Category: Hiking-Trails

Lost

Last week hit me like a truck and then put it into reverse. Have I already said that?

Maybe trying to limit my carbs and cut back on artificial sugars all in the same week was a bad idea. Both are at Dr’s orders. I’ve watched my carbs before and I admit, I did feel better but why do all the best foods have so many carbs?!?! I am starting slow and trying to moderate my numbers during the day and not stressing about dinners yet. I also may have taken the weekend off as well…oops. As for the artificial sugars, I am trying to cut back on everything except Diet Coke- we all have our vices right? But I use a surprising amount of Crystal Light so it’s taking a moment or so.

I didn’t work out all week, even though I kept telling myself I would. I even had an extra 15 minutes on Friday morning due to a doctor’s appointment but did I work out in the morning? Nope. And I really didn’t that evening as my morning appointment was for a couple of biopsies and the sites were angry that evening. Didn’t stop me from being stupid over the weekend though.

Saturday, I headed out early afternoon to get in a few miles. For the most part, I felt ok and ran/ walked 3.67 miles. My right foot was starting to blister and the biopsy on my back was starting to talk so I called it.

Sunday arrived and I was up early and heading for the coast. It’s been too long since I got lost. Obviously, getting lost was not the plan but sometimes trails with my mother turn into adventures as she does not know how to stick to a plan. We were on track for the first 3 miles and then we went off course. Took a trail neither of us has been on before with only a general idea of where it went. Also one of the steepest climbs… and it just kept going!!! Also it’s hard to oreint yourself to the ocean when you can’t see. Luckily we could from the top of the climb so I knew we were on the right track. Chose the right way through a couple of trail intersections before landing on a wide trail/ road. Which then led us back to the main road…like I thought. What I did not think was how far out on the main road it would spit us out. Like 2 miles out on a narrow winding death trap road. Oops.

I was pretty positive I could get us back to the cove by taking a trail on the other side of the road- the Dune Trail. Aptly named because it’s all dune sand. My mother lasted maybe 1/3 of mile before we were back on the road. Ha! After what felt like a longer trek than the previous 7ish miles, we were back at the car. 9.85 miles for the day. Big oops. But long enough to tell me these trail shoes are a big no. My left foot still feels bruised today. Grrr. Also, the back biopsy is very angry. Dumb.

So my levels of running go from none to getting lost in the state park…yep, sounds about right.

8 Days

2020 was not what any of us had expected. Instead of training and running my third marathon, I was a lazy layabout for most of the year when not at work. Oops.

So when my Santa Rosa medal and swag arrived in the mail in early December I was a little stumped. Oh yeah, I was supposed to run that. Huh. What do I do now? There was no way I could run or walk 26.2 miles in one day. Was I supposed to bury it a drawer? Save it for next year? Hmmmm.

Yes, hmmm. I couldn’t do 26 miles in a day but could I do it in a week? 7 days?

I know running that in a week is nothing like running a marathon in reality but also truth moment- I logged 33 miles in November. All of November. And November was a good month for me in 2020. 26.2 miles in a week was asking quite a lot of my body actually. But I was on PTO for a week so why not try it?

I even made a teeny tiny Google sheet to track my miles and times.

I notched just under 4 miles on Monday with that numb foot mess of my Hot Chocolate 5K. Great start to the plan right?

Tuesday, I dragged the old spin bike out of the back shed and down to the garage. Dropped it on my foot and managed a 20 minute ride after cleaning the hell out of the bike. Spiders, eek! But also, a ride doesn’t count.

Wednesday saw me turning in 4 miles that were actually ok. I read a something on Twitter that actually reframed my thought process a bit and it really helped. Shocking, I know.

Thursday, I hit up the lake path for the first time in months and ran 4 laps. That added another 4.62 miles to my total. Yes, I was being that precise. Everything helped. I was also ensuring to keep plenty of walking in my miles. I mean, let’s be real- both of my real marathons contained a lot of walking and I am not a complete idiot. I know how out of shape I am.

Which was made apparent Friday, when I was feeling pretty crappy and never made it out for my run. Crap.

