waves crashed down on the jetty rocks, and though I could not see them, I could hear untold numbers of birds squawking away on the jetty rocks. There were musicians playing Christmas music over by the restaurants and the entire place was lit up in perfect glory (perfect glory because of the lights reflection on the water). It’s no wonder the Impressionists were so enthralled by light’s reflections.

With my To Do snowballing, I did not get out for another run again until Pearl Harbor Day (12/7). And that barely didn’t happen. We got two days of solid rain here (Wednesday – Thursday), so I could not do the hike I had planned. All the trails in the coastal hills were closed “due to wet and muddy conditions.” And I wasn’t feeling confident enough to venture out into the mountains the very first day after a big storm. So, I spent the day doing chores, much needed chores, like grocery shopping, which had been long neglected. Also, we had plans for the evening, and time was fleeting (our middle son played in the pit crew for a high school musical and we had tickets!) It was just one of those last minute things – just trot a couple miles I told myself. With the promise that it would be quick, I made a smaller loop at the harbor. 2.25 miles in total. The reflection of light on the water was beautiful.

Thanksgiving Epilogue

I know for certain these two things about myself: 1) I am a sucker for a routine. And why wouldn’t I be? Routines have proven to give great returns. I am focused, accomplish more and am generally more content if I follow a regular routine. 2) I am productive, have greater energy and am clear headed when I spend very little time consuming food (& when I do eat it’s high fat, lo-carb).

As soon as you mess up my routine, with things like pesky vacations, I start to flounder. Ha! ha! I love vacations; I even think that I need vacations. Just recently I was camping for three days, and then wham, it’s Thanksgiving – which meant (besides a really wonderful time with family) a feast with desserts. One of the things that is so relaxing with my way of eating is that I can always partake in the celebrations if I chose. And I do chose, but when I do nowadays, I consume much less calories than I did in my youth during celebrations. When you never ever eat potatoes, you can only eat so much when you give yourself the occasional treat. The same with pie – I ate a lovely slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, but it only took a thin slice with a few dabs of whipped cream to do the trick (& even that was too much!).

The thing with these celebration routine interruptions is they need to be quick. If they are quick, I bounce right back into my routine and get back to my “regular” diet. I feel fine, my energy is good, and my weight is maintained, and even overall on the downward trend (which is my wish). I know that quick interruptions are okay, and even desired, from experience. But I have been watching (& very closely!). And this is what I have found: my diet affects my mental condition. Note that diet and routine are very closely related. When I change my routine, my eating habits naturally change. Inevitably, my eating window changes and my macros fluctuate too (for various reasons when a routine changes). In a nutshell, when I move away from a low carb diet, darkness moves in. I see everything in a different light when I change my diet to include carbs and desserts. High fat, low carb, I roll with the punches. I keep busy, and I try to move positivity even if things are fucked. When that changes, I don’t want to get out of bed. I feel hopeless and sad. I am 53 years old, and only now do I fully understood how much diet affects my mood. Vacations and celebrations need to be quick.

So! Back to the subject, which was I took in a hell of a lot more carbs during Chimera and then Thanksgiving than I am used to. And that was due mainly to my routine changing. Even though I knew the depression was coming, it didn’t help me any in recognizing it.

After Thanksgiving, I had three days to get out and hit trails. I didn’t. I slept in. I got a few things accomplished, but not nearly as much as I had hoped. But on the good side, I got to see more of my oldest son who was home for Thanksgiving break. Friday evening, I knew that it was time to get out and put one foot in front of the other. As dense as it seems that I am sometimes, this I have realized: I MUST WALK (or drive, or run, or move in some manner!). I walked with my husband down to the harbor to take in the Christmas lights. The lights were beautiful, especially their reflection on the water. Total miles on this night time stroll: 2.4

Walking even a short bit did wonders, but I was back in the same funk pretty quickly. Not having fully shut-off the carbohydrate spout, I knew that I had to at least take the minimal step to get back to a routine. The easiest step was to shorten my eating window – it wouldn’t change my melancholy mood immediately, but it would be a step in the right direction. While I did that (shortened my eating window) I tried to focus in on what was bothering me. Aside from all personal tribulations that I do not wish to list here (because though life is wonderful, it also sucks to the same extreme), a main problem is my list of things to do is enormous. ENORMOUS. I had been crossing things off that list during Thanksgiving break – but not nearly as many cross-off’s as I had intended. Step 3 in getting back into my routine (step 1 being shorten my eating window, and step 2 get out and move) was to focus in on this list and start crossing things off. That helped immensely.

And then ice cream set me back, French vanilla. And I really only ate a tiny amount, but a tiny amount times two. (Oh, but it was so creamy, rich and delicious!) That certainly didn’t help the melancholy blues. So, Saturday night, I headed out again for another walk to the harbor – this time solo, and adding a bit more in distance from the night prior. On the way back up the big incline on Golden Lantern, on a whim, I decided to run. I picked a spot and pushed until I arrived, only tiring at the end (it was uphill after all). I was amazed that I was able to do it even for that short distance. Total miles for Saturday evening’s walk: 3.75

Sunday, the last day of my vacation, my mood was minimally better. Then out-of the blue (and really out-of-the-blue, as I had actually lay down to nap!) I decided to go for a run. Not a walk, a run. It wasn’t that difficult at all, which was really surprising. Thank God I had the wits about me to get out and get moving. It did wonders. Total miles run: 4.04.

I’m not back to my “regular” self. Needless to say, I am stressed. Slowly but surely (because that is my manner), I’ll climb out of this funk. I’ll climb out of this funk, just in time for Christmas vacation. On the good side this time, I was sad enough to actually go out and run, not hike-run, but RUN. And for that, I am thankful.