Split Shift

I drove to the trailhead under darkness.  The last five miles is off road and took 30 minutes to drive.  I waited for the sky to lighten before venturing out of the truck.  I was ready.  I was ready to run up the mountain.  A ranger drove up just as I made my first steps.  He told me that they had a dozen rescues over the weekend.  I’m so glad one of those wasn’t for me.

A half mile into my run up Holy Jim gnats swarmed my face.  “Embrace the gnats,” I told myself.  That’s what I always tell myself.  And it works. 

Embrace the gnats!

As the forest thickened, the gnats doubled, tripled.  I breathed them up my nose.  They flew into my ears.  And they flew behind my glasses and into my eyes.  I swiped at them just so that I could breathe freely.  Then I changed my plan.  I’d just run up to the top of Holy Jim and come back (as opposed to running to the peak). 

Those tiny flies were relentless!  They followed me even when I ran higher up the trail.  Soon, my ability to embrace the gnats disappeared. 

At about mile two a bee stung my head.  I must have taken off my hat at one point, then put it back on over a bee.  Well, I didn’t know for sure if the sting came from a bee or a hornet.  A bee only stings once, a hornet can sting again and again.  You can understand why I wanted that thing off my head in a hurry.  I tore my hat off and grasped at the flying insect that was tangled in my hair.  I pulled at it again and again until I finally loosened the thing.  And I flung it to the ground.  (I couldn’t find it, but I think it was a bee).  Well, I had enough of this.  I turned around and ran back to the truck for a total of a 4.12 mile run. 

Second Shift

About 3:30 PM I took off in my truck headed for trails in San Juan Capistrano that run alongside Trabuco Creek.  I do believe, can’t be sure, but I’m pretty positive that when I ran this trail last June or July, I said that I would NEVER run this trail in the summer again.

For good reason!  Arroyo Trabuco trail was hot as hell today.

Yay!  Some shade:

Though a tiny portion of the trail looked like this --

Most of the time the trail looked like this --

And most of the time, I looked like this – utterly miserable:

I managed to run 8.28 miles in the afternoon with a split shift total of 12.40 miles.  The best thing about today’s runs was that I was running (oh, and that I didn’t die). Other than that, they pretty much sucked (excuse my language).  I’m ready for summer to end.

Just Maple Springs

I sat in my truck in Silverado Canyon, in the pitch black dark, waiting for the sun to lighten the sky this morning.  I saw a woman hike by with a headlamp and a reflective vest.  Just as the sky lightened, I ventured out of the car and saw a man hiking out from Maple Springs Road.  It’s that hot out here in Southern California.  People are resorting to night hiking.  When I woke at 4AM today, the weather was hot and muggy, and I live at the seashore!  

I took off around 6:15 AM for a run just on Maple Springs road, an out-and-back to a place named “Four Corners,” for fifteen total miles.   Only three miles in, I was dripping sweat down my back.  That’s when two male bikers road up behind me, struggling also with the heat.  They said, “You’re our inspiration.  Can you pull us?”  Not a chance. 

This was one of those “just-put-one-foot-in-front-of-the-other” runs.  Seven and a half miles uphill in this heat was just too much to think about.  If I would have thought about it, I wouldn’t have been able to make the trip.  I took in the awesome scenery, noticed the uncountable deer tracks, and searched the trail for cougar tracks (saw none).  I didn’t see a single other soul for the remainder of my trip up Maple Springs as that hot morning sun bared down upon me.

Maple Springs Road:

Four Corners showed me wonderful views of the San Gabriel Mountains, and on the other side, Orange County and Harding Truck Trail.  I wasn’t going to stick around long for the scenery though.  Four Corners had to be the hot spot of the entire mountain.  Hidden from view, I sat next to the railing as I unpacked some fuel, drank up and refilled my handheld.  The sound of a motorcycle startled me at first – its motor sounded like a large cat purring (ha, ha!).  Well, this guy on the motorcycle raced up Maple Springs and at Four Corners continued up onto a berm and jumped, that is flew high (I mean got some air!) off the end of that thing.  I was amazed.  And impressed.  Too bad I didn’t get a picture. 

