Sunday LSD Run Recap (continued)

I'd heard mixed reviews about Iron Man 2, but I had no complaints.  Maybe a little too "Transformers"-ish with heavy reliance on frenetic CGI action scenes, but it was idle fun.  Legs hurt sitting in the crowded theater. I would have liked to have been able to elevate them or stretch them during the movie.

Anyway...continuing my entry from earlier...

The morning run was hard.  The temperature was perfect (cool, but not chilly; overcast from the AM marine layer; no wind).  There were a few walkers, some with dogs, along the first route, but mostly empty at that hour.  I ran with Quin's Droid Eris just in case I needed to check a map, but I had a pretty good memory of the route and never had to use it.

The trail was easy to follow and well-maintained.  The main trails of the Piedras Pintadas (PDF file) are wide and the ground surface is packed and good to run on.  I reined in my natural instinct to bound off and kept what I think was a reasonable, relaxing 9+ minute pace.  I didn't run with my timer going, so I can't say for sure.

I took a looped course that brought me around to the south side of Lake Hodges and around some finger estuaries, one of which was where Chelsea was ultimately found.  There's a segment of trail there with a fence and  sign that reads "Let Chelsea's Light Shine" and a small light which, I assume, is lit in the evenings.  Not far beyond there I encountered a small snake on the trail.  No rattle.  Probably harmless, but I gave it a wide berth.  From that point on I kept an eye out for others.

At the far end, the trail climbs a bit of a promontory, and I had to stop a few times to take in the view.  Standing atop boulders, I could get a nice, panoramic of the trail park and the lake.  I'd love to try to convince my kids to hike out there with me.  Joan too.  I was feeling good still and surprised that 20 minutes had elapsed already.

The trail reconnects with itself at the bottom of the hill and I retraced (mostly) the path back to where I'd started and then connected with another loop that would take me on a narrower, single-track along the Hodges south shore and back to West Bernardo Rd.  I loved this section.  It was winding, undulating and very quiet.  It runs tightly above the bank of the lake and is hidden behind a large hill so that the highway sounds are completely non-existent.  It felt very remote, and the wild chaparral tended to close in on the trail.

Dumping out on West Bernardo, I was back to asphalt for the last few hundred yards and returned to my car.  I'd finished the 5-mile route, including stops, in about 45 minutes.  I spent 5 minutes putting 24 oz of water back in me and washing down a half a roll of Shot Blocks.  I took the rest of the roll with me and set off again for the Highland Valley trail (PDF).

The transit over to the east side of the highway isn't scenic, but at least there are no street crossings required until you get to the trailhead parking area.  As before, I constrained my pace, though I was surprised to be feeling a little tightness in my front hips so early.  It might have been the short ups and downs of the trails, which is a different sort of running than the generally flat or gentle grades of most of the street and sidewalk running I've done.

I saw no one at all along this section.  The trail was single track the whole way, and the further away from the trailhead I got, the more closed in the brush became.  Some sections were tough as I had to pick up my knees high to climb, and I had to power through the doubt that was starting to ride on my shoulder.  I wasn't halfway done and already I was feeling the fatigue.

When I got to the turnaround point, I was surprised to see the trail continued on across Sycamore Creek Rd.  I would have liked to have followed it further, but I had a plan to stick with, so I turned around and went back.  I picked up my water/food cache back at the trailhead and started walking while I drank and ate the rest of the Shot Blocks.  I figured I'd walk to the bridge, but I realized that though my legs were getting sore, my air was fine and I wasn't breathing hard at all.  So I could jog a little and still drink and eat.  So I jogged to the bridge and the halfway point with another 45-50 minutes now gone.

The run from the lake crossing to the boat ramp was difficult.  (Trail map PDF.)  It was only a little less than 3 miles but I struggled.  There were lots of mountain bikers along this trail, so my solitude was over.  Plus, the trail wasn't as novel since I'd covered this ground before.  I didn't like carrying the water bottle either, and when I finally reached the boat ramp, I ditched the bottle at some empty picnic tables near the parking lot, planning to retrieve it later.  For some reason, the 2 miles from there to the turnaround point weren't as bad.  Psychologically, I guess crossing the half-marathon point gave me a second wind.

My hip flexors were screaming during the final mile of up-and-down trail running before the Hideaway parking lot.  Some of the bikers careen through the trails too fast, too, and there are some blind corners.  So I had to keep a vigilant ear open for them.  When I got to the parking lot, I found my hidden bag and devoured the banana.  I rehid the bag and took the Gatorade bottle with me as I started back, walking at first.  I wasn't sure now if I was going to be able to handle the 5 miles back to the bridge.

But I did...in chunks.  One mile to the small park at the entrance to the road to the boat ramp.  Then a mile from there to the boat ramp parking lot.  I used a slower runner for motivation who I could see in the distance.  I overtook him and kept a steady, swifter pace, trying to stretch the hips without over striding.  I took a few extra minutes at the boat house, scrounging for water.  I had to use the faucet in the men's restroom.

I did "run/walk" for the next 3 miles.  I'd run for 9 minutes and then walk for about 30 seconds.  That actually helped pull me through.  It was tough to get started up again after each rest, but after a few strides, I'd be back at a regular pace and actually feeling decent, before I'd start to bog again around the 9 minute mark.  Then walk...rinse...repeat.

I reached the south end of the pedestrian bridge right around 9:45, which meant I'd been going for almost 3 hours and 15 minutes.  I couldn't help calculating, but I figured if I ignored the 10-15 minutes I'd used for pit stops along the way, I'd covered the 20 miles at about a 9-minute pace.  I also saw my shoes and lower legs for the first time, covered in red clay dust and dirt.  I felt kind of macho.  It LOOKED like I'd run 20 miles.

Oh, and nipple chafe?  It's real.  The syndrome was made light of in an episode of The Office, but as I slowed to a walk at the end of the bridge, and felt the sweat start to pool, it was then that I felt the irritation of the wicking, polyester fabric of my technical running shirt.  Ouch.

I knew 20 miles was satisfactory, but I wanted to gut out 2 or 3 more, so after a quick stop at the car for water and a couple of oranges, I did a final slow 2 mile ramble back through some of the Piedras Pintadas trails, exploring the far west side where trail maintenance blocked me from making an easy full circle loop.  I took 20 minutes to go about 2 1/4 miles and decided to call it quits.

After adding up all the extra decimals, I figure I managed 23 miles in all (22.65 to be exact), and despite my soreness and fatigue, felt confident that I could have done 3 more, especially if it was flat.  I loved the hilly trails and forgiving loose surfaces, but it was hell on my hips.  Surprisingly, the ankles did well.

So that was that.  I came home to a take-home order of American Fries with Jack cheese and jalapenos Joan had brought back from the Potato Shack.  They'd gone there for breakfast, seeing Bob, Tami and Trevor off for Disneyland.  Even reheated, they never tasted better.

As hard as this was -- and as sore as I know I'm going to be tomorrow -- today was a fun run.  Yeah, I felt like quitting at points, but it helped teach me what to expect during that 2nd half of the marathon.  The 2nd 13.1 miles is nothing like the first 13.1.  I'm going to feel pain.  I'm going to feel fatigue.  My pace and my gait are going to change.  I've got to accept that.  And it reaffirmed to me the absolute importance of staying hydrated and adding some carbs to the tank before the glycogen runs low.  I already knew what happens when I ignore that piece of the puzzle.  Today, I got to see what a difference fuel early and often makes.

I do have one long run left to do, but it'll be less than 20 miles.  I'm planning that for Friday, on "Bike to Work Day," but I'll cover that later.