Various Hikes & Runs – Q3 2021

The usual personal diary of nonsense. This quarter I’ll be working exciting thing like (a) overall energy on endurance-length stuff, hopefully (b) injury prevention (c) more Vit B and Vit D tests (d) some longer rides and runs and (e) sound reduction on bike using ear protectors of some kind (maybe useful with tinnitus?). All very exciting. Not.

Sep 30 / Syc – Stage – Ser Loop MB (4+)

Hot as marbles @ 95 or so, but pleasant otherwise. 0:55 on tired legs, no Achilles issues. Hazzah!

Sep 29 / Stage – Ser – Cam Loop MB (7)

Hysterically silly ride. Felt terrible to start gut slowly got better. Lost my rear wheel 3-4 times, stepped out 3x, fell once, on a ride I don’t think I’ve ever lost a wheel on except for silly uphill mistakes. Despite all the idiocy, still finished in 0:54. So…huh.

Sep 28 / Bend – Bommer – Sycamore Loop (5)

Nice run in relatively cool weather to test out body, including quads all tore up from Register Ridge on Saturday. Not too bad, with 1:03 final time, which I think is my best. Primary limiter was feeling  a bit pudgy and legs w/energy decline toward the end (and slight shin splint), but overall pretty good.

Sep 25 / Baldy with John (6?)

Up Ski Hut, down register, nice and cool on top. Beautiful day, but man are my quads not used to downhill anymore. Oof.

Sep 24 / Emerald Loop w/J/M/P MB (7)

Nice cool weather. Bit of rain just before with thunder.

Sep 23 / Stage-Serrano-Camarillo Loop MB (7)

Hot but not terrible, half-fasted, so a bit slow, but overall fun ride. Stupid rock garden 😉

Sep 21 / Santiago Hot Jog (5-6)

Temp was 98+ with a little breeze. Not too bad, really, but dead legs. Achilles…meh?

Sept 19 / Bend-Syn Loop Jog (5+)

Not bad. Hot w/tired legs, but still not bad. Energy fine.

Sept 13-15 / Don’t Remember

Hmm. Must have been awesome.

Sep 12 / Bend Out-and-Back (3)

Quick hike / jog in the heat. Achilles mostly okay? Seems okay the next morning. Maybe need to run some flatter, longer things now to test it out.

Sep 11 / Old Emerald with Jim & Mike MB (?)

Fun ride. Dropped my water bottle somehow, but probably fluke. Felt pretty good. Still can’t clear that one little climbing bit.

Sep 10 / Serrano-Stage Loop (4+)

Slow hike / jog. Really hot and humid. Kinda dead legs. Nothing bad happened :).

Sep 8 / Bend-Willow Loop (4.75)

Slow hike / jog. Achilles seems okay. Dead legs toward end. Hot. Time around 1:02.

Sep 7 / Stage-Serrano-Camarillo Loop MB (7+)

Fun if hot after SLOW start and no energy. Felt good on 2nd half.

Sep 6 / Serrano-Stage Loop (4+)

Slow hike / jog. Achilles seems okay. Hot.

Sep 4 / Luge Loop MB (7+)

First time doing this. It was hot (95?) but not that bad until the climb back to the car at the end. Technical downhill not hard at all, but my wrist are getting old :). About 1:05 RT.

Sep 2 / Short MB (5+)

Just fartin’ around.

Sep 1 / Bend Out-and-Back (3)

Testing Achilles on the hill. Slow and easy, seemed too be okay, but a bit sore the next day.

Aug 29 / Hiking Loopish Thing (5?)

Some loop involving Serrano and Camarillo where I met a nice couple and did the rest of the hike with them. Hot. Achilles seemed okay. Also, hot.

Aug 28 / Black Star to Tower MB (16+)

So, pretty much a cluster.  No idea why. Lack of energy. Hard breathing (like an air quality issue?), legs really beat. The magic of middle age? Gremlins?  Tracking

Aug 24 / Stagecoach Loop MB (7+)

Best time of 0:52 something. Felt pretty good. Still no sign of wandering pump.

