The Other Side of Diablo

Burnout Bear and I decided to complete this week's 22 mile long run on Mt. Diablo.  We set the bar high and decided to run over the mountain, down to Rock City, and back up and over.  This would be perfect preparation for the Ohlone 50k due to its double-mountain profile and steep, relentless climbs.

As we slowly got out of the car at the Mitchell Canyon trail entrance, I remembered the first time we parked in this same lot back in Sept. 2010:  We were heading for a hike that day and saw the setup for a race being cleared up.  There were tents and picnic tables full of food, and a humble finish line marked with caution tape and a large, red digital clock.  Nearby was a van labeled "Coastal Trail Runs".   It was love at first sight.  I walked up to one of the volunteers sitting in the biggest tent and asked for information about the events.  Apparently they had everything from a 5 mile race to a 50k!

I felt excited about the idea of trail running, but after our hike that day to Eagle Peak, I started doubting if I could do it, let alone on Mt. Diablo itself.  I had slipped on the trail several times and my legs were trashed from a simple hike which didn't even include the main mountain peak.  I was an ex-road runner, out of shape, carrying at least 10-15 extra pounds.  It seemed like a dream to run that mountain.  But I placed the Coastral Trail Runs flier on the fridge when I returned home and it served as a reminder to keep getting fit.  It is still posted on my fridge to this day.

And now here we were almost a year and a half later strapping on Camelbaks full of Hammer products and salt tabs, and lacing up our rugged trail running shoes for a training run.  Crazy!  And, well, that's what everyone else thought of us, as well.  We received so many random comments from hikers that I decided to jot them down:

• "Don't wait for us!  We'll see you up there!"
• "Go runners!!"
• "Oh, I can do that!"
• "Don't go too fast... You're going to make us look bad!"
• And when we asked the Ranger beforehand if there was water in Rock City: "Wow, you are going all the way to Rock City?? Good luck then! And are you coming back?.... TODAY?!?"

I guess we have officially crossed the line from "normal" (hiker) to insane trail runner.  And I couldn't be happier about it.  We managed to run all 23 miles (we missed a turn, adding another mile) in just over four and a half hours.  Not too shabby.

Just starting out - Mt. Diablo looming in the distance.

An awesome vista: you can see the bay from here.

That red speck is me carefully trotting down what I have called "Devil's Slide."

Rock City

Almost looks like Ohlone!

The Litmus Test of Old, Familiar Runs

For this "off" weekend, we decided to run familiar routes and see how they felt after weeks of training.

On Saturday, we ran 9 miles out-and-back with the Mission Peak Striders along Mill Creek Road in Fremont.  The road weaves through a valley between several hills up towards Mission Peak, following Mill Creek for most of the way.  The first 4.5 miles climb up Mill Creek Road approx. 1400 feet.  So, it is certainly a climb, but is runnable.  The road ends with a beautiful vista over Sunol, a wonderful treat for reaching the top of the road.  (Note that you can continue past the gate up to Mission Peak along a trail from this point.)  I actually find the 4.5 mile post-turnaround downhill stretch to be the hardest - either my shins or knees act up.  I love this run, but wish it was on an unpaved fire road, instead.

I felt strangely tired on this run, and actually ran a bit slower than I did a month prior!  This was extremely disappointing.  The work week prior was busier and a bit more stressful than usual, so perhaps this interfered with the quality of my run?  I hope that is the case because another possible answer is that I am simply not improving.

To aid in recovery, Burnout Bear and I eat a dinner of wild Atlantic salmon once per week.  After my slow run on Saturday, I figured that I could use the omega 3s and prepared the fish with Parmesan-crusted roasted fennel, mashed potatoes and asparagus.  We cut up the left over fennel fronds and mixed them into the potatoes, which worked well.  The roasted fennel was amazing and tasted just like onion rings!

Brushy Peak

Then, on Sunday we ran 7 miles around familiar Brushy Peak.  This is one of my favorite runs because there is always something new to see.  I felt much stronger today and the hills seemed noticeably easier than they did 4 weeks ago.  I don't know if I just had a better run than the day prior, or omega 3s are miracle workers, or perhaps my body is simply adapting more to trails.  I felt reassured that I am, in fact, slowly improving but will still encounter good running days and bad ones and will continue to have a rocky relationship with the watch if I scrutinize it too closely.  I guess this litmus test was not as clear as I had hoped!  Back to training!

