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....

2nd Annual Crazy 8′s 5K September 24, 2016

Rancho Bernardo Community Park in Escondido, CA is the site of the fourth race of the Dirt Dog XC Series. The Crazy low entry fee of  $10.00 helps support Mission Vista High School XC Teams. This is the fourth race of the USATF-SD Dirt Dog Cross Country Series. Seven XC races plus one championship race. Combined points of your 3 best races plus the championship race points (double points) determines the winner. Same rules for teams. Be there or be square. The race series has an interesting history that you can read about at dirtdogxc.com.

Up early we again enjoyed a couple of espressos before hopping into the car for the 40 mile drive south on the Avocado Highway.



I15 in Fallbrook, CA

 

Along the Avocado Highway

Another beautiful morning in South County Riverside/North County San Diego. We arrived in a timely manner strolling over to the bib pick-up area and spotted a dog park and many dogs frolicking actively in the early morning sun while their owners sleepily sipped coffee. I was feeling a bit less frolicky! This Cross Country business is quite different from the road racing series. It has taken some time to get trail legs, but I feel stronger.

I have been trying to bump up my mileage, mostly for the SD-I XC Championship in November, despite not having any time or desire to run bigger miles.

I skipped registration for the 2017 Boston Marathon as I wanted to focus on running locally. I really have been wanting to run the Bataan Memorial Death March Marathon in Alamogordo, NM. I have two Uncles that were killed in the Shin'yō Maru incident, while I never knew them my Mom was always remembered them to me.

Long story short, I'll speak with Amanda about it and see if I can prep for the 2017 or 2018 run. I ran 12 miles Sunday when JoAnne and I took a drive to Carlsbad so I could have a change of scenery and run along the 101.

But I digress....


I pre-ran the course as my warm-up, starting on wet and soggy grass which lasted about a half mile. These folks are not shy about lawn watering. Crossing a paved parking lot the second half mile started on a dirt trial. At 3/4 mile was a 50 or so foot hill about a 1/4 mile long.

Then it was a mile downgrade with hard U-turn on the trail/road at 1 3/4 miles that sported some loose sand last year but was packed when I ran through today. Still a tight turn though!

There was also a nice view of Lake Hodges which I am sure I would ignore during the race.

Nice view of the lake.

It was beginning to warm up out of the 50's and into the 60's, still a nice morning. I headed back to the start area on the final mile, a slight up grade, crossing the parking lot again and onto the grassy and soggy finish area.

I looked around for Joanne who was kind enough to carry around my gear for me even though I am cranky before a race. My shoes were soaking wet and I wanted to change. Where was she?

My Sherpa

Changing from my spiked to my into my spikeless near a conveniently located, and comfortable, recliner sofa I was ready to go!

 I relaxed a bit while waiting for the start. I chatted a bit with teammate Patrick L, still on the DL. We, the San Diego Track Club, just made the three runner minimum to score points in the race series.
There were some instructions fro the starter that I failed to hear. There were some HS runners lined up behind us. I was not going to let one of them by! Then! Everyone started running so I...well...joined in. Amanda suggested a 6:10 first mile. The grass was soggy, so it was a bit of work to hold pace. The course crossed a sidewalk and my wet shoes slipped a bit giving me a scare. Soon I was on the trail and feeling ok.

The hill at 3/4 reminded me of HS XC and I pushed a little harder passing a couple of runners.

I felt my GPS vibrate and saw my 6:05 for mile 1. Just about right. As I approached the top of the hill a shadow began to grow to my left. I heard a runner gaining quickly. I glanced at the shadow's head and saw a bouncy ponytail. I then realized that I was about to be chicked! She appeared on my shoulder and I said "Go get em." She said "grr mmm hill" I pushed a little but she pulled away.

Mile 2 headed down a bit toward the lake. About 1 1/2 miles I saw the leaders that had already turned at 1 3/4. I closed on one Jamul runner and followed him through the U-turn and made the push to pass.

About 1 1/2 miles in.

He didn't go with me so I had to work the uphill alone. I knew there were a couple of 50+ guys chasing me and some series points. I clocked mile 2 at 6:01, a bit surprised and happy! The balance was uphill and then on the wet grass to the finish. My legs were a bit toasty, mile 1 and 2 quicker than I've done this year, and I ran 6:36 for mile 3. Considering mile 3 was uphill, a lot, and I went out a bit above my current fitness, I'll take it.

Approach to the finish line.

5k's are too short for me. I am so used to long road races that each XC race has been a learning experience. I am pleased with my opening 2 miles and did press during mile 3. Each race has demonstrated improvement in my fitness. This is a fun course and it did remind me of the courses I ran in HS in New Mexico. As they say, "Back in the Day."



Not a good look!

