This Week

Woe is me who can hardly find time to get in runs nowadays.  This week I managed to get in three runs, and I am grateful for that.  Still, I need more miles.  I want more trails

Run #1, Trabuco Creek Trail (in San Juan Capistrano) to Arroyo Trabuco (in Mission Viejo) 6.0 mile (9.66 km) out-and-back:

I call these trails “urban” trails, as I could hear traffic whizzing by along Camino Capistrano and graffiti dressed the walls as I ran beneath eight lanes of traffic travelling along Interstate 5. 

I crossed Trabuco Creek beneath the train tracks where I saw these high school students walking down to the creek.  I half expected them to pull out a joint, or at the least a pack of cigarettes.  Instead, they took fishing poles out from their packs. 

Run #2, Aliso Creek Trail to Wood Canyon, up Cave Rock Trail, back to Wood Canyon, Dripping Cave Trail, Mathis, Oak Grove, and then up the big incline called Car Wreck Trail, back to Mathis Trail, West Ridge to Top of the World, Meadows, back to Aliso Creek Trail, 9.33 mile (15.02 km) loop:

I got out late as usual, as I have little time for household chores and must tend to them first when I have spare moments.  As such, the weather was warm, and I overdressed because (hark!) it still is winter. 

I stopped by my favorite places in Aliso / Wood Canyons, such as Cave Rock, Dripping Cave and even Car Wreck Trail.  Of course, my loop included Top of the World for a quick view of the lovely Pacific. 

Everything was green and beautiful. 

Run #3, ran inland from my house so that I could catch the bike trail down to Monarch Beach, to Salt Creek Beach, Dana Strands (AKA The Strands), up to The Headlands, and Highway One back home, 8.45 mile (13.6 km) loop:

Got out late (3PM) for once again some winter heat.    Fortunately, I got some of that coastal breeze that keep so many coming back.  I had really hoped to get in at least fifteen miles for my last run of this week.  That was not possible – there were clothes to wash, bags to pack, floors and dishes to wash and toilets to scrub today.  I let the dream of fifteen miles flitter away and enjoyed half the miles anyway.

And they were difficult.  I think the main reason for my struggle was the winter warmth, and the fact that I set off toward the end of the day.  Regardless, I am better for it. 

Here’s the funny thing about run #3:  according to my garmin, the elevation gain was 1,238’.  I find this absolutely amazing, especially since I only reached a maximum elevation of 350’.  There were lots of ups and downs, I suppose.  And they add up.  (I have not scrutinized the graph below to figure out whether Garmin got the total gain correct). 

Wide Angle

I got off late on Friday, about 2 PM (surprise, surprise) for my pretty regular ten mile loop in Aliso/Wood Canyons.  I was armed with a new camera.  (My product warranty check came in – yay!  These product warranties on my cameras are the deal of the century for me.)  My new camera has a wide angle lens, which is new for me.  My husband’s professional camera has a wide-angle lens that I’ve never been too impressed with, 1) because it’s too dang bulky, and 2) it casts a shadow when the flash is used that I didn’t care to learn how to deal with.  But my new camera is one of those little things with the lens built in, and I hardly ever use a flash (& even if I did, I’m not getting a shadow with this camera). 

About a mile and a half into this run, after the back of my thigh began to ache, I switched on the wide angle for some shots of trails I have run countless times.   I was surprised what a different view this camera gives  – a more realistic view, one that captures not only what’s in front of me, but also what seems to surround me.  Very happy with my new purchase. 

The ache on the back of my thigh, right around the upper knee, grew worse as I made my way toward Mentally Sensitive.  I considered cutting the loop about a mile short by running up Meadows Trail instead.  Meadows is a steep switch-back to the ridge.  Mentally Sensitive is steeper, and not much of a switch-back at all.  I opted for Mentally Sensitive, because I’m just that way sometimes – a glutton for punishment.

I found the climb up Mentally Sensitive excruciating, but not surprisingly.  Fortunately, I had my new wide angle lens camera to keep my mind off the growing pain in my leg. 

By the time I reached the top of Mentally Sensitive, my leg was no longer an ache – it  hurt.  I could still run along the ridge, and I did.  By the time I made it to Meadows, I decided it was time to cut this ten mile loop down to seven miles.  I headed down the steep Meadows’ switch-back suffering.  It’s a mystery to me how I injured my leg.  There was no event, no popping, nothing to indicate an injury.  My guess is that I strained it the day before in the gym.  That’s what I’m hoping anyway, as I think that I can recover from that pretty quickly.

The Top of Mentally Sensitive/Saddleback Mountains in the background:

By the time I reached the bottom of Meadows, I could no longer run.  I couldn’t much walk either.  The pain remained the same whether I ran or walked.  That last mile and a half, I mostly walked, but ran some because I wanted to finish this up to stop the pain.  Finally back at the truck, I wept.  I didn’t cry because of the pain though – I was just so dang angry about having an injury.  I am such a baby when it comes to mentally enduring injuries.    Maybe that’s what they mean by “Mentally Sensitive.”

No Perspective

I don’t know what’s the matter with me, except for the notion that I may have lost all, and I mean ALL perspective on strength and training.  When I run less than ten miles, I consider it a short run.  Nine miles:  short run.  If I put in less than 40 miles during a week, I feel like a failure.  I never feel strong in my training.  In fact, I feel like a complete weakling.  All. The. Time.  I go to the gym, spend an hour on the elliptical, a half hour on the treadmill for speed work, then an hour on the cycle.  I can top that off with thirty minutes of weights, another fifteen minutes of ab work, and I feel like I can’t do anything strength and endurance-wise, like I have no strength at all.

What is the matter with me?

