Showing posts with label Trail running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trail running. Show all posts

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Rodeo Beach 30K Trail Running Race --(12/18/2010)

map
這就是我們比賽的路線圖,下方寫著101的地方剛好就是金門大橋。


這是今年最後一場比賽了,所以,我們決定來點特別的來慰勞這一整年的辛苦,
那就是來一場30公里的山路賽跑,前一次來這裡的時候,我們跑過20公里的距離,
當時我最後2英里開始抽筋,然後一瘸一拐地跑到終點,
請參照上次的報告 Link is here : 海賊灣20公里山路賽跑
經過了一年多的訓練,希望我的經驗跟體力已經更上一級了。

第一次在冬天比賽,我們之前完全忘了會下雨這件事,
果真沒錯,結果最近一連下了兩個禮拜的雨,又濕又冷,
更不要說山上可能還會夾雜著強風,
 我在心裡已經做了最壞的打算了,那就是,真的情況太糟也就只有提早往回跑,
不過我還是把之前登山用的透氣雨衣帶著,
另外老婆也在前一天晚上趕工幫我做了鞋子的擋泥套,做好一些防水的措施。

早上6:30出門,整個天空就是烏壓壓的,下著細雨,接了張逸之後,我們沿著280HWY
往北大概開了1個半小時才到舊金山,一路上也是大雨,小雨不斷,
實在是不太看好今天的天氣,好不容易到了金門大橋,濃霧大到連橋都看不到,
車子得開上橋了,才勉強看得到原本紅色的鋼骨,可以想見這個霧氣有多濃,

過了橋的第一個出口,我們馬上開出去,接著一個左轉會通過一個隧道穿過整座山,
然後沿著路一直開到海邊,就是 Rodeo Beach 了。


這種天氣來比賽的人,居然還有那麼多,可以想見這個路線有多受歡迎。

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為了怕中途下雨,我決定穿著雨衣跑,這件$150美金的雨衣我一年穿不到五次。

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張逸決定輕裝上陣。

這次賽跑我的策略已經有所不同,跑山路不同於平路,對於我們這種業餘的人,
實在是沒有必要堅持全程都能用跑的,其實就連一些專業的跑者面對一些陡到不行的路,
還是得用走的,所以,我的策略是這樣,只要是坡度太陡,上坡或下坡,跑起來不舒服的,
我就用快走的,其他的才用跑的,這樣子可以讓腿的肌肉休息,
而我也可以趁機吃點東西,補充能量,然後就是每次到了補給站一定要吃點東西,
尤其是鹽的補充,才不會容易抽筋 ,其實經驗發現,用走的其實不會慢太多,
而且到了可以跑得路段反而能夠跑得更舒服,我之前就是太過堅持,
所以在上坡時死命跑,把自己累的要死卻也沒有取得多大的領先,
等到真的能夠跑的時候,卻已經累的跑不動的,
另外,很重要的就是,絕對不能讓肚子餓起來,一旦開始有餓的感覺,
就會好像瞬間身體的能量被抽乾一樣,再吃東西已經來不及了。
我去年就是這樣在最後的時候被一堆人追過去。

8:30AM 比賽開始,雖然是起大霧,但是卻沒有下雨,爬完第一個上坡,
我就已經穿不住夾克了,只好把夾克捲起來綁在腰上,
張逸每次比賽都說慢慢跑就好,每次的結果都是一個人往前衝,
一下子就不見蹤影,可能又是找到那個漂亮妹妹,跟著跑了吧。

我則是照著自己的節奏,上坡的時候調整自己的腳步,下坡的時候則是邊跑邊欣賞風景,
山上的霧氣更濃了,我根本只能看到自己的腳,還有前方10公尺的路,
隱約地能看到前面跑步的人的背影,所以其實也沒啥風景,應該是說享受這種神秘的氣氛吧。
很像是在武俠小說裡頭,一個人躲在充滿濃霧的深山裡練功,隨著山的起伏,
用輕功飛過山脊,跳過大石頭,衝下山谷,身體雖然很累,但是心情卻是非常的愉快。

山路的狀況就如我所預料,泥濘不堪,有些路段是泥巴夾雜落葉,樹枝,
直接從表面跑過沒啥問題,有些則是能從路旁有草地的地方繞過,
有些路段則完全沒有辦法,整個路面已經都是水坑,泥巴,
這時候只能硬著頭皮直接往泥巴裡跑,小心不要滑倒就可以,
有的時候也是蠻驚險的,根本就像是滑雪一樣,直接用滑的下去,
更增添了不同路況的樂趣,路上有個美國女生,只要遇到這種路就會高興地亂喊,
,看起來非常享受的樣子,哈,這才叫做真的越野賽跑.....
我後來乾脆就跟著這個女生跑,拿她當作是我的pacer,跟著她的腳步跑,
 順便跟她隨便哈拉幾句,到了最後一個補給站,她應該是知道快要到終點了,
所以沒有休息直接就出發,我則是多停了一下,吞了顆膠囊鹽,吃了點水果,
就再也追不上她了..

