Weekly Running Log -- San Antonio Ranch (04/24/2010)

 

As promised, our goal this weekend was to explore new route from San
Antonio Ranch to Black Mountain trail head.
Part of my sleep was replaced by the excitement which made me get up at 5:00am .
Felt like I have enough sleep already. So I just took my time to watch
one of Star Trek Voyager episodes again and also finished my breakfast without hurry.
By the time I was ready to head out, it was just 7:00am.
Not bad for an early start of the weekend.

Initially, I thought we could start off from Yi's place,
which we didn't need to worry about parking and just ran along the
Fremont Ave for 1.5 miles, entered the San Antonio Ranch via another side entrance.
Kai seemed to worry that it might be too far, and to run on the street was
not quite comfortable to him.
Somebody voted NO, then we'll just sticked to normal way of getting there.

It was 7:30am when we arrived, a "parking lot is full" sign was already there.
What !! 
This was new to us, even though we knew this was a very popular place,
but 7:30 in the morning !!  
Since when did the people passion about outdoor activity this much??
I didn't recall seeing any celebrity mentioned about this place on TV recently.
Anyway..
Well, in order not to waste our time to wait for a spot, we decided to
make a road side parking about a mile away from the entrance,
added some warm-up distance.
Very lucky, Yi found that there was a small trail along side the Cristo Rey Drive and 
 headed to the direction of the ranch, we jumped it without second thought.

 
started our run. 

 The trail was really easy to handle and it gave you a different view
of the scene , we've been here countless times, and never set foot on this trail before.
In the morning of the spring, blue sky,
green grass, breezed wind, it was like running in the movie .


beautiful trail.



a small pond.


into the ranch, and headed to parking lot. 

It didn't take long before we hit the ranch, there were even more cars
waiting for a precious spot. This was really crazy...


the parking lot full of cars, waiting to get a spot.

 
We made a short stop at the restroom, released some load, stretched,
then we hit the road, headed into the wood. With my music on, right
tempo could give you some lifts for the run. I just can't help smiling
and enjoyed the moment.




Wow, right after I took the picture, a deer just walked pass me !! 

It was about 0.9 mile to the Deer Hollow Farm, from there, we needed
to pass the gate and went straight into the valley.


Deer Hollow Farm

 
Kai started to lead.

It started with a slow uphill
and you could see some small birds and rabbits frequently running across the road.
And some people already made their way back to the exit. 
It went about 1 to 1.5 miles to a intersection. You could see a pond on the right hand
side.  It was pretty dry last time I came here, but now it became a really beautiful
pond !!





We turned right, followed the trail and started to go uphill. The
hill wasn't too steep to run, but enough to make you gasp a bit.
That's exactly what we were looking for. The variety of the road made
it more fun than just a flat paved one. That's why I preferred trail running
than road running, unless there were more girls on the road. :-P


uphill started here.


need to make a 180 left turn here.



the little blue dot was Kai.

I stopped couple times to take some photos, but I knew I could go straight
up without resting. It made me think back when I first saw the slope in Tilden Park few weeks ago. "Oh my God" was my only word in my head at that time.
I hoped  after several training runs in the future, I could have more confidence to face
that trail again.




Kai looked pretty strong today, he lead the pack most of the time.
I think he will be more confident about trail running after today.
Hopefully, he enjoyed the trail today, and joined us for the next race.

 

Finally,  we reached the end of the hill, it was a T junction. Now we needed
to make a left here , and it was a small ripple road, snaked around the
hill, very easy to cruise along , very breathable . With a 9 min/mile
pace , made it a perfect speed to enjoy the scene and also watched out
the rocks and cracks ahead.
When we were cleared out of the wood, cut through a green flat plain,
there it was, the trail head of the Black Mountain. About 5 miles from
where we parked the car. Nice jogging, guys.



the destination: trail head to Black Mountain summit.



Yi arrived.




As usual, we hydrated , refuel, the second half of happy ride home...
I think this route could be one of our favorite training routes, very
good distance and hill condition. For a half marathon race, this is a
good place to train on.


make our way back to parking lot.

Maybe, next time, we could run all the way to the summit of the Black Mountain.
That should be another fun trip !!

