The Twin Peaks That Was Not

Saturday (yesterday) was the day Twin Peaks was supposed to run, but was cancelled due to the government shutdown.  The race director went down to the start line at 7:00 AM to hand out the medals and shirts for anyone who wanted to claim them.  Most of the 25 who showed ran a “Fat Ass 50k” for the fun of it.   (Fat Ass:  a term used for an unmarked, unsupported, unofficial race).  I elected to run an out-and-back to Santiago Peak.  Another runner I met elected for a shorter route than my 22 miles.  Several runners (at least 6) took a ride down off the mountain at some point  (the trails are that tough!). 

Since I had all the time in the world, I took this run with no intentions on pushing myself speed-wise.  Simply running these mountain trails would be pushing myself hard enough.

At the start, I met a group of guys who said they watched my 2012 Twin Peaks video the night before.  I saw some people I knew of, but did not know.  I saw some good running friends too.

Me and Emmett (& John in background):

I’ll try and cut it short.  I ran eleven miles uphill, turned around and ran eleven miles back down. 

Well, that’s a bit too short of a story for my taste.  First off, it was cold.  I drove to the other side of the mountain, the Riverside side, which is much colder than the coastal side.  So, I ran up the nearly seven mile Indian Truck Trail with long sleeves and a cool breeze to my face.  The run was not technical, but it was hard.  And it was lovely.

Running up Indian Truck Trail:

From Indian Truck Trail, I considered turning around and making this a 14 mile run.  But I forced myself onward and I took The Main Divide for that brutal run to Santiago Peak. 

I met this amazing runner along the way:

And this amazing runner too (Scott) – both of these 50k runners passed me on the way to the peak:

Almost there:

Santiago Peak within sight!:

Arrived (Now time to turnaround and run back):

Before summiting, my sock lifted a piece of tape from my foot.  The loosened piece began sawing away at my foot.  It felt like tiny chainsaw moved back and forth along the side of my arch with each step.  I debated whether I should stop and re-tape.  I’m getting a little smarter and decided “better safe than sorry.”  So, I rested at the Upper Holy Jim water stop Jessica (the RD) had provided, and untapped my foot to find a raw slice in my foot.  I re-taped and took off with a much stronger foot. 

Unfortunately, the stronger foot lasted only about an hour.  By the time I made Indian Truck Trail again my right foot felt like it was going to fall off.  But I was now on the LONGEST TRAIL IN THE WORLD!  And I was a little eager to end this adventure.  Concentrating on picking my feet up quicker, I felt content with a 13 minute mile (And that’s downhill!).  That’s all the pain I could take.  If I ran all out, I’d put myself through pain for no reason.  This was a fun run.  Not a race.  Arriving intact was more important than finishing 15 to 30 minutes faster.   

Upper Holy Jim:

In all, the day I was registered to run Twin Peaks, I ran 22 miles.  The day was gorgeous, the weather perfect.  I had plenty of fun, but boy!  The run wiped me out.  I think I could have finished Twin Peaks, but never with a 7AM start.  I would have taken the 4:30 early start, as I will do next year, if I am so fortunate to have another chance at Twin Peaks.

I got my shirt, and I got my medal.  Though the medal was merely given to me, I’m going to consider all those times I dragged myself up that hellish climb to the peak as earning this medal.

Arroyo Trabuco

Late this morning, I decided to run a different trail – Arroyo Trabuco Trail.  It runs for many miles, through several cities, beneath the streets (sorta).  I parked in Las Flores, in a strip mall lot and ran along the streets to one of the many entrances down to Arroyo Trabuco Trail.

First off, I came to this sign because about a mile away, a road crew was clearing away brush along the road.  Ah . . . I don’t think so!  I am so tired of things closed for my own safety!  I made the risky calculation and took my life into my own hands and ran along this sidewalk to the cement trail that travels down beneath Oso Parkway. 

I ran through lots of shade, through plenty of creeks.  The trail was as I recalled.  I remembered fun times along this trail.  I remembered hard times along this trail (though the elevation gain isn’t tough).  And I remembered crying along this trail (when I ran the Las Flores Marathon and thought that I couldn’t take it anymore – but I took it and finished intact).

In all I ran an out-and-back totalling 11.22 miles.  I saw very few people, around 5 or 6 cyclists.  And I was tricked by the ole’ “Y” intersection once again!  Running out (into the “V” of the “Y”), I didn’t notice another trail coming into mine.  But on the back portion, as I ran up the base of “Y”, I suddenly realized that I didn’t know which arm I came from.  I studied the land a bit, and decided on taking the right arm.  Pretty quickly the trail seemed wrong.  The creek crossings seemed suspiciously different.  I didn’t cross them as easily as I did on my way in.  The trail overall was muddier too.  Then, before I was absolutely certain that I took the wrong trail, but was pretty sure I did, I turned back.  Turns out, that was a good move.  Soon enough I was back on the right track, adding one mile to my overall out-and-back mileage.

