My Own Private Marathon

Had we not lived with only one car for so long, I might never have thought of riding a bus to a trailhead.  Even if I had thought of it, I probably wouldn’t have done it.  I should point out, that we finally have two cars again.  And I should also point out that I love riding the bus, pretty much anywhere.

This weekend I had planned on an 50k, but it wasn’t “in the cards.”  To be truthful, I was feeling a bit jealous reading and hearing about different runners’ marathons and ultras.  And so today, I decided to run my own marathon, one with lots of elevation.  Waking at 5:00 AM, I drank my coffee, dressed, grabbed my pack and ran to the bus stop.  I like to arrive early.  Turns out I was only about two minutes early, so I worried that I missed it, until the bus finally appeared about five minutes late.

Waiting for the bus.  Perhaps I should have run a brush through my hair?  Nah.  I was on my way to a marathon.

The bus was busy this morning.  Many of the riders wore uniforms – hotel and restaurant uniforms, drug store uniforms.  Two riders got on (separately) carrying skateboards.  One rider boarded in my town who I thought I recognized as a Crystal Cove worker one of the first times I rode the bus to this trailhead.   Turns out, Steve and I got off at the same exit again this morning and walked up to the ranger station together.  (Hi Steve, if you’re reading this blog).

I began running in the dark, surprised how many runners and hikers  I came upon early on.  I ran up “No Dogs” and “No Name,” two trails I had to mostly hike about 2 years ago.  This morning I ran them in their entirety as the sun appeared on the horizon. 

The mighty sun shined brightly when I reached Bommer Ridge.  I ran without headphones so that I could eavesdrop on other runners.  One guy passed me running up hill, then two others.  When we all reached the top, the leader said to me, “Did you see how much I beat those guys?”

“Yes,” I said.  “But you all beat me.”  I ran on past them as they rested at the top of the hill.  I heard them running behind me on the flats when I overheard one of them say, “Man, this really SUCKS!”  That made me giggle inside as I turned off onto Fenceline Trail, a lovely warm and sunny single track.

Then I began my descent back down into the canyon and the sun disappeared.

Running back into the mist:

I ran over deer tracks.  And I was alarmed by the tufts of bunny hair scattered about the trail.  Lovely spider webs dangled from the brush like delicate jewels.  Stink bugs scampered across the trail.  I ran East Cut-Away for the first time.  It seemed to be a never-ending climb.  With the mist and clouds I wasn’t quite sure when I was going to finally hit El Moro Ridge, which I would run almost to the top.  Just before reaching the top I ran two of my favorite trails, one of them a delicate, misty single track called “Emerald Falls,” and the other, “Old Emerald Falls,” a treacherous rocky uphill that I took  to hit Bommer Ridge again.  I felt strong, even running up “Old Emerald Falls,” where I gladly hopped to the side to let mountain bikers fly by.  I noticed one of them with blood running down his knees.

Emerald Falls Trail

I wasn’t exactly running fast, this was a marathon after all.  But I still felt physically strong as I ran Bommer, Willow and finally Laurel Canyon out of the park.  “Stair Steps” into Aliso Wood Canyon Parks took my remaining mental strength.  Though my legs still moved onward, I was fatigued.  Not drop-dead kind of fatigued but the “this needs to end soon,” kind of fatigued.   

Glee filled my heart when I finally reached West Ridge.  I ran it to Top of the World and stopped there to refill on water, etc.  I had to move onward quickly.  Time was fleeting, and I couldn’t help but think – if I keep this pace for Saddleback I’m in trouble.   

Laurel Canyon (a gorgeous run!)

Ending Laurel Canyon, about to cross Laguna Canyon Highway and make ascent into Aliso/Wood Canyons Park

Stair Steps Trail

I still had physical strength upon reaching Meadows Trail.  But I consumed no additional calories.  With my headphones on, I ran onward, “Just make it out of the park,” I said to myself.  “Out of the park!!”

Top of Meadows Trail

I ran the streets after exiting Aliso/Wood Canyons Wilderness, UTTERLY fatigued.  I forgot how locate Aliso Summit Trail, asked a stranger for directions.  Upon finally finding the trail, I cut through the brush to catch it, so anxious I was to finish this marathon.  I continued running, wanting, wanting, wanting for this trail to end and my race to finish. 

Aliso Summit Trail ended with a total of 26.38 miles (42.45 km) on my garmin.  I took time to stretch waiting for my family.  I was chaffed raw.  Otherwise, I felt fine.  No cramping.  But I really felt that I sucked, excuse my language, as a runner.  Why did I run out of energy with so much training?  I can answer that now with several hours to rehash the experience. After about 17 miles, I didn’t take in additional calories.  Why?  Because I didn’t feel like eating.  I must learn from this, continue with the calories!!

The good news is, this is the first marathon I ever WON!!!

View of Meadows Trail and Top of the World from Aliso Summit Trail

First placer, placing first in my age group and first overall – Just play along 

Elevation Profile:

Mentally Sensitive

I read about a new trail opening in Aliso/Wood Canyons.  I talked to the rangers about it, heard it dumped out into a Laguna Beach city park, that it was steep, and that I “wasn’t going to be running it.” (Challenge!!) They told me Mentally Sensitive was officially opening October 16. 

