Country Runs

I’m in the country this Christmas season . . . Texas country, where the roads are long and the skies are big. My boys are staying at my in-laws ranch, while my husband and I are in town at a hotel. Every morning, we drive out to the ranch (about a 20 minute drive), where we have been spending time with family. There’s lots of land to walk around and a couple of ponds to linger about. It really is beautiful country, with miles and miles of back country roads to venture out onto.

Christmas Eve, I set out for a short run with my oldest son in the afternoon. The temperatures were in the forties (Fahrenheit), but that wasn’t cold enough to keep on the long sleeves. By the time we reached the small cemetery (Bowman Ridge Cemetery about 2 miles in), I was ready to take off the long sleeves and run in a tank top. It felt really good to get out and run the straightaway dirt roads. Really good. This run measured a little over 4.5 miles (with close to zero elevation gain). I know this for sure because I’m wearing my new sports watch – Amazfit Pace. Yes, I have officially left Garmin behind, and so for, I am pleased.

Run 2, which was today, December 27, I took my middle son along. It was dang cold out, but he didn’t even bring a jacket. I told him that he’d need one, but he did not believe. He mainly walked, but every so often would run to catch up with me. I think the running helped to warm him up. His face was red with cold. At about a half mile a jack rabbit stood up and ran across the field. He had to be three feet tall! I wish I was quick enough snap a picture. But by the time I had my camera out, he was long gone. Then about one mile in, two dogs ran from a farmhouse out onto the road, and accompanied us for most of the run. It wasn’t until about a half mile from “home” that the owners of the dogs showed up in a car and called the dogs in. The dogs were beautiful.

I kept my long sleeves on the entire run. I believe that it was thirty-something. Like I’ve already said, dang cold! The dogs didn’t mind, and my son without a jacket didn’t seem to mind much either. (Crazy kids!) We went back out to the cemetery, which is so interesting. It is a very old cemetery, with grave markers dating back to the early 1800s. It’s also a historical landmark being that it is a Confederate veteran cemetery. I know that it is popular to hate all Confederate history, but I love history, so I’m delighted to come across an artifact like this, which by the way, is practically in the middle of nowhere – it’s surround by country roads and farms – that’s it.

This run measured just a little over 4 miles, with again, practically zero elevation gain.

On the Seventh Day

Day 5 (Saturday):   Taught a six hour computer class and found it difficult to get out the door when I arrived home.  I did manage to continue this streak with a 1.23 mile run around town. 

Day 6 (Sunday):  I went on a hike with my boys and a good friend for 3.5 miles along Tijeras Creek and Arroyo Trabuco trails.  My family and my friend thought this should have counted for my running streak.  But I didn’t run on the hike, so it didn’t count.    Back at home, I ran out the door into downtown and back, for a 1.34 mile run.

Day 7 (Today!) : This evening, I finally found a little time to run out the door for a nice distance.  I thought I’d probably put in three miles (certainly wanted to do more than my minimum requirement).  I had an urge to run along the headlands, so I headed out that way, not really sure where I would run.

A Quick Stop at the Gazebo overlooking the Marina:

View from The Headlands:

Just getting to The Headlands pushed me on further in the 7th day of my Easter running streak.  I mean, I was so, so close to the ocean, I simply had to pay her a visit.  And so, I ran down from The Headlands to The Strands (AKA, Dana Strands) to check on my sea creatures in the tide pools before I headed onward for a sand run along The Strands and Salt Creek.  I spent some time at the base of The Headlands, taking in the waves as they crashed upon the rocks.  I relished the glossy black mussels and green sea urchins as I dodged waves slowly moving upward on the rocks.  Tide was rising, I could tell.  Foot prints had disappeared on the sand.  Sand castles were being flooded by waves. 

Sunflower (named so by me) Sea Urchins:

My Lovely Green Friends:

In all, I ran 6.29 miles on the 7th day of my Easter streak.  And all of it was lovely.  Yes, a little difficult at times, especially the up hills, but lovely still.

What kind Of Garmin Runner Are You?

Lots of people run naked – that is without a garmin.  Some of my friends say that the garmin on their wrist takes the fun out of running.  They become too concerned with stats and don’t enjoy the scenery and the other joys of running. 

