Saratoga Gap to Horseshoe Lake

I woke up this morning knowing that I would have a full day ahead of me. The day would start out with a long hike through Saratoga Gap in the Santa Cruz Mountains and then, after that, take part in a virtual race called 8 on the 8th. Not a lot of activities, but a lot of physical activity.

I arrived at the intersection of highways 35 and 9 where I parked on the southeast corner. It was freezing out with the fog still filtering through the trees and it was in the low forties. My friend I was hiking with was running late so away I went to run a mile, heading towards Castle Rock. Immediately I realized two things: my hands were frozen and the trails were absolutely beautiful.

A few minutes into my warm up mile I was hearing the pitter patter of water so I stopped to listen. It turned out the fog was so thick that it was dripping off the trees. A great feeling as I ran up the hills. By the time I had finished the mile I had climbed almost 300 feet, so it was a decent climb. By the time I got back to the parking lot my friend had just gotten there.

As soon as we started I began recognizing certain landmarks. I knew that the Stevens Creek 50k I had ran in September ran through Saratoga Gap at some point, but having never been there I had no clue where that was. It turned out that where I started this hike was the 10.9 mile aid station, but I didn't know this until the end of the hike.

As we were going through the lush forest I was continually amazed at how beautiful everything was. Deep green moss was on every tree with huge towering giants that left you protected from the sun (if it had come out at least). Eventually we got to an intersection and I just had to stop. I'd been there before and yet I didn't recognize the 2+ miles I had just walked at all! I can't believe how different everything looked from summer to winter.

Soon enough the trail led us up to the ridge and opened into a valley with fog billowing around and swirling with the wind. Very Tolkienesque and I expected Tree Ents at every corner. Here was yet another amazing change in landscape as we moved from the cover of the forest to a ridge line open to the sun and full of grass. My hands were completely numb at this point and there wasn't anything I could do to warm them up. That's what I get for leaving the gloves in my room, right? Won't make that mistake again.

We eventually moved past a private pond , down a fire road to a Christmas Tree farm where there were a ton of people having picnics, playing and cutting trees down. The smell was amazing. Eventually we made it into Horseshoe Lake, which I most certainly recognized from the Stevens Creek 50k because this was where the 19.3 mile aid station and where the finish was. And it really looks like a horseshoe!

So here was where things kind of went wrong. We had hiked 9 miles so far and since I had inadvertently traversed the same route that I had ran the 50k and I thought, lets return back to Saratoga Gap via the route I had ran from the start of the race. I mean, I hadn't recognized anything to that point and had still managed to take the same route from mile 10.9 to 19.3, so the same would happen, right?

Wrong, and we were lost within a mile, walking trails I absolutely didn't recognize. Eventually we were on Grizzly Flat trail and had our first creek crossing. But the peaceful atmosphere turned sour when Grizzly Flat turned out to be the trail from hell: straight up for almost 2 miles and it seemed never ending.

After 18.3 miles we eventually made it back to Saratoga Gap and it took all day to do, what with the stopping, resting and admiring our surroundings. We had to cross a creek, avoid the slow meandering and clumsy salamanders on the trail, hear deer jumping along the side of the mountain, huge and alien looking mushrooms. It was absolutely amazing, with the exception of the extremely numb hands.

And I couldn't believe that unbeknownst to me in the beginning I had ran Saratoga Gap, which was about 10 miles of the Stevens Creek 50k. Perhaps it was the dry and brown conditions compared to the lush and green conditions; perhaps it was the fact that the last time I ran through there I was tired and focused on one foot in front of the other. Who knows, but if you ever get a chance you should definitely walk the trails before or after a race and truly experience the trails. Or, better yet, take time to smell the flowers when you run trails. I know I was absolutely floored and amazed at what I had experienced when I took my time.

Of course, since this took all day, I had to move the 8 on the 8th virtual race to another day.

7/15 - 7/21 Summary

This was a good week for me in terms of running and exercising in general. I was able to do a variety of terrain and worked a lot of different muscles, giving me a nice all around workout.