Summary:


Splits:



Elevation:

--
Sent from my mobile device

Weekly Running Log (0417 _2010)

Los Gatos Trail -- 10 miles running log

Saturday morning again, God knows why the time flies so fast when we are close to 40.
As usual, three of us got together for our routine training run. This
week, 10 miles easy run .
You might wondered, who decided how far we should run? In fact , there
is no such thing as training plan. The number is purely decided by the mood.
Easy pace is used to lure Kai to run with us the full course. Ever
since he got some soar knee, he just closed himself around 8 miles
distance for a long time. Of course, there is no pushing here .. After
all, it was our only healthy interest.

Maybe people were still in their spring break, it was really rare to
find a parking spot available in Campbell park, and today there were a
lot of them. One hand it was good for us to park closer, on the other
hand it seems quite lonely to run with such few people .

After some stretch, we headed into the trail as I leaded the pack.
Since I was the only one with the GPS watch, usually, it's me who controlled
the pace in the first half. I promised Kai that today would be a easy pace run,
therefore, I tried to make it around 9:10-9:20 speed in the beginning, with which
we could still chat.  Some experts did suggest runner should do some pre-run stretch after
about first 1 mile jog, it's better to stretch a warm body than a cold one. And what's more important is the post-run stretch, which could prevent some muscle injury. Well, we knew about this, but reluctant to follow.
Hey guys, this was very "unprofessional" !!
Wanna do it next time ?

Around the 2 miles marker, my body started to feel warm, and the tight feeling on my legs was gone. I started to speed up a little bit but still  keep an eye on Kai behind me and my watch. All of sudden, Yi was totally left behind for quite a distance. He might not have enough sleep last night, but I was not worry about him at all.
He must had fallen asleep with such a slow pace .ha ha ..

At the 5 miles marker, it was GU time, we all stopped, and refuel with GU gel . It was quite important to us, since we were all empty-stomach. GU gel was quite magical, you could feel it when it was taking effect.
We could run a 8:20-8:30 without gasping, or tiring legs. Plus, it was a little bit downhill on our way back, the gravity also helped to speed up.  

I knew it, when we were close 8 miles, Yi started to speed up , and even more in the last mile.
7:19 min/mile on my watch, I tried to keep up with him, even though my legs didn't agree..
Kai arrived around 1 min later, saying, didn't you say "easy pace" for today ?
Ha ha, sorry Kai ...


Compare to last year, our pace did improved by about 1 minute in average. We
used to run 9:50 min/mile , now it was about 8:45 during the first 2
miles warm up, and we could maintain about 8:20 to 8:30 cruise speed.
Push hard on the last 2 miles with 7:30 - 7:40

Now workout was over, it's breakfast time !! We went to try the new Subway breakfast this week
and you know what, it was pretty good and cheap!! Ever since McDonald won big in the breakfast war,
now, everyone jumped in to share the market. Burger King , Starbucks, and Subway...
To tell the truth, it was not something special at all, all they did was to put an egg into their subway sandwich
or you have a choice to change the bread to English Muffin.

This weekend, we'll shift the paved road to kick some dirt in San Antonio Ranch. There is a trail from San Antonio Ranch to Black Mountain. It should be fun. Stay tuned for the running report.
 
--
Sent from my mobile device

Tilden Park (Grizzly Peak) Trail Run -- 21km (04/10/2010)

Me at the check-in tent.

This is my second trail race of the year. I had a good excuse last time for dropping from 11 miles to 5 miles in Woodside Trail, Hepatitis A was really killing me, but this time, I am fully recovered,  I have to give all I could give. The success of running the whole PG&E trail in San Antonio Ranch  somewhat gave me a little confidence about tackling hardcore trail running.

"As long as I keep a steady pace, though slower, I might still manage

to the finish line without burning out all my fuel, or get a cramp

on my leg again" I said to myself.

The problem about the race is: sometimes, or I should say most of the

time people will get too excited and forget about

there is a long trail ahead with unknown condition. Haha I am one of

them. The result, as you could imagine, running will become walking and

finally got passed by a lot of people. That will be quite frustrated ..

So, my goal this time is : steady pace, don't get too crazy, and try to keep running. Shouldn't be too hard . I guess.

