I ran Mt. Laguna on Saturday with some friends, 20+ miles in the mountains, single-track through meadows, around lakes and among wildflowers. These runs don't come around too often, and they are good for the soul.
My last two long runs consisted of parking at the coast, running south to Solana Beach, meeting friends, then running north to Carlsbad. It's a beautiful run along the coast, running with the waves and salty ocean smells, but it's flat and it's pavement, and it gets old. Plus, it's at 0 elevation, and running mile after mile on asphalt was wearing on me. I could feel the fatigue and soreness in my legs; I was aching for the trails.
So, early Saturday morning I drove out to Mt. Laguna, considering myself very fortunate to be able to drive a mere 80 minutes and run at 6,000 feet elevation on single-track and on a short stretch of the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail.
I wanted to get some early miles in. The majority of the group was starting at 8, but Anders joined me for nearly six miles on the Big Laguna trail at 7. We joined up with the rest of the group and ran through the Laguna Meadow to Penny Pines and the Noble Canyon trail-head. We then crossed over to the PCT, then back to the Big Laguna Trail. Chris and I did another leg out to Big Laguna Lake and he pushed me the last mile or so, and I was grateful to be able to run with him. Either my fitness is really improving, or he ran the Leona Divide 50 miler 7 days prior (finishing an impressive 8th overall -- way to go Chris), one of the two.
It was a beautiful day, a great run, and I had a smile on my face for the rest of the weekend.
Sunday was a rest day, spent with my wife and our kids. We took the kids down to the Batiquitos Lagoon trail and had a nice Mother's Day hike. We saw lizards, blue herons, white egrets, funnelweb spiders, wild celery, fennel, and we squished lemonade berry between our fingers and tasted the tart residue.
My last two long runs consisted of parking at the coast, running south to Solana Beach, meeting friends, then running north to Carlsbad. It's a beautiful run along the coast, running with the waves and salty ocean smells, but it's flat and it's pavement, and it gets old. Plus, it's at 0 elevation, and running mile after mile on asphalt was wearing on me. I could feel the fatigue and soreness in my legs; I was aching for the trails.
So, early Saturday morning I drove out to Mt. Laguna, considering myself very fortunate to be able to drive a mere 80 minutes and run at 6,000 feet elevation on single-track and on a short stretch of the 2,650 mile Pacific Crest Trail.
I wanted to get some early miles in. The majority of the group was starting at 8, but Anders joined me for nearly six miles on the Big Laguna trail at 7. We joined up with the rest of the group and ran through the Laguna Meadow to Penny Pines and the Noble Canyon trail-head. We then crossed over to the PCT, then back to the Big Laguna Trail. Chris and I did another leg out to Big Laguna Lake and he pushed me the last mile or so, and I was grateful to be able to run with him. Either my fitness is really improving, or he ran the Leona Divide 50 miler 7 days prior (finishing an impressive 8th overall -- way to go Chris), one of the two.
It was a beautiful day, a great run, and I had a smile on my face for the rest of the weekend.
Sunday was a rest day, spent with my wife and our kids. We took the kids down to the Batiquitos Lagoon trail and had a nice Mother's Day hike. We saw lizards, blue herons, white egrets, funnelweb spiders, wild celery, fennel, and we squished lemonade berry between our fingers and tasted the tart residue.
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