到最後一個補給站為止,我的狀況都不錯,腳沒有水泡,肌肉雖然酸,但是我知道我還能跑,
看到手錶上顯示15英里,哇哈哈,我已經開始高興起來了,
因為我已經破了自己山路賽跑最遠距離的紀錄,最後的3英里只要不抽筋,不出什麼狀況,
就不會有太大的問題,所以,我克制著自己想要加速的衝動,
在最後的一段路,還是保持自己的節奏,
最後這段路最難的地方在於下山之後,還有2英里的平路,
你的心裡知道快要到終點了,但是,身體剛從下坡的路況到平路,
感覺好像是遇到上坡一樣,兩隻腿因為已經經歷了三個小時的征戰,
加上剛剛承受下坡的重力,腿已經無法維持平常的姿勢,
心跳跟呼吸也開始加速,這時候只能說,盡量讓腳不要停下來,
跑慢一點也沒關係,但是,絕對不能停下來,因為,一旦鬆懈就會不想跑了,
用精神力把最後一點力量搾出來,然後把自己帶過終點線。

不知為什麼,這樣的感覺反而在到了終點之後,覺得更爽,
該怎麼形容呢,把自己的力量提升到另一個境界,一種征服了自己跟這座山的感覺。

  3個小時又28分鐘,跑完18.5英里......

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到了終點發現鞋子已經變成這樣了。

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手錶上的時間。


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來個勝利的姿勢。

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張逸跑完還是一副輕輕鬆鬆的樣子,這才是高手。



elevation
看這個就知道這幾座山有多陡了...

Summary
Summary.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
後記
         本來還以為回家之後整個人會就這樣癱了,結果,精神居然比想像中的好,
晚上還是看電視看到12點才睡,隔天也是7點就起床,雙腿的肌肉有點緊,
但是沒有肌肉酸痛,更沒有鐵腿,看來,我並沒有把體力搾乾,真想知道接下的一年
自己能夠再進步到什麼程度。新的一年充滿了更多的期待了。

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Weekly Running Log -- (Satatoga Gap Open Space Rreserve , 08/28/2010)

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很久沒寫跑步的事情了,不表示我們偷懶,只是我們都重複在相同的地方,
認真地默默鍛鍊著。

我一直希望能多去幾個不同的地方,至少把這附近的山都能跑過一次,
殊不知聖荷西除了是科技重鎮之外,也是 Trail Running 的天堂,
到處都是能夠讓人跑上一整天的山路,跟嘆為觀止的好風景....


 終於,這次又找到個機會到新的地方去探險,Saratoga Gap Open Space Reserve.
 其實,本來不是要來這裡的,原本我們的目的地是Skyline Open Space Reserve,


可是到了那裡居然發現:
Ranger  偷懶沒開門,整個山區都起大霧,而且溫度只有40幾度,
不相信自己的眼睛,我不顧一切打開車門,一瞬間冷風灌了進來,
刺骨的溫度讓我瞬間整個人都醒了過來,比喝咖啡還有用。
我的媽阿,這是8月的溫度嗎?更不用說我還都穿著短褲...
這種不合季節的低溫,讓我的雙腿已經不自覺地發抖....
經過三秒鐘的考慮,兄弟們馬上決定另闢戰場,暫時放棄這個地方,

回到車上,車外的寒風似乎還留在腿上,雙手搓個不停,
實在是不太像個要出來運動的人。

於是,車子往回頭路開,正好到了 35號跟9號公路的路口,GPS 顯示這裡就有個
open space reserve 找了半天才在路口旁邊看到入口的牌子
路口非常不明顯,如果不是因為太冷,我們可能完全不會找到這個地方,
可說是運氣很好。

