Injured?

Something is definitely going on.  Injured?  I am not gonna say it.  I believe that I do not have a repetitive-use injury, which to me is a good thing.  It does not hurt to run.  I feel no pain walking on level ground.  But I feel severe and sudden pain in the center and left side of my left knee when I walk up steps, stepping up first with the left leg.  When I step up first with the right leg, I have no pain when I follow with the left leg.  Weird.  I feel that same pain when I release the emergency brake in my truck.  And I feel that pain when I bend or straighten my left leg.  I also feel it when I lift my left leg from a sitting position.  Yet, as I already mentioned, I can run fine (which rules out IT band syndrome – plus I’ve dealt with that so many times, I’d know if I were dealing with it again). 

I ran this morning in fact, a short run as scheduled per my training plan. I had no pain before this run.  I pretty much rushed it, because today was the last day of school for our two youngest boys.  I wanted to get back to school in time for the last day festivities.  I worked on my up hill speed, as usual.  I really pushed it on the downhill, often having to bank off the trail’s slanted side to keep my speed up.  Perhaps my leg was at the wrong angle when I pounded down on Cholla. 

I’m not calling myself injured YET.  Yes, I’m wearing a knee brace.  And yes, I have iced.  No, I have not taken any pain relievers (except for wine).  And yes, I have foam rolled.  I felt a bit of tightness in the lower quads of both legs, a little more so in the left leg.  Time will tell.  Tomorrow is a rest day, though I’m taking our boys skateboarding and biking.   But overall, it’s a rest day.

Dainty white flowers that lined the single tracks along West Ridge this morning:

Running the back on this out-and-back to Top of the World (& I really think that I look like a boy here, but I didn’t have any pictures from today’s run where I looked less like a boy and more like a girl : ( )

May your runs be merry this weekend!!

I Wanna Loop

The plan read ten miles for today.  With little gas and little cash I headed off to the closest trails – yes, Aliso/Wood Canyons.  Thing is, I don’t have a 10 mile loop there.  I have a 9, 9.5, 11.5, 12.5, 13, and 13.5 loop, but no 10 mile loop.  Sure I could have run an out-and-back, five miles out, five miles back.  Thing is, I’m a loopy lady.  I wanted a loop. 

Aside from preferring loops, I’m a bit lazy.  I know that sounds a little weird.  How can someone be lazy who runs all these miles?  Believe it.  It can happen.  Take this case for example.  Even though I know the mileage of every trail in Aliso/Wood Canyons, I guessed (once again) a ten mile loop instead of actually adding the mileage.  Adding, boy that’s tough!  : )

I didn’t want to run laps around the parking lot when I was finished to make my run ten miles.  I didn’t want to run any add-ons and end up on some scary trail like last time I tried to make a ten mile loop in this park.  So I was sure to guess a loop that was at least ten miles, at most a quarter to half mile over. 

Turns out I ran a 11.28 mile loop.  And I finished it up strong.  Yes, I am gradually seeing improvement in my strength and a little in my speed.  I’m still am on the hunt for a good ten mile loop though.  Good thing is, today I got to run one of my all time favorites, Meadows Trail, and I also ran up to Top of the World.    And at the very end of my run (with about a mile to go) the cutest little weasel stuck his head above ground right in front of me.  We made eye contact.  I snapped a picture, and then he was gone, back in his hole.

My routine picture:

Running up Meadows Trail:

Top of the Meadows Trail overlooking the Pacific Ocean:

Salty & sweaty at Top of the World:

Rock It Trail:

Coyote Run Trail:

Pop goes the Weasel:

Back on Hard Week

Don’t you love it when you go out of your way to use an outhouse (it is after all, usually pretty gross in there) and you end up peeing all over your shorts, and a little on your leg too?  That’s how my run started off today.  It’s happened before.  It’ll happen again.  The bushes are a much better choice – in the brush I don’t need to spend so much energy trying not to touch anything.  Instead, I just look out for snakes. 