Aug 21 / Black Star to Tower MB (16+)

Not fast, but first day I’ve felt good during and after a workout in so long I can’t even remember. Maybe binging on carbs the night before? Who knows. Nice foggy day, so relatively cool, which was great except for the wet dirt thrown up in my face on the descent (lesson learned on glasses). Pretty nice all around. Might have gone farther if not for a bit of back pain, and noticed knee pain on descent. Tracking

Aug 22 / Stagecoach Loop MB (7)

Best time at around 52:15 or so. Felt pretty good…

Aug 19 / Santiago to Flag MB (7)

Not bad. Not too hot. Kinda sloppy riding, but no damage done. Had Wahoo’s burrito afterward and immediately felt 10x better. Maybe the foot I’m eating at home is too processed? No more fake chicken nuggets…

Aug 17 / Stage Coach to Crest MB (5+)

Hot and low energy…

Aug 13 / Horseshoe to Base of New Army Pass (9)

Not bad time up, but felt bonk coming and tweaked Achilles at same time. Then it got hot. Crazy how dry it is. Just about 4 hours RT.

Aug 12 / Onion Valley to 2nd Lake on Kearsarge Trail (5+)

Just testing things out. Felt really good, actually.

Aug 10 / Short MB Ride?

Don’t remember.

Aug 7 / Baldy Ice House to Cucamonga w/John (10+)

Short hike to test out Achilles. Ironically, managed to fuck up something in my left hip? No damn idea. Turned around right before summit out of disgust. Nice walk down :). Some MF POS is painting blue arrows all over the place. Urge to kill, rising.

Aug 5 / Manker to Lodge MB (7)

Nice day. Still crazy hot at 6,000′. Around 0:49 up. Traffic sucks, but I do like getting up in the trees. Achilles a bit achy still from Aug 2 hike.

Aug 3 / Short MB Ride (5+)

Hot.

Aug 2 / Short Hike (4+)

Walk test of Achilles. Seems okay. We’ll see tomorrow. Strangely emotional hour or so. So…there was that.

Jul  31 / Black Star to Bleh (14?)

Just no energy. Okay at first, then…so…tired. Turned around at saddle. Bah.

Jul  30 / Short Walk (1+)

Just testing Achilles. Not there yet…

Jul  29 / Manker to Lodge Baldy MB (7+)

Fun climb in surprising 90+ heat from Manker Flat to lodge on access road. Fun speedy descent.

Jul  28 / Stage-Serrano-? Loop MB (7+)

Felt pretty good. Little winded on last climb, but not bad. Need new rear tire. Still suck in rock garden. Usual 0:53.

Jul  27 / Willow-Bommer-Bend Loop MB (4+)

Trying a steeper hill. Fine all around. Cleared the hard bit on Bend. Speedy. Breaks squeaking again? No problems, really, and fast.

Jul  25 / Putting Around Serrano MB (4?)

Just tried a little up and down / out and back. Legs okay, Achilles okay, bit breathy on return climb, but not complaints. Somehow sidearmed a cactus on the way down, so picking spines out of myself, but all good otherwise.

Jul  24 / Black Star to Beek’s MB (Fasted) (16)

Pretty pokey, but Achilles didn’t seem to mind. Not eating slowed me down, but oddly where I felt tired, etc., didn’t really change much. Another bee tried to get in my helmet, so I shook my head until I nearly fell of my bike. Maybe just let it sting me next time?

Jul 23 / Short Test MB (4+)

Well, my foot didn’t fall off, so maybe I can still bike. Also ate a lot of crap and gained like three pounds.

Jul 19 / Jog up Top of the World (4.5+)

Well, this was 90% a great jog and 10% an Achilles re-injury, so…I’m out for a while. Weeks at least. Maybe months. This injury came on faster and more dramatically than in the past. If I missed any signals, it might’ve been tight calves?

Jul 17 / San Jacinto from Humber w/Kam (16)

New photo by Shawn Butler / Google Photos

Very nice mellow hike up and jog/hike down with Kam. No real issues except general lack of energy. Beautiful day. Say Kiera, Jessie, Giovana, etc. Small world.

