After the Rest

I took my two days off as promised.  I didn't even get to strength training (like planks : ( 

Story is, I was forced into total relaxation, because on Father's Day (of all days!) I was victim of a four car pile-up.  Thank God we are all okay. (No one at the scene needed immediate medical attention.)  Most importantly, my three boys weren't even sore the next day.  My back, hip and neck on the otherhand ached.  By day two, lower to mid back really irritated me, so much so, I took Alleve to handle the pain.   I tried not to grow angry about what this was going to do to my 50k training.  Instead I focused on how we "dodged a bullet" and that my husband and boys are all okay.

I woke this morning with no back pain whatsoever.  Neck and hip felt good, so after dropping my three sons off at their schools, I hit the pavement.  Yes, pavement.  I decided to skip the trail for safety reasons.  If I did have a messed-up back, I certainly didn't want to jostle it around on uneven terrain.

So I set out under sunny skies, coconut water in my handheld (Nuun and Pedialyte powder in my belt).  And I gleefully ran.  I mean GLEEFULLY.  This was such an easy-going, FLAT run, I literally couldn't believe it.

I ran along Doheny, through the smoke-filled campgrounds (twice) through Capo Beach, up to the jetty.  The wharf was crowded with tourists, children on bikes.  Everything was oh so beautiful.  And I felt so rested.  After the island, I headed for the cliffs.  And before my turnaround, I stretched my IT band.   

Running up PCH back home (the largest incline of today's run) the right hip began nagging.  And here's sort of an odd thing, about an hour after arriving home, I was freezing, I mean, bundled up on the bed cold.  My husband said, "It's not cold."  Then he asked, "How many miles did you run?  Don't lie."

As if I would lie about mileage.  It's just not in my blood. : )

I ran 12.75 miles this morning.  And I napped from about 2pm til 4 this afternoon.  Was I not ready for this run, or was a just simply tired over a trying weekend?  (I did afterall wake at my usual weekday hour 5:30 AM today -- who wouldn't be tired?)

Glad to be back.  I may, just may stay away from the trail for the a couple more days just to see if the back pain returns.

Mosiac above is on pedestrial bridge that crosses over to Doheny

Easy Goin'

I aimed for five miles today; mental math indicated if I wanted to do Saturday’s trail run and come in under twenty-five weekly miles, I needed to run less than six today. Why twenty-five miles? Because, I’m cutting back for the entire month of October. I’m takin’ it easy. : )

Readers of this blog may have guessed this about me: I won’t take the time beforehand to measure routes. Instead, I try and guess mileage (& measure them later). Why won’t I take the time to measure beforehand? Because, I don’t have time, or else, I don’t think I have the time. In a nutshell: I’m always in a rush – that is, until I finally hit the pavement or trail – then it’s easy-goin’ for this forty-four-year-old mother of three. I hit the trail or pavement thinking I can “feel” five or ten miles. And it’s kind of a joke really. To date, I haven’t been able to feel any particular distance.

So! I headed down the highway pretty late in the morning, after 9:30, free as a bird – no running belt, no water, no phone even! I did have my ipod which helped me breeze through this short, relatively flat run. I hit the state beach, bikini clad volleyball players spiked the ball in the sand, and surfers in abundance sat on their boards for that long ride in (we’ve got long boarders out our way.) As usual, I ran through the wharf, and after making my way out from behind the restaurants’ backdoor service entrances, I was caught by surprise. There before me, out in the mouth of the harbor, hundreds of seabirds, pelicans, seagulls and such flew about in a flurry, diving in the waters, swooping through the air. The scene was breathtaking! Those marvelous pelicans, so giant like they are, amazed me the most. The literally flapped their wings straight into an ocean nose dive. And they didn’t slow down a bit before hitting. Their splashes probably reached three feet.

Passing the spectacle, I ran backwards for a bit to keep on watching, so spectacular was the scene. I continued on to the island and my usual places, up and back the small dock, etc., etc., until I came upon the cliffs that towered above. Tide was high. The tiny beach no more, waves crashed upon the jetty rocks. I turned around at that point, and made my way back home, hoping that I had put in five miles – because it sure didn’t feel like five miles. It was a breeze.

Miles logged this morning: 7.71 Oops. : )

One MORE for the Road

I planned to stay off the trails, that is big climbing trails until I got this nerve/toe (?) problem figured out, because I suspected that it was the steep climbs that caused the injury.  The good news is:  I ran on roads today and when I returned, I took off my shoes and OUCH.  Toe pain : )

I guess that means that I can return to the trails.  (Great logic, eh?)

Anyway, it is true, today I hit the road one more time.   And it was beneath gorgeous blue skies that carried with it warm winds.  Those winds blew up against my baby jogger, creating a parachute working against me.  Needless to say, the run was tough -- but tough is good.  Feels good to work really hard. And baby, well, he's no baby anymore.  My four-year-old has grown since I last pushed him on the run.  He was a heavy load.

I put up a good sweat today and loved every minute of it.  Even though I had to use my husband's ipod (because mine, since the crash, has only the same three cd's I've been listening to for the last few runs and workouts -- and I just can't take it anymore).  Regardless, he's got some good music on there.  I took it off "shuffle" and handpicked some good running tunes.  

I didn't much pay attention to my surroundings.  Just thinking, thinking, thinking, strategizing about my writing, what I'm gonna write, how I'm gonna market it.  Baby screamed in delight as usual at all the squirrels that scurried about on the island. And even things a simple as a pigeon brought him joy!  Remember the days?  

