Even aspiring vegans gain weight over the holidays! However, I am clueless as to how butternut squash and kale can make you gain a few pounds in less than a week, but I digress. As such, a trail run was calling my name, because the past few days were spent cooking all that vegan food that made me gain said weight. On second thought, maybe it was the wine…
Anyways, I decided to do a trail that I haven’t done in awhile, which is the Schabarum Grand Spur Trail in Walnut. It’s one of those trails that stimulates your lungs to scream as you go up, but you forget all about your near respiratory distress experience as soon as you reach the top and take in the gorgeous views.
It took me 40 minutes to get there as I had to take the 605N to the 10E and exit Grand. My car GPS told me to take Grand and make a left on Hillside, which is crazy because if I made a left on Hillside I would crash into the actual trail itself. So I kept driving on Grand until I could make a safe left into a neighborhood, ignoring my car that kept telling me to make a U-turn on Grand and then a right on Hillside, which means my car really wants to go to the body shop.
After I parked my car and put on my pack, I proceeded to run down Grand Street at a fun 9:30 minute pace to the trailhead, which meant I would have to run up Grand street to get to my parked car. That won’t be fun, because I will have to run uphill when I’m the most tired. I prefer to run downhill towards the finish, but that doesn’t always happen in trail races and I heard American River 50 has a nice lofty hill near the finish line. This means I just have to suck it up today and not complain.
The trailhead off of Grand is a steep incline that transitions into some switchbacks. While they are not as bad as the ones at Sycamore, they are still tough, especially to a runner who is just getting back into the game. I run up one hill and then stop to hyperventilate before running again. Last time I ran here, I remember there being a bunch of dogs so I turned off my iPod when I got to the multiple signs that say “Beware the Dog”, though I was not on any private property. I passed a horse and it looked at me like it wanted me to keep him company. I suppressed the urge to pet its beautiful brown fur, however, I was too nervous of angry dogs, barking and jumping the fence to eat me alive so I ran off. I do have a healthy sense of self preservation.
The trail is mostly shaded until you get to the top, which is breathtaking though windy. The ridge is not that long, but you can get a good workout running (or hiking) the rolling hills and the view of the city below is spectacular. One of the reasons why I love trail running is the fact that you get a sense of how truly small you are. I also love running in areas where it is not too crowded. I have done this trail a few times and I rarely see anyone here as opposed to Peters Canyon or El Moro, which is heavily populated. Today I saw no other hiker or runner. That was fine by me. I enjoy my alone time and sometimes I need to escape. Work is tough. School is tough. Life can be tough.
By the time I got back to Grand street, I had less than a half of a mile to go on my 6 mile trail run. I was tired, but I was also determined to run up the hill. I managed it by picking landmarks to run to before stopping for a break. People driving past me probably thought I was crazy, but that’s ok. At least I’m getting out there and moving. Total elevation gain today was 1,949 feet with an average pace of 13:24 minutes per mile. Not too bad for a 6 mile run. I’ll take it and see what tomorrow brings.
