Trail runs – Running and Caring

January 26, 2020

Running the Verdugos

“Let’s do Verdugo Mountains tomorrow.” I said to Chris last night, feeling like I needed to tackle a new challenge to keep my mind off work stress. I had a busy Thursday at work and could feel my anxiety attacking me again. Of course, Chris was agreeable and then he said, “My coach is having me run 4 hours tomorrow. Is that ok with you?” I said yes, but I really wasn’t as confident as I sounded. I could probably do 4 hours of hiking, but trail running? Not just any trail running, but mountain running? For 4 hours? I went to bed, wondering what I was thinking, but I knew I needed something new and fresh. Apparently, my dreams reflected the state I have been in as Chris woke me up in the middle of the night after I was talking and thrashing around in my sleep.

I woke up at around 0445 to get ready for our trail run. Chris was already awake and ready to go. I swear that husband of mine never sleeps! After my morning routine of a bagel and coffee, we were off to the trailhead. I really didn’t know anything about the Verdugo Mountains until I saw pictures on Facebook of Chris’s friend and his wife running there. It looked tough and beautiful and I needed a new adventure. It is also on my “To-do-list” for San Gorgonio Mountain preparation. I had tried to summit San Gorgonio in November 2018 with Chris, but I was not properly trained. This year I am going in prepared. In addition to the Verdugos, I am planning on summitting Echo Mountain (new hike for me), Mount Wilson, San Bernardino (new hike), Mount Baldy, and Mount San Jacinto before facing San Gorgonio again later this year.

Our plan was to start at Stough Canyon and head up to Verdugo Peak. Our run commenced at Stough Canyon Nature Center at around 0644. It was about 46 degrees outside. Just a tad bit cold. The first mile was basically straight up. I thought I was doing pretty good keeping up with Chris until he told me I was going too fast and to slow down. Sulking like a child, I slowed my pace and made friends with the mountain biker next to me. I had to stop several times, because the view was absolutely gorgeous! I took out my tiny phone to capture the sunrise until Chris gave me his phone, which was a lot better! Trail running is tough but running in nature is an opportunity not to be missed.

At the top of the hill was a bench and we turned to the left towards Chandler Motorway for a detour. It was a hard run going up, but I was proud of myself for not lagging too far behind. I told Chris that all those hill runs with Woot has been paying off. As we ran up, we could see Burbank airport to our left. Another picture moment. We passed a tree and a picnic table and suddenly the uphill turned into a downhill, which worried me. I didn’t know how long he wanted to keep running down and we would eventually have to go back up and this was just a detour! We hadn’t even started the main trail to Verdugo Peak yet! Luckily, as if he could read my mind, Chris turned around and headed back up. “Let’s stop and eat a snack at that tree up there.” Yes! Food! I was happy to turn around, but I didn’t fully realize how tough the road ahead was going to be for me. After wolfing down my granola bar, we proceeded to go back towards the bench (Stough Saddle) and on to Verdugo Motorway. We had already done 4 miles. It was there that I began to realize that I may have grossly underestimated our ultimate mileage.

Chris running up…I decided this was a good time to take a break!

Verdugo Motorway is a series of inclines and rolling hills. At that moment in time, I was still feeling pretty good and shocked that I didn’t need music to run with. For the first time ever, I didn’t need music to motivate me. I was getting excited, because now I was mountain running. The only time I ever did mountain running was when Marisa, Carlos, and I ran down Saddleback Mountain after hiking up. The surrounding views were incredible, and the trail was not heavily populated. It was very clean, unlike some of the trails I run that require you to maneuver around dog or horse poop. On the way up, we saw a recliner with the name, Keith, etched into the back. Now here is a good spot to relax and enjoy the view.

Chris advised me that the trail would soon plateau and then there would be more rolling hills. We found a long snake sunning himself in the middle of the trail. Chris thought it was a stick at first until he moved. It was beautiful. I have a healthy respect for snakes and am not afraid of them. I have come upon rattlesnakes before while running solo in the Puente Hills preserve. However, that does not mean that I’ll try to take a selfie with them! I just keep my distance and move on.