I do.  I get them once in a blue moon.

Using my inner-gps, I gauged what I thought might be 5 miles.  At home I measured and learned, miles logged this morning:  6.23

One for the Road

Well, I'm back, after a weekend of debauchery (nah, just kidding, I was just at a writer's conference), and I've been aching, I mean aching to run. Actually, I hadn't planned on a run this evening, but with a new teaching assignment and having to learn the ropes this week, today was the day.

I was a little afraid, 1) because of the heat, and 2) it's the evening!  I usually can't run after a busy day.  Amazingly, even with a warm breeze, and blaring sun, and pavement beneath my feet (boy do I miss the trail), I had great fun.

Sunglasses, and ipod with the same three cd's loaded since my computer crash, I ran down the highway, up and over the pedestrian bridge where I squeezed my way through two guys stretched out smoking pot. And then I made my way, against my own advice, to the campground. I thought it might be too hot there, too smokey. Yes, it was hot, but smoky, not -- instead lovely dinner smells on the bbq.

And then I did my usual thing, ran up to the jetty, longboarders to my left simply sitting in the still waters, waiting for that wave. Egrets stalked the grounds by the fisherman who threw their lines out at the rocks, and across the marina waters, hundreds of pelicans simply sat at the filling dock, like they were sleeping or something (I couldn't tell).  All the while, I didn't stress about anything -- I just let my mind glide along with my feet.

Anyway, thru the wharf, crowded restaurants, and those lovely water fountains for refreshment along the way, I ran onto the island. I powered up that bridge to it, feeling no pain, just nice easy runnin'. Yes, I had one of those easy runs today. And when I arrived at the cliffs, where waves rather gently made their way in, the skies were dark, stars twinkled in the moonlight.

Can it get any better than that?

The night was still as I headed back, golden lights reflecting off the marina waters. Though still, the air was cool. And even though my cotton t-shirt weighed about five pounds about now (drenched with sweat), I powered up the big hill home, delighted that I could make this one for the road.

Miles logged this evening: 9.13

A Sad Freedom

Not one of us here got good sleep last night -- much on my mind, I'm pretty sure that I woke every hour. Just before waking for good, I dreamt that I rollerbladed along the asphalt Aliso Woods Trail. Then I daringly crossed over the "Closed" section, the one that intersects Wood Canyon Trail, and doesn't have a gate. It's just simply closed off to travelers. I breezed over that thing on blades, enjoying the freedom, until the trail took a turn toward the creek. Then after a sharp right I discovered a hidden treasure of a trail. It ran alongside the creek, beside secret homes for the privledged who had to access this heavenly trail.

Well, I scooted down a steep slope in my blades to access this dirt trail, when I found myself on a richly manicured lawn and before me, a gigantic wildcat. She was as tall as my shoulders, grayish-brown, and a cross between a cougar and a lion. Basically, it was a cougar with a mane. Well, I backed up slowly, moving my way up that incline. And just as I was about to hop back up onto that paved trail and skate away, the rangers drove by. Fearful that the cougar-lion might pounce, but more afraid of the rangers, I ducked and hid there until the rangers were good and gone. Then I hopped up on the trail and raced along the asphalt trying to make it back to the public road before the rangers caught me on a closed portion. But there was snow everywhere now, and hikers kept stopping me to ask the way. Frustration grew when I finally woke.

So what does that dream mean?

I have no idea. I'm sure in some way, it symbolically tells the story of sending my boys off to school today. Sure, I looked forward to this day. Today, I would gain my daytime freedom. No more nagging, no more 3 boys fighting. But it was very sad too. No more three boys lounging around the living room during breakfast, no more three boys laughing too loud in the morning. I missed them terribly, and ruminated over the fact that our guys are growing up so, so fast.

And so what did I do when all the dropping off at schools was complete?

That's easy. I'm sure there's no guessing here. 9:20 AM, I clipped my ipod to my belt, and I ran. Beneath cloudy skies, I ran down to the state beach, then through the smoky campground, and out onto that long stretch that used to kill me nearly six years ago. The tide was high, and when the sun finally broke through the clouds, its shine created thousands of fluctuating silver glimmers across the sea.

The wind blew cool, the sun beared down hot, and I ran some more. I ran out to the rock jetty where old fishermen threw out lines into still waters. Across the way, hundreds of pelicans mulled about the filling station dock. Plenty of other runners made the rounds too -- perhaps they also had sent children off for their first day back to school.

And I ran some more, through the wharf, its restaurants practically empty of tourists, seaguls prancing along roof tops, flies swarming in their glory at back door entrances.

And I ran some more beneath the bridge in cool shade, then up and over it to my island. Squirrels with tummies bulging ran across my path. But it was the walkers who blocked my path. Drinking fountains quenched my thirst, all the while, I thought about nothing. Nothing.

And I ran some more.

I didn't stop until I reached the cliffs. Waves crashed upon the jetty, sending easy, routine splashes toward the trail. I stopped for a second here, noticing a burn in my arms from my shirt seams. After rubbing chapstick along my arms, I took off running again. And I took that big hill home as fast as I could, no hands on the hips, just looking to the ground, listening to my music, thinking about nothing.

Freedom is definately kinda sad.

Miles logged this morning: 11.36

# of other runners on my route: 19