Take Two

Today’s run ended my “rest while running” time.  I thought it apropos to end my “rest” by attempting the run that seemed to set the downward spiral in motion during my training last September. 

I set out running Bommer Ridge in dense fog this morning headed for Old Emerald.  I took a wrong turn last time, which resulted in pure HECK.  This morning I accidently took Bommer ridge down to Willow Trail, which I do every single time.  That was no big deal.  I just had a short uphill run to get back on track.

 

I came upon one other runner on this lovely, yet eerie morning.  He turned around and joyfully hollered a greeting.  Bundled up from head to toe, I couldn’t tell right off if I knew the man.  I mean, he kind of looked familiar.  “Do I know you?” I asked.  (I say that more than ever now that I’m a trail runner).  Turns out we didn’t know each other.  My friends and family who don’t run trails think that this sport is small.  And it is.  BUT to me, it’s a huge sport.  I constantly come upon people at races and on the trails that I’ve never seen before. (And I stay in my own state!)

Anyway, a thick gray coyote looked on at me through the mist as I ran onward searching for Old Emerald Trail.  I felt certain I missed it last time because it was not marked.

I focused off to my right for an unmarked single-track.  Eventually, I found a distinct single-track.  Unmarked.  It didn’t look familiar.  But keep in mind, when I run Old Emerald, I run up it.  I ran down Old Emerald just once. 

So, I ran that single-track down the hillside and told myself firmly, “If you get into trouble, TURN BACK.”   I noticed bike tracks, no footprints.   Nothing looked familiar.  With the fog so thick, I could not make out my surroundings very well.  Then finally, I noticed a ledge down below that could probably give me a good view.

From the ledge, I could see the meadow I was aiming for, way, way off in the distance.  Problem was, there was a ridge between me and the meadow.  I was on the wrong trail.  It’s pretty much a straight shot to the meadow from Old Emerald.  I would definitely remember having run over another ridge.

So, I ran back up that single-track, a little proud of myself for not taking the trail anyway, just to see what would happen. 

Back on Bommer Ridge, I came upon another single-track.  I ran a short distance of it, to the edge, before its descent.  I could still see that ridge.  Wrong trail.  And so, I continued onward, confident that I would find Old Emerald because here and there I could see an outline of the ridge that separated the canyon from my meadow.  Sure enough, soon after the other ridgeline sloped down to nothing, I came upon this trail:

Unmarked?  It may seem so.  I felt vindicated.  That is until I turned around and saw the trail marker, clear as day on the left edge of Bommer Ridge.  I ran down Old Emerald with great focus and renewed energy.  At the bottom, I ran probably twenty-five feet before I came to Old Emerald Falls Trail.

Entering Old Emerald Falls:

The meadow!

The climb out of Old Emerald Falls was a chore.  It was single track, and in places technical, which took my mind off the difficulty.  From there I caught Moro Ridge and ran it all the way to the ocean (well, I had to take a couple other trails).  I saw these two, seemingly tame deer as I made my way down B.F.I. Trail:

Running beneath Hwy One for a view of the grand Pacific:

From there it was all uphill, a lovely, cool uphill.  The last run of my “restful running” couldn’t have turned out better. 

Autumn is the Best Time for a Trail Run

Autumn is the best.  The weather is cool.  The fog is sometimes thick.  I can see red crawdads in the streams.  Blue Herons have returned and swoop through the sky with their giant wingspans.  Rattlesnakes hide.  The leaves turn color.  Ferns sprout a light lovely green, and mushrooms push up along the trails.  And rain comes down in California just enough to get the creeks flowing good again.

Such was today’s morning autumn run. 

A-Okay

I ran trails this morning and was so very tempted to run for endurance and push for extra miles.  But I fought against the urge.  I had told myself that I wasn’t going to train (in any way) until early December.  I was going to rest (while running).  And gosh darn it – I’m going to see this thing through.

Back when I DNF’d Saddleback, I felt pretty low.  Not low necessarily because I decided not to finish the race.  I felt low because of all my downfalls and general mental weakness.  Saddleback just kind of showed them to me all at once – like a wide opened book.  Afterward, I even caught glimpses of thoughts wandering through my mind, thinking that I should quit running.   

Quit running?  Ha!  What then would I do?  (Oh I don’t know . . . perhaps become a better mother, better wife, have a cleaner house, keep groceries stocked, play with our dog, maybe paint the house, finish writing my novels, try and sell my finished novel, read more, finally get a full-time job, clean out my filthy truck, aid the needy, volunteer more at the boys’ schools, be available more to people, in general, and specifically to my family . . . )

This “rest while running” month has really helped me realize that I wouldn’t be half the person I am without my trails.  Sure, I’m not perfect.  I’m not as strong physically as I want to be.  I’m not as strong mentally as I want to be.  Running actually helps me deal with my imperfections, helps me accept them.  I just had a bad day, a bad month perhaps . . . that happens in endurance running.

So today, I didn’t put in those extra miles.  I ran to rest.  I ran up a steep incline (Mentally Sensitive).  And though I suffered going up, at the top, EVERYTHING WAS A-OKAY.  Who cares if I STILL haven’t dropped my extra weight.  I have 3 beautiful sons and a wonderful husband at home.  Who cares if the recession has hit us hard.  Our middle boy hasn’t had a seizure in over 2 years!!!  Who cares if the house needs painting and we can’t afford to paint it right now.  We have a house.  Who cares about all that junk.  I have my trails.  I think I have only God to thank for that because I was the last person in the whole wide world to ever run, much less run mountain trails.  It just happened.  It was a gift given to me.  And I don’t know why. 

