Lizards, Snakes, and Hill Reps, Oh My...or...

Prepping for the The Old Goat 50k at Lake Elsinore

Yesterday morning I drove up to the Santa Rosa Plateau Reserve for a set of hill repetitions. I know hill reps on a plateau sounds funny, but it is quite hilly up there. Anyway, I reached the Hidden Valley Trailhead just as the temperature was rising. And there was not a cloud in sight.

Hidden Valley Trailhead

I grabbed two handhelds of liquid, my shoes, and took the short jog over to the Los Santos trail. The views were awesome, the wildflowers were just coming out and a bit of snow could be seen in the distance.

Wildflowers and Snow

As I jogged along I could see my destination hill on the Los Santos Trail. The only shade was at the very top and none on the winding single track.

Los Santos Trail

I was already loose, but I took 10 minutes to warmup starting with a brisk run to the top of the hill where I would start my workout.

Arriving at the top, I was ready for 10 x down and up with 2 minutes active recovery.

Rep 1 I headed down, a straight with a hard left to a short steep drop and a hard right to a manageable downhill. There were lizards scrambling around and it was all I could do to not step on any. I was about a minute and a half down when I spotted a snake curled and sunning on the trail. I was moving quickly and was able to hurdle. I reached my turn around at 0.3 miles and started heading back up the hill. The snake was gone but there were an unusual number of lizards trying to trip me up. I reached the top, punched the lap button on my watch and jogged a recovery.

Rep 2 No snakes this time but I was already feeling a bit knackered after this rep.

Rep 3 Still uncomfortable, I tried to relax on the way down, knees flexible and keeping braking to a minimum.

Rep 4 Dialed back a bit on the down but still had to work the up. I considered opening up the recovery to 3 minutes, but my run HR and recovery HR and seemed normal, so I just tried to hang in. I drank some extra water and felt a little better.

Rep 5 Feeling better and more relaxed on the down and the up was quicker even on the steeper top section.

Rep 6 Now, finally into a rhythm I was working my standard down, up, and recover. And I was concerned that I didn't have enough water. It had to be close to 80 degrees.

Rep 7, 8, 9 Trying to stay consistent, focus on keeping the downhill controlled and holding pace on the ups. Sucking wind for the last minute on the uphill's, but my legs felt strong.

Rep 10 I headed down and wouldn't you know, old snakey had returned and was stretched out across the trail. I once again hurdled it and hoped it wouldn't be there on the way up. I turned and headed up. Around the corner the snake was holding it's turf. I was running uphill and knew I couldn't perform an uphill hurdle. Running off trail and behind the snake, I was hoping it wasn't a trick to force me into a rattlesnake nest.

Done and done! And I was out of water. I took a slow jog back to the parking lot.

 

Los Santos to Hidden Valley Road

I haven't posted in a while, which begs the question...Why are you posting about random hill reps?

 

So...a while back I was thinking about my marathon finish times and how I could improve, despite the fact that I decided not to run any more marathons.

Since the end of the 2016 XC season, I had been running easy, trying to figure out what to do in 2017. Anyway, I wanted to run somewhere and I haven't been feeling the love for road races.

I did a search on the old inter-web and found a ton of trail races in and around Southern California.

I asked Amanda about running bigger miles, trail racing, and may have mentioned improving my marathon time. She thought running an ultra-marathon was a good idea...of course she did.

Fast forward to...well...now, and here I am, registered for the Old Goat 50k on April 1st, a boatload of trail miles completed, wondering when I thought this was a good idea.

I've been learning that trail running requires a unique skillset, especially here in SoCal where a missed downhill turn will cause the uninitiated runner into an intimate relationship with the Cacti. I've run some bigger miles, tried to get in some elevation, and am trusting that it is enough to make running 50k manageable. And fun. Overall, with a few rough patches, training has gone well.

To be continued....

