While hiking up Mt. Wilson was certainly a highlight in training, I’ve had a couple of pretty nice trail adventures since then.
The day after Wilson, I ventured over to Runyon Canyon to say goodbye to it. Well, it’s not really going away forever, just temporarily. Ironically, I never run at Runyon simply because I’d like to think no respectable trail runner could even train there. Okay that sounded snobby, but it’s kinda true.
It’s a short 1.5 mile loop and while it has a couple of other trail extensions, the place is packed with hikers and dogs. I love dogs but it literally becomes one giant dog park and that’s one reason why I’ve only been there twice in the last 4 years. Besides, there really is no way to do long mileage here, but I ran a few loops and while it’s not the best place to train, it’s a nice area for families and their dogs to hike.
In fact, the funniest thing happened while I was running downhill. I noticed a man and his young daughter walking up with their Golden Retriever. The daughter must’ve been around 4 or 5 years old and I could see she was holding something. At first I thought it was a small purse. She stopping walking and held it out to her dad as he was a few steps ahead of her. She yelled out to him with a whining tone, “Daaaad.” His response to her: “This is why I have kids…to hold the poop bag.” Me and this other man quickly overheard him and started laughing. That, I must say, was pretty funny. Okay, I found that funny, but I tend to find the silliest most random spontaneous things funny.
The following weekend I got to partake in my first ever – Official Trail Race Sweeping Ceremony! In other words, I got to help sweep the Ahmanson 12K trail race with a new trail running friend, John!
If you’re unfamiliar with sweeping a trail race, we basically have to remove all markings and signs we were ever there. Our goal is to leave no trace of the race behind.
John came prepared with a broom. I came prepared with my feet. If anything, I’d be working on my leg work and sweeping the dirt from side to side. Cross training, y’all! It was my first time doing this and I definitely had no idea what to expect. He and I, along with his dog Deagan, removed the markings, ribbons, signs and stakes from the course of the Ahmanson 12K. It was John who renamed us “The Grim Sweeper” and “Buffy the Trail Slayer.” I think it has a good ring to it. Maybe I’ll officially change my name to Buffy. Ha ha!!!
This race day couldn’t have been more gorgeous! It was actually the first time I’ve been on his trail while it was sunny. Usually when I’m out there it’s been drizzly, foggy, and cold, but today, beautiful sunshine, and it all looked so much different!
The rain certainly has made this place nicely green, but I asked John if it stays this green during the heat and summer months since he’s run out there during those times, and of course he said “not at all.” This area does get pretty hot during the summer, so looks like I may be coming out to do some heat training loops to prepare for Javelina (which is now in about 198 days, give or take. Aaagh!! Not ready!!).
Sweeping the course was a lot of fun, but more tiring than I expected. It took us about 2 hours and 30 minutes to cover the course (7.44 miles) with running and walking mixed it and initially I planned on running more afterwards, but I didn’t have it in me. Sweepin’ was exhaustin’! It’s all good though. I had a great time. Thank you RD Nancy!
The day after sweeping, I met up with friends to run the trails of Griffith Park to the Hollywood Sign and to the Bronson Cave. It’s actually been a while since I did this trek and it was on my mind.
Taking off early was the plan because knowing Runyon Canyon is now closed, I figured more people will be gravitating towards Griffith more than usual. And eventually we did see lots of people out.
I ran with some ladies who will be running their first 50K at Leona Divide on April 16th. While I’d like to say first ultra, Crystal skipped the first ultra benchmark and started with a 50 Mile. The others are all diving into their first trail ultra running experience. Aren’t they in for a treat? Muahahaha.
After we stopped and enjoyed the view, we made our way back and as we were about to get back on the trail, we saw this man running up. I looked at him. He looked at me. And then it dawned on both of us. It was the same guy we saw on Mt. Wilson who was waiting for us to pass the scary portion!! Heyyyy!!! And just then we had a quick reunion. After that we just kept wondering how in the world something like that happens. What a small, small trail world it can be sometimes. It was very funny and I even forgot to take a photo of the moment.
Next stop after the Hollywood Sign, a couple of friends left us and Crystal, Roxanne, and myself made our way to the bat cave! I honestly don’t know if bats reside in there, but it’s a cool little place to run through and the area was so nice and quiet.
Of course, we had to stop inside the cave to take a quick photo as a keepsake.
I specifically wanted to do this part of the trail because of the long ascent we had to go back up. The last time I remember coming back up this way was during the 2014 Griffith Park Trail Half Marathon and it was a hot day. I struggled coming up this way, but this time was a different story. Not to say it was easier, but I feel stronger now and didn’t feel like I needed to stop and take a break. But 13 miles later I was ready for a break and didn’t have it in me to go longer even though my mind told me I should.
Overall, I’m really enjoying my time on the trails. The people I’m running with certainly have been influential with that. Yeah, these have been nice trail adventures indeed.
Thank you for reading and Happy Trails!