I’m back on “Hard Week”  of my training plan, which isn’t much different from “Easy Week.”  Yes, it’s more mileage.  But with “Hard Week” AND “Easy Week,” I run 5 days a week.  I’m a 3 to 4 days-a-week runner.  Rarely do I run 5 days a week.    Five days or not though, I truly am enjoying myself.  With four months to go however, I feel I’ve got way more than four months worth of fitness improvement ahead of me.  I’ve got to move it, move it, move it!!

So!  “Hard Week,” yes.  But today was “Short.”  Don’t get me wrong.  Short does not mean easy.  But it does mean FUN!

My Running Adventure to Top of the World this morning:

Miles run today:  6.36 (10.24 km)

Father’s Day Run (Last Day of “Easy Week”)

Happy Father’s Day!  Fortunately today was my last day of an “easy” week.  Granted “easy” in my training plan doesn’t necessarily mean easy.  It simply means less mileage.  

To lessen my time away from home this Father’s Day, I ran straight out my front door.  That meant (gasp) . . .  A ROAD RUN.  Please do not think I have anything against road runners or road running.  As I’ve written before, nowadays, I’m more a trail runner than I am a runner (if that makes any sense). 

I admit, I had a delightful run.  And I was sure to make it a hilly one.  I got in some sand running, and a bit of trails too.  I saw LOTS of other runners and ran through crowds of people.  Also, the wind blew hard the entire six miles.  Amazingly and rather hilariously, every direction I turned, the wind blew straight-on into my face. 

Running down to Dana Strands:

Some seaside running:

Lots of steps to run up to get back to town:

“Headlands” trails:

Overlooking the marina (where I first began running):

A rare looking elevation profile:

Again, happy Father’s Day to all you fathers out there.  Me & Dad pictured below (oh ya, and Mickey too):

Holy Moley

I ran my semi-long run in Trabuco Canyon this morning.   I decided mid-week, it would be Holy Jim.  Holy Moley!  Yup, I ran up Holy Jim for a ten mile out-and-back on purpose.  I love Holy Jim.  And besides, Twin Peaks goes up this trail once and then back down later.  So, I better love it!

Camera on my truck, I snapped a quick picture before heading up the mountain (I have no idea what I’m doing with my hands).  I got a late start, 9:00 AM, so it warmed up pretty quickly:

Holy Jim, How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways:

The first two miles were lush, green and cool.  I hopped boulders and ran along logs at creek crossings:

The descendants of Cussing Jim’s figs towered me along the trail:

After the last creek crossing I began the giant switch-back up to The Main Divide, meeting many hikers along the way:

Climbing for awesome views, one hiker said that I was “crazy.”  And I felt like that was a compliment. 

The climbing didn’t cease for nearly five miles:

And then suddenly, there she was – The Main Divide.  I ran up swatting biting horseflies off my legs, and breathing gnats in through my nose.  LOL:

A tiny bit of discomfort all worth-while for Holy Jim:

As I headed back down Holy Jim, a hiker began slipping behind me on this rocky slope.  She chuckled as I picked up my speed to avoid sliding.  When I recommended she move quickly to avoid sliding, I don’t think she believed me at first.  Someone told me that once while running in Weir Canyon.  I didn’t believe him either.  But I watched him run down a steep slippery slope without sliding while I struggled to stay upright:

 

I ran as quickly as I could on the way down Holy Jim Trail.  Two bikers stopped me to ask if I had bug spray.  Horseflies were biting them as well. By then I had become proficient of swatting the giant flies off without even taking my eyes from the trail.  I didn’t have bug spray, and the mountain bikers didn’t seem too pleased when I warned them about the gnats further up the mountain.  “Breathe through the nose,” I said.  Anyone who has ever practically choked on a gnat, as I have more than once, might find this worthwhile advice. : )

And the sun came out stronger; I ran faster, tripping only once.  I attempted to pivot on the switch-backs, which I found I was too fearful to do while running fast.  However, even stopping to pivot off one leg, seemed more efficient than running fast tiny steps around the sharp corners. 