What intrigued me about this trail, firstly is that IT’S A NEW TRAIL!!  I MUST run all trails at Aliso/Wood Canyons.  Also, it will make my “big loop” longer, and lastly it dumps out into a park, which means possible parking and new park entrance possibilities.

Before heading off, I stopped by the ranger station, just to make sure the trail had opened.  Indeed it had.  Then the ranger commenced to look about her desk for a tool to help me pull the adjustment elastic in my shorts back through the slot to the button.  Nothing she could find worked, so I took off running slowly on Aliso Creek Trail working on my shorts (it paid off).

Though this entry is a preview of the new trail called Mentally Sensitive, first things first.  This is the defensive position of the stink bug: 

I thought it was cute.

Mentally Sensitive hits Meadows about a half mile of running Meadows, just before the switchback climb to the top (a total of 2.09 miles from the ranger station).  The trail’s easy to find with the brand new sign in about the middle of nowhere.

Mentally Sensitive started off in a dry meadow with small rolling hills.  Fun, easy, not difficult running.  I knew it wouldn’t last like this with all the talk about how steep the trail is (Challenge!). 

And then . . . AND THEN, the trail abruptly ended and I found myself running an asphalt road.  What the heck!  I wondered where I took a wrong turn.  The obviously new fences dotting the trail hinted that I was probably still running Mentally Sensitive.

Not too far on this asphalt portion I came upon another Mentally Sensitive sign.  And then the climb began.  It wasn’t so bad, steep, but very runnable.  I thought, “Hey, I can run this, what are they talking about?”  But deep down I knew that the trail could get steeper.  Much steeper.

And that it did.  The higher up the trail I ran, the steeper it grew.

I found myself forefoot running (on my toes) – not good for me and my toe problems.  At times I ran sideways to avoid the forefoot strike.  And at times I hiked.

And then there was some relief! 

In all, Mentally Sensitive was single track.  And it was kind of switchbacky (I know I made that word up).  It wasn’t exactly switchback, that is travelling to the left, then the right, then the left and so on.  The trail would move straight up, then travel to the right, then maybe up some more, then to the left, then up more, and then maybe to the left again – that sort of thing. 

I actually “ran out of breath” in a couple of parts of this trail and resorted to a fast hike once again.  There were even occasions where I slipped backward (though I didn’t fall.).  That is just not like me, especially when I have all the time in the world.  I had no idea though how to pace myself since I had never run Mentally Sensitive before.  I think eventually I will be able to run Mentally Sensitive in its entirety (of course at a snail’s pace).  But not today.  Not today.

Nearing the top, Mentally Sensitive finally flattened and I looked forward to the city park I assumed to be at its end.  I came upon the trailhead sign on a dirt truck road.  The top of Meadows was about a half mile to my right, to my left the dirt road continued.  No city park in sight.  So I ran some more to my left. (Picture below is top of Mentally Sensitive).

After about a quarter mile running this slightly sandy dirt truck road, I finally came to the park.  And I promptly tore off the drenched long-sleeved shirt that I wore on this cool morning.  And of course I posed for a picture:

And then I pushed this tree back up and headed back on the trail:

I continued running my regular loop.  I saw Jeff before reaching Top of the World.  He was running a similar loop, except counter-clockwise.  Hi Jeff!  (He’s training for Saddleback too):

The sun showed its face along the way.  And I ran onward dead-dog tired.  I think that I should have had more than a tall glass of carrot juice for breakfast.  I powered on nonetheless, fortunately with lots of fluids remaining.  On Wood Canyon I came upon a lone coyote with a long flowing tail.  Then a bit further along, at least six deer stood about in the middle of the trail.  They didn’t move on until I took out my camera.

The last 3 miles of this run were pretty dang difficult.  That worried me a bit, until I remembered that I ran yesterday. 

Saddleback Marathon is just about 2 weeks away!

Elevation Profile:  Miles logged today:  12.88 (20.73 km)

There’s More Than One Way To The Top Of The World

No matter your destination, there’s always more than one route.  This is true in many ways, not only with running.  It’s true in all things in life – there are countless routes.  In some cases, all the routes are difficult.  But I suppose that depends on your goal.  If your goal is run to The Top of the World (the top of Aliso/Wood Canyons over looking Laguna Beach), the only way there is up and up and up.

If you know me, you probably know that my favorite route to the top is up Meadows Trail.  Why?  Not because it’s the steepest way.  Because it is.  I love running up Meadows because it’s a switchback, single-track.  There’s something about Switchback single-tracks that my brain can grasp onto and change into something exciting and fun!

Today, I chose a different route to The Top of the World.  I chose Mathis, which is not a single track, nor is it a switchback, and I usually also don’t pick it because there’s no shade. 

Fortunately, shade didn’t matter on this misty, cloudy day.  And the idea of Mathis gave me no anxiety.  I felt carefree as I ran in and out of all the different trails along the way.  It was one of those days, like so many on the trail, where everything was beautiful.  I had to eventually tell myself, “No more pictures!!.”