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以後就是認這個招牌就是了

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非常不起眼的入口。


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35號跟9號公路的交叉路口


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Kai 冷到連夾克都穿上了。




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其實,這裡也很冷,只是剛好在背風坡,所以至少溫度還好一點,跑進樹林,陣陣的風
伴著濃霧,整個森林看起來非常有神秘感,還好不是在晚上,否則一定非常可怕。
不同以往的路線,這次的山路是先下坡,然後再上坡回來,基本上,我不是很喜歡這樣的安排,
因為下坡感覺上好像比較輕鬆,但是需要的腿力也是不少,回來上坡的話就得咬緊牙根,
用剩下的體力跟雙腿把自己帶回起點..需要更多的精神力量告訴自己一定要跑回去。

不過,說穿了,這都跟體力有關啦,夠強悍的話,上坡下坡都一樣,照衝不誤....

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下坡開始了。

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可以很明顯看到 Kai 的大腿肌肉

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這是我最喜歡的一段路,整個山路鋪滿了落葉,只有些許的陽光穿過,灑在落葉上,
跑起來非常舒暢....

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再來一張

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回程開始,大夥皮繃緊一點,全都是上坡...

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休息一下,順便照相。




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最後2英里,大家看起來都累了。


透過樹林來拍,格外有意境。


最後一段,這時候太陽才剛出來,Mountain biker 才剛要出發。

Trail running 有趣的地方,就是必須要一直調整速度跟肌肉來適應不同的地形,
從一檔到四檔都會用到,穿過樹林,跳過小溪,爬上山坡,用雙腳來感受山跟自然,
相較那些騎腳踏車的傢伙,用跑的實在是酷多了

GPS Data


More photos are here..
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tozilla/sets/72157624830137492/with/4936523493/

Tuesday, July 06, 2010

San Lorenzo River Half Marathon Trail Race (06/13/2010)

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I know what you guys are going to say about this.
I really should blamed that Coastal Trail Running Club which made this race too attractive , the river crossing part was so tempting that I even changed the distance from 10k to half marathon.
How could I miss that! It's trail running + river crossing we are talking about here.
Even though I just finished a half marathon race last weekend 460 miles away. Haha..

  start_briefing

San Lorenzo River, it was located in Harvey West Park, Santa Cruz. It took us 40 mins
to get here, not very far from where I lived. Another good place to visit in the future.
Because of this river-crossing, I was thinking
for days about how was I going to pass the river smoothly without getting my running shoes wet, and getting my feet injured in the water. Initially, I planned to  pass the river barefooted. But since I had my Nathan backpack, I should be able to carry a flip-flop.
However, the night before the race day, out of no where, I changed my mind again and decided to bring my Crocs with me by using my running belt.
As you could see in the picture, I had my Nathan running backpack plus the Crocs on my belt. As it turned out, I was over-concerned ! I was the only one who brought extra shoes for the race, kind of sissy ? 



Race started.

As soon as the race started, my legs gave me the sign of fatigue right away.
My calf were so tight that I ran only about 4 miles, I felt like I was going to cramp already.
Therefore I kept trying to distract myself and paid my attention to the girls in front of me...


The distraction trick was kind of working, but somehow she started to walk on the first
hill of the route, well, I had to say good-bye to my little helper.







I can hardly catch my breath , but running in the red wood forest was so amazing. It made
you feel like you were in a "Zan" state , forgot all the trouble and just blended yourself into the forest. But, still, my legs was hurting me ....


Finally, the first downhill was ahead of me, I could even smell the river .. within seconds,
I was on a small beach, and ready to crossed the river.

So, I chose a rock to sit on, and started to take off my shoes. Runner 1, 2 jumped into
the water non-stop.
Then, I took out my Crocs and tied my running shoes around my neck. Runner 3, 4
jumped in the water non-stop.
I took out my camera, and started to walked slowly into the river. Runner 5, 6
arrived and walked right behind me. They were still in their running shoes.
After I crossed the river, I took out my towel , wiped my feet clean, and changed
my running shoes back. Runner 5, 6 passed me, and runner 7, 8, 9 just crossed the river.
Anyway, I was finally ready to go, more people were coming ..


Crossed the river.

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other river-crossing pics.

The river-crossing part was so..so..cool, thank God I didn't run the 10K, or I would be
too bored to death. The water was deeper than it was described on the website, I was all wet from waist down, include my ipod !! Because the music suddenly stopped when I was half way cross the river. But it felt very good ~~~~
I can't remember when was I last time in the river like this.

