Christmas Eve Run

Early, early this Christmas Eve, before the sun rose, I met running friend Jeremy for a run up Maple Springs, Four Corners and onward to Modjeska Peak.  This was the fifth day of my running streak, so I doubted that I’d have the strength for such a tremendous run up the mountain.  Good company goes a long way in strengthening the body and soul.  Really.  It does.

Definitely Christmas weather when we started off running through the canyon – that is COLD.  But seven and a half miles up to the Main Divide is enough to warm up this runner.  From there we headed off to the peak, and the weather grew cold again.  Cold and windy.  I cannot adequately describe, nor can any camera, the amazingly beautiful scenes that graced us along the way.  Some people wonder why I do things like this, some jokingly question my sanity.  I’m sure some seriously question my sanity.  The majestic scenes are partly why I do this.  They remind me to enjoy the moment, and they remind me that I really do live in a beautiful world. 

View running up Maple Springs:

Four Corners:

Shade covered the run up the Main Divide to the peak.  And once we lost the mountainside as a shield, the wind picked up.  My hands were numb. Then when we reached the peak, it seemed there was so much to the view that I hadn’t taken in on my first trip there last week.  Besides layers of mountain ridges, we could see the skyscrapers in Los Angeles.  And straight out in the Pacific Ocean, Catalina Island stood out like another mountain range.  And to the left of that, San Clemente Island.  

View running up Main Divide to Modjeska Peak:

Running out to Modjeska Peak edge:

Posing before a remarkable view (and it’s cold, cold, cold):

View from Modjeska Peak:

Mountain bikers made their way up as we ran the 9 mile descent.  And then, I couldn’t believe it.  There was Tom riding his bike up the mountain.  This was the second time in 8 days that I came upon my old running partner in the mountains (And AGAIN, I don’t mean old as in age.)  It had been so long since I had seen Tom.  Before these recent Maple Springs sightings, I had seen Tom ONCE in probably over a year, maybe more! 

Tom and Jeremy on Maple Springs:

Jeremy and I continued the long descent.  Crossing streams in the canyon, my energy level was wearing thin.  Before I knew it, nearly five hours later, this run was over.  Sure I was dead-dog tired.  Still, I couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas Eve run. 

Merry Christmas!

18.15 miles run this morning (29.21 km): 

Day Four of Steaking in the New Year

On my fourth day of Streaking in the New Year I was tired.  AND, I ran with a fast running friend.  I could feel it in my glutes as we took off running down Aliso Creek Trail that this was my fourth day in the streak.  I had fun though, lots of it.  But now that I’ve been to a holiday party and it’s time to bed early, I figured now is the time to  blog today’s run because I don’t want to get behind.

We saw the usual blue heron that I always see.  He/she didn’t take off though to glorify its majestic wingspan.  Instead the bird slowly walked away from us as we ran through the meadows on our way to Mentally Sensitive.  And Michael P. took the trails like a champ.  He is an amazing runner (especially down hill runner.)  Seriously, I’ve never seen anyone take the rugged down hills before with his speed. 

Backing up, first off, it was cold, but not so, so cold like it was yesterday.  Michael and I took off about 8:15 AM in Aliso/Wood Canyons.  He had a head start on me as he took off from his home.

Anyway, AFTER running up Meadows yesterday, today, we took the steepest trail in the park, Mentally Sensitive (for regular readers, “Psycho-Path”).  It was tough,  but a LOVELY tough. 

We finished off a beautiful 7 mile run to record in our Streaking in the New Year “challenge.”   And I’m oh so glad to have had a friend to run with on this Christmas Eve’s Eve. 

Michael’s ready for the big climb:

Okay . . . we’ll take a picture of me there too!

Mentally Sensitive:

View looking back:

Climbing Mentally Sensitive:

Saddleback Mountains View from top of Meadows:

Top of Meadows, Pacific Ocean in background:

Miles logged this morning:  7.0:

Three Amigas

On the third day of my Streaking in the New Year  I met 2 friends at Aliso/Wood Canyons for an early morning COLD, COLD run.  Though the parking lot was full, oddly the trails were empty.  And that was wonderful!

We took our run up Meadows to overlook a lovely striking blue Pacific.  By then my gloves were off, my warm sleeves tied around my waist.  Then we looped around for a fun down hill on Mathis.  In total we logged 9.45 miles – that’s a little over 15 kilometers.  AND, I got to use my new camera.  AND, I didn’t drop it!

