Trail Runner Go!

I am not a Pokemon Go user.  The only thing I know about it is what I've read on the internet, so you know my knowledge is limited and probably about 50% accurate.  But when Wendy at Taking the Long Way Home suggested a Running Treasure Hunt, I thought that would be fun!

Trail Runner Go equals the same number of syllables as Pokemon Go, so I knew my treasure hunt needed to take place on the trail.  Because having the same number of syllables in a blog title is extremely important and how I plan my runs these days.  Or as Wendy put it, "those thoughts about roadside treasure inspired a theme custom-made for the lazy running blogger."  I headed to the trail on Tuesday morning.  It was a perfect morning in So Cal - low 60s with about 30% humidity.  Don't hate, when Fall appears across the country we'll be dealing with Santa Ana winds with temps in the 90s, single digit humidity, and fires.

I've run this trail many times and ridden hundreds of miles on my mountain bike here.   I've seen deer, rabbits, coyotes, bobcats, more birds than I can name, snakes, and bear tracks.  But evidence on the trail told me what my treasure hunt would lead me to on Tuesday:

These droppings were a little different.  Bear?  Mountain lion?  I don't know...

This tree reminded me of the time a few years ago when I was on my bike.  I saw smoke billowing and decided going home was a good idea.  The fire that morning was about a mile from our house.

More evidence on the trail...

My plan was to run 5 miles because that is all I seem to be capable of lately.   When I hit the 2.5 mile mark the hoof prints were looking more fresh so I thought I'd go just a little further...

Hay!  Whatchoo looking at?

It was funny to see them all start hoofing away.  They didn't want anything to do with me!

Fortunately it was only an additional quarter mile so I finished with 5.5 miles.  And one more treasure on my hunt:

Thanks, Wendy, for the fun idea!  Linking up with Taking the Long Way Home.

Marathon Training Week 8 Results

This was a good week.  I saw both my primary care physician and my gynecologist.  My numbers are really good!  I am vitamin D deficient, but other than that I'm super healthy.  My gynecologist said I'm the healthiest person she knows.  I had my first ever bone density scan and my bones are A+!  Thank you, years of running!  My blood pressure continues to stay in the normal range.  Yep, a good week!

Sunday:  Rest Day
Result:  Rested

Monday: 5 Miles Easy w/6 Strides (pace 9:58 pace)
Result: Walked 4.81 miles in 1:17:49, 16:10 pace
Typical Monday.  I had nothing.  But I got out anyway.

Tuesday:  8 Miles Hills (no planned pace)
Result: Ran 8.01 miles in 1:38:58, 12:21 pace
Another trail run.  There is a HUGE difference when I run 7 miles on the trail vs. 8 miles.  The half mile from 3.5 to 4.0 is super steep, averaging 12%.  It's tough going up and a killer coming down.  I knew my quads would be angry the next day!
I saw a beautiful 3 point buck run across the trail right in front of me.  He came from the right and continued up the hill to the left.  I was too slow to get a picture, but I slowed down and just watched as he made his way up the hill.

Wednesday:  Rest
Result:  Rested.  Definitely had angry quads.

Thursday: Time Trial
Result:  Rode 10.21 miles in 1:12:18, 8.5 mph
It had been a couple of weeks since I'd been on my bike.  My quads were still a little sore, but my heart and lungs enjoyed it.

Friday:  4 Miles Easy (pace 9:58)
Result:  Ran 4 miles in 55:37, 13:54 pace
I didn't want to run too hard or fast, so I purposely chose a hilly route.

Saturday:  14 Miles LSD or Half Marathon  (pace 10:04-11:04)
Result:  Ran 18 miles in 3:17:19, 10:58 pace (plus walked 1 mile warmup/cool down)
I decided since I didn't run my 18 miler 2 weeks ago, I needed to do it today.  It was 100 times better than last week!  No stomach problems at all.  I took water and Hammer gel, nothing containing Xylitol.  14 of 18 miles were under 11 minutes.  None were under 10.  Steady, steady, steady!  Major confidence builder.
According to Suunto, I need 119 hours of recovery time!  That is Thursday morning!  I don't think I'll be taking that many rest days, but definitely tomorrow.

Total planned miles: 30
Actual miles
Walking  5.81
Running 30.01
Cycling 10.21
Total miles 46.03

Weekly Review

Next week is my last "free" week.  Marathon training starts a week from tomorrow.  After running my 10k on Tuesday, I didn't have a lot of motivation the rest of the week!  I did cross the 1,000 mile mark for the year this week.

Sunday - Ran 5 miles in 55:45, 11:09 pace.
I opted for a hilly route. 

Monday - Rest day

Tuesday - Ran 6.21 miles in 59:49, 9:38 pace
Shew!  I was so glad to get this done!  I would love to run it even faster, but that was tough!  It's a long distance to go all out.
Also walked 1.12 miles, warm up and cool down.