I finally made it to the turn around point and was not dare to stop, cause I didn't want to lose the momentum.
My legs were shaking and started to getting heavier as I tried to step forward...
Yi abandoned me after we crossed the river on our way back, somehow he just could climb the uphill
non-stop while I could only try to walk to keep up.  However, the big difference from my previous races was, I didn't let anyone pass me this time. Just kept pushing myself, ran if I could, walk while I still could but never stopped and rested. I believed I even passed one guy on my way to finish line !!
Anyway, another great and fun race was collected.

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Finally, finished time : 2:31:00

Some great runners were worth mentioned and showed my respect.  A group of people who were
in their 50's ran the 50KM race and finished the race in 8:25:20 !!!  Wow ~~~~


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Saturday, June 19, 2010

Weekly Running Log -- Windy Hill Open Space Reserve -- 10 miles (05/30/2010)

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Windy Hill Open Space was located in Portola Valley,
if you started from San Jose, took HWY 280 North, exit on Alpine Rd, headed south.
Turned right on Portola Rd, drived for about 1 miles, there was a small sign said :
"Windy Hill Open Space Reserve" , turned a shape left would be the parking log.

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parking lot

It was a beautiful day when we arrived, unlike last time, pouring rain, dark cloud and we
were forced to retreate. As usual, we chose a biggest route to explore it. Here was our plan:

1. Ridge Trail
2. Eagle Trail
3. Razorback Ridge Trail
4. Lost Trail
5. Annerversity Trail
6. Spring Ridge Trail
7. Back to parking lot

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starting point

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On the Ridge Trail

The Ridge Trail was a slow asending dirt trail, very good for the warm up our legs and adjusted
the pace. However the sign was a little unclear, we didn't even know we were on the
Eagle Trail already, and the end of the Eagle Trail was the Alpine Rd. And we were totally
lost the direction, no sign, no people. On the left out of the Eagle Trail, there was an
entrance looked like a trail head. As far as I remembered, it was called Alpine Trail.
It was not even on the map !! All of sudden, I saw a lady jogging by, and I called her asap.
She said we should run along the Alpine Rd and turned right on a bridge. Wow..we were lucky,
it was really difficult to find for a first timer.

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Yi was on the Eagle Trail

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Alpine Rd was pretty narrow here

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The bridge we made a right turn

After we crossed the bridge, the trail head for the Razorback Ridge Trail was on the right
hand side of the road, still, no sign, we just wild guessed, and we were right !!

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Yi lead the run


Now, the fun part begain , it was a continuous 2.5 miles uphill, just like its name,
the trail was single track, zig-zagging into the oak forest, we were like two mountain lions,
quietly cruising through our territory. The only sounds was the sound of our gasping,
and crashing of the fallen leaf under our foot.

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Some unknown blue flowers on the trail side.

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A big log

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We could have made it to the top, if I didn't call Yi to take the picture.

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top of the Razorback Ridge Trail, it was HWY 35

Somehow we missed the sign of the Lost Trail, and continued another 0.4 mile to the
entrance on the HWY 35. So we had to turn back and found the Lost Trail.
On the Lost Trail, the trail started to break out of the wood, we could see the whole
valley on the right side of the trail.

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On the Lost Trail

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Valley view

Gradually, the high grass replaced the oak trees on the trial, I guessed we must have reached the tree line. The scene started to change, everything was so clear out here. We almost forgot
the pain and tireness on the Razorback Ridge Trail, and caught some breath while enjoying the view. The grass was so tall that we could totally disappear while running into the trail.
It's another hightlight to me in this place. Very special experience...

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Yi was disappeared in the trail

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The tall grass

Then, we reached another entrance on the HWY35 of the reserve.

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Another HWY35 entrace

We didn't know there was a summit view until we got here, just a little detour from
Annerversity Trail, there was a summit view waiting for us.How could we missed this..
No second thought, we headed to the summit to collect another good moment.

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The summit was ahead.

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Yi and some hikers

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The summit view

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Another peak of the park.

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We were taking the Spring Ridge Trail down.

The Spring Ridge Trail was a fast and wide open downhill. By the time of our desending, the sun was up high and big. We saw a lot of hikers taking uphill from here, it's good we made a right choice not to climb from here. However, it was just beautiful, nothing more...

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Summary:
Distance: 10.6 miles
Time: 1:57:27
Elevation Gain : 2027 ft



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So far, I think it's the top 3 open space reserves we've ever been. Hopefully, we could
come back here soon..but wait, there are still a lot more for us to explore !!