Burnout Bear making his way up to Brushy Peak.

Lots of windmills.

Cow Party!

An adorable, downy calf.

Chabot to Las Trampas... and Back!

This past weekend was time for another long run in the training program: 22 miles.  We like to turn each long run into an adventure by finding new parks to explore.  Luckily, Sarah Lavender Smith posted a blog about her run in the EBMUD territory between Lake Chabot and Las Trampas just in time and we decided to give it a try.  We altered her run a bit and decided to run up and over Rocky Ridge into a staging area in Las Trampas to refill our Camelbacks.  The infrequently used trails provided a remote experience (we didn't see a single soul until we reached Las Trampas), but was a bit more technical than we were used to.  Even though we were paying close attention to the trail, we missed a few turns.  We tripped on branches and slipped on piles of leaves and mud constantly along parts of the Ramage Trail.  I would not suggest running this trail after recent rainfall unless you enjoy slipping and sliding.

After the run, I was surprised to see that the total elevation climb was over 6k feet!  It was certainly a tough run, but the only long, strenuous climb that I remembered was the path up to Rocky Ridge from both directions.  (The twin peaks that you see on the elevation chart.)  The rest of the trail profile was bumpy with very limited flat stretches, so the "bumps" must have really added up.

Overall, we had a successful run and brought the right amount of water, electrolytes and nutrition this time.  We encountered a few other "technical" issues, however, which were not trail-related...

Lessons of the day: 

1. Don't keep your car key in the same pocket as your GUs/snacks.  It can easily fall out unnoticed, resulting in a disappointing end to your awesome run.
2. Make sure to turn your cell phone off while running to prevent roaming from draining the battery.  This makes for a double dose of disappointment.
3. Don't keep a backup cell phone locked in the glove compartment unless you are sure that Lesson #1 has been thoroughly learned.  Now you are SOL.

What an adventure!

Our out-and-back route from Chabot to Las Trampas.

Whew.  Over 6k feet of climbing.

Be careful at this post.  Ramage Trail is straight ahead.

An example of the trail condition.

It took us awhile to figure out that the trail continues past the ropes.

Making my way up one of the many mud slides.

Cows along Ramage Trail.

One of the many obstacles along the way.

Yes, this is actually the right direction!

Mossy, green trails on the way to Ramage Peak.

Some areas were trickier than others.

Ramage Peak!

A vista of EBMUD territory.

A vista on the way up to Rocky Ridge.

We found several cute salamanders, like this one.  We raced him up the hill.

Badger Cove Revisited

While the first "off" weekend made me feel anxious, this second "off" weekend felt like a restful vacation.  And the Superbowl on Sunday made it an extra special rest weekend full of snacks, pizza, and wine.

We decided to run our "short" long run of 13 miles in Del Valle this weekend - this time along the Brazen Racing Badger Cove course.  We are running the half marathon race in March, so we thought that it would be fun to scope out the course to know what we were in for.  The course ended up being slightly trickier than we anticipated, both in its navigation and terrain.

We started at the snack hut in Del Valle park and ran along the lake for the first few miles, which were relatively easy... until we missed the turnoff from Swallow Bay trail onto East Shore trail.   It turned into a treacherous sideways single-track with a sharp drop down to the water.  I had a tough time walking and keeping my balance (running was not an option here.)  Anyhow, once we got back on track we enjoyed the runnable trails and views of Del Valle lake at the top of each hill.

We were definitely off track...

Del Valle Lake and some cows.

During mile 8 is where things started getting tough.  After a series of sharp ups and downs, the toughest climb of the course is encountered at this late point on the course.  This is unusual for a half marathon trail course and my legs were already feeling fatigued... I was trying to keep a good pace keeping up with Burnout Bear.

This half marathon course around Del Valle is perfect for anyone training on hills.  I recommend purchasing an East Bay Parks parking pass if you run in these parks a lot.  We purchased one this year and love not having to remember cash every time we go to the park and will probably end up saving a lot of money in the end.

I am looking forward to the inaugural race in March and think that it will fare well.  I just wonder how Brazen will work the single track up to the turnaround point... won't runners run into one another?  I guess we'll see!

Badger Cover course.

Tough hill at mile 8!