As we were running up another hill, we met up with a fellow trail runner. “Hey,” he said, “Are you training for something?” Chris said he was training for Indiana 100 and the other runner said he was training for Sean O’Brien 100k. I didn’t want to say I was training for San Diego half marathon, as it seemed so small in comparison, so I simply said, “No.” In that moment, I missed the days when I could say I was training for an ultra, too. We also ran into a group of mountain bikers. We stopped for a little bit, watching these young kids, girls and boys, race up and down the mountain, while their coach cheered them on. It was actually quite inspiring.

It was a little after mile 10 when we reached Tongva Peak at 2,650 feet. Verdugo Peak, which was the goal, is at 3,126 feet, however, it looked so far, and I was really tired at that point. Chris could have run there, but I knew my limits. Therefore, we decided to head back and summit Verdugo at another time. While we were running to Tongva, I didn’t really pay attention to all the downhill we did, so I was shocked at how much incline we still needed to do as we were heading back “down the mountain.” Chris kept repeating how proud he was of me and how this was a tough run. I heard his words and, believe me, I was proud of myself, but I was also mentally checked out and exhausted. I stopped running and began to hike.

“We are going to do 16 miles, aren’t we?” I asked Chris. “I think so.” He said. 16 miles. It’s been a while since I have tackled that much mileage. I tried to run a little more. Chris said he would wait for me at certain points. I hiked the inclines and slowly ran the short downhill and flat sections, keeping Chris within sight. My lower back was hurting, as well as my left leg and buttock. At around mile 13, Chris said it’s basically all downhill from there and I could go ahead if I wanted. Usually, I love running straight downhill. I am better at running downhill than I am running uphill and I consider it my “reward” for all the hard work, but, this time, I was afraid of tripping. When I’m tired, I don’t pick up my feet as much and that it when I tend to fall. I said no and slowly followed Chris. However, after about 10 minutes, I really just wanted to sit in my car.

“I just want to be done.” I said to Chris. Chris said ok and made me promise to wait for him at the bench since he was going to take his time downhill. I quickly picked up the pace and ran down the mountain. It was actually exhilarating and therapeutic. My back and left leg no longer hurt, and I was having fun. Of course, I had to make a conscious effort to look down and watch my step. Unfortunately, I am not a stranger to falling on trails and it usually happens when I am not paying attention. While running Leona Divide 50K, I tripped at least 3 times. I kept my eyes on the trail and enjoyed every step.

As promised, I stopped for Chris at the bench at Stough Saddle. He was not far behind me. I was at mile 15.5 with about another mile to go until the trailhead. Chris asked me to stay at the bench while he picked up an extra mile going back up Chandler Motorway to the tree, we had our first snack at. Minutes later he returned with a huge bleeding gash on his right hand and elbow. Apparently, he tripped on his way to the tree. Being the nurse that I am, I always keep band-aids in my pack and offered to dress his wounds. Being the stubborn man that he is, Chris refused my wound care and muttered, “I’m fine. Let’s just go.” And off we went. We both ran down the last mile. 16.56 miles at a 13:22 pace. Strava showed an elevation gain of 2,949 feet.

It felt good to get back to the car. It felt even better to eat onion rings and a vegetarian quesadilla. I deserved it. For the first time in a long while, I felt like my old trail runner self. 2019 was a crazy year, packed with a plethora of stressors. I am hopeful, though, that 2020 will be filled with new adventures and maybe I can start ultra training again. In the meantime, though, I’ll be back here soon. I still need to summit Verdugo Peak.

January 27, 2019

I Forgot How Tough Ultra Training Can Be!

I forgot how tough training for an ultra can be! This was my first thought after I ran 20 miles today on the trail. When you are training for a marathon, you usually only have one “long run” a week with the longest run – 20 or 22 miles- being done a few weeks prior to the marathon. In ultra training, you generally will have two back to back “long runs” a week with several 20 and 22 milers and even a 30 miler prior to the ultramarathon. For example, my 50 miler training plan has me run one 20 miler, two 22 milers, two 24 milers, one marathon, and one 50k. That’s a crazy amount of mileage! It can be exhausting and time-consuming. Not to mention painful. And it is definitely not fun all the time.

So why do we subject ourselves to this craziness? While I can’t speak for others, I can give my own reasons. And, no, it’s not because I am insane. Ok…ok…so insanity may make up a small part.