Sunday - Half Marathon + .55 Mile Warm Up
Monday - 4.12 Treadmill
Tuesday - Rest Day
Wednesday - 3.85 Trail Running, 1.26 Treadmill
Thursday - Rest Day
Friday - 4.22 Treadmill
Saturday - 7.05 Trail Running

The week started with the Jungle Run Half Marathon, so I was able to get in a decent distance at a good time, comparative to the running I should be doing for the Marathon. Pace was good and I wasn't tired or sore from the race, so that is always a good sign. On Monday I went in and did a 3 mile warm up before working out my chest and triceps, and then did a 1.12 mile cool down at a 1.5% grade on the treadmill. This was important because I wanted to see how my legs felt the day after the Half Marathon, which again, as stated above, is a good measure on how conditioned my legs are becoming.

Tuesday was a rest day, but for the purposes of this site a rest day simply means I didn't run. Instead I did a 16 mile bike ride that had a total of about 700 feet elevation, 500 of which came at the last half mile. I love throwing in a bike routine because it still works out my legs but doesn't stress them as much as running. Wednesday rolled around and the fun began. I went out first and ran 3.85 miles of trail running with an elevation gain of around 500 feet, again most of which was in the last mile. Then I went into the gym and worked out my shoulders, with a 1.26 mile gentle cool down.

Finally I come to Friday, which again was a weight training day. I ran 2.11 miles for a warm up, then worked out my biceps and back, and then did a 2.11 mile cool down. So far the week was pretty easy, until I came to Saturday. It started with a 3.85 mile hike with my sister that had a 500 foot elevation gain. Great trail to hike and is in fact the same trail I ran on Wednesday. Then my sister left and I ran the same trail, but then when I got to the top I turned around and did the trail in reverse, giving an elevation ascent of around 800 feet, running for a total of 7.05 miles. This was a killer. I hadn't felt this beat up since I ran the Marathon and Half Marathon last year. My left knee ached and my right calf was pulsing.

All in all, I ran 33.85 miles, the second highest miles per week yet. Great week and I think I learned a valuable lesson, one that I have always known but never actually experienced, which is that trail running is a completely different sport from concrete/pavement/road running. This week things will taper off and I will hopefully get in around 10 miles as I lead into the weekend and my first big run of the year.

New Training Routine

Recently I've felt that I needed to step up my training for two reasons. The first is the obvious one, which is that my pace and endurance has outstripped the amount of miles that I've been running every week (which was an average of 13.1 a week) as well as only running roads/paved paths. The second reason is that I now know that I will have to run more often in more varied terrains in order to increase my endurance. This past week was my first week in a step towards that direction.

Sunday: 10k Race, 1.5 mile cool down (Flat, Paved Path)
Monday: Rest Day
Tuesday: 13.15 (Flat, Paved Path. Endurance Run)
Wednesday: 4.11 (Treadmill. Five .25 Mile Speed Legs)
Thursday: 5.56 (Trail Running)
Friday: 3.48 (Trail Running)
Saturday: 4.02 (Trail Running)

I started the week off with a 10k race and set a PR. Always feels good to run a better race than the one before. I've had a packed few weekends in a row so I decided to take Monday off and rest, but this only lead to some downtime, so I finished Ultramarathon Man. Couple the inspiration from this book with the PR and I went out on Tuesday and ran my longest single day training session at 13.15 miles. Ran it nonstop and faster than I have ever ran a Half Marathon. The kicker with this, though, was that the next day I didn't feel tired or sore, which is much different than my previous long runs. This was a huge check mark off my list of steps that needed to be reached, which buoyed me for the rest of the week. Finally, the last two stages of the week: speed and hills. I did a short speed session on Wednesday and then the rest of the week was all Trail Running at Mount Madonna. Elevation gain was huge, with the last run amounting to about an 1,100 foot ascent over 2 miles, 3/4 of which was in the first mile. In addition to the running I was able to get in about 8 miles of hiking. It felt great to hike the same trails before or after my runs. Could focus on the trail and actually feel the calves and hamstrings burn. Great trails.

