Santiago Peak Take 2 (Gnats taste yucky)

My plan was to run up to Santiago Peak again this morning with two running friends.  After checking e-mails at 4:15 AM, I learned one friend couldn’t make it.  So it was two running up the mountain this morning. 

I arrived to a dark dirt lot a couple minutes before 5:30, no Tom.  I thought well, I’ll give him until 5:40 (because duh! I didn’t bring his phone number).  With one minute left, and me deciding whether to go back home and crawl into bed, or to drive to Aliso/Wood Canyons and run some coastal trails (I was leaning toward sleep), Tom B. text’d me to say he’d be five minutes.  And I was just getting used to the idea of more sleep.

Let me say this:  I’m so happy that I didn’t get that extra sleep.  I’m even happy about all those gnats that I breathed in, then spit to the ground (they tasted yucky).  I’ll tell you why.  Tom wanted to run to the top, and he had to do it in three hours.  I chuckled out loud when he said that.  Then I said, “Well, when you reach the top, you can turn around and when we meet, I’ll run down with you.”  Needless to say, I lacked confidence that I could do it.  But I kept that timing in mind, and also a close look on the garmin the entire trip up. 

I made it to the top in EXACTLY three hours.  No leg cramps.  I suffered some from the climb, yes.  The climb was still extreme.  And the gnats were even worse than last week.  I believe hundreds at a time swarmed my face.  It wasn’t a matter of keeping my mouth shut.  At certain points, simply breathing sucked those gnats right into my mouth.  But the weather had to be at least ten degrees cooler than last week.  And I ran much, much more of the Main Divide that I did last Sunday.

Elevation Profile of this morning’s run:

Heading up (Holy Jim, then the Main Divide)

Tom takes in view on Santiago Peak

Posing before above a multitude of cities and the Pacific Ocean:

No, that is not a beer in my hand (it’s coconut water)

The run down went slower than I hoped (than perhaps we both had hoped).  Swatting gnats with my handkerchief, the temperature grew some and I warmly welcomed the shade and an occasional breeze. 

Tom and I hit Holy Jim about the same time.  Then after a steep descent we ascended a bit.  That’s when Tom passed and I felt the first warning of heat exhaustion.  I actually had to stop in the shade for some seconds to gather my wits.  I pulled an ice cold Gatorade (slushy with ice) from my pack and ran down that mountain ONE STEP AT A TIME. 

I saw Tom in the distance, but made no big effort to catch him.  I gather, he was just as eager to get down that remaining 5 mile climb as I was.  When I came upon the spring, that “saved” us all last weekend, I stopped.  Then I leisurely cooled down.  I practically took a bath in that dribbling water.  When I was finished I had an ice-cold handkerchief on my head, brain freeze from the slushy Gatorade, and a handheld filled with spring water in my pack just in case I ran out of fluids.

Completely refreshed, I raced down that mountain, running as quickly as possible attempting to catch Tom.  I tripped several times, but remained upright (amazingly) each time.  On two particularly bad stumbles my calves cramped-up and I thought for sure that I was going to eat dirt.  (core work does help with falls!).

Just when I thought I wasn’t going to catch Tom, I looked up and there he was cooling down in the stream as I crossed.  Guess what he said.  It’s something I’ve heard frequently recently.  He said, “I ran out of water.”  (And he was carrying a lot of water going in).

Thank goodness, we only had about a mile left.  I offered him my spring water.  But he declined.  I had just enough water in my hydration pack to make that last mile.  And that last mile was very difficult.  But not as difficult as last week.  Cloud cover came in.  People by the dozens were hiking up (with seemingly little water).

Though we made it down in a little more time than hoped, I’d say we did pretty dang good.  Tom’s time limit to get to the top was a GREAT motivator.  Thanks Tom.   

Running down the mountain

Holy Jim’s beauty

Last creek crossing before making it to the truck (where ice-cold water and Gatorade await)

16.41 miles run today.

According to my garmin, I made this trip about an hour quicker overall, than last Sunday. 

Just Be

Thursday, I wasn’t up to running as planned.  I woke to run, then fell back asleep on the couch at 5AM.  When I woke at 7ish, I simply sat on the couch.  Well, I did sip my coffee.  The house was still sleeping, even our puppy was asleep.  So, I packed a gym bag and spent two hard hours at the gym.  I upped the resistance to 12 on the elliptical crossramp and pushed hard.  I upped all the weights one notch as well. 