I do it for the sense of accomplishment. While I’m never going to break any records in running, I know that with ultrarunning, I am doing something that only a small population has ever done. I may dread the first few miles, love the in between miles, and loathe the last 4 miles, but I never finish a long run, saying, “That run sucked! I should have stayed in bed!” Now I may state that the run sucked – and many times it does – but I will never regret getting out there. There is something grand about finding your inner strength and working towards something and conquering it while your body threatens to stop every step of the way. Some people call it mind over matter and ultrarunning is definitely a mental challenge. I’d say it is predominantly mental, because the mind will move your legs when your muscles want to stop.

My run started out cold, muddy, and windy and ended cold, muddy, and windy. Since this was my longest trail run in over 2 years, I decided to take a conservative approach and walk up the hills in the first 3 miles. That helped a lot, because I found myself to have more energy when I reached the “heart” of the SJC trails. Due to the rain last week, though, I encountered a lot of mud, which added unnecessary weight to my shoes. Not fun. I spent a lot of time trying to scrape it off too.

The first 7 miles weren’t too bad. I was grateful for all the training that I did, because I was able to tackle those rolling hills better than I did before. The trail was pretty empty, which was good, because I had to pee! It is crucial for trail runners to learn to pee in the open, because sometimes there isn’t always a nice, private area. I found a rock and hoped that a mountain biker wouldn’t fly by at that moment. I got lucky and no one stumbled upon me. I ended up having to pee like a total of 4 times. None of the spots were secluded. You just have to learn to throw modesty out the window and drip dry!

I had to leave the trails behind to run miles 8.5-11.5 on Antonio Street. The only thing that sucked was smelling food. I’m not a Taco Bell person but running past Taco Bell is hard when all you have eaten was gel packets and peanut butter balls! However, I don’t think it would have helped me to run the rest of my miles after eating a bean and cheese burrito!

After mile 11.5, I was back on Arroyo Trabuco Trail, tired and really wanting to finish the run. On my way back, I found myself walking up more hills than running them while being blasted by some serious headwind. By mile 15, I was seriously hurting and doubting my desire to finish this run. Since no one was around to watch me be a dork, I would pull myself up a hill with my “imaginary rope” and sing out loud. These are only some of the tricks I do to get me through a solo long run. I did meet a man who was pushing a stroller up those huge hills. Apparently, he just moved there and did not realize how tough those trails were. Suddenly my problems of being hurt and tired seemed insignificant as I wasn’t pushing anything but me up the hill. I wished him a good day, told him he was crazy, but praised his strength and efforts. I ended up making 5 short videos to amuse myself and get me through the last few miles. It worked.

The last two miles were tough, but I finished. I wasn’t kidding when I said that ultra training was a mental game. In addition to singing and making videos, I spent a lot of time trying to solve personal issues and even had visions of finishing the race. Sometimes I wondered what the heck I was doing running 20 miles on my day off! However, all that doubt disappeared as soon as I sent Chris that happy one word text: “done”.

December 8, 2018December 8, 2018

Beginning the American River 50 Miler Journey

American River 50 mile ultramarathon training has officially begun!!! In other words…YIKES!! Technically, it started December 2 when I did a 2 mile run, followed by a 6 and a 8 mile run over the next few days, but I digress. I will be honest. I am very nervous. I’m going from sporadic runs over the past few years to rigorous training for the next 4 months. And I do mean rigorous.

I’m a schedule girl. To me, a training schedule is like homework and I need that structure to push me. Like homework, if I have a training schedule I will do my absolute best to follow it with as little deviation as possible. In case you are wondering, I have always used the schedule that is set forth by Santa Clarita Runners (SCR,2018). The website will be listed in the reference section below. It is simplistic in design but it tells me the miles I need to run on a weekly basis and has helped me finish all my past ultramarathons.

So here I go again. I have stayed true to my schedule for the first week, although, I will admit that doing back to back long runs last Monday and Tuesday was really tough on me. On Monday I wondered what was I thinking when I signed up for AR50. On Tuesday, I was seriously beginning to doubt my capabilities while running my 8 miler. However, I did it. And I’m proud of myself for doing it. I didn’t quit and having or not having mental toughness and stamina is what makes or breaks people during endurance training and racing.

According to the schedule for next week, I will be running a 10 miler followed by a 6 miler the next day. My plan is to run my 10 miler on Monday morning in San Juan Capistrano (SJC), because I used to run those trails practically every day when I lived in SJC so I know them. I feel comfortable with them. And they are a butt kicker.