The Long Drive January 7, 2016

On Thursday, January 7, 2016 I hitched a trailer, filled with my "stuff", to my van. And then, somewhere around 10:00 am EST, started the drive from Massachusetts to California. It was a quick ride through Rhode Island and Connecticut.

I crossed the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York. Pennsylvania was a long ride and at the end of the first day I made it to Middle of Somewhere, Ohio. I pulled into a rest stop crawled into my nest and slept for about 4 hours. I woke, grabbed breakfast to go and got! It was getting colder and I wanted to get in as many miles as possible. I phoned JoAnne along the way and she kept giving me weather updates that made me nervous. And Matt phoned a few times and offered to fly out and help with the drive.

Hotel Routan
 

I made decent time on Friday through Indiana and Illinois stopping every couple of hours to gas up, eat, or stretch. Friday late I was in Missouri. Tired (wondering when I thought this trip was a good idea) and having trouble finding a good rest stop. I pulled into a stop very close to the highway. It was dark and I knew I was in a somewhat mountainous region. A couple of cars and truckers were there so I felt safe enough. I slept from midnight to about 4:00am on Saturday when the tapping of raindrops on the rooftop woke me. I checked the weather forecast. Heavy snow was expected. I checked the safety chains on the hitch and hoped I could get out of Dodge in a timely manner. And then the snow began. Traffic slowed, but I was headed out of the storm's path. A couple of hours later all was clear and I was halfway across the country...too late to turn back.

I had an uneventful ride through Oklahoma, but as I drove through the Pan Handle of Texas my low tire light came on. I pulled over and it was freakin' cold! Wind was blowing snow dust across the road and it was as flat as any place I've ever seen. If I became stranded out here.... Checking the tires, I could find no problem so after checking the hitch and safety chains, I headed out. A few miles later the warning light went out.

As I entered New Mexico I called my brother and asked if I could stay over. I had the pleasure, as I drove toward the Sandia Mountains, of seeing one of the most beautiful sunsets. And then had one of the most nerve racking drives as I pulled the trailer, in the dark, through the Tijeras Canyon. Once I passed through the Canyon and into Albuquerque it was a long 40 minute drive to Tome, NM

I arrived at Santos and Camille's about 9:00pm on Saturday evening. I did battle with his dogs and finally made it into the house. We ate dinner and chatted about my trip and the new house in California. It was nice sleeping in a bed again, but in a strange way I had grown accustomed to my little nest in the van. Santos wanted me stay another night, which I should have, but I was anxious to get to moving. Santos then gave my van a thorough checkup ensuring a safe finish to my journey.

Uncle Santos
 

I said goodbye around 10:00am Sunday morning. I decided to take the original Route 66 which ran through Los Lunas until 1937. It was a clear but cold morning for beautiful drive through Western New Mexico.

Along Historic Route 66

Entering Arizona I was unsure if I could complete the trip today. Snow was predicted for Flagstaff (RT40 to 17) so they (Santos and Camille) advised me to exit at Holbrook and make my way to Phoenix. I took Route 377, the Hashknife Pony Express Route. It was another beautiful drive taking me through the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest.

Snowy Drive in Arizona



Finally arriving at Phoenix and Interstate 10 it was a straight shot to Riverside County, Ca! But it was getting late and I was getting tired. I grabbed some coffee and thought that with a little luck I could be "Home" by midnight. I called Jennifer and told her my plan. She had the house keys and agreed to meet me. Crossing the border into California, I was waved through without question. Passing through Joshua Tree and Palm Springs I was getting close but it was almost midnight. Exiting at the 215 it was straight south to Murrieta. I pulled into the driveway just after 1:00am Monday morning. Jen was there with some snackages and a bottle of wine. And it was cold. The heater wasn't on. The battery in the thermostat was dead. Quickly I pulled the battery out of my camera and voilà, heat! We shared the wine and talked. I sent text messages to everyone that had followed. Then I went to bed.