Friday I woke a little sore and wondered why.  Then I fell back asleep on the couch at 5AM AGAIN.  When I woke at 8ish, only our middle son was awake.  I packed my hydration pack and with coffee in hand, drove off for Aliso/Wood Canyons. 

The skies were cloudy, the air misty in Wood Canyon.  As I set off running, I had two goals in mind.  They had nothing to do with pace or distance.  First, I’m continuing to work on form.  My running friend Tom B. (who I saw on the trails this morning) noticed on our last run in the Santa Ana Mountains that I had a bit of a heel strike on down hills.  I really wanted to concentrate on eliminating that heel strike.  My second goal sounds simple, but was really quite difficult – that is to JUST BE.  Enjoy the moment.  Observe my thoughts without judgment and focus on my body, what it felt like when the breeze hit, what it felt like to run up that strenuous Meadows Trail.  In other words, live in the moment, and enjoy the present.  Just be.

And that is what I did.  (But it was hard sometimes)

A little detour to Dripping Cave, one of My Happy Places

Quick “breather” in Dripping Cave (AKA Robbers Cave)

At top of Meadows Trail, running ridge to enter Top of the World

10.45 miles run today (16.82 km).  AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL.  And I felt strong.  Finally. My route:  Wood Canyon, a bit of Dripping Cave, Cave Rock, back to Wood Canyon, Meadows, Top of the World, Park Ave. Nature Trail, West Ridge, Cholla. 

Elevation Profile:  +1749/1732’

The Aftermath . . . There’s Always the Aftermath

There’s always the aftermath of what?  Usually it’s a race.  This time is wasn’t a race, it was just a run, an ordinary run to the highest peak in our mountains.  Well, not quite ordinary (see last post).  I got a cramp that lasted THREE DAYS. 

Though I rested Monday, I did go on a hike with my oldest son.  Planned to visit the gym.  Didn’t. 

Tuesday, I left my house later than planned, arriving on the trails after 7AM.   I decided to run my normal loop in Aliso/Wood Canyons counter-clockwise instead of clockwise.  Running up Meadows this morning didn’t seem like the best idea with the cramp, so I decided to run my loop counter-clockwise, which makes for a longer, yet gradual climb.

The weather was cool and cloudy.  Relief.

Someone turned on the air conditioner!!

I met  running friend on West Ridge and we chatted a bit.  I felt fine, not too quick, but my mood was pretty neutral.  Then sometime into this run, a dark cloud of gloom appeared above my head.  Depressed, I began the terrible self-talk, things like, “I pretty much SUCK at everything I do.  EVERYTHING.”  This sort of thing happens to me more than I wish.  And it usually happens after a big run, usually a marathon. 

Such thoughts are not good for running.  They were painful, so once I could no longer stand the wallowing, I forced those thoughts out of my mind.  The only way that I could keep them gone was to run with a completely blank mind.  Which I did.

Top of the World

Leaving Meadows Trail

Running through Wood Canyon, the sun now shining, I’ve got plenty of Sycamore shade

Miles run on Tuesday:  9.63

Santiago Peak

Santiago Peak (known also as the “talking peak”) is the highest point in the Santa Ana Mountains.  It’s one of the two peaks of the region we call Saddleback Mountains, named after the two peaks that form a “saddleback” up there.  We can see it from miles and miles away.   When I moved out here more than twenty years ago, I never dreamt that I would “run” up to it.  I would have thought someone who did was a little bit insane.

I have never run to Santiago Peak as a trail runner.  I have never been to Santiago Peak.  But I needed to get up there, because a friend has asked that I pace him for the last twenty miles of a 50 mile race (the 50 miles has 17,000 of elevation gain!).  He will go to this peak twice; I will accompany him on the second time.  Honored to be asked to pace, I gladly accepted.  So, I figure it’s my JOB to get to know that peak well.  Time is fleeting.

I was very lucky to have three others accompany me:  (from left to right – Me, Tom, Michael, Jeremy).

I didn’t feel my strongest this morning.  I plugged away up Holy Jim which was nice and dark from shade at first.  The gnats came on strong at first too.  As soon as we got out of the shade and the climb began to increase, I fortunately lost those annoying gnats.  They focus on the face, fly into your mouth, up your nose, into your ears.  I spit out several.  And at one point, I felt something on my front tooth and upon investigating found a smashed gnat.

