Too Awesome for Snot Bubbles

PCTR Sequoia 30K
Joaquin Miller/Redwood Regional Park

I'll get to the slightly cryptic title in a moment. First, I would like to draw your attention to the fabulous picture of the trail tarts pre-race this morning. This is why I love trail running. Other people might be running around, stressing about this or that-- but we spent a good 15 minutes shooting hilarious pictures like this one, in which you can clearly see the hoof-like characteristics of our hands, in honor of Suzanne's zebra arm panties.

(I'm getting some arm panties with my Zombie Runner gift certificate, I just haven't decided if they're going to be leopard or zebra. Seeing as a zebra pair and a leopard pair already run the PCTR circuit, I suppose I *should* get giraffe, but what's fast (or fun, really) about a giraffe? I want Moeben to create a pair that are tiger print, or maybe I should get the flame pair, but then I'd have to get gaiters to match...Such fashion dilemmas!)

Anyway, besides acting out zebras before our race, we also showed how strong we are. Wouldn't you be afraid if you saw us blazing down the trail toward you? No? Oh.

In any case, despite being doubled over with laughter looking at these pictures, we managed to get started. As seen in my previous post, the knee thing has definitely been annoying lately, and I really wanted to just finish with a pain-free run. To this end, I decided to run with Suzanne, who was running the 50K and who I figured would go out at a good pace-- not some ridiculous "Look at me run up the trail for the first 3 miles" pace, which is what I tend to do. Plus, it's easier to run relaxed when I'm running slower.

The race followed quite a bit of the trail we did two weeks ago, running up and down French trail, but today was minus the sheets of rain pouring down. It was a great day for running-- cool and overcast but not raining. I kept checking in with myself, trying to be positive and relaxed. I realized shortly after the 30K turnoff that when I engaged my core muscles when I ran downhill, my knee didn't hurt. Oh, so THIS was what the PT was talking about last summer about the importance of core strength? It was a pretty obvious thing, too. It made me really happy about all the yoga I've been doing, because I could feel different muscles engaged throughout the run, particularly when I got tired.

After the turnaround point, I was feeling really good and I started taking it a little faster. A very little bit, but I kept checking in with myself and trying to use my core muscles whenever possible. I feel like I'm finally "getting" why core strength is important. Duh.

The rest of the run felt good-- I was definitely running stronger in the later half of the race than I usually do, and I'm going to try and keep this in mind at Pirate's Cove, when I'm going to do the 50K, but also for AR50. Major note to self: GO OUT SLOW. There is plenty of time in a 50K or 50 miler to pick up the pace if need be. Right.

After I finished, I had some chicken noodle soup, which has become my new favorite post-race food ever. I got to see Jo Lynn, who did the 20K, and chatted with some of the other regulars of the PCTR community while waiting for Suzanne to come in.

The best line of the day came from the RDs' son, who reminds me that part of the reason I loved teaching middle school is because really, I have kind of a middle school sense of humor. At one point, after a particularly funny episode that will not be detailed here (yet which involved, not surprisingly, bodily fluids of the nose), he pronounced himself "too awesome for snot bubbles," a declaration that made me almost hurt myself with laughing. I would hate to see those who didn't make the awesomeness cut.

Great day again-- can't wait to do the 50K at Pirate's Cove next month!

The Tarts Go Hardcore

Joaquin Miller-Redwood Regional Park
(Sunset- Sequoia-Bayview- Castle- West Ridge- French- Fern- Stream- East Ridge- Canyon- Stream- West Ridge-Dunn-Joaquin Miller Rd)
(15 miles)

Yesterday I was going to do a long run, but I wimped out due to tempestuous conditions. This was serendipitous for me- not because of the weather (which was rather worse today), but because l'autre Tarte des Trails was doing a loooong run in Joaquin Miller/Redwood and thus I had some company!

I thought at first I would only run a portion of Suzanne's planned 4 hour jaunt, as I was feeling somewhat nervous about the state of the knee after last Saturday's DNF. I did yoga four times this week, which reminded me every time that I have ridiculously tight hip flexors and quads. This must change, I think-- especially based on today's results. My knee was feeling pretty good, but I was thinking that 2 hours or so would be a good goal.

I woke up this morning slightly dehydrated from a fun dinner the night before. This, added to the sheets of rain falling outside my window did not exactly make the thought of hitting the trails especially tempting. However, I had informed Suzanne I would be there, so I suited up, put the dog in the car and headed for Joaquin Miller.

When we got to the trailhead, the rain was coming down so hard, it was making tons of noise on the car's roof. Running in the deluge was about the last thing I wanted to do, but there I was. And there Suzanne's car was, too, so it's not like I could claim I got there and she wasn't.

