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

A Run to Nowhere

After rolling my sore glute, I suited up this morning for a nice long trail loop.  I dropped my kindergartner off at school and raced off toward Canyon Vistas park, giddy over my planned run.  Along the way I passed the new roadside memorial, a poor teenager killed on the road (not positive she was a teenager, but by her picture posted among the flowers, she looked young).  I can't help be amazed that I've lucked out to make it this far in life.  By "make it this far," I simply mean, having survived.

I sunscreened up at the park, put on my cap with the promise to watch out for branches and took off running downhill through the park.  Then OUCH.  That glute stabbed, literally stabbed at me with each step.  Now, I promised myself to listen to my body, and with this much pain, I knew I wasn't going to "run it off", especially with Meadows Trail looming ahead.  And so I turned back to the car, limping, wincing in pain.

Back in the car, I actually wept a good deal.  I've got plenty to weep over, like I still miss my Daisy Dog.  And my son broke his foot, and, and, and . . . a run would have made all that better.  But I am still alive.  My whole family is still alive.  And so, I sucked it up, just like one of my shirt says, and drove to the gym.  I put in over an hour on the elliptical (about 6 miles of Cross Training, Resistance 9 -- basically up and down hills), and felt no glute pain.  I foam rolled again, did a two minute plank, some ab work and weights, all without any glute pain.

So what's the deal???  I suppose the mystery will not be solved and I'm really not in the mood to head back to physical therapy for now.  We'll see.   I'm off to a 3 day writer's conference.  So, I'll put off my concern for these aches, and hopefully I will be back on the trail sooner than later.

Miles run:  ZERO

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

Pavement out of Necessity

Less than a week after I wrote that I wouldn’t run pavement again for a while, there I was, 7:30 AM, running the roads in my hometown.  Why would I do such a treacherous thing?  (Well, not actually that treacherous).

First off, I am cramped for time.  If I want to put in the mileage, I can’t spend too much time driving there.  (The nearest trails I know off adds thirty minutes driving time – round trip)

I took off running out the door this morning, headed down Highway One.  Then I headed inland for some paved hills.  As I ran that first big climb I realized that I left my handheld at home (of course, I had packed enough calories for a long trail run, phone and camera in my belt).  Though the skies were gray and misty, I didn’t want to regret the missing fluids thing later, so I circled in back home at about mile four to pick up my handheld, which by the way was in the house – not on the front porch as I had hoped.

Middle son and husband were waking momentarily when I barged back in the house.  They suggested I go back to bed.  I could have been kinder in my response.  I mean, come on!  This was a weekend morning.  What else was I supposed to be doing??? 

And so on again and off again, I was off to continue my weekend run. 

A Spider in its web on the road!

After running the condemned bike trail I made my way down to our northern beaches. I ran beneath the highway to meet waves pounding against the shore.  Their roar was louder than a train.  Then I ran the length of three beaches at a bank (about 2 miles total), and hopped up onto the rocks for some look at sea creatures.  The tide high, I stepped down into the rock crevices to snap some photos when a wave hit me.  My legs drenched, I took off again across those beaches, my shoes and socks soaked and filled with sand.

Me just meeting the shore (about 6.5 miles in)

 

The first time my feet hit TRAIL this morning (onward to Monarch Beach)

 

Where Many Have Traveled

 

After running the beaches, I headed up that big paved hill home, feeling pretty good.  I stopped once to empty my shoes of sand.  Miles run this morning:  13.19

Elevation Profile – looks scarier than it actually was.  Notice, I’m at about sea level and climb only to 350 at the highest point.  Not too tough at all.

Ok, I'll Play : )

Reading Stuart's blog today, I got this:

LET'S PLAY Feud!!!


YOU ARE NOT ALLOWED TO USE MY ANSWERS!!!!!!

Copy and paste message to a new post.

Erase my answers and fill in your answers.


1 .Name something you use in the shower? shampoo

2.Name something a football player wears under his uniform? jock strap

3.Name something people hate to find on their windshield? a crack

4.Name something a man might buy before a date? mints

5.What is another word for blemish? pimple

6. Something you cook in the microwave? pop corn

7.Name a piece of furniture people need help moving? a piano

8.Name a reason a younger man might like an older woman? maturity (less drama)

9.Name something a dog does that embarrasses its owner? sniff a visitor's crotch

10.Name a kind of test you cannot study for?  parenthood

11.Name something a boy scout gets a badge for? tying knots

12.Name a phrase with the word home in it? Home, home on the range where the deer and the buffalo roam . . .

13.Name a sport where players lose teeth? Ultimate Fighting

14.Name something a teacher can do to ruin a student's day? Tell him/her that they should drop out.

15.What is a way you can tell someone has been crying? puffy eyes

16.Name a bird you wouldn't want to eat? a canary

17.Name something someone would wear with a hole in it? jeans

18.Name something that gets smaller the more you use it? soap

Wanna play answer below, post on your blog and/or link back…just have some fun.

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