Gorgeous Texas Country / Heat Training Take 3

One of the few problems I have with running (besides running in the heat) is running on vacation.  For some reason I find motivating myself to run, and finding the energy to run while on vacation very difficult.  This morning I  took 45 minutes to get ready.  Back home I get ready in about 5. 

On my way out the door this morning, at 7:10 AM, I noticed that it was 78 degrees F in the shade (25.5C), and I thought to myself, “WOO-HOO, it’s gonna be a cool day.”  I took on the front pasture first, then ran back into my tranquil cedar elm grove.  By then I knew, it’s NOT gonna be a cool one.  I felt sluggish and was already drenched from sweat from the high humidity.

Standing in the cedar elm grove grove:

With a heavy pack (I didn’t want to run out of fluids) and a calve with a dozen cactus thorns poking in the skin, I headed off the ranch.  I was unable to pull out all of the nearly invisible thorns, and in doing so, got one stuck in my finger.  That finger prick irritated me for a few miles.  Occasionally a breeze would blow, not a cool breeze, but at this point, any breeze was a good breeze.  My body temperature the first 4 or so miles fluctuated between .5 and 1.5 above normal.  I didn’t feel like someone was holding torches to my calves, but my breathing was labored, the air felt thick.  Grasshoppers were out in lesser numbers, though occasionally one would thump into my chest.

Texas country:

Hmmm.  I wonder the story behind this:

About mile 6, I knew it was time to to take out my handkerchief which I had filled with ice.  Running blogger Rachel (Running Girl Hits the Trails) had commented on my blog once that she wears a handkerchief filled with ice around her neck to cool down on hot runs.  I thought I’d try the ice thing as a multi-purpose trick.  I wore the hanky tied around my neck so that the ice that remained wouldn’t fall out.  And then once it melted completely, I took the now cool drenched hanky and put it over my head.  The plan worked beautifully, cooling me down between .3 to .5 above normal body temperature. 

Eventually, another breeze came and completely dried out my hanky.  Not good.  I didn’t want to waste water to re-wet, so I kept on running, neglecting to take my temperature for a while. 

The sun bared down hard, and I was starting to really suffer from the heat.  I felt heavy.  I felt hot.  I felt drained of all energy.

Ice-filled handkerchief around neck, thermometer in pack pocket, time for a sports drink:

Delicious shade:

Suffering, but still happily, I go off road for some shade in dry riverbed:

By mile 9, I remembered to take my temperature and it was 2.5 above normal!  I felt completely exhausted, heat exhausted and worked at cooling myself down.  I knew that I was running short on fluids, but kept on drinking.  I ate a few salty nuts.  I walked some.  But there was very, very little shade available. Unfortunately, I had to use some of my water to wet down the handkerchief.  I took a gamble, a good gamble.   I was able to get my temperature down between .5 and 1.5 above normal after that.  Still, I never felt the same.  I opened up the second sports drink well before making the cemetery.  I dreamt about the cemetery and couldn’t get there fast enough – it had shade, and a spot to sit!

One of the many varieties of grasshoppers:

I really could have collapsed at the cemetery.  Sitting at the edge of the Benson family plot, I finished up my sports drink, ate my apple, then phoned my husband.  “I’m going to stay here until I cool down, so expect me a little late.”  He offered to pick me up, but I declined, thinking I would cool down and had just enough water to run the approximate remaining two miles.

Resting in cemetery: 

I shut the cemetery gate and took to the county road with little confidence.  Probably .75 miles in, I completely ran out of water.  That’s when I knew it was time.  I WAS DONE.  I put in a call to hubby and he picked me up in an air-conditioned car with nice cold water waiting.  Upon returning to the ranch, it was 95F in the shade (35C), so it could have 100F (38C) or more on parts of my run since I found little shade. 

Miles logged today:  12.88 (20.73 km)

5:00 PM, I’m finally feeling good. 

ps.  At this point, I am seriously reconsidering my desire to run Bulldog this year.

Country Run / Heat Training Part 2

To begin, I would like to let it be known that I prefer “psycho” over “crazy.”

Having settled that, Friday I put in 2 hours at the gym in town.  It was delightful, though I couldn’t quite figure out some of the weight machines.  They are all drastically different than my gym’s back home.  The hamstring machine here felt just plain ole’ wrong to me (I’m sure I was using it incorrectly.) 

