On The Trail Again

On the 24th day of my running streak, I made it back to the trails for a nice, relaxing, “smallish” loop through Aliso/Wood Canyons that included a stop at Top of the World.  After a day back on the trails, I felt like I was never going to leave them again.  But, alas, I realize if I’m going to continue this streak, the road I must return.

I’m feeling pretty good after 24 days of running.  My calves are no longer tight when I take off.  I’m not increasing my speed much.  And the sweat pours fast and quickly.  Also, I must foam roll every day to get rid of an IT Band that so wants to flare-up.  Overall, I am happy to report that body is taking consecutive day running very well.

Scenes from today’s trail run:

Taking off into Wood Canyon for a run up Cholla Trail to the ridge:

View from the ridge (West Ridge):

Coyote Run (a lovely single track detour back to Wood Canyon Trail):

Miles run: 7.76 (12.49 km):

The Slow Hand of the Training Clock

In my wildest dreams I wouldn’t have imagined that I be a runner.  And a long distance runner, running up hills?  Ha!  That’s truly funny.

Let me be a testament to the fact that you can do it.  Whatever it is that you’re trying to do, you can.  The biggest thing it will take to get wherever it is that you want, is patience.  That was something that I DID NOT HAVE.  Patience.  Somehow, and I’m not sure how, running seemed to give me patience.  (Oddly, the biggest compliment I get from my students is “You have so much patience.”) 

I had to work up to 3 mile long runs.  Heck, I had to work up to running a block!  And I was embarrassed, I felt foolish. And since I was first a road runner, in order to keep it up, I had to pretend the rest of the people whizzing by in their cars, on their bikes, etc., weren’t there.  I sobbed when I first ran ten miles.  I felt like vomiting when walked to the Start Line of my first half marathon.  And I was scared to death to run my first marathon.

All along it seemed like training wasn’t really helping.  Obviously it was helping.  I just had to have the patience to allow enough time to pass to see results.  It’s similar to staring at the clock; you rarely see its hands move, but they move!  And they move pretty dang fast. 

Yet I still continue to train.  I find new things to train for – greater distance, steeper hills, rocky terrain, and It it still continues to pay off.  Now I know that I won’t really see the results until I look back (though sometimes I see the results as they happen).  When I start a run now, I feel much stronger.  I used to need a good three miles to warm-up.  Now I don’t experience anxiety when I know a big descent approaches.  I used to feel that terrible anxiety on my drive to the park where I was going to run the hill. 

SO . . . I have another mountain marathon this weekend.  It’s got 6,000 feet of elevation gain.  And it’s on trails that I’ve never run, in mountains that I’ve never run (however, I have done a bit of hiking in them).  I’m not scared because I know that I can do it.  And I also know that anything can happen, good or bad (like a PR or a twisted ankle).  I also know that since this race only has a little over 30 runners, I have a pretty good chance at a DFL.  That doesn’t scare me much either.  The only thing that scares me is coming in thirty minutes to an hour after the last runner.  If I’m going to take that DFL honor, I want to come in minutes after the runner in front of me.  I’m also a little scared about not making the half cut-off.  But those things too, I can deal with. 

I know I ‘m supposed to taper before a big race.  But I hate The Taper.  In my defense, all my runs this week have been less than ten miles.

Scenes from today’s run:

I really enjoy looking up beneath trees:

Crazy for Cholla, a short descent up to the ridge trail (West Ridge):

Running West Ridge, up ahead, a little hill that I call “Good Girls Don’t” – a couple of years ago, I couldn’t run it.  Now I can (of course not very quickly ):

A new (for me) little single-track I found along West Ridge:

Where I crashed my head into this branch:

And came out and found this (not me, but these rocks overlooking the Pacific):

Top of the World once again:

Running down Rockit:

Rockit:

Running in for the final stretch along Coyote run toward Wood Canyon:

Miles run this morning:  8.08 (13 km)

I’m Back

The Santa Ana winds arrived early this morning, furiously.  Trees swooshing, leaves rustling, and the sound of our washer/dryer enclosure door slamming into the backyard porch woke me over and over as I tried to squeeze in the last few hours of sleep. 

