Gathering Acorns

I woke this morning feeling amazingly well.  It’s been a while.  Still on the antibiotics. But I think this thing is kicked.  Taking my time to get ready, I packed plenty of water, my camera, phone, ipod and sunglasses and headed out the door before 7AM. 

I wore gloves on the trip over, but promptly peeled them off before running down through Canyon Vistas Park.  Pretty much right away, my glutes began stabbing at me.  And while I thought about popping the ibuprofen, I focused instead on relaxing.  Not a single soul rested at the bottom of Cholla, so I took the time to stretch my piriformis muscles (more on that below in my self-diagnosis blurb).

Still in my recovery phase (from Saddleback) I’m taking it pretty easy.  I think I’ll wait another week before amping it up.  But I still ran Cholla Trail in its entirety and tried to keep it strong.  I didn’t meet a single other person going up that steep rocky, semi-switchback trail.

West Ridge was empty too.  At first that is.  The skies were blue, the breeze crisp.  Then I began seeing people.  In fact, I came across twenty-one hikers (one at a time or in small groups), 7 mountain bikers, but just one lonely runner.  I stopped to talk to two women who were looking for the owner of a pair of prescription glasses they found.

At Top of the World, I stretched my piriformis muscles again.  And I met a woman who was looking for a pair of prescription glasses.  I told her about two hikers and she quickly headed off down West Ridge.  I met her again on my way down; she was walking up discouraged for not having found the hikers with her glasses.  A short time later, I came upon the two hikers with the glasses and relayed the story.  And I was off again, this time down Mathis.

Top of the World, Overlooking Laguna Beach & Pacific Ocean

 

Top of the World, Facing Saddleback Mountains, where I ran last Saturday’s Marathon

Mathis was void of runners, hikers and mountain bikers.  Feeling somewhat spooked, I picked up a nice size rock to take with me down Car Wreck Trail, which is pretty desolate anyway.  On a day like today, a weekday morning, I wouldn’t want to be caught defenseless on Car Wreck because it’s kind of out of the way.

I thoroughly enjoyed myself running down Car Wreck Trail.  No glute pain whatsoever.  The weather remained clear and cool, though I did push my sleeves up some.  I turned down my ipod also so that I could concentrate on the trail’s more difficult areas and relish its beauty. 

Nice Technical Aspects on Car Wreck Trail

Posing in front of Wreck (tossing my rock)

Ferns on Car Wreck Trail

 

I chucked my rock when I hit Mathis again, even though the trail was also empty (but at least I was running a main route).  Wood Canyon was empty as well as I set off on a mission to collect acorns for my youngest son.  Oak tree after oak, no acorns, only leaf liter – and lots of it.  Finally, I ran offtrail and into a thick woodsy oak grove.  It was dark and shady in there, cramped with branches.  I scoured the floor that was inches thick of crisp oak leaves, but no acorns.  Then I looked up and focusing through the other side of the grove noticed a lush green meadow.  What the heck!  I have got to go there, I thought to myself, but then chucked that idea, being alone and all.  But before I turned around to head out of the grove and back out onto the trail, I suddenly noticed, not twenty feet away from me – two deer.  They just stood there looking at me.  I had never been that close to deer before (except for at petting zoos, like Japanese Deer Park – remember that place?), and I wondered if they might charge me.  I mean, one was pretty big and all, even the smaller one could knock me over.  Reaching for my camera, I took a step closer.  Crinkle, crinkle, crinkle went the leaves beneath my feet.  And the deer were off like lightening through the grove off into the meadow and gone from sight.

Back on Wood Canyon Trail, I continued my search for acorns.  I found plenty smashed, some even intact, but without caps.  Then finally with about a half mile remaining of this morning’s run, I hit the jackpot.  I found a nice cluster of capped acorns.  I stooped down, collected up a handful of choice selections.  And then I was off again running the trail, as these five cyclists passed me headed back toward Cholla Trail and Canyon Vistas Park.

Heading Back on Wood Canyon Trail

Miles logged this morning:  7.51

My self diagnosis:  All along I had been working on “fixing” the gluteus maximus muscles.  But I was showing no improvement.  I just couldn’t get to physical therapy right now.  So AFTER Saddleback (not before!!) I did some research and I really believe my problem is the piriformis muscle group which is in the same area (the butt).  The symptoms match perfectly.  Piriformis Syndrome is when the muscle tightens or spasms (yup) and also irritates the sciatic nerve, resulting in lower back and thigh pain (double yup). One cause of this “syndrome” is running, in particular, running uneven ground (yup again).  On the good side, in just a few days I’ve seen improvement by doing piriformis stretches and foam rolling that I found on youtube.  I am hopeful.