Four Corners:

I got little relief for the run back down.  Yes, the trip was downhill, and that was good, but the heat, oh the heat – it slowed my pace more than I realized.  I got some heavenly cloud cover for about a half a mile.  Several motorcyclists rode past me.  Eventually, the two mountain bikers I saw going up raced past me and yelled out “Great job!”  Finally, when I made it to the bottom of the canyon a wonderful cool breeze blew hard into my face.  That lasted for several minutes – enough to get me through those last three miles to my truck. 

Running down Maple Springs:

Maple Springs Road Elevation Profile:

A New Loop

Some time ago a new loop popped into my head, a lollipop loop actually.  My idea was to connect two trails that I’ve run (Bommer Ridge and Laurel Canyon) with a trail that I haven’t run (Willow) in Laguna Wilderness.  Though I did glance at the map to make sure I could connect these trails (they meet at a staging area), I didn’t bother to calculate mileage.  I like some mystery (but I figured between 6 and 10 miles).  Anyway, I finally decided to do this loop today, on probably the hottest day of the year.    First off, I ran to the public restrooms and was already overheated.

Bommer Ridge gave me spectacular ocean views to my right and some ocean breezes.  To my left I couldn’t help but glance occasionally at The Saddleback Mountains.  On Willow I began to make my way down, down, down, BENEATH THE RIDGE, away from the ocean breezes. 

Running Bommer Ridge:

Willow is definitely not a summer trail, especially in 99f degrees.  With very little shade to be found, my downhill pace was much slower than usual.  I came upon a couple hikers here and there, all dressed too warm in my opinion.  Though a few ladies carried parasols.  I certainly would not rate Willow very high from today’s run.  And I probably won’t return, if I do, until the wintertime.

Willow Trail:

Much needed shade:

So happy to come upon the staging area for some more shade (notice the bunny ):

But then the climb up Laurel Canyon began – whew!

In all, this new loop measured 8.08 miles.  I would have liked 10 miles, but I was happy enough to quit at 8.08.  I came upon one lonely hiker as I ran up Bommer to the trailhead.  He said, “It’s hot!”  To which I replied, “Yup, it’s an oven back there.”

The lollipop:

A Wednesday Start

I like to get in 5 workouts a week.  Six would be better.   By workouts I mean, hiking, gym time, swimming, and of course running.  Five is hard to hit.  It’s hard to hit especially when I miss the first two days of the week.  Monday and Tuesday, I felt ill and decided to take it easy.  (By the way, I consider Monday the first day of the week, many people don’t.  My beloved and every single calendar I own considers Sunday the first day of the week – go figure.)

Anyway, with the first two days off, I’ve got to pull a 5 day streak, which will be tough.   With heat like today, it’s going to be even tougher.  I had planned on a 14.5 mile route, then decided on a 9.5 mile.  By the time I arrived to Wood Canyon, I decided to cut my route even shorter.  I went for a 6.5 mile run in the coastal hills today, one of my usual trips, and the heat was scorching.  SCORCHING.  I did get a nice breeze though at Top of the World.

The run was tough.  But the run was lovely.  And I was glad when I finished my last step.  The first thing I did (after stretching my calves) was sit in the truck and blast the air conditioner.  Then I guzzled down the remainder of my Nuun dissolved ice water. 

Prickly Pear harvest time (if you dare):

Making the tough climb to Top of the World:

Pacific Ocean View:

The Main Divide

I ventured back into the mountains this morning for the first time since my last debacle.  That incident was a big blow to me, perhaps bigger than I was able to relay in my blog entry.

This morning I decided to play it safe by sticking to the main trails, THE main trail, The Main Divide.  The Main Divide is a truck trail, sometimes loose, almost sandy, sometimes quite rocky, that runs along the ridge of The Saddleback Mountains.  I’ve run The Main Divide on many occasions, but always as a connection to other trails in order to form some sort of loop.  This morning I ran ONLY The Main Divide.  I parked in Blue Jay Campground (actually Falcon Campground which is pretty much the same place) and headed up. 