Saturday saw a spendy trip to REI with my brother as well as hike up Three Bridges. Good god, I cannot keep up with him. Another 3.62 miles added on. And steep ones at that.

Sunday, I headed out for 4 and then 5. But then thought, well, I do need to run a 10K for the Holiday Running Festival so why not? It’s been a long time since I went for a run and then decided to add on miles. It was a good feeling. 10K done and around 6.5 miles added.

But, that was day 7 and I hadn’t hit 26.2 miles. Crap. Whatever, it’s 2020, who needs rules?

Monday was my last day of PTO and out I went for my last push. 3.45 miles that I pretty much crawled as yes, I was feeling it in my legs and I was tired. 26.45 miles in 8 consecutive days.

I know most people wouldn’t count it, hell a lot runners run 26 miles on their weekend runs- but this was a lot for me, right now. Both physically and mentally. I feel like I did something to earn that medal though.

I also may have found something I was missing out there during those miles. Haven’t felt that in a long, long while, so yes, I will hold this medal proudly.

Escape Day 3- Devil’s Bridge

Friday was our last full day in Arizona and as amazing as the Canyon is, we wanted to see some other sights as well. We were up early and headed off for Sedona.

Sedona feels like a completely different world from the Grand Canyon. There’s just something about it. We were both super sore from the previous 2 days so we knew we weren’t up for something intense. So after a stop at the local Golden, errr Teal, Arches, my mother says- hey I found a trail. It’s called Devil’s Bridge and it’s only a 1.8 mile round trip hike. Ok, sounds pretty chill.

The trail head was crowded so we had to park on the street just as many others were doing. That should have been the first sign. Since it was a short hike, I didn’t feel like taking my pack and almost didn’t take water. I grabbed a bottle at the last moment and shoved it in my handheld.

As we walked into the trail area, the second sign appeared. This one literal- Devil’s Bridge, 2 miles from this point, take water. Hmmm, ok, I knew we parked on the street but it shouldn’t be 1 mile to the trail head??? And it wasn’t. Color me confused.

We picked up the trail and headed out. I was even more confused as there were a lot of cars in the trailhead lot not to mention those that parked on the street- but there was no one on the trail? The only people we saw were a couple of mountain bikers who were headed for a different trail. This continued for almost a mile. Were we lost?? The trail finally dumped us out onto an OHV road with an arrow saying it was the way to Devil’s Bridge. Ok?

Other than the deep sand we were walking in, the trail was fairly easy. But there was no way this was 1.8 miles roundtrip. Then we hit another trailhead. Huh? This one was only accessible by foot or by a high-lifted 4X4. Interesting. Not only were we running into more people, the trail was getting a little more technical. Ok. We kept going.

The views were amazing, so the extra distance wasn’t an issue. I had a Buff so I was keeping it up when people got a little close on the trail. It also helped me hide my facial expression when I overheard a conversation. A woman and man were hiking together and judging by their gear and clothes- they were athletes- runners or cyclists- something. But then I hear the woman say that she doesn’t like how spaced out the stone steps/ dirt was. It just wasn’t working for her stride and she wished it was different. Huh????? Sure, let me call Mother Nature about that right now.

The trail became more intense the closer you got to the Devil’s Bridge- like you now needed your hands to climb up rocks and steps to reach higher parts of the trail. Again, the parents letting their children run wild surprised me. There was a lookout point and then one last rocky climb up to the level of Devil’s Bridge– only to discover where all the people were. There was an hour+ line for top of the bridge photo ops! What??

No, I didn’t wait. There were way too many people. I tried to take some arch pics from where I was and then I headed back. Now we had to negotiate those same rock climbs going down- and I ate it on the first one- like I bounced. So much for having a big backside- other hikers told me they heard my tailbone hit rock. Yep, felt that one. Ouch.

Then we hiked back out following the OHV trail the whole way. Where once again we saw a sign- it too said Devil’s Bridge was 2 miles from that point- but it was still 1/2 mile or so to the other sign that said the same thing. So the true length of the trail is anyone’s guess. My watch showed 4.6 miles roundtrip.

The trail was gorgeous but I was a little broken- so the rest of the day was spent just strolling around downtown Sedona, hitting all the tourist stops. I would love to go back and spend more time on trails, maybe just in better shape.