My 6 miler will be run at Bolsa Chica. My smaller runs I plan on doing some speed work on the treadmill with strength training mixed in.It shall be interesting. I am just going to try my best to remain injury free and have fun with it! Like I said, I am nervous, but, in all honestly, I am really excited! I hope you enjoy reading about the journey too!

References

Santa Clarita Runners. (2018).Ultramarathon training schedule generator. Retrieved from http://www.scrunners.org/ultramarathon-training-schedule-generator.html

November 19, 2018November 19, 2018

Escaping to Schabarum Trail

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.

At the Trailhead! (November, 19. Walnut, CA)

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.

Random Teepee in the middle of the trail

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.

October 31, 2018November 19, 2018

When Will This Get Easier?

When will this get easier? I asked myself that question many times on my trail run today at Bolsa Chica. It was beautiful there like always, but warm and windy. The trail was pretty much deserted so I could enjoy some peace and quiet, which is optimal for an exercise in introspection.

I ran for about a quarter of a mile before stopping to look at the beauty before me. I could pretend that it was said beauty that captured me, forcing me to pause, but I would be lying. I stopped, because I honestly didn’t feel like running. What’s wrong with me?? I ran for another quarter mile. Nope, I didn’t want to continue.

It’s funny, because I started this blog, thinking – no, believing- that I wanted to motivate others to take up running. Today I had a new chain of thought. Maybe the person I needed to inspire most was me.

I have been running for a while. I remember being so proud of myself in high school for running a 7:40 minute mile. As such, I decided to try out for the cross-country team. However, on the day of the tryouts, I couldn’t do it. I was so afraid of rejection that I couldn’t even show up. Self-doubt is our worst enemy. I made up some story to my mom about being sick and that was the end of my running dream in high school. It wasn’t until the year 2001 after I graduated Cal State University Long Beach (CSULB) that I contemplated putting on my running shoes again.

I bring up self-doubt, because that is what I’ve been feeling lately. Will I be ready to run another 50k, let alone 50 miler next year??? So maybe I unconsciously started this blog as a way to motivate myself to return to the activity I love. I stopped running when I injured my back and was studying on a daily basis. Science was never my forte, so I had to work hard to get the A’s in anatomy, physiology, chemistry, microbiology, and pharmacology that would help me get in to nursing school. And then came nursing school itself. Working 40 hours a week while going to nursing school left me little time to workout. It barely left me any sanity! I survived, though, and graduated, albeit 20 pounds heavier and barely able to walk a mile.

Now 5 years later, I find myself in a similar situation. I have less than 2 months of grad school left and I am now 20 pounds heavier again and though I can run more than 1 mile now, it is proving to be more difficult than I thought it would be. Inconsistent training has really affected me, negatively. I find myself stopping too much. I just need to remember that it took time to get to where I was in 2015 and 2016. It took a lot of dedication and diligent, consistent training. Therefore, it will take time again to run like I used to, but hopefully less so. I’m relying on muscle memory and my blog to help me on my journey towards American River 50 miler.

In case you are wondering, I did finish my 4- mile trail run today. And, yes, I made a lot of stops along the way, but I didn’t give up and walk. I finished.

October 25, 2018October 31, 2018

Dealing with Loss of Fitness

I have 8 more weeks left of grad school. I finally finished the required 500 clinical hours that left me with little time to train for anything, let alone just exercise. Lack of physical activity means more to me than just loss of training, though. It means that I have lost much of my stress release, which is crucial for a nurse.

Nursing is a stressful career, because nurses deal with the lives of people on an everyday basis. The care we provide affects us and our patients on a physical, emotional, and, many times, spiritual level. Yes, it is rewarding in so many ways, but that doesn’t prevent the stress from creeping in and gnawing at our psyche. And while exercise does not prevent the anxiety and stress I feel during my shift, it does help me get a grip on it. Physical activity helps with resiliency. It makes me hardier; therefore, not being able to exercise caused me additional stress on top of removing some of my ability to deal with said pressure. In other words, there was a lot more chocolate ingested in those months!!! Chocolate became my inefficient coping method.