Gnats swarmed me in the beginning, but I ran relatively gnat-free during the most difficult, exposed parts of the trail.  I noticed coyote tracks, lots of deer tracks and bobcat tracks, plus a variety of other little cute tracks that I could not identify.  I also took in my calories like a good trail runner (595 by the time I was finished) and kept hydrated.  Toward the end, the weather was hot as hell.  I have no other way to describe it.  When I began to waver, I took in more calories and gained the additional strength that I needed.    The wonder of calories.  I never once felt light-headed or nauseated.  Not only that, even in this hot, hot, hot weather, I did not once need to stop in the shade to cool down. 

I saw only one other runner out today.  He was someone I know, an accomplished, humble runner Scott Barnes (He placed 2nd in Twin Peaks last year, finishing his 50 miles a little before I finished my 50 kilometers).  We chatted for a few minutes then headed off our separate ways.   Plenty of motorcyclists made their way along The Main Divide as well.  I spoke to one of them who asked directions to Modjeska Peak, and then asked me, “What the heck are you doing out here?”  I did not come across one single mountain biker.  This was very unusual. 

So, I ran out a little over 8 miles, which brought me past the Indian Truck Trail junction.  Then I simply turned around and ran back.  Yes, I was quite fatigued running The Main Divide back to my truck.  But I wore a huge grin because this time, I wasn’t seat belted in the seat of a fire truck.

Success.

The Main Divide

 Our moon still above as I take those first few steps up The Main Divide:

Where the gnats are plentiful:

Overlooking Lake Elsinore:

Overlooking Orange County:

Hot, sweaty, grimy, red-faced and dirty, but smiling as I run back to the truck:

On the Trails in Tommie Toes

If you follow my Facebook page, you might know that I won a pair of Tommie Toes.  They’re “all-terrain” sandals that I’ve been tempted to try after hearing about all the barefoot and sandal running going around.  I’ve seen runners wear sandals in big races, like the Chimera 100.  I’ve seen countless barefoot markings on my trails.  And I even saw at least 3 or 4 barefoot runners in the last San Diego Rock N’ Roll Marathon. 

After reading Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run and learning about the Tarahumara Indians, I grew even more curious.  The Tarahumara Indians who live in the mountains of Northern Mexico, run fantastic distances, seemingly effortless.  And they run all these miles in sandals!!  Before reading Born to Run, I couldn’t even walk around the house barefoot.  I ALWAYS wore something on my feet – they were that tender.  Venturing onto the trails barefoot or even in sandals was unimaginable.

Tarahumara sandals:

My friend Tom Bychowski wears sandals similar to those above when he runs the same trails that I run.  Tom is the man behind Tommie Toes.  As you can see he worked with the Tarahumara design a bit and came up with a sandal like this:

Well, I’m not sure if I’m going to become a barefoot or sandal runner.  But I’m for sure going to give it a try.  First, I wanted to get my feet ready.  I began barefoot hiking early this summer.  Ouch!  Ouch! Ouch! The first trip was a bit painful to my feet (while my youngest son ran circles around me in his barefeet on the trail).  Amazingly, my feet grew stronger and barefoot hiking was really cool (as in groovy) and comfortable.  What was NOT cool was stepping on sharp rocks or burning my feet on scorching hot trails.  That’s when I slapped on my Tommie Toes. The sandals took care of both of those problems.  I didn’t notice sharp rocks.  AND the bottoms of my feet remained scorch free while at the same time feeling closely like they were bare.  I don’t think I have the strap adjusted perfectly yet.  But there is a video with strap adjustment directions on the website that I haven’t taken the time to watch very closely.

Hiking with my sons on Car Wreck Trail wearing Tommie Toes:

While they are comfy and attractive, here’s the very best thing about Tommie Toes so far:  They stay on my feet at the beach!!!! The waves do not grab them and wash them away.  I have lost more than one pair of “flip-flops” to the ocean.  Tommie Toes, though minimal, are nothing like flip-flops.  They stay on my feet and they fit snuggly.  I would never be able to hike any distances in flip-flops.  I can in these.