Idle Hour Adventure

I'm not sure how to start the story of my AC training run this weekend. It was fantastic in so many ways, but utterly miserable, too. I got in my 40 miles plus, but had to be pulled out by a helicopter, lifted by a cable. I know, it sounds almost James Bond or plain stupid.

We started the run around 7:15 from a place called Short Cut off of highway 2. Bill's wife dropped us off and the weather wasn't too bad, yet. We knew we were in for a hot day and most everyone was prepared, carrying extra hydration stuff. I thought I would be fine with my normal hydration pack. We were all together for the first 30 miles or so, but started to stretch out as we got closer to our last water cache. I was out of water for hours at this point and feeling pretty funky. I kept going, slowly, knowing I was close to the water.

With Flaco only a few minutes in front of me, I went straight on a trail that I should have turned uphill on. I realized after a bit that the trail wasn't much of a trail after all. I decided to try climbing straight up the hill to find the trail again. I did this for a while, with no luck. I resigned to going back to where I knew the trail was. Finally, after about an hour detour, I was back at the trail. Here's where I made the biggest mistake. I headed back the way I came instead of toward the guys and the water. By the time I realized my mistake, I was so dehydrated and tired, I could hardly walk.

I managed to climb toward Mt Wilson to get cell reception. I tried Guillermo, who didn't have his phone with him. I thought he might give me some direction out of the Idle Hour campground. The only way I knew was straight up Mt Wilson or back the way I came. Both were uphill and about 10 miles. I was in no shape to manage either one. Finally, I called 911, who connected me to the fire department. I explained my situation, that I was severely dehydrated, vomiting constantly and far from anything. He assured me they would get me out before dark, but to go back to Idle Hour so I was near an actual place they could find on a map.

I shuffled my way back down the hill and waited. I soon heard a helicopter overhead and waved my arms each time they passed overhead. I was sure they saw me, but then they left. I was certain, now that I would be spending the night out there. I even found a nice place to lie down. Every time I tried to get up, I would puke, it was awful. Finally, the helicopter came back and hovered right above me. I had mixed feelings about being rescued by a helicopter, but decided, what the heck, it's gonna happen.

I see this guy being lowered with a cable and try to walk over to him. The helicopter creates such a storm of wind and everything is swirling around in my face, but I manage to get over to him. He puts a harness on me and attaches me to the cable, along with himself and up we go. He is holding me very tightly and the cable starts to spin as we are lifted into the air. I try hard not to puke on him as the spinning is really turning my already unsteady stomach. There is one guy waiting at the entrance and he pulls me inside and buckles me into a seat. I can't believe I'm in a helicopter! They make me drink lots of gatorade and water. After checking my vitals, they want to take me to the hospital. I adamantly decline.

The moral of the story is to drink more water early and eat more food, during and before the run. What happened to the 4 guys I started with, you ask? Well, they came back looking for me and saw the helicopter lift me out. The didn't get to the road until dark and had to call Bill's wife to pick them up, as they had gone backwards, like me, trying to find me. I was relieved to learn that no one was angry at me for losing my way and making everyone worry. In fact, it seems they were psyched to have gotten in more miles and enjoyed the adventure of it all.



I love ultrarunners. I think we just look at life differently.

Figueroa Mtn Safari

Phoebe and some cows

First Tarantula of the season...kinda blurry
Bobcat! He's a beauty.


Yep, it's still closed. We slipped under some barbed wire and disregarded a no trespassing sign to do our run today. I'm not advocating this type of behaviour, but c'mon, I've been more than patient. Phoebe chased, or rather, herded, loads of cows and was as happy as a pig in shit. This is the job she was born to do. She was so pleased with herself. I must say, it was helpful as the cows were all over the trail and she moved them right along.

The weather has been hot lately, so I felt sorta sluggish on my run. Maybe I'm just tired, who knows. It was great to see all the creatures, though. The bobcat was huge and the tarantula is just the first of many. Tarantulas are always seen crossing Figueroa Mtn Rd, as you can see from the sign. I had to brake hard for this guy. I will get a better picture next time and show some size comparison. He was big.

Off to run in Santa Barbara. It looks like they have opened some trails and I expect it will be a little cooler there, but muggy. Oh well.

Happy Trails.

Fire Update

My training has not been blog worthy lately. I have been running mainly on the road and treadmill. Here is the latest update on the Fire, which looks pretty positive for a change. I may be out on my trails again soon.

Beware of Mountain Lions and Prisoners

I started my run yesterday in the fog. I found that when they say the forest is closed,they mean it. I had a hard time finding trails to run and even when I did, the forest service and firefighters kept popping up and redirecting me. I ended up doing a run on mostly new fire roads and getting lost, as usual.

At first glance, I thought these orangle clad people were firefighters, but as I got closer, I noticed 'prisoner' on the side of their pants. They were all women, too, and exactly what you imagine they would look like. Yikes. They were calling me honey and remarking to each other about how cute I was. I found out that their job was to carry these hoses back to the trucks at Upper Oso campground. It was quite a hike for them, it was impressive. I figured it was probably better than sitting inside prison.

