I Must Be Crazy

Navigation has never been my strong point. Those who know me well can attest to that. When I think we should turn right, it is almost a sure thing that the correct way would be left.
After waiting for the trails to dry out after the last rain, I was itching to hit the hills at El Moro. I looked over the trail maps, even put one in my water belt pocket just in case. I've run through the park several times, starting from the ranger station and ridgepark. The plan was 10 miles. From the ranger station up moro ridge road over and back down no name to no dogs. I carried one water bottle and 2 gels. The run up moro ridge road was good, I made steady progress and soon I was on Bommer.
My only concern was if there was a gate on bommer to a trail that connected with deer canyon. I would run for a while and if I didn't come across the gate I would go back to el moro canyon and take that trail back to the parking lot. After passing the gate to el moro canyon trail and running for about a mile there was a sign pointing to a another trailhead "bommer spur". I took the bommer trail but it didn't look familiar, so went back and took the spur. That didn't look right either so found bommer again and started running in what I thought was the direction toward ridgepark. I passed the trail heads for emerald bay, boat canyon, and ended up at laguna bowl.
I was at 10 miles on my GPS and no where near El Moro! After turning around I finally made it back to moro ridge road and the parking lot. total miles 15 plus change. I took my last sip of water at the bottom of BFI.
I even get lost on ski runs.
Maybe I should rethink trail running....

Calico Ghost Town 30K/OC Marathon

How could I forget?
I officially threw my hat into the ring.

I've been "training", getting some running in on a fairly regular basis. One long run a week, however with the holidays approaching it is a challenge. 2 weeks ago my long run was 14 miles along the Aliso trail. But last week with the rain, the best I could do was 10 brain numbing miles on a treadmill and a sprinkling of 5-6 mile trots.
The OC Marathon training group meets Saturdays and we are up to 5 or 6 miles, which I try use as speed work if I don't have a race scheduled. My long runs are mon. or tues. depending on work.
Raining today, so probably no long run. Maybe tomorrow...if I don't take a snowboarding lesson...

Winter Solstice Christmas Tree 5 Miler

In June we ran the Summer Solstice Watermelon 5 mile run. All finishers receive a watermelon, plus all you can eat cut watermelon. In the winter, try us events puts on the Christmas Tree run, and all finishers receive a tree. After running in the summer event for the last 2 years and having a great time, we decided to try the winter run. It's the same flat and fast course that winds through El Dorado Park in Long Beach as the Summer Solstice 5 miler. It's a small group of runners too, about 250, all friendly and looking to have a fun pre-christmas run around the park.
Benny smoked me, again! I now know that beating him in the LB Half was a fluke! And Matt was under 10min/mile again!!!! Woo Hoo!
We were expecting to go home with small potted christmas trees, but they handed out actual cut trees!!! All sizes!
I also came away with a 2nd place medal in my age group.
I try not to think about the first place runner who finished 10 min ahead of me!!!

Maple Springs SNOW!

My friend Pauline and I wanted to go hiking. Pauline is back home on winter break from medical school. Grenada has alot of sunshine and rain but no snow. So, when Rick came up with his BRILLIANT idea of hiking through Maple Springs it seemed perfect. We got a late start but hit the trailhead about noon. Pauline wanted to wear shorts, and actually, being the southern california gals that we are, I almost agreed not knowing exactly how much snow we would encounter. We both ended up wearing long pants and it was a good thing.
The first mile was easy, pavement and just a little snow on the sides of the road. A few very wet creek crossings later we hit snow on the road. By mile 2 we were happily trekking through about 4-5 inches of granular fluffy white stuff. At about 2.5 miles the uphill and slogging got harder. The snow was about mid-calf to us. We came across a family coming back down, they made it to the guard rail and said it was about half an hour more. That became our goal.
It was absolutely beautiful hiking. Snow on the trees, the road in spots barely touched, it felt like we were in another state. We stopped to make snowmen...a tribute to Rick...and admired other snowpeople along the way.
We made it to the guardrail and noticed the trail beyond looked almost untouched-very inviting! But the clouds were coming in and it was getting late. Pauline still had to deal with her car which was leaking coolant when we left it in the parking lot. Sooo a few pictures later we heading down the road.
3 hours of fun just 40 min. from home!

Make Room for Santa 10K

Hi Glenn!
It was really fun seeing you again! My blogging is somewhat hit and miss, and I didn't see your comment until today.
It was the perfect morning for a run, cool and dry.
Last year I ran the 5K and loved the course. This year I decided to try the 10K.
5 or 6 months ago I registered for the race, before the foot pain started. So, now it is time for the race and even though I have been running on a regular basis, I am a little concerned about my foot and running on pavement. I did the Dana Point Turkey Trot and ran both 10+5K in the rain with a little pain. But I ran it so slowly, hardly more than a jog that there was probably minimal damage.
My plan for this run...jog again, keep the pace around 10 min. Before the start, Matt and I were killing time and we ran into Glenn, a fellow San Diego RNR marathoner. We chatted briefly, then got ready for the gun. The first mile was easy, there were so many people I couldn't have gone above that pace unless I really pushed my way thru the crowd. Almost 10 min exactly at mile one. Then the 5K and 10K course split and I found myself with open space. Should I speed up? A little. Foot felt good. Picked up the pace and finished mile 2 at 9.5 min. That was it, no holds barred I went for it. It is a great flat run with a downhill finish. At mile 5 I caught up with Glenn
and continued on. In the finishing chute Glenn came from behind and passed me!!! WHAT!!!
I looked up and we had 30 yards left, so, I leaned and reached for whatever was left...I slowly caught him and when I crossed the finish line he was behind me somewhere! We laughed afterward about our PR's! It was fun to run a "real" race! Thanks Glenn, hope we can run again!

Playing Footsie

Last week the foot doc ordered an MRI. The x-rays were all negative, but I was still in some pain and still had swelling after running. All the symptoms were pointing to a strained ligament and the MRI would just confirm her diagnosis and rule out completely a fracture.
Well, gosh darn it. I have 2 broken bones. She put me in a boot and wanted me off my foot for 1 month.
I pouted for a day. Ate peppermint ice cream and coconut cake.
The next day I took off the boot and went for a 5 mile run.
The entire time we had been tossing the diagnosis back and forth, before the MRI, I had continued to run. The day before the MRI I put in 14 miles to get ready for the Calico Run. The fracture must have occurred at least 2 months ago. So with the healing and lack of pain for the past 4 weeks I will continue to run, cut back on the miles, but still trot along. I'll wear the boot to work, standing for long periods does irritate it. Next appointment is 3 weeks.
I'm gonna try cycling too...

The Next Step

Long Beach and Big Sur are both checked off.
By the way, I gimped thru Big Sur with a chip time of 2:09, amazing for me because my foot hurt so badly by the 8th mile I considered walking/quitting. It's a beautiful course, and I'll try to run it next year, healthy.
So, what's next?
There are some of possibles...Calico Ghost town 30 or 50K, another marathon, Twin Peaks etc. As I list my "possibles" and think about the amount of running I completed last week. I am leaning toward a trail race with longer miles...a "just to see if I can do it" type of challenge.