Fun.

The run up Holy Jim was fun too.  I felt confident that the heat would not attack us as everyone feared.

Running Holy Jim before the climb steepens

Notice the gnats on my face – just wait.

Digging deep to finish running Holy Jim

Jeremy was waiting for me at Bear Springs (on the Main Divide).  The gnats were out in extreme abundance, which is why Tom and Michael just kept on going.  As soon as I hit the Main Divide, I continued on up with Jeremy.  We stopped in the shade a ways up (when the gnats left)  so that I could pack an empty water bottle, put on a bandana.  Then all of a sudden, as we took off, a terrible, severe pain hit my calf.  I couldn’t figure out what happened.  If I had been alone, I would have turned back then and there because I really didn’t think I could take the pain all the way to the top.  I told Jeremy to go ahead, that I’d either catch up or text him if I turned back. 

I stretched, but could barely hold it.  I took some salt pills, and I moved onward.  Hiking.  I had come this far, I decided that I was going TO THE TOP.   I didn’t know how I was going to do it, when suddenly I realized something I read recently – that pain doesn’t exist in the present.  I know that sounds extremely odd.  Without going into pages on this concept, I’ll just say that I  focused on staying in the very moment I was in.  Surprise, surprise!  When I was able to do that, my pain completely disappeared!  Not for long though.  I couldn’t keep it up – staying in the moment that is.  The heat was growing and the climb grew steeper.

The Main Divide going up to Santiago Peak

Tom meets me on his way down from peak in hopes to beat the heat. 

Sweating it out while the gnats attack full force (they don’t bite – they’re just annoying as heck!) If you click pic for a larger view & look very closely you should see gnats EVERYWHERE, look to chin, shoulder, bandana – you can even see their shadows.

Finally, we reached the peak.  All 3 of us meandered around the towers, took photos, readjusted, basically taking our sweet time before taking off.  I was WORN OUT.  The pain in my calf continued to bother me, but to a lesser extent.  The gnats were not at the top thankfully.  There were workers installing new generators.  There were motocross riders, motorcycle riders, mountain bikers.  No other runners, or even hikers. 

Why it’s known as “Talking Peak.”

Posing at the top

The view from Santiago Peak

Locating landmarks, our neighborhoods, etc.

Then it was time for the run down.  It had to be 100 F.  We took upper Holy Jim down to the Main Divide.  Spreading apart quickly,  I ran that single track alone.  It grew quite technical at the end with boulders and lots of twists and turns, not to mention steepness.  With that heat bearing down, I wanted nothing more than to reach Lower Holy Jim.  That’s when I would finally get some shade. 

I didn’t see either of the guys at Lower Holy Jim, so I focused on running quickly, careful not to trip.  I imagined the two were already down at the truck waiting for me.  I do not think that I can adequately describe just how hot that run was going down Holy Jim.  It felt like blow torches were scorching my legs.  My bandana had completely dried.  I guzzled down so many fluids (with Nuun tablets dissolved in it) that I feared that I would run out.  I brought with me 100 fl. ounces.  And I had one handheld left tied to the back of my pack.

After about a mile down this five mile trail I came across Michael in a shady part as he wetted down his shirt in the tiny creek that ran across the trail.  I was so hot I was a little confused and had just drank the last of my fluids in my pack.  Michael stood up and said, “I’m out of water.”  I told him that I’d split my remaining handheld with him.  Then I said, “Where’s Tom?”

Michael looked at me with a funny look.  “Tom?” he said.  Then, he seemed to me that he was confused at my comment.  “Ah, he left . . . Tom?” 

I had forgotten that “Tom” (the one who had already run down).  I was confusing Jeremy’s name with the other Tom I knew.  Finally, it dawned on me.  “Jeremy!  Where’s Jeremy?”  I don’t know if you realize my surprise that I even found Michael and then learned that Jeremy was behind me.  I was imagining they were way, way ahead of me.

So, there Michael and I were, stooped down in the shade, splitting up hot water when Jeremy came running up.  “I’m out of water,” he said. 