I Just Wanted To See If I Could Do It

Today, I thought was a good day to get back out there and run.  Then again, I thought, maybe I should rest one more day.  Maybe I wasn’t ready.  Avoiding additional injury after all is my number one goal.  But I just couldn’t stand it.  I had to know.  I wanted to see if I could do it.

I took off with painful glutes (which I believe I have self-diagnosed the problem, more for a later post), beneath breezy skies.  The weather was cool, almost cold.  Despite the glutes I felt comfortable.  I ran up Cholla Trail focusing on form.  Form, form, form – column straight, no bending at the waist and mid-foot strike as much as possible.  It gets pretty steep on Cholla, so keeping that mid-foot strike is not always doable.

Before I left, my husband said, “stay off uneven ground,” and I laughed, like that’s possible on the trails (but we suspect it’s part of my glute problems – uneven ground, that is).  I did keep my eye on the trail and attempted to stay on even ground.  Much of the time that was not possible.

But I did have fun.  Lots of fun.  And I sweated loads too, like I always do in the recovery period. 

The rolling hills of West Ridge were pretty empty.  I saw 2 runners, and half a dozen or so hikers.  Top of the World was EMPTY, a peaceful, tranquil and windy experience.  I needed that.

Top of the World:

At the top, enjoying the wind, acting just a tad SILLY:

After stretching at the top, I headed back the same way I came.  And I focused on keeping my pace up on the uphills.  I could do it.  Though I felt like I could put in more miles, I kept it to a minimum.  Besides – I had to work this evening and had still lots of chores and pick-ups to do.

Miles logged this morning: 6.24

Elevation gain:  Approx. 1,200 ft.

The Aftermath

I was on a high after finishing the Saddleback Marathon.  No injuries.  I didn’t even ache.  As the day progressed I began to feel nauseated.  And my quads began to stiffen.  I couldn’t sit for too long.  I had to walk around.  I took a hot bath.  I did chores.  By the time I went to bed, I ached head-to-toe.  I slept in pain, hardly able to even turn myself over as I slept.  I didn’t have the strength.

The day after the race I had to keep moving.  Though I still felt nauseated, I felt good overall.  But I couldn’t sit for more than probably five minutes without stiffening up.  I foam rolled all of my leg and hip muscles with excruciating pain.

On the 2nd day afterwards (Monday), my cell phone did not register the time change and I accidentally woke at 5 AM instead of 6.  It was this day  that depression hit, and it hit hard.  I sobbed, I felt hopeless.  Postpartum depression?  Nope.  Postsaddleback depression.  I went to the gym, pedaled 17 miles, did some weights, stretched like heck, did some back and ab work then worked those glutes on the roller like mad.  I felt like I had to get in shape, like I was sick and tired of glute issues, etc.  I felt weak.  I felt sad.

When I first started racing (not that long ago), I was a road runner.  At first I finished toward the back of the pack, about the bottom 25%.  I worked my way up into the the top half, occasionally the top third.  That was on the road.  That was when I raced with hundreds, sometimes thousands of runners.  I felt glad about these accomplishments.  Then I started trail racing.  And I plummeted to the back of the pack.  On the long-distance trail races especially, I was coming in way less than the bottom 25%.  But I ALWAYS said, it’s about finishing with me, not about time.  Somehow in my postsaddleback depression, that changed.   And I set my mind to a new goal – break through the bottom 25% barrier at Calico 2011.  I’ve got a few short months.  And I figure the only way to do it, besides train, is to run more bursts up those hills and  to strengthen, strengthen, strengthen through exercise and diet.  AND I CAN’T GET INJURED!

Anyway, back to that day 2, sleep was miserable once again.  I ached from head to toe.  I slept with a heating pad.

On the third day after Saddleback (today), depression only slightly lingered.  I was off to the gym again this time for more intense cardio on the elliptical.  I skipped the weights, did some ab work, stretched and foam rolled like heck again.  (For those unfamiliar with the foam roller – it’s a cylinder piece of hard foam that you lay and roll your muscles over.  It works like a massage, loosening up tight or achy muscles).

So here I am 3 full days past the most difficult trail race in my life, and I am finally recovered.  That is recovered mentally and mostly physically.  Though I still need to move around a lot, I can sit for extended periods without stiffening up.  Progress : )

Saddleback Marathon

Up at 4:30, I was on the road (5:30), driving up Highway 74 to Blue Jay Campground in the dark.  Missing the turnoff once, I parked along the road and ran on over to a camper to meet a exciting and wonderful Australian named Baz who puts on The Saddleback Marathon (among other races).

All my “stuff” laid out the night before – yikes!  Quite a bit there – my packing list has grown : )

Thankfully, Baz granted me and a few other runners an earlier start with the trail marker who was also running the race.  I was afraid that I would come in after the cut off if I didn’t get at least a little earlier start.  Turns out, Baz is a super nice guy and pretty lenient on the time limit. 