Wednesday - Rode 11.70 miles in 1:01:17, 11.5 mph
My legs didn't feel sore when I got up but as soon as I started up the first little hill they hurt!  I decided against the trail and just rode around the neighborhood.

Thursday - Rest day

Friday - Rode 13.2 miles in 1:29:17, 8.9 mph
Trail ride.  Saw lots of bear tracks.  I've been seeing them about every other week or so.  I'm not interested in seeing the actual bear.

Saturday - Walked 3.9 miles in 53:52
After yesterday I had about 37 miles for the week.  I knew if I ran a half marathon I would have another 50 mile week, but I just didn't have it today.  My Strava title was "New Shoes, Old Legs."

Total
Running - 11.21
Walking - 5.02
Cycling - 24.90
Total  41.13

Trail Running Adventure

I'm not going to waste your time giving you reasons/excuses/sob stories/lies about why I haven't blogged here in over two months.  No reason really, just lazy! 

I have been very active - running and cycling.  My new favorite is trail running.  I've been going about once a week and it's so enjoyable.  I know I can't go as fast, so I don't worry about pace, I just get my heart rate up and go.

This morning, I really got my heart rate up at about the 2 mile mark when I saw this:

Yep!  Bear tracks!  Bear tracks that I followed for about 1 1/2 miles.  They were definitely fresh, no foot prints or tire tracks over them.  There is a bear that lives in the hills behind the cattle ranch and in dry conditions, he/she's been known to come down the trail looking for water.  This usually happens late summer, but with our current drought it makes me wonder if he'll be heading to neighborhood pools by then!

The trail splits at the 3.4 mile mark - the bear tracks went left towards the cattle ranch and I went right, further up the trail.  I turned around at the 4 mile mark with 866' of climbing in my legs!

I'll try to do better about blogging, at some point I will start marathon training again and that will make for more interesting weekly reports!

Kicking Off 2014!

Les and I were up until the New Year - California time!  10:00 p.m. Hawaii time was bedtime for us because we both had big plans for this morning.  Les is still gone on a bike ride.  I kicked off the new year with 10.84 miles.  I ran Tantalus, with a little additional spur.

That spur is called the Pu'u 'Ualaka'a State Park.  It was just under a mile out and back, but had some bite to it.  There is about a third mile that is straight up at more than 9% grade.  I hit this just after the 7 mile mark - it hurt!

There is a scenic overlook and as always, the views are worth the pain!

There are also a bunch of roosters on Tantalus.  It's fun hearing them waking up the neighborhood since I'm already awake.  Not sure I'd want them for neighbors if I was a night owl!

Hau'oli Makahiki Hou!  Happy New Year!  Here's to a fabulous 2014!

Week in Review

Happy first day of Winter!  Christmas is upon us and 2014 is just around the corner.  I'm doing my best to finish this year strong.

Sunday - Rested
I took a complete rest day.  It poured most of the morning, so it was easy to do.

Monday - Ran 6.91 miles in 1:16:01, 11:00 pace
Nothing spectacular about this run, a little sluggish, but I did it.
Also met Les for lunch - walked 2.3 miles.  I noticed one of my sandals felt funny, when I got home I saw why!  Yes, I have done quite a bit of walking this year!

Tuesday - Ran 4.6 miles in 57:25, 12:29 pace
I had total lead legs, but the full moon was awesome!

Also walked 3.5 miles

Wednesday - Walked 2 miles
This was my rest day

Thursday - Ran 10.01 miles in 1:53:08, 11:18 pace
Took another trip up Tantalus!  This is such a hard run, but so rewarding.  I had a little bit of everything on this run - calm, dry, windy, wet, full moon, and sun rise!  And strong legs!

Friday - Walked 6.2 miles
I was pleasantly surprised that my legs didn't hurt after yesterday's run.  I spent the morning at the Honolulu Zoo, then meandered home by way of Waikiki and the International Marketplace.  I asked this guy what he thinks about running...

Saturday - Ran 8.69 miles in 1:44:06, 11:59 pace
First day of winter in Hawaii = 68 degrees with 94% humidity.

Totals
Running 30.21 - I'm liking this number a lot better than the last couple of weeks!
Walking 13.5
Total 43.71 miles
Pilates 2 times, too.

Weekly Report

Another week has come and gone.  We are back in California.  While we are here the time change will take place (Fall Back on November 3rd), but it won't happen in Hawaii.  They don't change their clocks.  This means we will only be two hours different and jetlag won't be quite as bad, but it also means it will still be dark in the mornings in Hawaii.