Back to the race day. I got up around 4:30AM, still quite sleepy.

I checked in all my gear, had a light breakfast, and headed out right away.

It was a clear sky but the wind was blowing hard.

5:30AM I picked u Yi at his place and headed north.

It was still very dark outside ,but I like this kind of feeling, smell like an excited adventure.

6:40AM, after about 1 hour drive on HWY 880 and turned into HWY 80, the stupid GPS wanted us get on to Hwy 24. The map must be too old, Yi told me.

So we totally ignored the robotic sound from GPS and continued HWY 80 until

we hit the exit : Bucknan Ave

The winding road took us into a residential area with a very steep climbing.

My impression about Berkeley and Oakland was really bad from the TV news lately,

so I was kind of at the edge of my seat, and watched out for any movement outside.

To my surprise, it was a pretty good neighborhood, beautiful and quiet,

Within 10 minutes we found out way out and the entrance of the park was on the

left of the road.

6:55AM.

The cloud was darker here and the temperature dropped to 50F. It was not as cold

as the CIM race. But this unseasonably cold and humid, I still needed to continue moving to keep warm.

7:30AM race started right on time. Yi will transform to a non-stop train after the race starts.

and I was right about him. After about 10 minutes, he was out of my sight totally..

Who said "I am going to take it easy today, and take more pictures..."

I just can't keep up with his "easy pace" at all..

The trail condition was not good (it is a trail running, what do I expect)

About 2 minutes after we started, there was a big muddy section right in the middle

of the trail. I hesitated for about 2 seconds about where to land my foot, and all the people behind me already passed me and went forward without any delay.

What the hell was I doing, I came here to get dirty, not kept clean!

No second thought, I followed the crowd and headed forward.

Wet shoes on the steep climb trail, not a very pleasant feeling, the steady pace strategy didn't work at all, it became steady walk and then slowly walk and I was gasping for breath already. Where did all my endurance go ?

It seems forever to get to the top of the long hill, on the first short downhill, I finally could catch some breath, but right at the moment, I found I lost one of my power gel.. Oh my God ..

I was planning to enjoy my seasonal limited edition vanilla gingerbread GU for the returning route, looks like I had no choice to get to it now...

To the top of the hill , snapped some pictures , and also got passed by three people ..

Around 4 miles, I reached the first top, and followed by a steep downhill to the aid station.
600 ft drop in 0.5 mile ! It was kind of slope you wished you wouldn't need to climb back again.
When I was descending, I really prayed for not coming back from here on my return, and what do you know,  my dream "came true", a really bad one.

 
The bottom of the first V is the aid station.



somewhere on the trail

I didn't remember how did I wander to the second top of the hill , but when I saw the beautiful view
there, I almost forgot about my shaking legs and hunger. It was dark gray color background , but with some imagination, I could realize how beautiful it is when the sky is clear.


San Pablo Reservoir on the left, and Briones Reservoir on the right.

Then, it was the happy time , around 2.8 miles easy downhill, I could finally smiled and enjoyed my speed up for the first time in this race !!
However, the happiness didn't last long,  when I saw the aid station again, I knew the bad dream started . "This is the last hill, and after that, it will be all downhill to the finish line" The guy said.
It was "the" hill, I just almost tumbled down.

There were 4 people at the aid station and we took off together after a quick refuel with the snacks.
I followed a guy on my way up and kept my focus on his feet, and the two girls ahead just talked their way up to the top, then disappeared. Again, gasping for air , more air, even with my headphone on, I could still hear my heartbeat bumping loudly.


The last 4 miles downhill seems never end, turn after turn, up and down, down and up, I was all by myself, and at one moment I felt like I was lost. Then I found the ribbon again and a sign said "To the finish line" . I was relieved. Finally, I saw the familiar mud and ran right though it, and back to the paved road again. Finish line !!


my running through finish line moment and Yi was taking photo for me.


The finish line.

Final time, 2:41:05 on my watch, and another beautiful view of the race -- post race snacks!!



my steady pace strategy failed, but I didn't get a cramp on my legs !! Not very happy with the time, but at least I reached one of my goals. So, where is the next race ?