The gory details:
Official 19:19
Place 24th
Age Group 50-59 3rd
Age Group 55-59 2nd

We stayed for the awards ceremony, I received the 2nd place medal in the 55-59 year old age group. Decent, but I was trying to get the 100 winner points! Actually it is a very nice XC medal!

2nd 55-59 AG

JoAnne and I took the drive home and enjoyed a relaxing breakfast in the backyard. A quick shower and we drove over to Karl Strauss Brewery in Temecula for an Artisan Cheese Board and Beeramisu.

Next race takes me back to San Diego to...the 51st Annual Ursula Rains Balboa Boogie 5K @ Morley Field, San Diego CA. Great another 5k! OK less beer, more footspeed!

11th Wild Duck 5K August 20, 2016

My training has been going fairly well considering it has been over 90 degrees, every day, all summer long. To make matters worse, I hopped on the scale Friday night and saw that I was 4+ pounds heavier than the day before the Boston Marathon!

Waking early on Saturday JoAnne and I took the 40 minute drive to Oceanside. (it may be Vista I haven't figured out all the town lines yet)

Guajome County Park is located near nurseries, farms, and farm stand's that offer Citrus, Avocados, and other tasty foodstuff. It is a popular place that offers camping as well as hiking. It has become the location of the 1st race of the San Diego Imperial association's Dirt Dog XC Series.

We parked and strolled over to the start line and bib pickup. This was to be my first race as a member of the San Diego Track Club 50+ Team. Three races were scheduled, the Masters 5k, the Open 5k and a Junior 2 mile. There were some local High School XC Teams working out and it appeared that at least one team was running the open race.

I headed out to warmup and preview the course. The first 3/4 mile was slightly graded uphill which quickly turned into a rather harsh uphill. After the first mile the course was flatish, one hill at 2.5 miles followed by a downhill to the finish.

Returning to the start area, the temp was rising and it felt marine layer humid. I stood around chatting for about 15 minutes until the starter arrived.

After a few announcements we were off!

Amanda had given me advice on the running the first mile that I either had forgotten or ignored. I reached the first big hill and worked it a bit too hard. Anyway, I passed Mile 1 in 6:11 and knew that the heat, and that hill, were going to chip away at my pace. I tried to hold the pace as the course, a mix of sand and packed dirt, flattened. Mile 2 was 6:18. Mile 3 was a loop near the lake and through the picnic. At 2.5 miles there was one final hill that quickly deposited everyone onto a downhill straight dirt road toward the finish. I was hot and covered with sweaty dust (or dusty sweat).  Either way, I tried to press down and make a decent run for the finish chute.

Crossing the finish line I was instructed to hand over the tear off portion of my bib.

Official time 19:36
2nd in the 55-59 Age Group
7th in the 50-59 Age Group
27th Overall

I haven't figure out how to find online results...no Coolrunning. But I believe I do pick up some points for the Dirt Dog XC Series Individual competition. And I am not sure how we placed as a team.

The awards ceremony was short with the biggest giveaway of shirts, hats, and swag as I've never seen. I snagged a nice SDTC sweatshirt and Dirt Dog Dogbone medal for my effort.

Afterward we took a short drive to Carlsbad for pizza and refreshments followed by a lazy walk on the beach.

Next stop, the 42nd Balboa 4 Miler in San Diego, September 3, 2016

Wild Duck XC August 20, 2016

I took a month after Boston to relax, work on the new home and pork up a bit. Sometime in May I figured it was time to start running again.  With some help from Steve Vaitones, I transferred my USATF-NE Association membership to the San Diego-Imperial Association.

The depth of running clubs locally is not nearly the same as in NE; however, they have the competitive spirit. I signed with the San Diego Track Club, looking forward to running with the 50+ Team for the Dirt Dog XC Series. There are 8 XC races http://sandiego.usatf.org/Programs/Cross-Country.aspx scattered throughout San Diego County. And...complete all 8 and garner the ever coveted IronDog recognition!

The first race is in Oceanside/Vista on August 20, a 5k that hopefully will shake off some rust. Amanda has put together a schedule that is gently bringing me back into condition. I've taken the opportunity to run most of my training on the trails at the Santa Rosa Plateau. I was a bit worried in July, it was hot here, when the temps were staying above 90 degrees every day. Since then, I have become accustomed to the heat and train through. Long runs are back as well as shorter intervals.

 On the home front...

It has been so hot...that my freshly planted avocado trees were getting burned leaves...had to put up some sun screens.

Meanwhile, since we are in a hot spell and severe drought, we decided to plant Waterwise and low maintenance front yard. Apparently the cactus loves it. Eventually the rest will catch up.

And while still figuring out how to decorate the new house...I'm thinking of having the balusters sandblasted and painted light grey to match the lighting fixtures and making new hand rails from quartersawn oak.

While I miss running in NE I still follow the competition and read the running blogs! And I am looking forward to becoming part of the running community here in Southern California