I broke through countless spider webs as I ran along Wood Creek Trail.  I noticed that the poison oak leaves were turning red and I took delight in moss covered rocks.  Here I stopped to set up a picture among one of my favorite spots on Wood Creek Trail (I love, love, love running up these rocks):

Wood Creek dumped me back into Wood Canyon.  I saw a few cyclists, a runner here and there.  When I jumped onto Coyote Run Trail, I didn’t see one person as I ran in and out of the trees.  At one point, thousands (I’m serious THOUSANDS!  It had to be that many) of crows flew about and nested in the trees.  They cawed so loudly and almost frantically, I was a bit spooked, wondering, “What do they see that I can’t see?”

For all I know, they could have been having an acorn feeding frenzy.  I don’t know crow habits.  I did try to capture a picture here before turning off to ascend Nature Loop Trail for a ridge run so that I ran above the canyon.  But the picture doesn’t show the countless crows sitting in the trees.  It still think it’s an eerie picture:

I descended down Nature Loop to hit Mathis.  I ran along a new barbed wire fence that’s up along the newly reinforced creek bed.  Good thing they put in these single chains every fifty feet or so, otherwise everyone and her brother would be getting in:

I ran Mathis with little thoughts running through my mind.  One foot in front of the other – that’s all I did, except for some focusing on form.  When I reached the top of Mathis, two female hikers were sitting at the kiosk.  One of them said, “YOU JUST RAN UP THAT THING???” 

“Ya,” I chuckled.  “It’s a little hard.” 

“Ya,” she said.  “It’s a little steep.”

Yes, Mathis is a little steep.  But, amazingly, I’ve run steeper.  And the steepness continued up West Ridge.  I took a little detour onto Park Avenue Nature Trail to finally reach THE TOP.

Nothing to see at Top of the World except pure white skies, I spent little time there.  I don’t need to see the ocean anymore.  Just being at The Top of the World was glorious.  I ran back down West Ridge in the cold, my clothing wet from sweat.  I saw my running friend, Jeff, far off in the distance.  Then I opted for a nice technical downhill on Rockit Trail:

Ending up Rockit, fall flowers line the trail:

Back onto Coyote Run Trail, I ran with joy, wanting more.  But I worked today and I just didn’t have the time.  I did have the time to snap this photo of my favorite tree on Coyote Run:

Finally ending back on Wood Canyon Trail, I realized that I had run 2.5 miles (4.02 km) more than I planned.  With some melancholy in my heart over the fact that I would be leaving this beauty, I stopped to capture one more picture of Southern California coastal trails:

Elevation Profile:  9.51 miles (15.30 km) run today

Arroyo Trabuco Trail / OCTR New Member Run

Filling in again this month leading OCTR’s New Member Run, I scheduled a trail that I rarely run.  I ran it more frequently in the past, always lead by  Tom Fangrow. 

I’m not afraid to “lead” runs anymore.  Sometimes I’m the slowest runner.  Less frequently,  I’m the quickest.  Most of the times, I’m right in the middle.  It doesn’t matter either way.  But I was a bit nervous about getting lost on Arroyo Trabuco Trail.  Last night, I checked the map to see if I could figure out how to get to a part I really wanted to run.  I wasn’t sure if I figured it out. I finally resolved to mark the trail as we ran it.  Still, on the way to our meeting place, I thought to myself, I sure wish Tom would show up, he could show me the way on this trail.

Guess what?  The first thing I saw when I pulled into the parking lot was Tom’s car!  What a great surprise.  I was so happy to see the trail runner who showed me so much about trail running.  If it wasn’t for Tom I wouldn’t know about 90% of the trails that I’m familiar with.  I probably wouldn’t know how to run up hills (he’s the first one who told me to not think about the top, just think about the step I was on).  And he was the one who told me TO DRINK FLUIDS.  In fact, I ran my very first trail run with Tom on an OCTR New Member Run in Peter’s Canyon, June 2008.

Wow!

I had the pleasure of meeting and running with 3 other trail runners this morning also.  The weather was cool and overcast.  The trail beautiful.  We crossed streams and I plowed right through them as usual because I know my feet’s going to get wet sooner or later.  Eventually we all had wet feet.  Funny thing, I fell on this run.  It was a good kind of fall; I kind of rolled and hopped back up with no injury.  It seemed to freak out everyone, but I bet that Tom was a little used to my falls even though it’s been a while since we ran together.  He asked about my hand, and I later wondered if it was because of my big fall when we ran Santiago Truck Trail a couple years ago where I thought I broke my wrist.  The ladies insisted that I stop and check myself out.  I knew I was okay, but stopped anyway.  LOL.  If they’d seen some of my falls, they’d know that this was just a blip. 

Fun short run, great meeting new people and seeing an old good friend (and I don’t mean old as in age)!  Today it seems apropos to end with an old, probably corny lyric that I used to sing in Girl Scouts: 

Make new friends, but keep the old; one is silver and the other gold.

Scenes from today

Parking lot meeting:  left to right, Me, Tom, Nina, Sherree, Lauren

Miles logged this morning:  4.65