Los Gatos Trail (04/03/2010)

Los Gatos Trail -- 12 Miles by itaotsai at Garmin Connect - Details




寫在頭前
Shoreline park 算是我們跑步的原點，因為以前住在那附近，所以後來雖然搬到南邊，
我們一開始還是都跑來北邊跑步，後來是實在是跑得有點煩了，因為那裡大部分都是老人跟野鳥，越跑越沒動力，更北邊一點的 Saywer Camp 雖然是美女如雲的跑步地點，但是光是開車就得50分鐘，所以我們就決定試著去找找有沒有別的路線可以跑，在一番搜尋之下，沒想到居然在我家附近就有這麼一條又長，又安全的運動路線。

基本上，Los Gatos Trail 是沿著 Los Gatos Creek 跟17號公路，北從 Willow Glen 附近的 Meridian Street , 南至 Los Gatos 的 Lexington Reservior 水壩，從北邊開始，一路上都是paved road 一直到 Los Gatos Downtown 附近才變成碎石子路，全程大概有10.2英里，
沿路還會穿越兩個公園，加上 trail 兩邊豐富的動物生態，讓這條路線成為南灣最受歡迎的運動休閒的場所，每到週末都是人們攜家帶眷的來這裡運動，沿路上最受歡迎的起點就是 Campbell Park. 因為這裡停車方便，而且公園裡的活動設施又不錯，所以我們也是以這裡為起點，然後往南邊跑，跑到 Lexington 水壩大概有8英里，基本上，除了做馬拉松訓練之外，16英里來回對於跑步應該都是很夠的啦，另一個好處是，這裡的路上有 Mileage Marker , 讓你知道你跑了多遠，對於跑步的人真的很方便。


籃球場跟鞦韆


這個公佈欄就是我們的起點。


起跑前的暖身 Yi and Kai.


Me and Kai 起跑前的拉筋 ( CW-X 兩人組 ) ...


一開始的一英里，花季的時候，兩邊都會開滿各種顏色的花。


一英里處會是一個上坡，然後穿越 San Thomas Express 的底下。


會先經過 Los Gatos Creek Park.


湖邊有時候會有很多人釣魚，同時野鳥也是很多。


過了公園，就到了兩英里的Marker.


我本來不是要拍 Kai 的....


沿著路一直跑，大概在 3.5英里左右 會有另一個上坡，上去之後就是進入 Vasona Park .


Vasona Lake


湖的另一邊是一個小水壩。


跟路邊吃早餐的野雁打聲招呼吧. 有的時候遇到整群野雁過馬路，就得慢下來，從牠們的中間走過，牠們一點都不會怕人。


四英里的Marker.


Kai 在這裡稍做休息，吃 GU 補充能量。
奇怪，Yi 跑到哪去了。


Yi 也到了，昨天我們到這裡就回頭了，不過今天我一個人又繼續沿著路跑下去。



經過了這個小火車的平交道，就準備出了公園，繼續往南走。


小小火車站。


路上盛開的野花。


出了公園的第一個路口，Miles Ave 到這裡大概是5.5英里，也是柏油路面的最後一個Marker


5.5 英里的 Marker.


進入 Los Gatos 就有一個告示牌。


首先，會先經過一個木棧道，我很喜歡跑過這裡的聲音，碰碰碰碰，每一步聽起來都很紮實，
很有節奏的感覺。


然後一個左彎，上這座很有色彩的橋。


從橋上往下拍17號公路的車子。


下了橋可別走錯邊了。


每次都會經過的建築物，今天才知道是一間博物館。


橋下牆壁上的塗鴉。


看到這個牌子表示已經到了 Los Gatos Downtown.


看到牌子之後，都是碎石子路了，當你看到路邊有大水管的時候，就剛好是6英里的地方。



手上的 GPS 手錶也顯示是6英里左右，花了52分鐘，好吧，該回去了，很久沒跑這麼遠，
再跑到水壩可能會跑不回去了。。


慰勞一下自己的雙腳，12 英里，搞定。


後記
這就是我們平常每個禮拜都會來朝拜的地方了，遇到人多的時候，會同時有好幾個
Running Club 的人在這裡做訓練，上次還遇到一個老伯，為了慶祝他65歲生日，還找了很多朋友辦了一個 5km 路跑的比賽，真的是非常有意思。