I feel differently.  For me, the garmin does not “tie me down.”  The garmin does just the opposite – it sets me free.  I can run anywhere I want to and the garmin knows pretty dang well how far I travelled and more importantly to me, how many feet I climbed.  (I don’t care much about pace unless I’m training, but I do enjoy keeping track of mileage and elevation since I am a long distance runner of pretty extreme trails – extreme for my locale anyway).  Before my garmin days, I would only run routes that I knew the mileage, or a route I could drive to measure the mileage.  Otherwise, I’d use GoogleEarth software to measure miles, which was a pain in the butt, especially on trails.  GoogleEarth looks from above, which makes measuring trails difficult because most of the time all I can see on the screen is tree tops (not trails).

For me, the garmin is a thumbs up!  And if you’ve ever been a spectator at a race, be it trail or road, what do you notice 99.9% of the runners do at the finish line?  They look down at their wrist and stop the garmin.  LOL.

So, I’m wondering this:  What kind of garmin wearer are you?

1.  Are you “The-one-who-forgets-to-start/stop-your-garmin?”  That’s me!! I don’t know how many times I’ve been into my run or race and noticed, yikes!  I didn’t start my garmin.  I’m the one asking, “What does your garmin read?”  That way I know how much to add to my ending mileage.  I’m also the one driving off, having forgotten to stop my garmin.  Of course, that screws up my pace big time.  But at the same time, it’s not too difficult to figure out the actual mileage I ran, judging by the dramatic pace increase on the graph.

2.  Are you “The-one-who-pauses-your-garmin-every-time-you-stop, say to get something out of your pack, or make a pit-stop?”  I don’t do this because they don’t stop the clock when I stop at the outhouse or duck behind a bush in races.  Even though I’m not this garmin user, #2 garmin users suffer from the same thing as #1 above (me).  I don’t know how many times my running friends have exclaimed, “Dang!  I forgot to restart my garmin.”  Like myself, they ask about the group, “What does your garmin read?”  And I have to laugh. 

3.  Or are you “The-one-who-sets-your-garmin-to-pause-every-time-you stop?”  If so, you probably know by now, this doesn’t work well.  Too often, the garmin does not restart when you begin running again.  I know very few garmin runners who still set their garmin this way.   Many have tried, few have succeeded. 

So, what kind of garmin wearer are you?  Or do you even wear a garmin?  And if so, what is the most important stat that it gives you? Mine are mileage and pretty obviously, elevation.  For me, besides discovering trails, the garmin was the best thing that has happened to my running. 

An Explanation

I run to escape (partly).  That’s not necessarily a bad thing.  I escape the past, and I escape the anticipation of the future when I run trails.  When I run trails I must stay in the present.  And the present is a good place.  It’s a FANTASTIC place.  If I don’t stay in the present, I could trip on a rock, fall off a cliff.  When I run trails, especially technical trails, the present is what  really exists.  The past and future only exist in the mind, and those places at times, cause me great anxiety. 

I read a book many, a MANY year ago,  called The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis.  And from what I recall, it was about the devil’s nephew trying to entice a WWII vet into the “dark side” (for you Star War fans and for lack of better words on my part).  In this book, the devil’s nephew would often call on his Uncle the Devil.  And what I remember most about their correspondence was this:  The Devil constantly reminded his nephew to get this WWII veteran into the past or into the future, because “the present is where God is,” and “we need to keep him away from God.”  {Not direct quotes just memory}

I believe it’s true that the present is what’s real, and that running keeps me in the present.  On the other hand, running aids me in not dealing with the things I must deal with.  Things like: pursuing my writing career, dealing with a disrespectful tween, or even painting the yard gates. 

SO!  What does this all have to do with anything, especially my blog?  Well, first of all, I was beginning to experience major burn-out.  I felt tired.  I couldn’t get up in the morning.  And then, AND THEN, Bulldog 50k sold out before I could register!!!  That sell-out set me back into a bit of depression.  The morning after finding out about the sell-out, I woke at my usual 5:00 AM to run and I said F**** it.  I was in quite a downer for missing this 50k’s registration.  Especially after I had finally decided to make a go for it. 