Anyway, the weather was perfectly cool this morning, the scenery lush and green, for the most part.  I think that first trail was San Juan Trail, which was mostly up and I ran it with little problem.  Then we were off for a magical downhill trip on Trabuco Trail, where the ferns were bright green and yellow leaves littered the floor.  The run took some concentration, especially when we hit the rockier areas.  I tripped several times, but never “ate dirt” or “ate rocks” rather.  I have run Trabuco Trail before, but nothing looked familiar to me.  But when we hit that rocky area – it all came back.  (Aug or July 09, I believe “In Over My Head” blog)

One super fun thing about getting an earlier start, I got to witness the front runners fly by me – I mean FLY by.  The first two passed on the flat desert-like part of Trabuco, about 9:00 AM.

Eager for my 3rd marathon this year, my 2nd trail marathon

Going up San Juan Trail (Irvine Lake in distance?)

Trabuco Trail

 

 Wonderful Aid Station Workers – they all look familiar to me, but I couldn’t place them

So, how do I make this race report sweet & simple.  I can’t.  But I will try.  The first ten or so miles went surprisingly well.  Aid Stations supplied, among other things, ice-cold Coca Cola, which I took like shots.  They felt like zingers and gave me the rush I needed.  Then we hit Holy Jim.  I thought to myself, this isn’t so bad (difficulty-wise), and even though I promised myself to hike all of Holy Jim, I ran a good deal of the beginning.  (I kept thinking “Eh, Bulldog is much harder!)  Besides that, Holy Jim was gorgeous with boulders, stream crossings, colorful leaf liter, small waterfalls along the way.  And then we hit the switch-back, one after the other after the other

Mile 11.5 or so, I felt I could not take another step.  Cramps were setting in.  First my toes began cramping, then my calves.  Though I had been taking S-Caps (salt) all along, I began eating them like candy. 

Still going up Holy Jim . . .

About the time we were supposed to reach the Main Divide, according to my garmin, I couldn’t see it.  I feared I had got off track.  I could hear falls somewhere nearby, but I didn’t turn my head to investigate.  I was too concerned about reaching the divide.  Then I saw Sheila up above climbing an extremely steep incline.  And then another runner came up behind.  That last tiny stretch of Holy Jim was quite difficult.  It was layered with several inches of slippery acorns. Using my hands to climb up, I could see a truck through the trees.  Then a table came into focus.  I had made it – the 13.5 mile aid station at elevation 4,056 on the Main Divide!

The station workers were awesome – supportive and at my service to the extreme.  They wouldn’t let me do a single thing for myself.  I took my Coca Cola shots, refilled my water, popped in more than necessary Nuun tablets and was off for a gorgeous, windy up and down trip along the Main Divide.  On one side I could see The O,C., the otherside, Lake Elsinore.

Lake Elsinore down there

While I had been sucking down gels all along, I knew that I had to get in more calories.  But I really didn’t think I could hold down any solid food.  At station #4 one of the aid workers pulled a Luna Bar out of my pack.  I held that thing in my hand for a while as I ran along the divide.  I could feel the cramping just at bay.  My body crusted in salt, I continued to down those S-caps. 

A little delirious at this point : )  Feeling goofy.

All the runners I met along the way were friendly and supportive as I ran this last portion, waiting, waiting, waiting for that last aid station – after that it would be all down hill.  I felt like a zombie.  I was just running with no thoughts, nothing – simply putting one foot in front of the other when I yelled inside my head, “Eat!”  And so I began taking little bites of that Luna Bar.  I kept it all down. 

Another runner, Jeff, and I came up on the last aid station at the same time.  This station was run by Steve and Annie Harvey (I recognized them  from my first Calico Ghost Town trail race).  They are a friendly couple who are race directors for the Old Goat Trail Races. 

So dang happy to find out we had only three miles left, I really started acting quite silly, yakking away with the Annie and Harvey, saying it was a true miracle that I had made it that far, etc., etc.  I was the happiest girl you’d ever see after climbing more than 5,500 feet!   I finally took off running, actually running, when my legs could move no more.  Some time later, Jeff caught up with me.  And we ran those last three miles together, the longest three miles EVER.  We crossed the finish line before every one had packed up and left.  Several other runners came in one after the other after that.  And I found it odd that I hadn’t even noticed them out there behind us.   I used the garmin to give the recorders my official time, since I got an early start.  I was running up in those mountains for a little over 7 hours!!

I felt perfectly fine after crossing the finish line.  I chatted some with fellow runner Dave (but forgot to snap a photo of him!) and also with Mark.  I laughed at Baz, his energetic and boisterous personality.  But I forgot to say good-bye to Jeff.  If you read this Jeff – it was great running in with you.  You helped take my mind off the total hell that my body was going through : )

It is finished!!!  3 marathons this year:  Check

The Movie   😲

5,523 Elevation gain