Amazingly enough, it wasn't hard to find each other. For some reason, there weren't too many runners out this morning. We waited around a couple of minutes for Steve, who was supposed to join us, but then decided hypothermia wasn't a good plan for the day and took off. Fortunately, we met Steve coming down the trail a few moments after taking off (he did a bunch of miles before meeting up with us), and the three of us (plus Neko!) took off.

I don't have many pictures from the run because everything was so soaked, I didn't want to take my camera out too much. (It's making some strange noises tonight-- I'm a bit worried I got it too wet.) However, running today was lovely. If you could get over the fact that every single piece of clothing you were wearing was absolutely soaked, it's hard to complain about towering redwoods, dripping ferns, green, green, green moss over everything, and then, when it broke up a bit, wispy clouds sitting on the tops of the trees. Suzanne pointed out that this looked very "Middle Earth" and I could not agree more.

The other good news? I ended up running 3 1/2 hours today and my knee did not hurt at ALL. (Ok, so we weren't setting any speed records, but you try running through ridiculous puddles and up and down French trail and then tell me how fast YOU run!) I couldn't be more pleased-- I have definitely been worrying about AR50 and my knee, and while I don't think I'm out of the woods, I felt so much better today than I expected to, I have much hope for the spring!

The big winner of today though? Neko. I think this is the longest run I have ever taken her on, and let me tell you-- she is a dog built for endurance. An hour and 45 minutes into the run, she was still bounding around, trying to get someone to play stick with her! I think at about 2 1/2 hours, she finally started running with us, as opposed to bounding up, back, around and around. I think that I actually tired her out today though-- another first! She has been sprawled out, sleeping on the floor the entire afternoon.

Great day today-- definitely a day that earned us our "hardcore" stripes as well. Just ask Neko.

Race Results- Sequoia 20K

Well, here are the results for the Sequoia 20K. It's strange though, because a couple of years ago, I was placing much higher in these races... hopefully it's because more (fast) people have started running these races, too... that's what I'm going to tell myself, at any rate.

Sequoia 20K Race Report

Pacific Coast Trail Runs Sequoia 20K 

Course map

Well, for once I did a run and have absolutely no pictures to show for it! I haven't done a "fast" race in a while, or a race in which I was continually moving. (The amount of uphill at Ohlone let me take tons of pictures.) If you want to see the kind of trails I was running on, check the posts from Redwood-- we started in Joaquin Miller, but most of the race was in Redwood. 

It was nice to go to a local race-- I didn't have to leave the house until 7:30, which felt late for a race day. Once I got there, I met Becky and Nancy from the RW forums, and then was recognized by Jo Lynn from my blog! (Yes, I felt like a celebrity-- I think that's 2 of my 15 minutes of fame used up so far...)

Going out, my plan was to try and hold it back as much as possible until the half-way point. I keep going out too fast, and with a bunch of long races planned for the fall, I need to figure out how to pace myself better. Having the Garmin for that really helped. I felt like I was nice and controlled for the first 6-7 miles. 

Part of the first section was the notorious French Trail, as chock-full of straight ups and downs as one could desire, but a lot of this race was relatively flat and fast. I think that I am going to try to incorporate a run a month on the French trail and one a month on Mount Tamalpais, because I need the up/down practice for 9 Trails. 

After French, the race curled back on Baccharis and Graham before ending up on West Ridge for a while. The relief I felt when I was on a trail I knew (I remember this feeling from 9 Trails last year) convinced me that I need to practice running on the trails for Dick Collins in October. 

The second half of the race went by pretty fast until the last 2 miles... at which point I could feel my blood sugar dropping. AGAIN, I need to eat more on runs. I ate 2 shok bloks at around mile 6, but then got carried away, thinking "only 4 more miles! don't stop to eat!" I also ended up with a very strange right butt-cheek cramp, the likes of which I have never felt before. I think it might have to do with the effect of the core strengthening I've been doing-- I felt like I was running a little different today-- definitely felt stronger around the lower abdomen area, which is great-- but what's up with the ass cramp?

Overall? I'm pretty pleased with today. I felt strong until the blood sugar moment (my legs felt fine-- I just had no energy), and my knee was great. I feel pretty good about where I am-- probably I won't end up running enough before Skyline to the Sea (because when do I ever?), but I'm much less worried than I was a month ago, when I saw the PT. 