Saturday morning, I woke with terrible pain in my left knee (after much thought, I believe weight training day prior was the culprit.)  We drove all over town in search of a foam roller.  Even the sporting goods store had no idea what I was talking about, which surprised me, since Stephenville is a college town, and there’s lots of athletes here.  Well, I resorted to a canister of tennis balls and a knee brace.  Wore the brace all day, did all my floor exercises, ab work, then rolled on a tennis ball.  OUCH.  OUCH.  OUCH.  The knee pain almost instantly disappeared. 

I didn’t get out the door for my HEAT TRAINING TAKE 2 today until 7:30 AM, and it was already 85 F (29.4C).  Having filled my pack to the brim with half ice and half water, I carried with me two cold bottles of Gatorade, which after running the front pasture of the Miertschin ranch, set them down before the gate I would exit on my way off the ranch.  Then I commenced to put in a couple miles running the pastures and various trails on my in-laws’ property.  Hard miles.  The ice in my pack seemed to melt right away.

From the front pasture, I ran to my favorite cedar elm grove.  There in the shade stood the burro that our children have named Dunkus.  As soon as I got my camera out, he was gone.

Grasshoppers jumped all about me as I ran into the next pasture.  They mainly crashed into my legs.  But the bigger bizarre creatures, they sometimes smacked into my chest which was needless to say, alarming.  The worst of the grasshopper attack was when one would crash into my palm, and then flutter there for a second against my skin before flying away.

My concern wasn’t grasshoppers so much as rattlesnakes and ticks.  Wasps were a problem too, but I can take them pretty well.  Sure, I don’t want to get stung.  But I’ve been stung by a wasp before, and I can handle it.  Ticks – they just plain ole’ gross me out.  And rattlesnakes, well, I don’t consider them a problem at home, but here where the grass is tall and there is no trail, my fear was a rattler seeing me before I saw him!

Cedar elm grove

Some semi-trail running

Then the grass got to be waist high.  I couldn’t see the ground, which made for a difficult run, unable to see the ruts and rocks and such.  With that heat bearing down, I couldn’t wait to get off the ranch and out onto the country roads.  I noticed vultures flying above as I ran along the scorching-hot fence line.  By the time I made the bone-dry creek bed, I felt relief because of the shade it offered.  But the run was so difficult through this portion and I was growing warmer and warmer, that I began to grow nauseated.  Just calm down, I told myself, take it slowly and get the heck out of this hard stuff.  One foot in front of the other. One foot in front of the other . . .  

Running through tall grass

Creekbed

Finally, after an entire hour of running, I approached the gate to the front pasture.  I picked up my 2 bottles of Gatorade, put one in my backpack.  The other, I opened and began drinking as I ran along the pasture’s front fence line, grasshoppers slapping at my legs.  Even with the scorching heat I couldn’t have been happier to meet the country road, the land of little shade.  Once I hit that country road, a breeze came in.  I felt good.  So far, my body temperature had only fluctuated .5 degrees. 

The remainder of this run (about 9 miles / 14.48 km) was pure scorching heat.  When I’d see a cluster of trees in the distance, I ran toward it with the feeling that I was going to pick me up a pot of gold.  By now my body temperature had increased by one degree.  Drinking and running through the shade, quickly brought it down, but not down to normal, just about .2 to .5 above normal.

I draped the handkerchief over my head, but only wet it down once.  I just couldn’t waste my water after that.  I fought against the urge to conserve fluids and continued drinking little amounts frequently.  Believe it or not, for a good while during this HOT run I was having fun despite the torture.  It felt great to work against the heat AND CONQUER IT.

My feet felt particularly hot.  I felt an urge to tear off my socks.  But what felt hottest were my calves.  It felt like someone was holding torches just inches away from them as I ran.  Running in pants, I actually felt would have been better today. 

I wasn’t exactly sure on my water supply because my pack was heavy with the sports drink and a giant apple.  Ten miles, I told myself, when you reach ten miles, you can have the other Gatorade.  But at 9 1/2 miles, my body temperature had increased 1.5 over normal.  What’s a half a mile?  So I opened up the drink and ran it on in slowly, very slowly to the old cemetery where I could see its shady trees at least a mile away.

One of the few places where I exclaimed, “Shade ahead!”

Posing on bridge over dry riverbed.

