Sunday, January 14, 2018

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 9th 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!




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