Standing before my dirty truck ready to run (& my truck runs and it has tires with good tread AND it seats five!):

Running the flat part of Meadows Trail toward Mentally Sensitive:

Running Mentally Sensitive was SO HARD, BUT OH SO WORTH IT:

An ear warmer serving a dual purpose.  When no longer needed for warmth, it becomes my snot rag (Ewwwww, she wears a snot rag on her vest????):

Finishing up Car Wreck Trail, so lovely and velvety green:

Oak Grove Trail:

STILL Not Training

I wrote that I wasn’t training (for now), and I’m sticking to it! Like I mentioned, I’m resting while running.  This morning was my “short” run, an out-and-back to Top of the World in Laguna Beach.  This is a nice hilly run, not too steep at all, but a good work-out.  Once I reached the ridge, it was rolling hills, REAL rolling hills, not those hills that some people (and I won’t mention names) call “rolling hills.”  (You know, those hills that you have to grasp at branches, scrape your knees just to climb ). 

It’s full-on autumn here, which is a delight.  But this also means that I almost always overdress.  Like I did today.  The weather was cool, even cloudy and darkish at first.  But, after climbing the first hill (Cholla Trail – not a rolling hill), I was ready to strip off the long sleeves.

But I managed.  And I managed happily. 

Here’s to running while resting!!

Cholla Trail:

Top of the World:

Looking at Saddleback Mountains:

Yaeger Mesa Run

While running The Main Divide in The Saddleback Mountains, I always notice what looks like a meadow, far off high up on the other side of the canyon.  I think I’ve pointed it out to everyone I’ve run with up there.  I always say, “I want to go THERE.” 

I used Google Earth to try and figure out the way.  I couldn’t make “heads or tales” out of that side of the mountain.  So, I surveyed my Facebook running friends, and Greg Hardesty told me that he could take me there,  the place called Yaeger Mesa. (Named after a miner Jake Yaeger who had his cabin on the mesa in the late 1800’s)

I was thrilled.  I heard from others it was a tough route.  Tough?  What’s tough?  I can do tough.  I just might be a little slow.  I thought nothing about resting up yesterday and not running.  I put in over ten miles instead

Anyway, we got a small group together for a loop up to Yaeger Mesa (Michael Perlongo, Robert Whited, Daniel Grieves, Greg and myself, plus Mark Rohren who ran the loop in the opposite direction.)

Here is the gist of our run up the mountain.  It was STEEP.  And I could not keep up with the guys.  I was pretty much way out of my league among trail runners.  But that’s okay.  This “run” pushed me harder than I would have ever pushed myself.  And the guys were kind and positive.  They didn’t let more than a quarter mile grow between us.

Running Bell View Trail:

Waiting for Lauren on Bell Ridge:

After running from summit to summit, I gave up hoping the next one was the last.  Some climbs, I used my hands and upper body strength to move upward.  Other climbs, I’d go up several steps, then slide back a couple.  During some climbs I actually had to rest for a minute! 

Mama Mia!

One foot in front of the other, up, up, up . . .

Sure the climb was tough, but the views were grand.  It was beautiful and it was remote.  We had shade cover for some of the way.   Other times I suffered from the heat, especially since I dressed for a cool day.  And we actually did come across Mark who ran this loop in the opposite direction.  As the guys chatted I looked beyond toward another climb and asked, “Do we need to go up that?”  Mark confirmed it, but said that the climb would be the worst of it.

The worst of it?  I thought two climbs back, scrambling on my hands and feet, grabbing at tree stumps was the worst of it.

Hardy laugh.

View of Orange County (& even Catalina Island way out there):

Standing before “the worst of it,” but not our last climb.  Left to right:  Michael (foreground), Robert (background), Greg, Mark, Daniel:

Scrambling:

And then FINALLY, after only about six miles, we came to a natural arch made from the trees – an entrance sort of, into a shady, lush paradise.  Greg offered me the lead to run it on into Yaeger Mesa. 

Ferns grew along a single track of dark moist dirt.  Pines towered above us like giants.  Damp leaf litter added to the fairy-tale-like glamour.  And California Bay Laurel trees freshened the air with a delightful aroma. 

It was different on this side of the canyon.  The smells were different, the dirt was different, even the pine cones were different (much smaller, and without sharp edges).  The down hill was so steep we slid in areas.  And we stopped occasionally to smell the pine cones, or the bay leaves. 

Running down to Yaeger Mesa:

The climbs were WELL WORTH IT.  When we finally reached the mesa, I was utterly shocked to find that what I thought was grass from afar was actually a huge field of ferns – ferns that can take the sun!  This time of year, they were brown.  But I’ve seen from afar that most of the year, they are bright green. 

Yaeger Mesa:

We attempted to make our way to a smaller, lower mesa.  But instead we found ourselves at the bottom of Trabuco Canyon.  I recognized the canyon walls on the other side, but I just couldn’t figure out where we were (even though I’ve run Trabuco Trail countless times.)  I needed to walk across the trail, turn around to view it like I usually do.  Then I immediately recognized where we were.  How many times had I ran past, without even noticing, the trail that goes up to Yaeger Mesa?  Too many to count. 

Running down into Trabuco Canyon:

We refilled on Greg’s hidden water stash near Holy Jim, then made our way out Trabuco Canyon Road.  Finally, we began the climb back up the canyon side to get to our cars in Robinson Ranch.  Though the climb was not nearly as tough as the way up to the mesa, still I found it extremely difficult, and rather warm in some parts.  What a great relief to finally make our way DOWN Bell View Trail to our cars. 

Good hard fun!