I couldn’t wait to get out and run.  I felt completely well, even with poor sleep.  I made it to the trails as soon as I could, hitting dirt at 9:00 AM.  I decided on Mentally Sensitive (Psycho-Path, which by the way, I altered the sign, but only in the picture). 

Aliso Canyon was still, seriously, not a single leaf stirred.  Though, I could tell that the Santa Anas were lurking because the weather had warmed significantly since yesterday.

Running up Mentally Sensitive:

I never weakened on this run, even when I reached Top of the World and the wind blew hard against my body.  The sound of the trees dancing in the wind was so loud it drowned out the music from my earphones.  I simply stood in the middle of it all to take in the wind’s majestic beauty, then took off running for the big loop, down Park Avenue Nature Trail with its Pacific Ocean view, then West Ridge toward Cholla Trail for a steepish descent. 

View of Saddleback Mountains from Park Avenue Nature Trail:

I figured that the wind would calm when I reached the bottom of Wood Canyon.  Though it was not as fierce, it still rustled the trees.  I took some single tracks off the main trail, up and down rolling hills.  I didn’t think about much, just keeping my footing and the feeling of gratitude for being well. 

I am back!

Running up to Wood Creek Trail for some technical single-track:

Coyote Run:

I made one last stop at Dripping Cave, my official goofing off spot.  Here I thought I’d “feel my oats” and prove that all my strength did not in fact drain from me during my illness.  I did some push-ups on the bridge into the cave, for the camera of course.  I’m glad no one else stopped by the cave to witness my theatrics which I topped off with some side planks, because they take better pictures than regular planks (yet I post the pictures on the world wide web!)  Then I jumped up and enjoyed the final stretch of 2.5 miles back to my truck. 

I ran this 13.32 mile (21.44 km) clockwise loop feeling strong the entire trip.  I reached the truck crusted in salt and extremely happy for these trails and the Santa Ana winds today (and the fact that they occurred in December when it’s cooler which meant less chance for fires).

Elevation Profile:

Happy Trails!

Autumn Run

People say the seasons don’t change in California.  Born and raised in California, I’m here to testify that the seasons do change.  They don’t change in the same manner that they do in other places, say . . . the eastern coast of the U.S.  But here in California, we definitely know when the season’s a changin’.

When autumn arrives we usually have fires in Southern California.  We call October “Fire Season.”  The reason we have fires (I won’t get into any political facts here) is mainly because of the Santa Ana winds.  Those are those warm winds that blow toward the west.

One of the changes on the southern coast in California during autumn is the smell.  When I wake in the morning, I smell campfires from the beach (or, fortunately not this year, I smell fires elsewhere).  And though the mornings have usually cooled during the autumn, there is an occasional  (actually semi-frequently) warm morning due to these Santa Ana winds.

And sure the colors don’t change like they do elsewhere, but the colors still change.  To begin, that brown coastal sage that I’m used to in my local hills gets drowned out by new green growth.  Autumn is almost like spring in Southern California.

I never saw this bloom at Aliso/Wood Canyons during the summer (must be an autumn bloom!)

I wanted something different on this Thursday autumn morning.  But I really didn’t have “all the time in the world.”  I like having “all the time in the world to run.”  But with 3 youngish boys and a husband, not to mention a job and household chores, that “all the time in the world” is considered bad.  Selfish, selfish . . . selfish.

Anyway, I did have some hours, and I set off lackadaisically (because I’m still in “recovery”)  in Aliso Canyon with no real idea where I was running.  The weather was cool, the skies grayish.  I had lots of different routes in mind.  And I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WAS THINKING, but I decided to run up the new trail “Mentally Sensitive” again.  LOL.  The best thing about the trip was that I could see the Saddleback mountains in the distance (& I’m still in reminisce mode).  The worst thing about that trail was that it was HORRIBLE.  I mean, WHAT WAS I THINKING?  That trail gets so steep that I’m serious when I write that I have to use all my strength not to slip backward.   You can see from the profile below that this trail basically goes straight up.  And in my silly mind, I thought that I’d run the whole thing.  Problem was, I found it impossible to keep up the mid-foot strike and had to resort to the fore-foot strike.  At first I kept the fore-foot strike only on my left foot (where a nerve has been surgically removed), but eventually I had to resort to a fore-foot strike on my right foot (where I have refused a second surgery).  I felt okay with the toes during this horrid trail.  But eventually I resorted to some backward running, and also running up the hill sideways.

