El Moro Canyon at Crystal Cove State Park

November 26th, 2011

I can't believe it, I finally got to go trail running again! The past few weeks have been busy and also I had to take a break from running for two weeks. Those two weeks threw me back tremendously. :-( As I had registered for the Crystal Cove Trail Race (which will take place in December) though I was more than happy to go trail running again. So on a beautiful and warm November day over the Thanksgiving weekend I drove down to Newport Beach to find this trail at Crystal Cove State Park. I absolutely wanted to see and run the route before actually running in the race. What can I say? Another beautiful trail (and SO worth the drive down to Newport Beach) but challenging. Not the distance of course (3.5miles or 6km), but the incline. It started right away with a long and steep incline, which I wasn't able to run - especially as it was an extremely warm November day in the upper 70s. Also the trail was exposed to sun at all times. But I was able to speedwalk uphill and once the hill was less steep I was able to run. I tried to run most of the time of course. It was a wonderful trail, with views onto the entire canyon and the other trails (there are several trails there which make you want to go hiking). Gorgeous! The route included also a nice downhill trail, just to be followed by a very steep incline, called Poles, again. This one almost knocked me out in the heat ;-) But I made it up there walking and after this last challenge the rest of the route was downhill. I finished the entire route - running and walking - in 49min, including taking pictures here and there (although I stopped taking time most of them time when taking photos). So my big hope for race day is that there will be overcast weather and cooler temperatures! :-) I liked the trail a lot and definitely will be back for running or hiking! Last but not least it is worth mentioning that the rangers in the state park there were really friendly and helpful, one of them took lots of time explaining the different trails to me, showing them to me on a relief map and finding out the names of the trails for the race. :-)

And if this wasn't enough I continued running along the beach for 1.5 miles to Crystal Cove Cottages... again wonderful views and just awesome to feel and smell the fresh ocean air! :-)

And me happily recovering from the run at the beach :-)

Temescal Ridge Trail to Temescal Peak (again)

October 29th, 2011

Finally time for a trail run again :-) I chose the Temescal Ridge Trail again as it was a great trail with nice views. Also quite a bit challenging (there are about two steeper hills and otherwise there is often enough a nice gradual incline) and just the right trail for a good workout. I went there pretty early again as a hot day was in the weather forecast. This time there were less people out there, which didn't bother me at all as it was just nice to enjoy the nature there. I even saw bunnies on three different occasions! :-) Again it was a great workout although it wasn't an easy run this time. It took me about 8 minutes longer than last time and I already could feel it while running. It was just harder than the first time there. Still I had lots of fun and enjoyed my run tremendously.

Running at the beach.... I reached a new milestone :-)

This is definitely worth mentioning ..... today I went for my usual Thursday morning run at the beach. My usual distance is 5.3 miles, which has been my personal record so far for non-stop running. Well, today I reached a new milestone and one of the goals I had set for myself. I decided to push myself a little bit more and ran a bit more... it turned out that I ran 6.3 miles!!! This is slightly more than the distance of a 10k. Running a 10k has been a goal I had.... and now I reached this goal!!!! Needless to say I was ecstatic. :-)

Temescal Ridge Trail to Temescal Peak

October 9th, 2011
As much as I had enjoyed the two hikes the weekend before but I was very happy to finally go trail running again! This time I had chosen Temescal Ridge Trail which I heard was very popular with trail runners. As it was supposed to be pretty warm (again!) I started out really early. The trail started with a short ascend and then intersected with the main trail. The main trail started out with two rather steep inclines which I was able to run. :-) On the top of each hill though I had to catch my breath for a short minute. After that the trail was easier to run. Ever so often a few smaller inclines and a steady doable incline. Views were breathtaking - fantastic views onto LA and Downtown LA! I had brought my new little point-and-shoot which I had bought recently for my trail running. Running was fun... although I still felt a bit out of shape (the week before I wasn't in a good shape at all and just had a few shorter 2 mile runs) I all of a sudden realized that I was running a really nice pace. I was just running and enjoying the trail and views! There were a lot of other trail runners and mountain bikers there, hardly any hikers. And it was definitely a quiet trail. Overall the part of the trail I ran was 5.2 miles which I was able to run in 1hour5min. :-) Interestingly, although 5 miles has been my limit so far and always makes me feel exhausted - this time around running 5 miles didn't make me feel too exhausted and I felt I could have run more. I guess I am getting closer to run a 10k :-)

Temescal Canyon Loop - Hike

October 2nd, 2011

After I had such a wonderful hike the day before I felt pretty energized, despite the fact that the hike the day before was pretty exhausting. So I decided to go on another hike on Sunday. :-) I decided to try out Temescal Canyon Loop, a hike I had done years ago. Again it was a pretty warm day. The trail was pretty steep as well, but definitely doable. There were nice views onto Pacific Palisades and nature was very enjoyable as well. For my taste it was a bit too crowded as it is a pretty popular trail. Again I hiked the entire trail, no trail running. Total distance of the trail was about 3 miles.

Paseo Miramar to Parker Mesa Overlook - Hike

October 1st, 2011

I had looked up hikes in one of my hiking books in order to find a new trail for trail running. I decided to try the Paseo Miramar to Parker Mesa Overlook trail. Well, I should have read the chapter a bit better because it turned out that this - although it was a great trail - was a very steep trail, which was also exposed to the sun most of the time. Plus it was a very warm day. The trail was pretty steep for the first 2 miles and very sunny. It was pretty clear that there was no way for me to run this! The trail itself was very nice, great views, but also it seemed to never end! Every time it looked like a possible end of the trail you could be sure it wasn't! After 2.75miles I finally reached Parker Mesa Overlook. I enjoyed the great views and after a short break I started on my way back (it was an out and back trail). Initially I had planned to run back as it was mostly downhill, but it was so warm that I gave up on that idea. Overall I can say it was a very nice hike, but also exhausting due to the constant incline and sun! I was pretty exhausted and a bit dehydrated afterwards. It was an overall hike of 5.5 miles. Nevertheless I felt good and was proud of myself :-)