A great day to begin my training for Twin Peaks 2014. 

Twin Peaks Ultra 2013 Cancelled

Due to the government shutdown (U.S. that is!), and the fact that the Twin Peaks Ultra is run in national forest, it has been cancelled.

I feel sorry for those who trained.  But I feel sorry most for the race director.  I can’t imagine putting that much work into something just to have it shut down mere days beforehand.

That’s all I have to say about that . . . for now.

Biding Time

Back to Day One on my Fitness Streak.  I’m just biding time, taking it easy with some fun workouts.  Late this morning, I took off into Wood Canyon for a run, first to the Top of the World overlooking the grand Pacific Ocean.

Though I didn’t work it super hard, I got in some decent elevation gain.  I ran to enjoy myself, and to sweat too.  I didn’t criticize myself once.  I just didn’t think about my progress or performance.  I simply ran. 

I ran down Rockit, which is always a blast.  One false step, and there’s a good chance blood will flow.  This trail not only offers adventure, but great views as well.  I stopped a couple times to take in trails I knew from afar – they look so different from another perspective.

From Rockit, I turned left on Coyote Run, another beauty. 

And I sat on a bench beneath a tree that I’ve run past dozens and dozens of times.

Then I grew really silly, and decided to climb that tree.  I crawled up a meaty branch that was so heavy that it sloped low to the ground.  Before reaching the main trunk, I had risen to about ten feet above the ground, and I was sure to grind my knees into the rugged branch before making my next move up toward the trunk. 

Finally I grabbed onto the trunk, now two main trunks reaching upward.  I was elated to make it safety.  Then I stood there for a while, taking in my quiet surroundings, including the same mountain biker race by two times.  There he is:

As long as I stood between the crook of two branches I felt safe:

It’s when I ventured upward that I grew anxious and worried that I might fall.  I hugged onto the trunk tightly:

When I was a child I climbed trees, and never worried that I might fall out of one.  In fact, I remember falling out of a plumb tree when I was quite young.  I skinned my knees up badly, and cried all the way home.  But I was never seriously hurt.  I used to climb as high as I could get, never concerned how I might get down.

Today, I looked for a way down with every foot that I climbed upward.  And pretty quickly, I came to a point, that I figured I would not be able to climb back down.  I’m not a child any more.  I may act like one.  But I’m 48.  And so, I made my way, carefully, back down the tree.  When it came to crawling back down that long, heavy branch, I grew quite hesitate.  Ten feet above the ground, I figured I could make the jump instead of making the crawl.  In fact, I knew that I could, because I have made such a jump in a marine obstacle race down in San Diego.  Back then though, I had runners climbing up behind me, and I had to jump.

Today, no runners climbed up behind me forcing me to jump.  So, I looked for another route down.  Another branch, just a short bit away, thick enough to get a good enough grip on, ran parallel to mine.  If I grabbed onto that branch, my feet would hang only about five feet from the ground – an easy jump.  I warned myself that my weight was going work on tearing my grip from the branch.  I told myself before reaching for the branch, “No matter what, HANG ON!”. 

Well, it’s been too long I guess.   I didn’t take into account that when I grabbed onto the branch and let my legs fall from the one upon which I stood, I WOULD SWING.  Yikes.  Try holding onto a tough-barked branch, swinging back and forth wildly.  “Hang on!”  I warned myself.  I knew that if I lost my grip, there was a pretty dang good chance that I’d land on my back.  Don’t want to land on my back!!!!  DO NOT WANT TO LAND ON MY BACK.  So, I held on, swinging back and forth.  It felt like the bark tore the skin from my hands.  But I held on, because it was too important not to.  When I stopped swinging I quickly dropped to the ground and laughed out loud.  What a dang silly lady I am.   

I dusted myself off and ran off to another beautiful trail, Wood Creek.  Escaping the moment (not good while trail running), but I was still thinking about the tree adventure, I came head-to-head with another runner.  We scared the wits out of each other.  She clutched her chest.  I let out a yelp.  Then we both giggled and passed each other in the forestl.  About five minutes later, I stood less than ten feet away from a doe.  She stood still as a statute.  And I let her just stand there while taking in her presence.

I need to do “biding time” runs more often.    Happy Running!!