Hitting Meadows Trail::

Tres Amigos after finishing up Meadows Trail:

Tennis courts at Top of the World:

Celebration:

A little detour along Park Ave. Nature Trail on our way to West Ridge and Mathis:

All done

Charged

Today was my day to play gym rat.  And what a lovely couple hours it was.  I even put in some speed work in on the treadmill, which is oh so painful for me.  I pretty much hate it.  But I thought it would be a good idea to run at the gym – kill 2 birds with 1 stone, so they say (though I have no reason to kill a bird at all).

Ran 3.2 miles on the treadmill, with my bursts at a 7.3 pace.  That is really quite remarkable for me, even though my bursts are only 65 seconds.  Believe me.  This is a vast improvement.  And I hardly do speed work at all.  So it seems that little work goes a long way, as I’ve been told, with speed work. 

On another note, a much brighter note, my 3 boys presented their Christmas gift to me early.  It was a camera!  It’s charging now, getting ready for tomorrow’s run (If I can drag myself out of bed after a few glasses of wine tonight . . . times are tough!)

I Don’t Need No Stinkin’ Camera (Yes I do!)

Sunday night I drove the household crazy with neurotic behavior trying to fix my cameras.  I was wrong in my last blog when I said that I’ve killed two cameras on the trail.  I forgot about the first camera I killed on the trail.  It was during my first long distance trail race, my first Calico Ghost Town race.  (Calico Trail Run 2009 – who knows how long MySpace is going to keep my old blogs up : )  I have killed THREE cameras on the trail.

There I sat Sunday night, trying to align the lenses on two of my broken cameras.  Beep, beep, beep.  Beep, beep, beep.  Next thing I knew, I was unscrewing tiny screws and taking the newest of my broken cameras apart, which completely unnerved my husband.  “You need to do that at a table . . . you need better light.” 

Yikes!  I was about to hit the roof.  THE CAMERA IS BROKEN.  Who cares if I lose a screw or mess up.  But I just may luck out and get that lens to snap back into place.  Thing was, after dismantling the camera, I couldn’t get the lens to extend.  And so, DUH!  I put the battery in the camera, and while messing around I gave myself a good shock!  Or shall I say, bad shock?

That was that with the camera.  I wept over my shock scare and for my silly loss and went to bed.

I woke this morning (Tuesday) and went for a much needed run in Aliso/Wood Canyons.  I didn’t dare bring hubby’s professional camera.  I’d kill that camera for sure, it’s just so huge.  It really didn’t matter that much anyway, it’s not like I haven’t taken thousands of pictures of these trails. 

The weather was cold, the park festive with runners, bikers and hikers.  I wore my pack, not because I needed it (because there’s a place to refill a handheld at Top of the World).  I wore my pack because I prefer to run empty-handed.  And though I didn’t have my camera in my vest pockets, I had my phone – my cracked and beat-up phone which has a camera.  It even has a video camera.  Ha! (Why is my phone cracked and beat-up – ahhhhhh, because I’ve dropped it countless times).

Running Aliso Creek Trail ready to disappear into the fog:

I ran up Meadows this morning, the trail that use to taunt me.  And I ran up it with relative ease.  It’s a beautiful trail.  I’m happy to have conquered it.  This morning it was like a spoonful of medicine.

View going up Meadows:

View from top of Meadows:

I ran across Top of the World with joy in my heart.  I was making good time.  So good, that I thought that I’d extend my loop a little and run West Ridge to Rock It. 

Occasionally all the things that I need to do would pop into my mind.  But the trails pretty much succeeded in wiping my mind clean.  Ah, a blank mind, just simply in the moment.  LOVE IT!

Breakfast at Top of the World:

West Ridge view of Modjeska and Santiago Peaks:

For new visitors, this is the most exciting section of Rock It.  For returning visitors, here’s YET ANOTHER PICTURE of Rock It Trail:

Finishing off Rock It Trail leading to Coyote Run:

Finishing up Coyote Run:

Another glorious trail run this holiday season.  Stay-tuned, as I've joined Jessica Deline’s challenge Streaking in the New Year.

Miles run:  11.18 (approx. 18 km)

Maple Springs / Modjeska Peak Out-And-Back

I look forward to my mountain runs.  I enjoy them so much that occasionally I break the cardinal rule – the buddy rule.  Always run with someone.  Problem is, sometimes I find it difficult to find a buddy to run mountain trails.  That’s understandable.  It just takes so much time out of the day, not to mention, it’s a tough feat.

Since I broke the cardinal rule today, I was sure to run prepared on this early morning, cold-weathered run.  Funny thing . . . I took off onto Maple Springs the same time as a Boy Scout Troop.  They were on their third training hike for an upcoming 70 mile hike.  For those unfamiliar with the Scouts, their motto is “Be Prepared” and their number one rule is the “buddy system.” (I was a Scout as a child).