I try and go with it and still plug through these workouts, enjoying the trails like I do.  But when it’s all said and done, I don’t get a sense of accomplishment.  I feel like I came up short, like I failed.  Like I don’t try hard enough.

Such is the truth concerning my training.

Still, I go out there and run those trails, not because they give me greater strength or endurance, but because they clear my mind and fill it with beauty. 

My first and only run thus far this week, came on late in the week – Thursday afternoon, 1 o’ clock in the afternoon, to be exact.  The heat was strong, and the air was heavy.  I didn’t feel like I could do it.  But I just started running, like I always do.  Sweat dripped down onto my face early on – it was so damn hot.  The hills were empty.  Really.  Empty.  I decided to run up Meadows Trail, a steep hot climb.  I didn’t fret going up, and I power-hiked most of it.  At the top of Meadows, I looked back at the Santa Ana Mountains and took in the view of my beloved Saddleback.

I continued on across Top of the World with no idea about my pace, as my garmin battery was dead (& I didn’t notice until I parked my truck).  Funny thing.  I really can’t tell how fast (or slow)  I’m running.  A 15 minute pace feels the same as a 10 minute pace to me.  Go figure.  The only difference I’ve noted on trails is that with the quicker pace, my steps are shorter.  And so I took shorter steps in a hopeful attempt to pick up my pace. 

Thursday’s heat run measured 9.4 miles.  And I only know that (because I wasn’t wearing a garmin) because I’ve run the route before.  My route:  Aliso Creek Canyon, Wood Canyon, Meadows Trail, Top of the World, West Ridge, Mathis, Wood Canyon, Aliso Creek Trail.

My swing break in Alta Laguna Park at Top of the World:

Misty Summer

Wednesday’s Run:

Miles:  10.39 (16.72 km)

Elevation Gain: 1,243 ft (379 m)

Location:  Aliso/Wood Canyons

Route:  Aliso Creek Trail, Wood Canyon, Meadows, Mentally Sensitive, Top of the World, West Ridge, Mathis, Wood Canyon, Aliso Creek Trail

Weather:  humid, but a deliciously cool and misty summer morning.  Began running in the clouds, ended beneath sunshine.

Time to Run

For the first time in a long time, I got my first run in on the first day of the week. I managed this because, though my boys are still in school, my week break between spring and summer sessions is this week.  Yay!  Aside from a six hour meeting on Friday, and getting the boys off to school for their last days, I have lots of time for chores and more time to run .

Monday was slightly an experiment in running for me.  I’ve cut back my calorie intake significantly because I am really starting to fret upcoming events in September and October.  For one thing, it would be nice to fit back into my preferred running clothes.  And for another thing, I will perform much better carrying around less weight come fall.   The experiment was how I would weather moderately difficult trails. 

The verdict – I believe at the moment my calorie intake is probably too low to take on tough terrain.  Though I only ran ten miles, I had some good climbing.  With that climbing I experienced a great deal of muscle fatigue.  And I also felt light-headed. 

Aside from my experiment of sort – even a bad day out on the trails is a good day.  I spooked three deer while running a heavily wooded single track.  And they spooked the heck out of me. For some reason, my internal reasoning was delayed, and it took me several seconds to register what kind of animal was running across my path.  Later, in the canyon, I ran up on what I thought was one deer.  Lo and behold, I got to catch a glimpse of another and two baby deer.  One of the babies had white spots all over his back, just like Bambi.  I also crossed many snake paths, but did not see one of them.  But I did get to witness a small bird attacking a larger bird in flight.  The larger bird had something in its beak that the little one tried ferociously to get at, to no avail.  But the larger bird did drop some of his bounty and I could see that it probably was some kind of nesting material, shreds of things like paper and straw. 

Notice the deer through the trees:

A stop in the shade going up Meadows Trail:

Miles run:  10.03

I’m looking forward to amping up my runs. 

Stay tuned.

More Stats

Got out late this morning, but ever so grateful because I’ve been working more than usual, leaving little time for morning runs. 

The stats: 

Miles run: 10.03 (16.14 km)

Elevation gained:  1,253 ft (382 m)

The pics:

Entering Meadows:

My “Everything’s-Everything’s-Gonna-Be-Alright-Bridge (because if I make it to here, chances are very good that I’m surviving the run ):

Top of the World:

Robber’s Cave:

Better For It

Being that my regular teaching job is mainly evenings and sometimes Saturdays, I pretty much get to pick when I work during the day.  I substitute teach Kindergarten through 12th grade during the day.  Normally, I like to take as much work as I can get.  Today, I did not accept a single assignment because I wanted to hit the trails.  I have an extremely full schedule up ahead of assignments.  I gave myself a day off.  (The only advantage of not having a full-time contract). 

I ran far (12.08 miles), but not that hard.  On a total and complete whim, I took a turn out of Wood Canyon onto Coyote Run Trail.  And I back-tracked.  Yes, I back-tracked!  This is very odd and peculiar because I hate, hate, hate back-tracking.  But I had good reason (I think).  I back-tracked so that I could run up RockIt, which is also very odd and peculiar.  I have avoided running UP RockIt for quite some time.  I don’t know what exactly got into me today.  I will say that the climb was not utterly miserable.  It was quite enjoyable in fact.  I hiked when I needed to and considered that practice for Twin Peaks.   

Coyote Run:

RockIt:

I would tell you more.  But it’s probably much of the same that you’ve already read before if you’ve visited Laurenontherun prior to this.  It’s late, and I do have an assignment with an early morning start.  And so, I’ll just end with this:  I am sore after today’s run through the hills, but I am better for it – both mentally and physically.  I made some significant strides mentally.  And I think that overall, that is better than physically.

Happy running!  And thanks for reading.