With my endurance run, speed runs and hill running worked into my routine I feel much better about my endurance for the upcoming Marathon. Couple those with the 38 miles I ran last week and I am very pleased. The next step would be to continue this routine through the coming weeks and months and watch as my endurance grows.

San Francisco Marathon

The Devil Made Me Do It

It is the only explanation to why I would sign up for a marathon. I had recently climbed Half Dome. It took me 10 hours to climb the 17.5 miles. I was sore, I was chafing, but I was alive. I was also out of shape, 30 lbs overweight, but that didn’t stop me. So why couldn’t I run a marathon? Two weeks after Half Dome I was out drinking with the friends when I decided I would sign up for the San Francisco Marathon. No biggie, right? Well, it was. I had absolutely zero training and the only running I had done was a mile or two warm up before weightlifting. And here is the kicker. The marathon was three days away. I had no clue about anything that revolved around a marathon. I didn’t know people trained for months at a time. I didn’t know anything about how to hydrate myself on the race, nothing about pacing. Absolutely blank slate going in to this. All I had was my drive to accomplish something that I had always wanted to accomplish. So I went out and bought brand new running shoes. Ha, lets compound matters.

San Francisco Marathon - 5:47:16 (13:15 pace; 3700/4086) Stats

San Francisco is about an hour and half away from where I live, and the race started at 5:30. Suffice it to say, I didn’t get much sleep before the race, about three hours worth. The anticipation, though, kept me awake and alert, and I felt ready to run a ton. I didn’t realize it at the time, but race jitters got me and I had to go to the restroom about three times. The lines were huge. In fact the race started when I was still in line, but I wasn’t worried because my wave was way in the back. Finally done, I joined my wave and we were herded to the start line. Eventually we were off running and the first five miles felt great. I was keeping a 9 minute per mile pace and hadn’t stopped to walk yet. I thought that was pretty good for no training. Then the first “mini” hill. I walked. From there on out it was torture. Eventually we got to the Golden Gate Bridge and the view was amazing. The sun rising, the fog lifting. Amazing. I walked a few more times and by the time I ran across the bridge and back I was already exhausted, and I was only at mile 7. This was where I began plotting when I would quit. I figured the Half Marathon would be good time to stop.

So as I turned into Golden Gate Park I was slightly relieved. My knees were hurting, my thighs chafing and I was out of breath. To top it off, I wasn’t drinking enough fluids. But then I had to make a choice. The Half Marathon split off to the left and Marathoners had to go to the right. I could see the finish line for the Halfers and I was so close. My resolve stepped in and I knew that I had to continue on. I mean, how can you go half way and then stop? From here on out you were essentially on your way back to the finish line. So I stopped and went to the restroom. As I was standing at the urinal it felt like I was swaying, as though I were on a boat and it was rocking. It made me laugh at the time.

Slightly refreshed, I continued through Golden Gate Park and did a loop around the lake. This was a dreadful part of the race because you can see all the runners and the distance that you must cover. It felt like it never ended. The scenery was great but I didn’t really have enough focus to enjoy everything around me. Eventually we headed out of the park and back into the streets and gradually made our way back to Embarcadero St. At one point I had someone yell out of a window, “There’s no walking in a marathon!” I know now there is and it is a good tactic, but at the time I could only shake my head. The streets were tough. It was getting later into the afternoon and the heat was picking up. The runners were getting more and more spread out so the miles seemed to stretch longer and longer. I wasn’t doing to hot at this point. People were passing me everywhere. I mean, old overweight people were passing me. I’m thirty and should be passing them! But I couldn’t get myself to speed up and catch them. I was done.

The longest part was the last few miles. Most of it I spent walking. I could feel myself getting closer, but I didn’t have any energy left. I could only shuffle walk every once in a while. I eventually crossed the finish line in 5:47:16. Sore, tired, chafed and could barely stand. This was perhaps one of the most stupid things I have ever done without proper preparation and knowledge of what I was getting into, but I had done it. I had finished a marathon. In the end, the only thing that kept me going was my resolve, was my will power. I knew I could do it, so I did it.