One very nice fire fighter showed me his map of all the new fire roads and tried to give me clear directions on getting back to Paradise Rd. I took a picture of the map(top picture) so I could look at it later. He warned me that there were several mountain lions in the area, due to the fire and that I should be very careful. This was about the fourth person who told me the same thing. Normally, I could relax and not worry too much about such things, but I kept seeeing deer, thinking they were hungry mountain lions and getting startled. Unfortunatley, his directions still didn't get me back to the right area.

I didn't mind so much being lost, but I ended up on private property and some woman scolded me. She directed me off the ranch, which put me on Stagecoach Rd., which ends at Paradise. From there, I had 8 miles of road to get back to my car. I ran out of water and was sufficiently tired when I reached the car, but loaded up on water and went out for a few more miles. I saw mountain lion tracks over my shoe prints from hours before. This freaked me out.

I took this picture from the top of the Alisos Trail. It surprised me how dry the river looked. Despite it all, the fire, the mountain lions and the lack of water, I was so happy to be out there again. I really miss the access to the trails. It's going to be very interesting exploring where the fire has been and see what new roads and trails have been made to get to the fire.

Sky Blue Sky

Monday was a 10 mile treadmill run, which is actually getting easier. There is something oddly satisfying about watching the miles tick by. Tuesday was...gasp...a rest day. Today I went up Refugio, with the beautiful blue sky revealing itself between the trees and the lovely fresh, smoke-free air filling my lungs. It was orgasmic. I mean it, it was a great run.

I am planning to do a long (40 mile) run tomorrow. With the sky so clear, I may be able to do it around here, cross your fingers for me. I may have to cross some "road closed" signs, but that's the right of an ultrarunner, right? I have seen many of these signs lately. Unless I see fire, and the forest service people, I'm going in. Wish me luck.

AC Trail Work Completed

I spent the weekend in the Angeles Forest, out of the smoke filled skies of Santa Barbara County. I met a group of guys in Pasadena early Saturday morning to do some trail work on the very trail we would be running, most likely in the dark, at AC100. I say a group of 'guys' since the women doing the race have apparently already finished their trail work, being the more organized of the sexes. Where does that leave me?? Let's just say, it wasn't so bad being a less organized female.

I camped overnight and got out early for a run Sunday morning, with another runner, up to Mt. Baden-Powell. I would like to have gone farther, but had to get back to Santa Ynez for the kids piano recital. I had to show up straight from the road, not having showered in 2 days and run/hiked many miles in the heat. But, I made it, despite the 3 motorcycle accidents on the Angeles Hwy, the awful traffic, where there has never been traffic before, and all the terrible drivers on the road.

I met some amazing runners, who, upon meeting, would never tell you they are so good. It is only by their friends or checking their results, that you would know how awesome they are. One runner, Guillermo, has just moved to my area and was asking me about trails to run. I thought I heard someone say he won AC a couple of years back, and sure enough, he won in 2005. WON! I spent some time with another runner who kept insisting he wasn't that fast, but someone else says he just won a local marathon. Once again, WON! So, when I say, I'm not fast, I mean it. But, I'm not buying it from the crowd I met this weekend.

I'm not sure if I feel more intimidated about this race or less, after this weekend. I'm certainly going to try to get back to the course and do at least one more long training run out there. It's good to have the mandatory trail work done. It was great to meet Hal Winton, the race director, and hear stories of past races and all of the obstacles they have had to deal with, like road closures and fires. It was definitely good to connect with some of the other runners and feel like part of the ultra world. Let me tell you, it is definitely another world.

Runs with Fire

I awoke once again to a bright orange sun and smoke filled skies yesterday. I decided to try going south, to Santa Barbara, to do a trail run. It was even worse in SB. I could see the ash like silvery snow coming down and when I stepped out of my car, my black shirt was covered with grey specks. I went running anyway, although I thought it was a little odd that there were no other cars at the trailhead. As I went higher up, toward Camino Cielo Rd, I could actually feel the heat from the fire and the smoke and ash were really bad. I started to get a little nervous, and turned around. I still got in a 2 hour run and didn't feel too bad from the smoke.

When I got to the bottom, the forest service people were waiting and scolded me for being out in such poor conditions and told me the forest was closed. From Cuyama to Ventura, no access! I still can't believe the fire has endured this long. It's a good thing I am going to the Angeles Forest this weekend for trail work and running.

The sky doesn't look much better this morning, but I'm going out anyway. I guess I should just enjoy the lovely orange and red sunrise and mushroom clouds over the mountains. The yellowy sky doesn't do much for me, it just looks like smog. My camera battery died and the charger is half here and half in Utah, so until the two pieces are reunited, I will not have pictures to post.

Anyone have advice on training in bad air conditions? They say the forest will be closed until at least mid September.