Wood Creek:

Today’s Profile:

Me and Twin Peaks

The Twin Peaks Ultra is less than one week away.  It’s the same old story with me, except this time much worse.  I am in NO WAY prepared for this event.  My summer training went badly.  To begin, I started off with twenty extra pounds (that’s extra upon extra).  My lofty ideas of trimming down and getting in tip-top shape did not materialize.

Sure I had some terrific times on the trails this summer. But that heat really, really wiped me out.  Right now, I would say that it demoralized me.  Then I had the emergency helicopter incident.  My plantar fasciitis flared up.  And I had to run those rugged, scorching hot trails by myself. 

So, it’s done.  Training’s over.  I can’t prepare myself anymore than I am for Saturday’s race (which may not occur if the federal government does not open).  I assure you that I’m going to drag myself out of bed and get to the start line for a 4:30 AM start, and make my way up and down that mountain.  I’m not even going to try for the 50 miles.  Instead, I’ll take the 50k option at about mile 21.

I’m not even tempted to DNS Twin Peaks, even with the sometimes excruciating pain radiating from my heal.  Fortunately I’ll have a good ten miles without that pain, hopefully more since I’ve been treating the PF at home.

Why not consider a DNS (Did Not Show)?  Because I love Twin Peaks.  I really do.  I now have a short on-going relationship with Twin Peaks that I just don’t want to break.  From the moment of my first experience with this race, I knew that it was something grand – something that I wanted to be a part of, even if it was as a spectator.  Those runners, they were all heroes to me.  And the volunteers, they were like angels.

My first experience with Twin Peaks was in 2010.  I volunteered and worked the Indian Truck Trail aid station.  The experience absolutely blew my mind.  I had never been in the midst of such an event.  Seriously, I thought, that I wouldn’t ever be able to even consider running such a thing.  Still, after Twin Peaks 2010, I wanted more.

In 2011, my friend, Hank, asked me to pace him for Twin Peaks.  I trained on those trails like crazy all summer because I was so afraid to fail him.  I got to run the last twenty miles of the fifty mile course with my friend.  The experience was awe-inspiring.  Still, I knew that I could never attempt such a wondrous thing as Twin Peaks.  I did know that after Twin Peaks 2011, I was not finished with this event!

Finally, in 2012, on a whim, I registered or Twin Peaks.  I had a terrific time training, met new friends.  I developed my first case of Plantar Fasciitis.  Still, I felt pretty strong leading up to Twin Peaks.  I went into the race with the attitude that I was going for the 50 miles; I would not take the 50k option.  It was 50 miles or DNF.  Turned it, it was not my day for the 50 miles, and I relented and opted for the 50k option.  I earned my medal and I met more new friends, one of them, a continued friend, Emmett Rahl.  (Emmett and I would later go on to attempt the Old Goat 50 together).  I think that Twin Peaks 2012 sealed my fate – somehow, someway, I was going to continue to be part of of this crazy thing. 

So, here I am now, 2013, I really had no intentions of running Twin Peaks earlier in the year.  I had just lost too much conditioning to consider it. But then predictably, I could not let it go.  So once again, on a whim, I registered.  And so I wait, my Twin Peaks 2013 story still unwritten.   

Autumn’s Official–Crawdads, Dragonflies & Sparrows

I’ve been icing and taping, rolling and icing my right foot.  Prognosis did not look good last week.  In fact, it appeared pretty grim.  My limp was becoming chronic, and I could not get out of bed in the morning without dragging my aching foot around the house. 

After hitting day 40 of my fitness streak, I took 2 days off and tended to personal business.  I did continue in-home physical therapy and began the first couple days of my new fitness streak at the gym.  Day 3, this morning I woke fully able to walk around the house. 

Time for a run?  I hoped so, because I was gonna run. 

And what a glorious run!  Yup, I was SLOW.  And yup, my foot hurt, but just a tiny bit. 

One of the best parts of today’s nearly 11 miles was climbing Mentally Sensitive.  I didn’t die!  Then I found a secret clubhouse built buried in my regular bushwhacking route off that trail.  It was recently built (dugout), complete with a wooden skateboard to sit upon, nailed to roots growing on top of the dirt. 

Nearing the top of Mentally Sensitive:

Another great part of today’s run was sighting my first crawdad.  No doubt, that’s a crawdad in the picture below – autumn is here!

Then on my final stretch in, I ran amongst dozens and dozens of dragonflies dodging and shooting across my path.  Above them dozens or more of those tiny, delightful sparrows so popular in our parts.  They dashed about the skies just above the dragonflies, quick as hummingbirds.  I looked about in awe, with an urge to yell out to everyone in the park, “Look!  Look at this!!!”  I felt so lucky to be a part of it.