I rested in the cemetery, walking about sort of melancholy over the youth buried there.  Then I sat at the age of the Benson Family plot and ate my apple and finished off my sports drink.  While sitting there, I noticed the distinct smell of men’s cologne.  It was faint, but didn’t fade my entire stay.  I thought to myself the following scenarios to explain the cologne: 

1.  A nearby plant smells like men’s cologne.

2.  Someone wearing this cologne had just recently visited the cemetery.

3. Theodore Benson, the patriarch of this family plot who was buried in 1912, had come from beyond to see who was sitting on the edge of his family plot! (No disrespect intended). 

After relishing my apple, I walked up to Theodore’s grave and noticed a handful of change, mainly quarters, some newish, others old and tarnished in a pile on top of his gravestone.  He had also a wife buried next to him who outlived him by twenty-six years.  And they had 3 sons, 1 daughter all living into adulthood (but not old-age), except 1 son who lived only 11 months.. 

Pink Lady, my favorite apple.

Acknowledging one of the many children buried here, Bennett Sageser (7 years old)

My temperature returned to normal, I took off running again for the last 1.75 miles or so.  With very little shade, I was quite fatigued.  My body temperature though remained only about a 1/2 degree higher than normal.  With about .75 of a mile remaining, I ran out of all fluids.  At one point, I abruptly stopped beneath the sun that seemed to be concentrating on only me, and I walked half a dozen steps.  Then I picked it up again, and slowly ran it on in finishing off just under 12 miles (19.31 km). 

The temperature (in the shade) upon my return

Miles run today:  11.75

Elevation Profile:  +935/-969

Heat Training Begins

We did not travel to Texas for heat training.  We came out to visit family.  But just simply standing, or sitting outdoors, I breakout in a sweat it’s so dang hot out here.  When I wake at about 7:00 AM, it’s already over 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27C). By late morning, it’s triple digits until about 8 PM.  Then it’s in the 90’s for the rest of the night.  See.  Perfect for heat training.

I know for many runners that running in 83 degree weather is not much.  But for me, a heat sensitive gal who runs mainly in the coastal hills of California, heat is a big problem.  I never begin a run in 80 plus degree temperatures back home, and one with little shade at that.

I took it nice and easy today, running through the ranch fields first.  Thousands, I mean literally thousands of grasshoppers flew and hopped out of my way as I made through the grass and virtually everywhere else that I ran.  There were little ones, yellow ones, brown and red-striped ones, giant brown ones.  And they’d fly into my legs, sometimes my arms.  And when the big ones hit my hand, I’d have a little “freak-out” moment.  The big grasshoppers were about four inches, the smallest about an inch.  A truly amazing sight.  The only way to avoid the critters was to run directly in the middle of the country roads.  (Which I did not do often)

Heading off the ranch 

I started off slow and ended slow today (slower than usual).  I also carried a thermometer and took my temperature regularly.  Through out the 8 miles, my temperature increased a maximum of 1 degree, but only for a short while.  It mainly increased from .2 to .5 degrees in this heat.  And I was able to quickly bring it back down by drinking fluids.  I also noticed that my temp came down quickly when I ran through shade.  I plan to take my temperature regularly as I train in the heat while I’m here.  I’m not sure what I’ll discover.  Mainly, I just want to be aware of my body and know what if feels like when its overheating so I don’t do a repeat of my little heat exhaustion drop out from Bulldog last year.

Pretty flowers everywhere, even though this part of Texas is in a terrible drought.

The beautiful lonely roads of Texas countryside

One of the large grasshoppers

A quick pose before acres upon acres of fields, no people, no cars, no other sounds except my feet hitting the ground.

A stop at an old cemetery

8.02 miles (12.9 km) run today.  I drank my entire 64 fluid ounces of water and one small bottle of gatorade – this amount of fluids is unheard of for me back home for this distance of a run.  I barely drink this much on a 15 mile run back home.

Back at the ranch, I was giddy that I got in my first heat training run.  Then I crashed hard and fell asleep before heading off to the water park in town. 

I don’t think I’m cut out for the heat : (

Friday morning I woke from a race dream.  As usual (in dreamland) I was running late picking up my bib, where I learned that this was a nude trail/mud run.  (Where I’d put my bib, I have no recollection).  Reluctantly, I stripped down and ran off late to the Start Line, apprehensive about my nudity.  While I was running I noticed not everyone ran this race nude, in fact, very few runners were naked.  Some, especially the women, ran in shorts but with no shirts, and some runners were fully clothed.  Then someone told me, “No!  It’s Clothing Optional’.”  I was not happy.