Yikes.  Now it was time to split up my water 3 ways, when Jeremy noticed that the source of the creek was coming from a spring in a small cutout in the mountain wall.  “This water’s filtered,” Jeremy said, “It’s coming from the ground.”  He filled up his handhelds, saw that it was clear and drank up.  Michael and I were reluctant.  Then I finally gave in, filled my handhelds and guzzled down delicious ice cold water.  I really couldn’t have cared less if I was going to be vomiting for it later.  Michael gave in too, and we were off running again, refilled for the remaining 4 miles.

Those four miles downhill were the longest, most difficult four miles I can remember in a long, long time.  Though I was able to keep heat exhaustion at bay, I fell once (more like slipped) and my ice-cold water turned downright hot.  No kidding! 

As I ran down Holy Jim, I got a view of the trail like I never had running up it.  I thought to myself, “I run up this thing.  I. AM. CRAZY.”  I felt like I never, ever wanted to run again. 

I came in right behind Jeremy to the truck.  And we both looked at each other as if to say “O. M. G.”

We found Michael laying down in the creek.  He had found a nice pool down stream that we couldn’t even think of walking to.  So we simply sat in the stream where we were to cool down. 

When I finally got back to my truck (parked about 5 miles away), my limp was strong.  Only after a cold bath at home and some stretching has the pain subsided a great deal.  I can now walk around without a limp.  And I’m pretty sure it’s a cramp not an injury.  I’ve just never had a cramp like this. 

One more thing, my little delusional moment when I thought I might never run again is gone.  I just probably won’t run tomorrow.  In all, I’m glad I made the trip to Santiago Peak.  And I plan to again.  The views were breathtaking.  The company was great.  I did feel a little badly being that I planned today’s run and it ended up so dang hot.  Hopefully today’s experience will make us all stronger. 

Approaching Holy Jim end

At creek, assessing leg for wounds due to fall earlier (nothing major, just two tiny cuts)

16.61 miles logged

+4,704 / -4,749 feet

Flashback Friday

 

Cherish the babies

Soon they will know everything, hate your running, tease your for your running because you can out-run them when you’re pushing 50, and some are known to behave like ranting lunatics every-so-often too (not ours of course).  By the time they snap out of it, these babies will be too big to cradle in your arms.   So, CHERISH.

Spasms

Two days of back spasms wiped this lady out.  They attacked suddenly, with no warning, and without mercy.  This caused a great deal of anxiety on my part.  The spasms thankfully, weren’t the worst that I’ve had.  They didn’t literally knock me to the ground.  But I often needed to suddenly grab onto something to keep up right, and sometimes, I’d grab something just out of fear that a spasm was approaching.

I think it’s been a good 8 months since I’ve had any spasms at all.  I thought I had them kicked.  Coincidentally, I’ve been slacking on the one exercise that I suspected finally got rid of them!

Needless to say, living in constant fear of an attack for nearly two days tired me immensely both physically and mentally.  I did manage to sneak in two hours at the gym, but I was afraid to run.  My husband asked me where it was in all my back spasm research that it said I should go work out at the gym?

Well, it never said that anywhere.

So there!  I did it in defiance.

At home I worked hard foam rolling, taking hot epsom salt baths, stretching, exercising, and eating ibuprofen.  My sons walked on my back, my husband helped stretch out my back by pulling my legs.

And then this morning.  Gone.  My back felt PERFECTLY fine.  With all the mental stress of these dang things, I just HAD TO GET OUT AND RUN.  And so I went for a run, a lovely run, nearly 12 miles in fact.  Whole miles went by that I had absolutely no recollection of.  But I recall climbing Meadows (the steepest incline on elevation profile below).  And I felt strong. Nearly 3 quarters of the way up, a bobcat came strutting down.  We both stopped in our tracks.  She was a big gal, light coat with dark spots.  A beauty.  I wasn’t turning back, so I walked toward her when she finally ducked into the brush alongside the trail.  I found a nice size rock to carry along and continued my run up, up, up.  And when I passed where the kitty had ducked in (I could still hear her walking about), I turned around and ran backward up that hill.  Though bobcats aren’t known to attack, you never know.  And I certainly didn’t want to show her my back and not see it coming if she did decide to pounce.

A successful run.  The back is back!

Miles logged this morning:  11.53 

Wood Canyon in the early morning

Entering Meadows

Finishing up Meadows Trail

View of Saddleback from top of Meadows

Heading back down into Wood Canyon (via Rock It) after trip to Top of the World

Elevation Profile: