Rain and Running!

Before the run

It had been raining all day but Carina sent a message that the practice run was on. Hassan said reminded us to dress for the occasion. I mentioned that there might be a little traffic but I will be there!

I left work about 5 minutes before 5 PM. Although there was a bit of traffic I made it still in good time. I had prepared my clothing choices and put them out the night before. I wore 4 layers; a no sleeve Nike, Uniqlo red long sleeves, a Nike orange reflectorize long-sleeves and a light weight North Face rain jacket with hood. The first three layers were tight (for warmth) and made of polyester and spandex blend to wick away moisture. My rain jacket had zippers in the under-sleeve area. While there is a need to be warm, it is also important not to perspire. Once you perspire, you will get cold and a chance of hypothermia. I was also wearing a beanie hat and a head lamp. I wore spandex running shorts and a waterproof pants. But when I got to the meeting place at Cavitt, Jeremy advised me that I’d get too warm. I took it off and left it in the car.

Dripping wet!

After the customary picture taking we were off, already dripping from the rain. Everyone just took off! I was glad that Carina was taking it easy because she did not want to get injured before the Folsom Lake Sweet Water race this Saturday. Rain dropping steadily, we tried to avoid puddles and sometimes we were successful. But after some time, we just had to be careful not to slip.

It is good to practice in the elements specially if you intend to go for longer races because you never know what to expect. Knowing how to dress up, and bringing the necessary gadgets like a head lamp and/or flashlight, water and food is important. At practice, you also learn tips from other runners who have run it before. The body is conditioned, the mind better prepared, your spirit, too! As your body gets stronger, your confidence develops, too! Pushing yourself a little each time.

It was cold, it was dark, the rain did not stop, but we were all smiling! The exhilarating feeling of being able to do things you won’t normally do and having fun in the process. You can do this!

Why do we do this?

My longest run ever, 17 miles! Skunk Hollow to Sophia Parkway

6:30 AM and 33F

I was visiting my son on Sunday, so I looked for a run for Saturday. Carina, my mentor/training lead encouraged me to sign-up for the Saturday group that she runs with – The Running Group in Folsom lead by Dave. Thankfully, Dave agreed to let me join after asking a few important questions. Like – how long I have been running and what is my longest distance and when was this. I ran with Carina the past two Sundays for a 13-miler.

At Skunk Hollow before the run.

Dave is training runners for ultra-marathons…. hmmmm! What am I getting myself into? The run is 18-miles. Meeting time 6:30 AM at Sophia Parkway, 15 miles from where I live. It’s 33F, I am wearing 4-layers of clothing. It’s amazing what they have now for sports clothing, it is super light and warm plus a beanie, 2 layers of socks, a short on inside and a long one that reaches my knees. I feel more comfortable wearing shorts, I make up for it by wearing knee-high socks to keep warm. I cut-up my protein/granola bars in pieces as was suggested by another runner.

At that start I tried to keep up with Carina, who was in the lead. But still her slowest pace, is not even my fastest. My feet, thighs, and hands were damn cold. My thighs felt they weigh a ton because they were frozen. I think it took a good 4 miles when they finally began to thaw, but not all the way, it was cold all the way till mile 16. Trail runs are harder because of change of elevation, it is up and down and up and down. But since it is in soft ground, a bit kinder on the knees. At a creek crossing, I tried not to get wet, but fell hard anyway, sigh! It felt even more cold.

At mile 6, I started to slow down and could not keep up with Carina and the two guys. Just a few feet behind me were other female runners. Suddenly, as I intended to slow down, my legs pushed me forward, I thought, what? I better ask Carina about that. It was weird.

As the female runners behind me caught up, they asked how I was, I said I was just struggling (like always). I ran behind Annalisa, Claudia and Hiromi. I was told we were on mile 10, that’s when I realized I had not been enough fuel to my run. By cutting up the granola/protein bar, I was only eating a few pieces when I should have been eating a bar every hour which is 150 calories per hour.

Sunrise

At mile 12, we ran into Grace and her friend they were doing a 12-mile Out-and-back (OAB) from Sofia Parkway. We took a photo by the little creek lined up on top of a little wood plank. Then off everyone went. I decided I would just take it slowly, because my leg and thigh muscles were sore. Then I hear Grace and Claudia calling. I tried to run faster. I do a lot of self-talk, telling myself, "Go on, Eve! One foot after the other". My nose was very runny, I had hunger pangs, my muscles were sore. But I kept moving forward.

Claudia is just a few years older than me and she has run three (3) 50-mile races, that’s so impressive. And here I am struggling through to make it 18. Claudia hang back with me for the next 5 miles. Encouraging me, saying I could do it. Pulling me saying, we run down, walk the uphill and pony trot the flat areas. If it were not for Claudia, if I had been left alone I would have totally slowed down and reach Sophia Parkway an hour later or even more. I am so appreciative of Claudia.

At home, I got a message from Carina, congratulating me for finishing my longest run ever. She also reminded me to ice my tired muscles. We also exchanged photos. Thank you Carina for inviting today!

What a great day! On to the next!!!!!

Mile 16 and I still managed a smile.

Repeat of the Salmon Falls Training Run - 1st Section of the Course; 13 miles

Past midnight, and I still could not sleep. Not even half a glass of wine could make me sleep. Then my cellphone alarm goes off, what? 5:30 AM so soon? I dragged myself out of bed. Made a cup of coffee. Breakfast of multi-grain bread with figs and goat cheese. I also added cream cheese and smoked salmon.

I checked the temperature outside and it is 47F. I wore 4 layers of clothing, the last being a fleece jacket. Clothing should be light, warm and quick dry. Making sure that when I sweat my clothing material wicks the sweat away from me and dries easily. Because when perspiration soaks cotton, it will set one up for hypothermia. So never wear cotton or cotton blends. There are many types of quick dry clothing now to choose from and are no longer expensive.

We are repeating last week running trail which is the Magnolia Ranch to Skunk Hollow. There was more fog today, hanging low amidst the hills. It made for chillier weather because it also covered the sun. After last week’s run here, I felt stronger this time. What I like about this group is that we do take time to admire the scenery and take pictures. But by the 9^th mile, I was feeling tiredness and wishing we would reach Skunk Hollow soon.

I was wearing my Explorer vest filled with 1.5 liters of water and Think thin peanut bars. I was also carrying a 0.25 liter of water which I had added a splash of electrolyte concentrate with berry flavor. As I took a swig, I realized my mouth was dry because I breath through my mouth (wrong!) and caught the sweetness on my windpipe and I gagged. I started heaving and felt I was having an asthma attack, but I do not have asthma. I talked to myself to keep calm, breath in through my nose slowly and let it out through my mouth. Another runner took a glance at me and offered water. I declined saying I did have water in my vest. He was very worried, and kept glancing back to see if I was alright. I took it easy, with an easy pace, until I recovered.

The trail was going up again, and I was just over it. I had fallen back from the lead pack and I do not know how far behind the next runner was. I heard some noise behind me and the lady runner asked if this was the right route. I replied yes, since I remembered it from last week. A few more turns and uphill run, I ran into hikers. I asked if they had seen a group of runners, and they did! Nice, at least I know I am in the right track.

Then I reached the tree line, another turn and I see the American River, and the parking lot of Skunk Hollow. It was still less than a mile to get there. But I was happy to be reaching the end of the trail.

It was a good run, great weather, wonderful group as usual. Till the next run!

Salmon Falls Training Run - 1st Section of the Course; 13 miles

Coloma River Races and Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation organized the Salmon Falls Run which is a 50-K run. To be held on February 24, 2018. According to the website, The Salmon Falls 50K is a point to point ultra-distance trail race. The race begins at the Magnolia Ranch Trail Head near Coloma. The course will run the majority of the trails in the Cronan Ranch area before winding down to Folsom Point State Park at Folsom Lake. 

It was cold!

Many of the runners in my running group Folsom Trail Runners are participating in the race. Carina one of the leaders of the group (the other is Hassan), organized a training run that covered 13miles which is the 1^st section of the course. This is the trail from Magnolia Ranch to Skunk Hollow. The meeting time at Skunk Hollow is at 7:30 am. It is 21miles from where I live and a 35-minute drive passing by Folsom and the final 6 miles at Salmon Falls Road. I had a Poppy pass that I could park at Skunk Hollow and hitched a ride with Hassan and Cindy to Magnolia Ranch.Much later we were at the forest area. It is surprising to see the moisture on the forest side as evidence by the moss on the trees and the rocks. I got many running tips from Sheng, Cindy and Cordelia as they are veterans of many races.

At Magnolia Ranch it was cool 37F. Like many others I had a beanie hat, long sleeve shirt, light wooly jacket, a running skirt (what?) and long socks. There was mist and it made the scenery so pretty. I planned to take it easy just do build the miles. I was glad that Cindy, Sheng, and Cordelia had the same plan. Cindy and Sheng can run fast so I was glad they were happy to wait on Cindy and I. The trail were rolling hills, the rain had made the grass greener. The scenery reminded me so much of the Lake District where I went in 1986. It is in the Lake District that I had my first hike, together with friends from Emmanuel College. I was freezing at 28F and we stayed the night at a cottage with only a fireplace that we had to put out the fire at night. Anyway, back to the present.

Rolling hills for a great work-out.

 Mist was in between the hills as well, and it was chilly all the way. I took off my jacket and had to put it back. The conversations were great, and the pace was indeed slow and some time we would pick up the pace and start running. But it was so hilly on the uphill we would slow down and hike. It is rare that you could know the course prior a run, though it is better to get know what to expect and be able to prepare for it. This trail would be blistering hot in the summer. ¾ of the way we were in the open.

I was feeling good during the run, keeping with the pace and stopping many times to take pictures. There were several parts of the trail that were really challenging inclines. But the mist and the greenery and the scenery definitely helped take away the tiredness. I do well running downhill but I try not to create too much impact as it is bound to destroy my knees. It is better to run smart and have a longer running life, I would say.

Magnolia Ranch Trailhead.

When I trained for the Cool (Damn) Half-Marathon I trained on the trail as well. So when I ran the Sofi San Francisco half, I felt good and got a PR (personal record). That is why I prefer to run on the trail more. By April though, Carina said we will start incorporating road training runs.

My other concern is I have only one pair of running shoes. I think with one pair only, it will not last till July 29^th, the date of the San Francisco Marathon. I should buy another pair and alternate using them, that way I am used to using either one. Next schedule is the Wednesday Cavitt 4-mile night run. The, we will be repeating another 13-miler next Sunday. Woohoo!!!

Finding my running group

I left the office today at 4:50 PM, having arrived at 8:35 AM. It was drizzling and I was afraid the runwould get cancelled but the rain did not push through. I had to race home, let out the fur babies before I go out for the Wednesday night run. My son had gone to the Cayote Mountains in Southern California and fur babies were not allowed. I was afraid that I would not be able to continue my training. I let them out, fed them and even thought of bringing Marshall (border collie) he is a good companion hiker. I did not want Lucy (Australia cattle dog) to be left by herself. To be fair I left them both.

At the trail overlooking one of the levees at Folsom Lake.

It was 6.7 miles to our meeting place at Cavitt Stillman Junior High School, with slight traffic it is a 15-minute drive. The run starts from the school parking lot, via a wide fire road that skirts part of Lake Folsom. The trail is with gently rolling hills and city lights from afar make it a beautiful run. But it is winter and the temperature is 57F at the start of the run. I wore my North Face rain jacket just in case it did rain. The rain jacket is a good insulation, too because it traps the body heat and becomes a wind breaker. We ran to the gate, did 2 hill repeats by the water tower. Total mileage is 4.25. I try to run my pace to match Carina’s. We are both signed up for the San Francisco Marathon and I want to stay with her through the whole course.

10-mile run photo rest (Photo credit Carina).

It took me quite some time to find a group to run and train with. Fleet Feet with whom I did 4-weeks of beginners’ trail training and 10-weeks of half marathon training did not have any training schedule that would match my goal of July 29. I searched through the Meet-up group site and found Folsom trail runners and Buffalo Chips Running Club in Sacramento. I joined a 3-mile shake-up run on December 2 with Buffalo Chips and little did I know it was a shake-up run for the CIM (California International Marathon).

I finally got my approval to join the Folsom Trail Runners and I signed-up for the Wednesday night run at Cavitt. I met Carina and Hassan the leaders of the Wednesday night run. They were very friendly and invited me to sign-up with the Facebook group Trail Running Adventures. Since then I have run 3 Wednesday night 4-miles runs with them and a 10-mile Sunday run from Beale’s Point, Lake Folsom.

The runners in the group have an impressive resume. Like Carina has run 25 marathons. The group also have run 100-milers, 50s and ultras. I am glad to have found this group because I know I will learn a lot from them and I will be able to build the miles necessary for my preparation for the SF marathon.

This coming Sunday, we will have a 13-mile run which is the 1^st section of the Salmon Falls 50K course. I am EXCITED!!!!!

10-mile run high!