Oh the glory.  Look closely, a little lower than mid-photo and you will see the trail I ran down (& up ):

I passed more and more hikers making their way up to Santiago Peak in the hot weather.  I chatted briefly with one large group of hikers and the motherly-teacher in me gestured for one of the women to twirl around.  You see, she was empty handed, and when she followed my request and turned around for me (I guess I have an aura of authority sometimes) I exclaimed, “Where’s your water?”  That’s when I noticed that hardly any of the hikers carried water.  “Oh, don’t worry,” she said, “he’s carrying my water.”  Apparently a couple guys were carrying water for the whole group.  Not enough, I thought to myself.  That’s when I gave them directions to the spring and let them know that I’ve drank from it plenty of times.  Yes, it was gorgeous up there, but it was HOT.  I drank the very last drop of my 64 fluid ounces as I approached my truck.  Then I guzzled down what I had inside of the car. 

Holy Jim Profile:

The satellite:

Short, Short, Short

This morning was Short #3 of Short, Short, Short on Easy Week.  The weather was the same as yesterday – dreary.  BUT, I am not complaining.  No siree.  I am fortunate that I can run trails.  And I am fortunate that even though I am pretty much dirt poor, I can still afford to run (and running ain’t cheap!). 

Three short runs back-to-back is so odd to me nowadays.  Before and after running, it seemed like I had all the time in the world to tend to other things like laundry, dishes, ab work, weights, etc., etc., and still have plenty of time to get to work.

I ran the same out-and-back today as Tuesday and Wednesday.  Entering Wood Canyon from an Aliso Viejo Neighborhood park, I ran up Cholla Trail and ran the rolling hills (in the end not so rolling) of Westridge to Top of the World.  I tried to beat yesterday’s time which was 13 minutes faster than Tuesday’s time.  But I was a minute slower today than yesterday (that’s still 12 minutes faster than Tuesday!).  All is good on the run.  I felt strong.  And according to my garmin, my fastest pace was 8.25 (that’s down from 9.17 yesterday and 10.39 on Tuesday.)  I’m getting faster on the downhills.  Oddly, it’s harder to increase my pace on the downhills than it is on the uphills.  With the downhills, especially technical downhills (that is rocky, rutted trails) there’s always the fear factor – the fear that I’m going to eat dirt.  And I don’t want to eat dirt. 

Running up Cholla Trail:

On Westridge, headed toward Top of the World:

Looking down on Laguna Canyon Road (take it all the way to Main Beach in Laguna Beach):

The Ups and Downs:

Short, Short

Today was Short, Short of Short, Short, Short.  That is 3 consecutive short runs, mid-week of my “easy” week.  If it sounds confusing, it isn’t.  I sometimes have the knack for making the straightforward sound confusing.

The skies were gray, the air heavy with water – so heavy, I needed to use my windshield wipers on the drive out to Aliso/Wood Canyons.  To top it off, with no sun in sight, the weather was a tad chilly.  If you’ve read my blog posts, you may have noticed, I DO NOT LIKE RUNNING IN COLD, DARK, WET WEATHER.  But, alas, I was ready and willing to run, and it was in the training plan.

I took off running into Wood Canyon about 10:00 this morning, and ran my semi-usual short run to Top of the World – a place in the coastal hills, named after an exclusive neighborhood up there that overlooks Laguna Beach and the Pacific Ocean.  Not many runners were out on this socked-in morning.  But as usual of late, I saw plenty of hikers and mountain bikers.  One of my neighbors rode up alongside me, and we chatted a bit before she rode off to join her husband.  It’s so fun to see people I know on the trails. 

Most of the time, I make this “out-and-back,” more of a lollipop by taking a detour onto Park Avenue Nature Trail, which loops back to Westridge at Top of the World.  The green, rocky canyon views are awesome from Park Avenue Nature Trail.  Plus, I get more elevation on the detour.  Today however, I didn’t loop it at the end of this out-and-back to make that lollipop.  Instead, I ran a true out-and-back by turning around at Top of the World and taking the exact route back.  Extending this run .15 of a mile, I completed it 13 minutes faster than yesterday’s “Short” to Top of the World.  That makes this middle-aged Mom happy.

Making my way on a Westridge “off-shoot,” headed toward a little hill I’ve named “Good Girls Don’t.”

Yup, that’s what we call “socked-in.”

Greetings once again from Top of the World:

Miles logged:  6.32