This “burn-out” (utter fatigue without any repetitive injury – yeah! no reptitive injury!) coupled with my depression over Bulldog and the feeling that I’m running now for escape instead of health, plus my running friend Jeremy’s recommendation that I take a week off from running, I have decided to indeed take that week off.  That’s why you haven’t seen a blog since last Thursday. 

Let me say this:  LIFE IS TOUGH.  Sometimes it’s tougher than other times.  Sometimes, especially when I run trails, I can’t feel even an inkling of the life’s toughness (AND THAT IS WONDERFUL).  When the sweat pours, I’m in the present and the past and future doesn’t exist.  I’d much prefer to run up a five mile incline than face the pains and hardships of life.  The book that I’m reading (surprise, surprise), The Power of Now, basically states (so far) that our pain exists in the past and in the future, but not in the present.  I acknowledge that.  But I use the present to not deal with the future.  I couldn’t care less about the past.  The past is gone.  But the future . . . that causes a great deal of anxiety in me.  If you don’t live in So. California or perhaps you live in a place with similar circumstances – you may know about the economical hardships we are experiencing.  We see friends lose their homes, we see friends with no where to turn.  Like I said earlier, for us and those in our fields, life is tough!

Don’t get me wrong.  I have and have had a great life.  I have a home, a wonderful husband, 3 lovely boys and a new puppy.  But a break from running to get rid of this burn-out and also to face the things that I’ve been neglecting is something I desperately need. 

So, what am I going to do instead of running?  Am I going to finally paint the fence?  No.  I am not.  But I am going to pencil it in my calendar.  And I am going to find publisher/agents to send submissions.  (I already found one that I will send out by early this week).  And I am going to go to the gym and cross training daily, and I am strengthening my core and I am getting on a healthy diet. 

Am I going to focus on the past?  No!  Am I going to regret missing Bulldog?  Not anymore!  Am I going to worry about the future!  No.  No. No!!!  Instead I am going to focus on The Now, and I am going to currently work on my career.  (Yes, I have a career that I stumbled upon because I happened to get a bachelor’s of art some years back and several teaching credentials, it’s not giving us a substantial living income – though I love, love, love my job – I love writing more, and I need to pursue that).

Jeremy’s suggestion to take a week off seemed out of the question at first. Actually, it seemed absurd.  I commented on Facebook, “A week!!!”.  When I suffered depression from missing Bulldog, I realized that my friend’s suggestion more than a good idea.  It was an essential idea!! 

Thanks my running friend. 

I am still working out.  And though a week isn’t that long, I must cut my thoughts off at  night when I dream of running.  And I may also cut the week short.  But that would be all right.  What’s more important I think is to get a break for the REST and to GAIN PERSPECTIVE . . . gain perspective on Now.

Cheers! 

And Happy Running.  Because if it ain’t happy, then it ain’t worth doing!

ps,  a tribute to another musician:  R.I.P. Mike Starr : (  (Here’s to hoping you find peace, peace, peace, in the NOW and forgive yourself for the mistakes of your friend, Love,  someone who “knew” you, someone that you never ever heard of.  I think you were probably a good guy.)

pss.  I LOVE TO RUN, and it kinda hurts to take this week off!

She’s a Two-Timer

That’s right.  I am!  Even though I broke up with the pavement some time ago.  I have been seen running around around with pavement a few times since.  One of them today.  But I have an excuse.  I had little time to run, and with the way my schedule’s working this week, I needed to run today.   To tell you the truth.  I was looking forward to meeting with my old friend pavement.  It’s kind of nice to run straight out the front door.

Firstly, I had to find some road shoes.  The first pair I pulled from the beneath the bed, though the same brand, were both for the left foot (apropos, I thought).  Searching more, I found a right and left shoe (of the same brand again underneath the head of my bed.  (I’d say it’s time to go through the shoes again )

Though I ran pavement today, I took to the inclines, which meant some fast long declines as well.  And I saw some new things, it’s been so long since I’ve run the streets of my seaside town.

I ran over a new walkway above The Strands (a local beach) with these fish mosaics (dozens of them).