Oh and my backside? Bruises that rivaled my dog attack- and it hurt to sit for over a week.

Escape Day 2- Rim Trail

I woke sore and a little tired the morning after Bright Angel. Ok, my calves were screaming a little.

I headed back to the Grand Canyon later in the day, I had some fool idea about taking it chill on the Rim Trail and then watching the sunset at the Grand Canyon. Now, if you’ve ever been to the South Rim or pay attention to anything related to a compass or sunsets/ sunrises you might think this doesn’t make sense. Because it doesn’t. The sun does not set over the Grand Canyon, at least not from this rim. Which I realized I knew but forgot? Told you I needed a vacation.

Back to the trail- the Rim Trail is not a “trail”, it’s a paved path that runs the length of the South Rim. A one way trip on the path from point to point is around 13 miles. Even paved, I didn’t have that in me. I started at Bright Angel and headed East towards the Mather Point.

The path takes you along the Rim and is fairly accessible to everyone. That also means it was more crowded than Bright Angel the day before. My buff was up over my face most of the time. That didn’t detract from the views at all. Again, I think I took a few hundred pictures.

The path took us through The Trail of Time too, a exhibit about how the Grand Canyon formed over millions of years with rock examples. My former wanna-be geologist self was geeking out over the rock displays.

The various lookout points were the most popular so I didn’t spend a lot of time there. I was surprised at how many parents let their kids run wild. Most of the path is not secured by a fence or guard rail of some sort. It wouldn’t take much to slip or fall. But then I am also clumsy so I generally think of worst case scenarios.

And of course, there were the rule breakers- the ones who jump fences and go down rocks all to get a good selfie. The number of people backing up to edges was ridiculous.

The Rim Trail is advertised as little to no elevation change. And had I not done Bright Angel the day before I might have agreed. But the 600 ish feet we gained and lost in the 6ish miles we went did not feel easy. Ha!

I kind of feel like the Grand Canyon is the Disneyland of trails. Plenty of trash cans, recycle bins, bathrooms and water stations. I have never seen so many rangers out working the trail before either.

But for the love of Pete, pick up your damn masks people!

8-Disappeared

I kind of ghosted social media last week.

I didn’t mean to, I just kind of felt like one day it was Tuesday and then it was Saturday. Woosh.

The week started strong. With Monday off work, I headed down to a new set of trails that opened recently. Holy moly- it was like Disneyland! I have never seen so many people at a trail before. The good sized parking lot was full as well and we had to park on the other side of the freeway about 1/2 mile away. I was with my mother and she was feeling super sore so we picked one of the shorter trails. We ended up with around 3.5 miles.

The trails were very runnable and had gorgeous views. I can’t wait to go back. However, I was very irritated by the lack of trail etiquette by so many people. There were already trampled down short cuts visible and people were climbing all over a tree that clearly has signs saying to stay away. I may have snapped something very not nice at them.

Tuesday was a long day at work but I held strong and changed into my running gear. I headed out for an easy 3 after work. My legs were feeling the previous 2 days worth of running but overall it was a decent run.

After 3 days running, I knew I needed a rest day on Wednesday. My legs are not used to that.

I had planned on running on Thursday, I really did. I told myself if I ran on Thursday, I could enjoy a leisurely Saturday with no guilt. But thanks to some family drama- more ER trips, that did not happen. I did got to dinner with my mother though.

I thought about trying to run on my lunch on Friday but I chose to read a book instead.

Despite failing to run on Thursday, I did take the leisurely Saturday. With only a minor built of guilt.

This weekend was supposed to be chilly and rainy so I slept in on Sunday and headed out for my run in the early afternoon. It was not rainy. The run started off very sluggish and rough. I tried to not think about it at all and just keep going. Not gonna lie, I am currently using a run/ walk strategy for my long runs. And the running portion isn’t very long. Like I ran 9 miles in the time it used to take me to do 10. However, it is what it is and I need to stop stressing about or I run myself into a panic attack. So that is what I tried to do this run. I have to say that it ended much better than it began.

15.4ish miles for the week. Better than last week, time to keep moving up.

How was your week?