Sunday
Rested

Monday
Ran 7.31 miles in 1:36:52, 13:15 pace
I was very sluggish this morning, not really sure why.
Also walked 5.1 miles

Tuesday
Rested

Wednesday
Ran 6.1 miles in 59:52, 9:49 pace
All of my miles were under 10 minutes on this run!  It was flat, but I kept pushing to keep my pace under 10.
Also walked 3.0 miles

Thursday
Ran 9.86 miles in 1:54:35, 11:37 pace
This was another trip around Tantalus.  My legs were a little tired after Wednesday's speedy run, but I got it done!

Friday
Rest
We got in at midnight Thursday night and I didn't even attempt anything.

Saturday
Ran 6.46 miles in 1:13:34, 11:24 pace
It was a cool 48 degrees when I ran this morning.  I heard coyotes howling and geese honking and loved every minute!

Total
Running  29.73
Walking  8.10
Total miles:   37.83

Marine Layer = Perfect Running/Cycling Weather

We've been home for a week and go back to Hawaii on Monday morning.  I have enjoyed the weather so much!  The days have been warm, but the mornings and evenings have been so pleasant.  54-58 degrees for lows all week.

Sunday - Rested
Les had a 6:45 a.m. flight, which meant getting up at 4:45 a.m.  We were still on Hawaii time so that equated to 1:45 a.m.!  Not to my liking at all.  I needed a very large coffee about half way through Sunday school!

Monday - Ran 6.30 miles in 1:06:56, 10:38 pace

Tuesday - Rode 12.5 miles in 1:14:17, 10.1 mph
This sign was on the trail:

There was a bear on the trail a couple years ago that never caused any trouble, so I bravely forged ahead!  I had great plans to ride several times this week, but this ended up being my only ride.

Wednesday - Rested
I stayed up way past my bedtime on Tuesday night (as in, I didn't get home until after 1:00 a.m.!)  But it was worth it to spend time with some very special friends!

Thursday - Ran 7 miles in 1:21:25, 11:38 pace
I definitely I prefer the hills and cooler temps of Simi to the flat and warmer temps of Honolulu!

Friday - Rested
Les and I planned to get up and go riding, but it just didn't happen!

Saturday - Ran 10 miles in 1:50:00, 11:00 pace
Les is always looking for a "square" ride, so my goal for this morning was a "square" run. 10 miles with over 1,000 feet of climbing = square.  My total elevation gained was 1,146 feet.  I won't get that in Honolulu!

Totals for this week:
Ran 23.30
Rode 12.50
Total 35.80

I'm also happy to report that I am now down 7 of the 10 pounds I gained earlier this year... it's always easier to put it on than it is to take it off, but I'm headed in the right direction.

Chasing Hamburgers

Les and I went riding this morning.  Las Llajas, of course.  The trail is perfect right now, the little rain we got a couple weeks ago has knocked all the dust off, but it's not muddy yet.

This morning I decided to push on up to what we call "Sunshine Mountain."  This is 5.7 miles from our house and pretty much all uphill.  I haven't ridden that far since before the marathon, so I didn't know how I would do.  Well, I got fourth woman overall on the segment called "Oil Wells Climb."  This is 1.2 miles with an average grade of 10.4%, some parts are close to 20%.  I watched my heart rate climb and climb, finally maxing out at 169 BPM.  It took me 24 minutes and 17 seconds to ride that segment!  A 24 minute mile while running is crawling, but doing this on the bike is killer!

After catching our breath, we headed back down.  The fun part!  About a third of a mile from the top, Les slowed.  "There's a momma cow and her calf."  They were just ahead of us on the trail, running for all they were worth to get out of our way!  They finally took a short cut that led back to the ranch, while we headed for home.  You just never know what you're gonna see on Las Llajas!

Not "our" cow, but this is what she looked like.

Total ride:  11.4 miles in 1:33:22, 7.3 mph average.
1,638 feet of climbing
Average HR 137
Max HR 169
Calories burned 690

Have you ever seen anything crazy while out running, riding, or walking?

Creatures of the Night

I realize running in the early morning, especially in the Fall, can be a little frightening.  It's still dark at almost 6:00!  The town we live in, Simi Valley, is regularly ranked as one of the safest cities in America.  Violent crime is low, but I know there are still creeps in every city. 

With that in mind, I headed out for my run at 5:07 this morning.  I ran in well lit neighborhoods and I did not turn my iPod on until it was light out.  I wanted to be completely aware of my surroundings.

It was about 6:15 when I had my one scare of the morning.  I was running along, had my iPod on, was starting to feel pretty good, when something ran in front of me.  I thought it was a very large rat until it turned around and I saw a face that looked like this:

A young possum!  He was the ugliest thing.  I screamed a little as it stared up at me with its beady eyes.  I quickly got away from him, then I had to laugh.  I've seen everything from deer, coyotes and bobcats, to rabbits and squirrels, but that little possum gave me the biggest scare yet!