So, Friday I got out on the trail in my waking life, late as usual (since the boys went back to school getting out early is tough.)  Thing is, we’re still in the midst of a heat wave, and 10 AM is way too late to begin a trail run. But I had this great idea.  I was going to stay in the canyon and avoid the heat on Friday – forget that oven along the ridge.  I was going to keep cool.  Really cool.

Ha!  I felt overheated the first 1.5 miles in – Aliso Creek Trail which has virtually no shade.  My right glute felt pretty tight and my throat was sore.  But I was determined to make this trail run.  I need to get back into training.  (Wait.  I don’t need to.  I want to – I’m just a little crazy with this “need” thing right now.)

I laid on the picnic table at Wood Canyon Trail to stretch that glute (figure 4 stretch) and I couldn’t even keep a hold of my legs, my hands and legs were so slippery with sweat.  Later, that ibuprofen I took for my throat ended up helping with the glute too.

Wood Canyon, a beauty, but hot as heck

Finally approaching much needed shade on Wood Canyon Trail

Determined to make this run, I put my head down and plowed through it.  And then it started happening again.  I couldn’t cool down.  And I was hydrating all the while (with Nuun tablets too!).  Taking my mind off the heat, I shot an amateur video of Wood Creek Trail (Featured Trail video below), and got to enjoy some cool, breezeless shade for a short while. 

A Baby snake, as I ran onto Wood Creek Trail (probably a gopher snake, its tail covered in dirt I couldn’t see rattles, but his head looks a bit tiny in proportion to his body to be a rattler)

One of 2 tortuous flights of stairs in this wretched heat on Wood Creek Trail

Covered in salt and drenched in sweat, I laid beneath a tree back at my car and stretched a long while.  I arrived at school to pick up my youngest, my back actually cramping from the heat exhaustion.  After a shower, I felt loads better, but the sore throat was growing worse. 

Friday night, we decided to go to our son’s friend’s family restaurant Steer Crazy for some good bbq – a plug for those in The OC looking for some bbq with an ocean view and ocean breeze : )

By late Friday night the sore throat evolved into chills.  Bundled up in four blankets, I went to bed freezing while everyone complained of heat.  All day Saturday (today), I laid around, sleeping, aching, and sweating.  Heat exhaustion twice this week, I think really took a whack at my immunity.  Sadly, so, so sadly, I’ve decided against Sunday’s early morning group trail run (Boo Hoo! Not happy.  But I will be back)

Miles logged Friday:  9.24

Featured Trail of the Day Wood Creek Trail

As a positive note:  my right glute has not given me any problems since Friday’s run.

What’s baking on West Ridge? Me!

Having not run since last Wednesday, I ached to hit the trail.  Literally.  My right glute still bothered me.  But it is much better.  I couldn’t get out until 10 AM this morning which meant warmer, much warmer weather.  We’ve got a bonafide heat-wave here on the coast.

I took a call from a girlfriend running down into the canyon, which always gives me a kick.  I mean, who would have ever thought that I’d be running a trail while talking on the phone?  Not me.  We chatted about the writers’ conference when I reached Cholla Trail, which meant time to say good-bye.  I don’t think there’s a chance I could run up Cholla talking on the phone.  It’s too steep.

I ran Cholla feeling strong, no glute pain whatsoever.  It seemed to only bother me on the downhills and flats.  And then I ran West Ridge up to Top of the World.  Imagine baking a casserole (or cookies) and opening the oven door.  You know that heat that pours out of the oven?  I felt like I was running through that heat all the way up to Top of the World.  It was an oven!  Thankful that I packed fluids on my back, I had a feeling that fluids wasn’t going to make everything better (Calabasas all over again).

Joy filled me when I reached the top, one, because a breeze blew way up there, not a cool breeze, but a breeze nonetheless, and two, I always feel joyous reaching a summit.

I took off back down West Ridge.  White butterflies fluttered about the trail.  Dragonflies with bluish green wings flew about at eye level.  The sun still scorching, I couldn’t wait until I started the big downhill.  Then suddenly, a fast, zig-zag flying bug flew directly into my sunglasses.  I felt its wings flutter between my eyes and the inside of my glasses and then it was off.  What the heck was that?   It was bigger than a bee, a fly also.  It was not a butterfly, because though butterflies do fly in a zig-zag manner, they flutter.  They don’t zoom. 

