Trail Run: La Jolla Canyon + Pacing a Friend

(Sigh)

If the state of California is serious about closing down all the parks in the Santa Monica Mountains, I would plead with them to leave this one alone (after of course, pleading not to close down any).

I was looking forward to this trail run with my group after an almost 2-week layoff that seemed longer. Unfortunately, I got off to a bit of a late start this morning after being a bit sleep deprived from the day before (more on that in a bit). When I showed up to the trailhead, it appeared that the main group had already started only I didn't know which way they had started (La Jolla Canyon fire road vs. Ray Miller trail). Thankfully, another member who usually marks the trail also showed up late so we started off via La Jolla first to complete the loop coming out of Ray Miller (much preferred).



The approximately 11 mile loop climbs La Jolla Canyon, back down, up Magu Peak, down through the vast and beautiful La Jolla Valley, passing through a fire road, before the final descent down the seriously scenic single track Ray Miller Trail which offers sweeping coastline views from high atop for miles on end.

Running solo the entire way, I was ear-to-ear grinning through most of the trek. The weather was sunny but not too warm since it ran along the coastline for nearly half of it. After completing the run in under 2 hours, I reconvened with the rest of the group at the trailhead, took up another member's offer on a cold sud, and also partook in the rest of the spread the group had laid out. Such a good way to cap a nice run.

It's sad to think there's even a remote possibility that this will be our last organized run here. But I maintain faith that it won't.

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On another note, I spent a large part of late Saturday night pacing a friend through her 65-mile (!) journey to honor her late father on the anniversary of his passing. It was an experience I was grateful and honored to take part in and help in any way I could.

I started running with her at approximately 10:30pm at a designated spot down in Irvine (she started at 7pm) and ran with her until about 2:30am, covering approximately 17 miles. She was feeling nauseous when I started with her so we ran/walked based on her comfort level. Her awesome boyfriend served as her one man aid station as he drove around to meet her at certain points to provide food, hydration, the Stick...whatever she needed.

I won't share all the things we talked about on our run together, but let's just say I have a newfound respect for her and her incredible will, drive and passion.

Once my loop was done, I handed her off to our friend Sam, who would go on to pace her from mile 40 to the finish.

Well done Rachel. Your dad is very proud.

Trail Mix

I miss the trails like you would not believe.

A couple of Sundays ago, I attended a rally that my trail club organized in conjunction with the "Save Our State Parks" campaign, to raise awareness to the very real possibility of 80% (!) of California's state parks closing due to the budget crisis currently plaguing our not-so-Golden State.



While it's a cause near and dear to my heart, the crappy part of the day was having to hike the trail in Will Rogers instead of being able to run it with my cohorts. At least I had Sara to commiserate alongside me and my then ailing foot (better now) while watching others frolic through the woods.

Hopefully, I'll be back at it come Sunday.

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On the plus side, I finally joined an exciting new gym (note: clean) that offers a plethora of equipment and classes, ranging from yoga to boxing.

Speaking of which, I attended my 2nd boxing class last night which mixes a range of punching, cardio, push-ups, etc for an hour straight. Literally kicks your ass, but it's a blast to do. A great, great workout from head to toe. For the record however, I'm still a lover people - not a fighter.

Also (for reasons beyond sheer vanity purposes which I'll divulge later), I need to start bulking up again. I've largely ignored doing so for the past year or so because I wanted to focus on losing weight to attain PR's, but as I've stated before, my priorities as far as running's concerned have shifted.

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I need a new camera.

Almost immediately following my LA Marathon experience, I dropped it after taking a picture of my cousin. Figured I could either: a) get it fixed, or b) find a comparable replacement.

Who knew finding a mid-level point-and-shoot would be so hard? I really should just get a low-end camera that I could drop, get dirty, etc but there is one out there that shoots videos in HD that I want. The obvious problem being price-tag and justifying taking it out with me where it'll get messed up.

Anyone out there have a cheap one they're willing to donate in the name of more colorful blogs? I'll show you love every time I post pictures in here, promise.

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OK kids, nice catching up with you. Hit a bit of a snag in my prep to fly up to SF (work might keep me from going), but hope I can work it out.

Until next time...

Unbreakable

Yes, I know I'm tempting fate with this title. But screw it. I'm just happy to be running again.

It's true. After 11 whole days off (I know, I know), I decided I couldn't take it anymore and laced up my Newtons yesterday. I was literally going crazy. The result? 3.5 miles, foot pain-free. And almost a couple of weeks worth of aggression unloaded.

Today, I laced up my running shoes again and did 4 miles. Again, pain-free.

While I'm still apprehensive about each step I take, I'm slowly gaining more and more confidence about running like the old me. Amazing what some rest and hoards of calcium will do for your body.

Hope this isn't a fluke but as of right now, it looks like San Francisco is a 'go' again. Yay.

As for barefoot running, temporarily on hold until I can be sure that the 'regular' running isn't compromised. To be continued...

Shelved

Hopefully temporarily.

I've been dealing with some pain/discomfort in my left foot for the past couple of weeks. It seems to be coming from the 4th or 5th metatarsal area and I haven't been able to shake it. I tried resting it for a couple of days and it persisted, so now I'm trying to stay off of it for 1-2 weeks and see if that helps (currently on day #5 of no running).

The culprit? Sure, you can point to my recent barefoot/Vibram Five Finger running as the obvious one. However, I've been building up gradually in this area (about 1/4-1/2 mile per week) so I don't think it can be that alone. I think it's the combo of me being unable to run them at a slower pace coupled with recent spike in hill training that's led to this.