As I ran up Mentally Sensitive, I thought this has got to be the LAMEST NAME FOR A TRAIL EVER. (Sorry if you named it.).  While running it, the name that fit perfectly for me was RIDICULOUS.  Then after some time, I realized that the best name for this trail that simply climbs and climbs and climbs is Psycho-Path

Autumn colors from Mentally Sensitive (Psycho-Path)

Running up “Psycho-Path”

Well, it appears that I am NOT making a “long story short,” nor am I really proving my point about autumn (I would rather make a long story short than a short story long). 

So!  When I finally reached the top of Psycho-Path I thought that since I was up there that I’d  venture into unknown areas and explore past the park I found the first time up this silly trail. 

I recovered quickly viewing the lovely gray Pacific Ocean and ran off to my left, and ran joyfully (I’m not joking) through the soccer field exploring like Lewis and Clark.  Wait!  More like Ponce de Leon who was searching for The Fountain of Youth.  Unlike my friend de Leon, I found the fountain of youth.  A swing set. 

After my little play session, I ran along the asphalt neighborhoods to Top of the World.  From there, I simply ran and turned down trails based on the time of my clock.  As I ran along West Ridge Trail I found my Conservation Corps friends.  I snapped some pictures of these young and beautiful guys and gals with the promise that I’d post them for their viewing on my blog (advertise!)

Conservation  Corps rebuilding a trail off of West Ridge

This is our autumn!

I could go on and on with this run.  But if you follow this blog, you know these trails well.  Instead of running down Cholla Trail, I decided on Lynx Trail, one that I hardly take.  That trail lead me right out onto Wood Canyon, which of course was a pleasant delight.  Then I finished up my loop, recording my evidence of autumn with my camera, running Wood Creek, Coyote Run and Wood Canyon trails.

Lynx Trail:

Wood Creek Trail:

The lovely color RED has overcome the poison oak:

Coyote Run Trail:

Miles logged Thursday morning:  13.27

That’s Not Runnin’, That’s Playin’

I had this week’s workouts all planned, two “short” runs, two gym days.  Then I would rest on Friday before the big day: SATURDAY. (Yikes!).

Monday, I got the boys off to school then returned home and got back in bed.  I slept until 12:30 PM.  TWELVE.  THIRTY.  I guess I was tired.  No run on Monday.  No gym on Monday.

Okay, so change of plans: two “short” runs and one gym day.

Tuesday morning, I got a 7:10 AM call to substitute teach.  Not being in the position to turn down work, I took the job and afterward drove to my regular job for a very long work day.  No run on Tuesday.  No gym on Tuesday.

My carefully laid-out plans for this week’s workouts were shot in just two days.  This morning I had to admit something to myself.  Training for Saddleback is OVER.  There’s nothing I can really gain (except for some rest) that will prepare me any more for Saturday.

And so today I laced up my shoes, strapped on my pack and hit the trails for some fun running.  Actually, it was more like playing.  But isn’t all running really playing?  I know I get a little serious about it at times, as if it’s my lifeline, but really I just want to have fun.  That’s why I love trail running so much – because it’s fun!

I’m kind of glad my plans were shot.  Otherwise, I may have not got in such a fun run.

Heading up Wood Creek Trail, it’s still a bit chilly:

By the number of spider webs I broke through, I could tell I was the first runner on Wood Creek Today:

Dozens of these enormous webs hung high throughout the wooded trails:

The sun warms up this single track (Coyote Run) as hundreds if not thousands (seriously) of crows gawk and fly about from tree to tree:

View of Wood Canyon and Coyote Run below from the Nature Loop Trail that brought me high above the creek and to this awesome view of new green growth:

Some delightful feathery blooms:

Photo Op on Cave Rock Trail against THE rock:

Running down Cave Rock Trail:

Entering Meadows Trail with no anxiety over the approaching climb:

Approaching top of Meadows Trail and look what’s in the distance – hint:  Saddleback Marathon:

Top of Meadows showing off Pacific Ocean (Laguna Beach) with an awkward pose :

I just love these goats:

Top of the World and feeling great!:

Heading back to truck along West Ridge (notice background – Saturday!!):

10.25 Miles run today (approx. 16.5 km):