In regards to training, I am now realizing how tough it is going to be to get back what fitness I had lost prior to school. Not to mention, lose the 15 -20 pounds that I gained during grad school (I did mention how mini Twix and Snickers replaced exercise as a stress release those months…). In December I would officially begin my 50-mile training, but will I be ready by then?

I recently finished a 10k race with my older brother, Kevin, on October 14. It was his first 10k race and, though it certainly wasn’t my first, I was nervous that I would not be able to finish it due to lack of running and he was so excited to run this race together. Siblings united. I remember when he “dollnapped” my Cabbage Patch Kid when we were children. I would chase after him, anxiously trying to get my doll back from the clutches of my older brother who sought to antagonize me as many times as he could (Alas, he has matured since then. Ha! Ha! Love you brother!!). Back then the only time we ever ran together were when I was chasing him or vice versa, usually with one of us yelling or threatening to tell mom or dad. This was the first time we would be running towards a common goal together. I couldn’t let him down.

At the start of HB Surf City 10 10K. I may have looked confident, but I was honestly nervous!

He told me his goal was to finish at a 10:30 or 11:00 minute mile pace. No problem. It was a flat, fast course, right?? I can manage that. We ran the first mile at a 10:38 minute pace. He was keeping up with no issues so I decided to go a little faster with each mile. I was so proud of my brother! He was smiling and keeping up with the accelerated pace while I, on the other hand, was trying to control my respiratory rate to no avail. I didn’t stop, but I was secretly hoping Kevin would ask for a walk break so I could take a breather without feeling like it was my first 10k instead of the other way around. We ran through the finish line at an 8:47 pace. My brother looked like he could easily run another 6 miles while I looked like I narrowly escaped being in respiratory arrest. I couldn’t believe how hard it was to run a 10k now when I had run a 50 miler in 2016! How quickly one’s fitness fades!

Kevin and I flashing our medals – October 14, 2018

Since that race I have done a few more training runs on the trails. Last Sunday, I tried to run 15 miles with my boyfriend, Chris. We started at Sycamore Canyon trailhead in Whittier, which leads to Sycamore Switchbacks. And, yes, it’s as evil as it sounds. I silently cursed myself for suggesting this trail. While it is not as bad as the 99 switchbacks at Mount Whitney, it is still an exhausting task. At least for me it is. Of course, Chris zoomed past me and I spent most of my time glaring at his back while my pace got slower and slower and slower until I finally reached Rattlesnake Ridge Trail where he was patiently waiting for me, looking unperturbed by the hideous ascent.

Sycamore Canyon Switchbacks (Whittier, CA)

We then proceeded to run (or in my case, hike/crawl) towards Nike Hill to get more mileage. I was beginning to feel like I needed to be institutionalized because who in their right mind would want to do a trail with the word, “hill”, in it after finishing another trail that contained the word, “switchbacks”, in it. Nevertheless, we ran down Nike Hill and I was feeling pretty good at that moment, because, you know, it was downhill as opposed to uphill. Usually, this would be the end of my run and I would be happy to walk to my car across the street, but since this was mile 7 and I had another 8 miles to go (not to mention, my car was parked at another trailhead), I was not in a celebratory mood. Running down Nike Hill meant that I had to hike back up, because I certainly could not run it at this moment. Chris couldn’t run it either, but his legs carried him up quicker than mine. Plus I had to stop and hyperventilate a few times! When will this get easier?

Chris and I taking a photo break (Whittier, CA)

When I finally reached the top of Nike Hill, I knew I was tapped out. I couldn’t make it all the way back to Sycamore. I ran/hiked the best I could through the woodchips. We were heading towards Coyote Trail, which was part of the course I take when doing my 5-mile loop at Hacienda Hills. I knew Coyote Trail was mainly downhill towards the Hacienda Hills trailhead with a few small inclines. I also knew I could cut out 2 miles if I went this way. Some people may call this cheating, but I was thinking along the lines of survival! I told Chris my plan. I would continue on Coyote and wait for him down at the Hacienda Hills trailhead. There was a water fountain and a shaded bench there so I knew I would be ok. He would continue on back towards Sycamore and pick me up afterwards. He agreed and I ran down the familiar trail, dodging hikers and unleashed dogs. I ended up doing a little over 12 miles that day. It was a tough trail run and I was not prepared for the hardship. However, one good thing came out of it…I didn’t trip this time!