Heading up Maple Springs alongside the “boys” (& men):

I ran the canyon (which is mainly paved) without music because I wanted complete awareness of my surroundings.  I figured if I’m going to get into trouble (ie. mountain lion, a human with bad intent, etc) it’s going to be in the canyon with its high mountain walls and overall enclosed feeling. 

But I did not fear.  The canyon was breathtakingly beautiful.  The maple’s yellow leaves had mostly turned brown.  The creek ran strong.  Colorful birds swooped down onto the road and rustled about in the brush.  Good thing I know that birds make loud sounds in the brush.  Used to be I didn’t know the difference between the sound of a bird/small animal in the brush (because they are noisy) compared to a larger animal, say a buck.  It’s kind of like knowing the sound of a rattlesnake.  Before I knew what their rattles sounded like, EVERYTHING sounded like a rattlesnake – cicadas sounded like rattlesnakes.  Once you hear a rattler’s rattle though, you KNOW exactly what it sounds like.

Long after passing the Boy Scouts, I heard something loud tramping through the brush and I knew it was not a bird or squirrel.  It was branch-breaking loud and it stopped me in my tracks.  I listened for a bit, looked closely down at the stream, then took off cautiously up the canyon.  I figured it was probably a deer as I’ve heard that kind of loud, almost clumsy, branch-breaking sound before, and it was always a deer.  Still, I’ve never heard a mountain lion make its way through the brush, so there’s always that fear.  So, I took out my pepper spray, made sure my knife was in instant reach and continued up the canyon.

Scenes from the canyon:

Attempting a stream pose:

A Grand Ole’ Tree:

Camera timer is ticking & I can’t make it to the spot in time : )

The climb to the Main Divide was peaceful.  It’s loneliness was lovely.  I dropped my camera once.  I took in awesome mountain views of several Southern California counties.  Pretty much nothing ran through my mind.  And even though I carried a pack on my back, Maple Springs lifted all my weight off my shoulders.   

I noticed gray, bushy-tailed squirrels scurry up and down trees.  I saw these wonderful black and white birds with red head-tops that I’ve never seen before.  And I saw snow in the distance! 

A perfect place for a picnic (or photo):

Quickly scrambling for my camera to catch this shot of the moon as the clouds swiftly moved to cover it:

Nearing the top of Maple Springs:

I reached the top of Maple Springs and the Main Divide, a place known as “Four Corners” at the same time as a group of runners came up Harding Truck Trail.  They were a happy bunch.  When I asked if they were part of a running group, one guy answered, “No, we’re just a bunch of dumb asses who thought it was a good idea to run up here in the freezing cold.” 

I might add that it was dang cold on the Main Divide and the wind blew fiercely.  “Well,” I answered, “I’m a dumb ass who thought it was a good idea to do it alone.”  They took off ahead of me to Modjeska Peak while I attempted another posed picture that didn’t turn out so great.  But I didn’t want to mess around too much trying to get a good picture, as dark clouds were rolling in, and I could see a rainbow in the distance.  I did not want to run down this mountain in a storm.

Meeting some runners as they come up Harding Truck Trail to Four Corners intersection:

Four Corners before taking off to Modjeska Peak:

I ran up to Modjeska Peak joyfully, taking so many pictures of the snow that you’d think I’d never seen snow.  I’ve seen plenty of snow in my life.  BUT I have never run trails in the snow.  There wasn’t a lot of snow, but the thrill of it made me forget about that wind whipping my hair onto my face. 

When I reached the peak, the group of runners were starting to make their way down.  I took a couple photos, then dropped my camera.  That was the end of my camera.  I couldn’t get it to work after that. (That’s number two camera killed on the trail!)

View from Modjeska Peak:

Santiago Peak behind me:

The weather grew colder as I ran down the mountain.  About 1 or 2 miles down a biker making his way up said, “Lauren?  Is that Lauren?  I thought I saw your truck.” 

I wasn’t in thinking mode at the moment and wondered, “Who do I know that rides?  Think, think, think . . . “  I couldn’t think of anyone!  And then as I approached I couldn’t believe my luck.  It was my good friend Tom Fangrow!  I laughed out loud.  What are the chances that we would meet on this empty, freezing cold mountain road?  To me the chances seemed pretty slim.  I just had to have a picture of this chance meeting, but with my camera broken thought that wasn’t going to happen until I remembered my phone!  And click, I had it.  Tom was off for a big loop, down some very tricky switch back that we ran together with some other friends two summers ago.  I could barely do it back then.  And I was off down Maple Springs for the remaining 6 or so miles. 

Meeting Tom on the Trail:

Another delightful run for the records; this one was finished off with light rain.  18.06 miles (29.07 km) ran happily, joyfully, playfully . . .