Jul 15 / Bend Willow Jog (5?)

Another crap day on crap legs feeling crap. Honestly not sure how much more of this I can take. If this is what “running” feels like, it’s time to get a walker and start tending a garden somewhere. No idea what to do to fix it. No idea what’s wrong in the first place. On a positive note, my aerobic fitness isn’t terrible.

Jul 14 / Black Star Fail MB

Literally got off my back part way up and cried. That’s how crap I feel. Also killed another bee with my head, this time before getting stung. Not sure what to feel about that.

Jul 12 / Syc Ser Stage Loop Jog (5+)

Felt not terrible despite heat, which was nice. So…huh. Maybe it was drinking coffee after a month? I have no idea.

Jul 10 / Black Star to Crest (9)

Usual time, usual crappy feeling. Blah.

Jul 8 / Quick Jog on Bend (3+)

Just testing body out. Hot (around 90), so kept it short, but usual time on climb and easy descent. Not bad overall.

Jul 7 / Stage-Serrano-West Loop MB (7+)

Kinda whacked ride today. Badly bonked on second climbs, had to walk bike (like never before). Wonder if it was the heat (it was over 90 w/o a breeze). Not a great feeling, but felt fine at car. Hmm.

Jul 6 / Test on Little Syc (?)

Just no energy. Legs tired. Heat sucked. Should have had a beer instead. 🙂

Jul 3-4 / Rae Lakes Loop with John (40+)

Rae Lakes Loop wJohn – Jul 3, 2021 / Google Photos

So, we decided to drive to King’s Canyon, get out of the car, hike 40+ miles, and drive back to Irvine w/o any sleep (well, John slept in the car b/c he’s the Stephen Hawking of sleep). It went about as well as you might expect. A couple of things worth remembering:

A. We decided to do the Rae Lakes Loop from the west to reduce overall mileage and elevation gain. Still think this was the right call, even if the two mile walk to the loop start is one of the most boring sandy paths in the history of sandy paths.

B. The clockwise loop takes you north and then east, up two really gorgeous canyons full of life, the sound of water, and stunning rock faces in all directions. That’s what I was looking forward to most, and it did not disappoint.

C. When you hit the PCT, you turn back south and head toward the eponymous lakes. This drainage is wider and dryer than the first two and, while still very beautiful, isn’t as unique as the earlier canyons. Also, there are far more people.

D. I really loved the climb from Rae lakes to Glen Pass; just a beautiful area with expansive views, and the fading thunderstorm didn’t hurt.

E. The return seemed like it was going to be fun if long until we hit the junction at XXX, which told us it was still 15 miles to where our car was parked at Road’s End. This was completely wrong according too my math (and is factually wrong by 3+ miles), and psychologically damaging ;). The signs also for some reason picked random end points (sometimes Cedar Grove, with is 4+ miles farther, etc.), and I suspect the makers got CG and RE confused. Which is both stupid and dangerous.

F. The stretch between that point and the next major junction (about 6.3 miles) was the longest death march I can remember. It just went on, and on, and on. Just in a bad mood, I guess, but damn. Then the next set of switchbacks was even worse. Then the sandy slog back to the lot was…well, not good.

G. On the drive out of the Canyon, I kept seeing deer, foxes and even snakes basking in the road. More wildlife than I’d seen all day. Which was weird. What’s a gray fox-looking thing with a lion’s mane? Thought it was a plushy come to life. Freaked me out.

H. All told, there were truly beautiful parts and I’m glad we did it, but…I don’t know. Maybe more sleep would have helped :).

Jul 1 / Willow Bommer Bend Loop MB (4+)

Just testing things out in the heat. Aerobics not bad. Legs a bit tired. Energy okay, actually, though I had to walk the last foot of the last climb on Bend (only cleared it twice, I think). New brakes great on descent, but I think my rear tire needs replacing soon.

I do notice that with the Vit B and Vit D, the max aerobic output problem is fading and I don’t get winded nearly as easily. Now it just feels like work instead of panic, which is, you know, better. Just need that to continue past the first 45 min…

Other Stuff

• Q2 2021
• Q4 2021

Peace.