Holy Jim - West Horsethief Loop

Yesterday we hiked/ran up Holy Jim to Main Divide and across to West Horsethief for a 14 mile loop. The weather was nasty up on Main Divide at 4,000 feet. It was 45 and windy with on and off rain. It took quite a while for my hands to thaw after we started to decend. It took us 3 hours for the trip. We started out with 35 runners and returned with only 34, offering one up as a sacrifice. :)Actually, Kristy took a wrong turn and ended up in Corona (35 miles away from our cars) so she called her hubby to come pick her up.

Pictures:

I'm not sure what Pete was dressed up for. Looks like he was heading to a triathlon or bike race. Don't I look nifty in my $5 Tyvek jacket? Jeff, Andy and Kyle looking relaxed at mile 13 while we waited for some others to make sure they stayed on the trail. All three of those unassuming gents completed 100 milers this year and Kyle finished 3rd in the Angles Crest 100. Dudes can run.

Long Run

I ran 21.25 miles (to be exact) this morning and I averaged 9:13 pace at an average heart rate of 131. My legs were pretty shot at then end. I took short 15 second walks every mile and I discovered that they don't help as much as the 30 second breaks that I've used in the past. This was my first of four planned 20 milers to get ready for the Pacific Shoreline Marathon on Feb 4. I ran 54 miles this week which was supposed to be a recovery week after last Saturday's half marathon.

I took my brand new digital camera to the Footlocker XC championships in San Diego yesterday and I took 4 pics and got a "memory is full" message. Geez, I'm not surprised that added memory is needed, but I figured it would come with enough to take more than 4 pictures. On top of that, the beautiful leather case I bought for it is too small and it's not worth returning after paying shipping and restocking so I'll just give it away and try to find another case.

S. Cal Half Marathon

Well I ran a great race time of 1:32:00 at the S. Cal Half suffering with two side stitches during the middle miles and blisters on both feet over the last 3. I probably could have run 30 seconds to a minute faster without the stitches because my legs and wind were still pretty strong but I decided to just keep the same pace and not push for a few extra seconds. 4th place in my age group. Wow. The weather was perfect 45 at the start and 55 at the finish. My heart rate was higher than ususal, must have been the adrenaline. I averaged 172 over the race and stayed at 175 over the last 5 miles.

Dino Dash, Tustin, CA 11/5/06

It was at the 5 mile mark that I caught up to them. He was tall, at least 6 foot five and she was about at most 5 foot three. They seemed an odd couple to be running together at a distance appearing as parent and a child. As I pulled up even with them, I heard both of them breathing hard, a joy to my ears. I tried my best to keep my approach silent as I sized them up. I let them pace me for a bit as I tuned in to how they felt and enjoyed their company. She was completely out of gas and he was sympathetic to her plight, urging her on. I readied myself for the final push to the 10k finish and at the 5.5 mile mark I moved in front of them. Slowly I began to pull away and the sound of their labored breathing faded. I smiled to myself as I strained to hear a few last few gasps. I turned a corner on the course and stared into the rising sun with my heart beating steady and strong. Feeling energized after pulling away from them I headed to the finish.