A couple minutes later, another bug, about the same size flew into my hand.  It hit, and before I could see the thing, it was gone.  That’s when I thought the creatures that crashed into my glasses and hand were probably grasshoppers.  (Second guess:  a dragonfly, but I don’t recall seeing them fly at hand level.)  Mystery. : )

I ran down Rock It trail with much concentration.  All I wanted was shade. I yearned for shade.  Even a nice long downhill like Rock It trail didn’t provide much relief from the heat.  No shade, and not a single leaf moved from a breeze.  Finally at the bottom of Rock It, where I caught Coyote Run Trail, I stopped in the shade of a gigantic, sort of weeping tree.  I had to.  I was burning up, seeing orange blotches before my eyes.  After cooling off a bit, I ran onto Coyote Run for lots of shade, then back up onto Wood Canyon trail, running uphill, in and out of shade, so, so, eager to stop and cool down.  I tripped hard once on a root.  But caught myself before the fall (thanks to a stronger core!)

I need to get out earlier during this heat wave.  It took a couple hours to cool down after today’s run.  Still, I was glad to make it. 

View from Rock It Trail (parallel to Wood Cyn.  Aliso Cyn in the distance)

Lovely, lovely shade on Wood Canyon Trail

Miles logged today:  7.75

Elevation Profile

Mathis Who?

Minimal time and the sun blaring, I opted for a shorter loop at Aliso/Wood Canyons today.  “Shorter” meaning, shorter than the big outer loop.  I thought, heck, if I cut off Wood Canyon Trail after only about a mile and run up to West Ridge via Mathis, I’ll make this trip 2 1/2 miles shorter than the “big loop.”   I thought my idea so grand, that I made another decision.  Why not cut Wood Canyon Trail even shorter and take a detour trip along Dripping Cave Trail?  It will add a lot more difficulty, but will shorten the loop a tad too.

Brilliant. : )

Sightings Board at the Ranger Station (notice sightings are getting crowded by “lost” stuff)

Dripping Cave Trail

Arriving to Dripping Cave AKA. Robber’s Cave

Taking a step back so you can see the cave (infamous because robbers hid out here during the “Old West”. ) Their markings (holes in the walls where they hung their things) are still evident.

 

After Robber’s Cave the climb begins on Dripping Cave Trail 

And then finally it's down, down, down with a few tricky steps toward Mathis Trail.

Running through brush canopy to end Dripping Cave & come out on Mathis Trail

Mathis who? 

Mathis is no friend of mine.  Mathis tugs and weighs down your legs, he gives you no shade, disturbs your breathing.  Mathis hurls mountain bikers at you.  Mathis pours salt all over your face to drip down into your eyes.  Mathis drenches you, but does NOT cool you off.  No . . . no, Mathis was no friend of mine today.  He gave me a hell of a time.  But I did not quit, and ran the whole way (at a tortoise’s pace :) 

On the good side, as difficult as running Mathis was, it made reaching West Ridge and ultimately Top of the World, even that more triumphant.

I ran across Top of the World to enter the park again for a run down Meadows Trail.  And there in front of me, a shepherd attempted to get hundreds of goats into a newly fenced-off area.  His job was tougher than my “fun.”  He’d get them all going in one direction, toward the fenced area.  Then suddenly, one or two goats at the back of the pack would turn around and run.  And then it was all over.  All the goats, like dominoes, turned and ran in the opposite direction as well.  The shepherd, wearing long pants, ran quickly from the front of the pack, to the back, to herd them all again in the right direction.  He was yelling something that I couldn’t make out and headed them back toward the pen.  Then he’d run off to the front of the pack, when suddenly, one or two goats would turn around and run in the opposite direction.  And yes, again, all the other adorable kids followed suit.  I stood watching, amazed, as this happened again and again.  Poor shepherd.  How or when would this difficult feat end? 

Finally I couldn’t wait any longer to find out.  I took off running down Meadows, rushed again, to make it in time to stretch, get gas and pick up our kindergartner. 

I made it.

Goat Crossing at Top of the World

 

Posing at Top of the World, about to descend on Meadows over Laguna Beach and a socked in Pacific Ocean, as goats make their master run about in this heat (to my right)

View from top of Meadows Trail looking toward Aliso Viejo and Santa Ana Mountains

 Elevation Profile  (Miles run:  9.34)