Golden Spike Redwood

Dunn/Golden Spike Loop

West Ridge- Graham- Dunn- Golden Spike- Monteiro- Dunn- Baccharis-West Ridge

(8.36 miles)

This was a great new trail for a midweek run. The trail started at the Skyline Gate parking lot, leading to the right on West Ridge. The West Ridge trail runs in and out of shaded areas and sunny, dry areas that put me in mind of Santa Barbara chaparral. West Ridge leads mainly downhill, but this section gently rolls as opposed to some of the steep drops coming later.

It was a little unclear at times if I had reached a trail junction as opposed to a short trail

 leading to the neighborhood nearby, and I needed to stop several times to check my map. However, upon reflection, every time I came to a junction, there was a clear sign. Lesson for Redwood: if there is no sign, it's not a junction. Keep running.

At the intersection of West Ridge and Graham, the trail leads to the right and drops sharply. There is plenty of chance to practice technical downhill running on this trail--there were one or two sections where I did not practice my newfound technique but almost walked, it was so steep. 

Graham trail runs through huge redwoods until the junction with Dunn. At this point, the trail leaves the shade and continues to drop down, offering chances to practice quick footwork over big sandstone rocks. I almost took Dunn back but then decided to add a couple of more miles and turned right instead of left, heading towards the EBRPD building. This section gets a little tricky, because it seemed like there were several places to turn off, but eventually I ended up at the Golden Spike turnoff.

I have no idea why the trail is named Golden Spike, but this is a trail worth running. Single track, no bikers (I only saw one other person the whole time I was on the trail-- for a run in Redwood after work, that's pretty impressive.) and probably very muddy in the spring. The trail starts low and almost immediately I found myself running up some very steep switchbacks. The steep uphill sections are not excessively long, but they definitely work the legs. I kept telling myself that practicing uphill in the second half of the run would be good for Ohlone, too. This is a beautiful trail--it winds through trees, offering glimpses of views through the trees and steadily ascending until the Monteiro

 trail junction. The Monteiro trail continues up the hill... as does the Baccharis trail-- all the way until ending up back on West Ridge, which I took back to the parking lot.

Again, Redwood is a great place for the pups-- lots of happy dogs bounding down the trails today. It's also worth running Redwood right now to see the plethora of wildflowers lining the trails. Sticky Monkey Flower can last in the heat of summer, but many of the tiny wildflowers out now will not last past a few hot weekends. 

Midweek Redwood

West Ridge-Stream-Canyon-East Ridge

(8.37 miles)

I'm just getting to know Redwood, I must confess. I have only hiked here a couple of times, but the past three weeks, this has been the Wednesday rendez-vous, and I'm definitely becoming a fan. The only problem is coming here after work and not taking Neko, because Redwood's trails are very dog-friendly. You can have your dog off leash! Yay Redwood!

Redwood's trails alternate between exposed ridge and shady, um, well, redwoods that line the stream running along the floor of the canyon. This means that it is impossible to run in Redwood without doing some hills. Fortunately, the hills are almost entirely runnable. The French trail definitely gets steep in sections, but the steepness is short--this is no Grand Canyon. Unfortunately, the parking lot is at the top of the ridge. This means that every trail in Redwood ends with uphill of some sort. The East Ridge trail never gets steep enough that you would feel truly justified in walking, but every time I run it, I spend the last 3/4 of a mile thinking, "Where is the f*****ng parking lot??"

The West Ridge trail heads right from the Skyline Gate parking lot and gently winds downhill for 3 1/2 miles or so, at which point it drops into the canyon. Having read a discussion on techniques for running downhill today, I was practicing my technique for Ohlone. Look ahead, stay relaxed, lean forward and not back, let yourself go, pick your feet up behind you, be light on your feet-- it was

a little overwhelming and I do not feel anyone would have mistaken me for a mountain goat today. (Honestly, I hope that

I would never be mistaken for a mountain goat-- I like to

flatter myself that I am cuter and I smell better... except for maybe after Ohlone...)

West Ridge ends at Stream in the bottom of the canyon, where the shade keeps the flora green all year; springtime is even more extreme, and small blue flowers illuminate the shade from the trees.

We even saw some fauna today-- a deer and this rather large banana slug. (Does a slug count as fauna?)

We took Canyon trail up to East Ridge. Canyon has become a quiet time for Alex and me. Perhaps I should rephrase that. Canyon is a no-talking time for Alex and me, because the sound of us sucking air is anything but quiet.

Anyway, this is a great midweek run, and will probably make me even more sad when daylight savings time ends and I cannot run in Redwood after work.

I will end with a picture of one of my favorite plants. This is sticky monkey flower,

and it grows all over California. It reminds me of hiking with my parents in Santa Barbara and backpacking when I was growing up. I learned today that the Miwok used the roots to treat fever and dysentery, and the leaves to treat sores and burns. Great example of form meeting function...