And I found new beach access down to The Strands (this once secluded beach now has three delightful access points, all beautifully landscaped.  But what goes down, must come up – I know the saying goes the other way, but with running, I’m always thinking as I run down, yikes, I gotta run back up!)

A View of the The Strands

After running up another set of stairs, I thought I’d investigate the road further, see if I found something else new.  And like a dog, I sniffed out a trail.  Well, kinda a trail.  Yes, it was a trail, more of the headlands trail system that the city has put in.  Notice the fence below that lines the entire trail system to keep runners and hikers in check.  The sight is way to gorgeous to complain.  I just think a more rustic looking fence might have fit better.

This trail meanders around the headlands overlooking the Pacific and comes out at a brand new building, some sort of headlands information building, where I promptly tripped on the pavement where it met the dirt.  I tripped hard too.  I thought surely I was going down.  My body was practically parallel with the earth.

No Worries.  I was able to add one fall to my fall count today nonetheless (LOL).  I came out overlooking the harbor and ran a path and bridge that travels along the cliff.  And while running UPSTAIRS.  Yup.  Upstairs.  I fell.  It was a soft fall.  No harm.  That’s ten to date though (3 for pavement, 7 for trails?).

I’m sure to visit pavement again.  Can you believe how lucky I am?  When probably a third of the country is covered in snow, I stand above in shorts (sweating) overlooking blues skies and the great Pacific.

Miles logged this morning: 6.53 + this afternoon, 1 mile with my son = 7.53

Dana Point Marina below

Runners!

I went for an afternoon run today, something I rarely do in California.  But the weather was cool and only 6 more miles was going to knock me over the 1,200 mile mark for 2010.  That’s less than 2009, but I’m still dang satisfied with 1,200.  Especially due to all my injuries, and especially, especially due to the fact that I used to think that running was about the worst thing a person could ever put themselves through (on purpose!)

Ready to take off for a run in the countryside 

After two miles of dusty county road I came upon a small cemetery.  It stood there all by itself, next to acres and acres of farmland, some green fields, others brown.  The white fence that surrounded the cemetery was open.  So, I took a detour and ran on in.  The short visit made for a somber moment.  Too many of those grave markers were for children.  Many of the grave markers were simply rocks that someone had erected white crosses over apparently some time later.  Small tattered Confederate flags stuck in the dirt over two graves, fluttered in the wind that had been blowing quite hard since I left the ranch.   I felt the need to tread lightly among the graveyard as not to disturb the graves.  After reading every marker, I was off running again out on the road. 

In the distance I could see a farmhouse with three dogs racing down its long, quarter mile dirt “driveway”.  “Oh Sh**!  Not again,” I grumbled and reached into my pack for the pepper spray.  The dogs ran to the road and waited for me there, barking, barking, barking.  “Stay,” I said in an authoritative voice as they approached me.  They continued to bark ferociously, but approached no closer as I ran by.  “Stay!”  I commanded again, and then “Good Dogs,” as I ran on.  “Good Dogs.”

I ran lonely county road after lonely county road.  Some of them gravel, some paved, most of them dirt.  The solitude was absolutely serene.  And then, way, way up ahead, I couldn’t believe it.  Was that another dog approaching me???  I continued running with my eyes on something moving closer and closer to me.  Then finally, to my utter disbelief, I realized she was a runner!  I actually met another runner out here.  She was wearing a hydration pack and laughed when I said “Oh my gosh!  Another person!”  And then, if that wasn’t great enough, not too far behind, another runner!  He wore a hydration pack too and when I asked if they were training for something, he said “No, just trying to get off some of those extra holiday pounds.”    I was so delighted, you’d think I’d never met another runner before : ))

Is there anybody out there???

Yes, by gosh, there is!  Runner number two on the road.

Turns out, I missed a turn on my loop and ran almost 3 miles out of the way (there and back).  I knew something was up when I hit a main highway with cars whizzing by.  I had ran to the next town!  I phoned the ranch to find out where I went wrong.  And it turned out that I missed a turn well before I met the runners.  So I wasn’t too sad about the extra miles.  Actually, I was happy. 

Back on the right road

Miles logged this afternoon:  9.44