My feet during better days..

The biggest fear right now is the obvious one and the 2 words that all runners dread the most: stress fracture.

But I'm not going to freak out quite yet. Instead, I dusted off the ol' road bike and started riding it again to maintain some level of fitness (I even bought new shoes + clips!) and hopefully, I can come back and still run San Francisco. If not and the pain is still there, I will have to scratch that (and other races) and see a podiatrist. We'll cross that bridge when we get there.

Shame, cause I had big plans for this summer/fall. Oh well. Will have to just cross my fingers and hope for the best.

Long Run Sunday: A Run with Stuart

Yesterday morning, I met up with Stuart (from the Quadrathon blog) to join him on his 20-miler. After a few hours of sleep, I was up before the roosters a little after 4am. By 6am sharp, I met up with Stuart at the trailhead off of Puerco Canyon.

I had anticipated cool temps and cloud cover based on the past few days and dressed accordingly. However, once I saw that there was nary a cloud in sky, I quickly ditched the shirt before grabbing my handhelds and off we went. The dirt fire road off of Puerco Canyon quickly started climbing and it was quite the "lung opener" as Stuart put it to start off a run.



Of course the higher we climbed, the better the views we were treated to. We ran along the up and downs the fire roads gave us, dropped into some more technical single tracks down in the canyons, and came back the way we came after a couple of hours. Along the way, we shared some interesting conversation about all things life and running, and even managed to snap a few pics along the way.





We ended up back at the trailhead just as the sun was near its zenith. I called it a day at a little over 19 miles, while Stuart opted to go back out to get his 20+ miles. He's currently training for the Angeles Crest 100 in September, where I also plan on pacing/crewing for him.

My thanks again to Stuart for the company, and for the chocolate milk at the end!

Book Review: Born to Run

It all started with a simple e-mail from Sara a couple of months back, who linked the following article.

I read it. Then I read it again. Barefoot running? A tribe consisting of some of the best ultrarunners in the world? Who were these people? And how could barefoot running possibly be better than running in nice, cushy shoes?

The research began. I started Google-ing about the Tarahumara tribe, posting in the barefoot forums, found out about Vibram Five Fingers, and all of this research invariably led me to Born to Run, a new book by Christopher McDougall. It also just so happens that he wrote the aforementioned article, which I didn't connect initially.

For Chris, or 'Oso' as he's referred to by the tribe given his large stature, it all started with a simple question: How come my foot hurts?


Author Chris McDougall running in the Copper Canyons

Little did he know that the answer lied somewhere deep in the recesses of Copper Canyon, an unforgiving and treacherous terrain down in Mexico where the mythical Tarahumara reside. Home of the best ultrarunners in the world, the book chronicles Chris' quest to track down this elusive tribe with the aid of Caballo Blanco, a mysterious loner who lives amongst them in the vast canyons.

Beyond uncovering how these reclusive people are able to cover hundreds of miles in just a pair of huarache sandals, the book also examines their philosophy and way of life that is so integrally tied in with their running. While most Americans treat it as a means to an end, to the Tarahumara it is truly a cherished art form and a passion that spans generations. With the aid of the Caballo Blanco, their adventurous leads to a climactic 50-mile race in the heart of Tarahumara Land, pitting famed ultrarunners like Scott Jurek and Jenn Shelton against the band of these elite nomadic runners.

Not only has this book quickly risen to the top of my list of favorite running books, but dare I say it has already cracked my top-5 list of favorite all-time books, period. Filled with adventure and wit, this is a page-turner in every sense of the word and will in all likelihood, leave you wanting more by the last page.

I probably "dog-eared" about 20-30 pages and underlined numerous passages so I could go back and focus on them during my 2nd reading (which happened immediately after finishing). I now have a completely renewed philosophy and approach to my running and realize that there is so much more to be extracted from running besides PRs and medals.

Regardless of whether you're a runner or couch potato, I think you will enjoy this book and enjoy it immensely.

*images courtesy of Luis Escobar

Long Run Sunday: Bad with the Good

Because I enjoyed yesterday's brief trail run at Westridge so much, I decided to come back this morning to put in some serious mileage on the hilly/windy fire roads on an out-and-back. 20-25 miles was the goal. The goal, I must stress.



After a late start thanks to forgetting something at home (ashamed to admit what it was), I finally got going a little after 10am. Should have done the math better because even if I had done the 20-25 miles I had set out to do, it would've meant that I would be done 1-1:30pm at best. All I had to my name were a couple of tacos + a beer the night before, and part of a Clif Bar and some coffee earlier this morning.

While I loaded up my Ultimate Direction hydration pack with plenty of fluid (Nuun), what I forgot to pack was more Gu (I had one). Oh, and a couple of salt tablets.



I'm going to break from tradition and spare you a lengthy report. Let's just say that it was a struggle and I just started feeling really weak and lethargic from about miles 12 and on. Had to hike a great majority of it. Stomach was screaming for food. Chest felt tight too. I just really bonked. The nightmare was over after 17 miles.

Have I told you how much I'm starting to loathe running in shoes now? Seriously. I feel so much more engaged when I'm running barefoot or at least, in my Vibrams.

Anyway, I treated myself to a BIG meal at McDonalds to save the afternoon (Big Mac meal + a chicken sandwich). Felt somewhat normal after that. Squeezed in a brief power nap. Got hungry a couple of hours after. Went to work. Watched the Lakers eek out a victory tonight over the Magic. Went over to moms who fed me a big home cooked meal.

All was not lost.