Saturday, July 31, 2010

Friday Trail Run

 Huntington Beach is pretty flat.  Most of my runs have an altitude gain of no more than 100 feet.  So it goes without saying that my body isn't very used to hills.

Every 6 months or so I get it together to go for a run in El Moro Canyon.  El Moro is part of Crystal Cove State Park and is on the Coast Highway between Newport and Laguna Beaches.  In addition to the back country section, the park includes 3 miles of amazing beach.

Every time I've run here I get my ass kicked.  But then again, I'm climbing more than 14 times the elevation than I normally would find around home over the same distance.  I got my ass kicked again today, but I'm happy to say it was kicked a little less than last time.


I usually do just over 7 miles.  In the past, I would usually have to walk all the steeper pitches.  But today, I took a different approach.  On all of the uphill climbs (there are 3) I would run the steeper pitches and walk/recover on the shallower ones.  I figured this way, I was getting some good hill repeats in.

Despite the occasional pain, El Moro Canyon isn't a bad place to spend a late afternoon.  From the first time I came to California, I've always loved the chaparral and grassland covered coastal hills.  Today, I saw very few people, but did see a bunch of deer and a coyote.  Best of all, I didn't see any snakes.

Here are some pictures from the run -

I actually managed to run up this one...

 This is the start of a descent, but then I have to go up the other side.

View west down the canyon towards the ocean.
It wouldn't take much to convince me to live on that little peninsula.

I hope everyone is having a good weekend.

13 comments:

KovasP said...

Look how brave you are facing up to your fear of snakes! First a photo and then a run. Looks like a great place to train. Also, welcome The Road to FB!

Jennifer said...

Nice run! I wish we had some hilly trails here. I would think that cougars (the furry 4 footed kind) would be scarier than snakes? Don't they live in them thar hills?

Caratunk Girl said...

Awesome place to run! SWEET. Cool no snakes!

Aimee said...

Good job with the trail run! If I lived close to that I would run there every week if I could! Yay for no snakes! :)

Kat said...

Dang it, wish I could go trail running here. Looks like you had a great time, thanks for sharing the pics!

ajh said...

Great job on the hills! I totally get the snakes thing. Good for you for running there if you usually see them. I don't know if I could make myself do that.

Kathleen said...

Between worrying about snakes and cayotes, it is amazing I run on any trail. I swear, if I saw a snake I would turn around and find another way to my destination. Especially if they had those rattles on thier tails.
Congrats on the run.

Barbie said...

Congrats on kicking butt. Looks like a beautiful place to run.

wendy said...

This is beautiful! Nice run! I love hills : )

Kelsey: the Blonde Bullet said...

Wow good job on the hills! Phoenix is extremely flat too, unless I want to hike and literally climb a mountain. I would have gotten my ass kicked doing this run! Nice work!

Kelsey: the Blonde Bullet said...

Oh, and nice stealthy photo up top. You look like a secret agent caught in casual wear.

:) :) :)

DRog said...

Great pics
I so love southern cal
was totally lol it wouldnt take much to convince living on that little peninsula

lol!

-Derek

Johann said...

Great workout on those hills! That can really be tough. Lovely pictures!

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