Mount Diablo Peak to Peak to Peak Trail

Sunday morning in Castle Rock Regional Park

Well, when I said that I would be posting less I didn't mean posting only two posts this month.  However, I am having computer woes ( mine died) which means that I have to borrow my wife's until I can afford a new one, hopefully soon!





That said,  there has been a lot of running with my goal for the month to build my base by running an average of 30 miles a week.  I did well the first two weeks and slipped the last two weeks.  However, I have though finally blasted the roadblocks of the last few months where I run just enough to feel uncomfortable to not enough to build a solid base.

Just outside China Wall

This week has been awesome though.  My wife and I have been able to squeeze in two runs up on Mount Diablo.


On Saturday, we took our traditional run through Castle Rock Regional Park over to China Wall and back.  The sun was just coming up over Diablo with a nice bit of high clouds providing wonderful shadowing across Pine Canyon.  It was an awesome run.

Deer off of Burma Road

Right above Sunset Trail, off Burma Road, I came across a doe and two of her yearlings.  They were unimpressed by me and allowed me to get within 10 feet of me before they slowly made way off the trail.  Most of the deer on Mount Diablo are pretty wild and pretty jumpy around humans which made these deer pretty different.

Trail up to North Peak.

Today, our kids went back to school, with our oldest beginning middle school and our other kids beginning a new elementary.  I took the day off to walk them to school and help with the adjustment.  After, my wife and I decided to drive to the top of the mountain to explore the trails around North Peak and Prospectors Gap.

 




I have been wanting to get up to this area since I have been looking for alternatives for summiting other than Juniper Trail ( wonderful technical single track that is great to run down!) from Mitchell Canyon.  It was in the eighties when we got up there which made for a warm run (normal for Diablo).

First we took the quick 0.7 mile loop at the top, then took Summit Trail to North Peak Trail.  This is a real nice piece of single track also!  Half way down we came across a bunch of hogs, which I have never seen on the mountain.  Once we got to the Prospector Gap intersection, and our prime objective completed, I continued up to North Peak while my wife headed back towards the car.  

Mount Diablo's North Peak

North Peak is a nice climb with the final 500 hundred yards being steep and pretty loose, however, I made quick work of it.  The peak itself is not as nice as the main mountain is in full sun.  After a couple of moments I turned around and headed back to the car.

Once back to the car, my wife suggested I run down Juniper Trail and she would drive down to the campground.  I never pass on technical so I was game.  Besides I wanted to see if I could beat her down by foot.  She arrived four minutes before I got down, but I was really satisfied with our run.

It was definitely a great run and felt very strong and best of all two special runs with my wife!

Back to the Trail!! Castle Rock to the China Wall and Back

So I have finally been able to get back on the trails!  After over a month absence due to a calf injury and being limited to the very flat Embarcadero, my wife finally took me up to see some of the trails she had been running. 






To say the precaution was necessary is an understatement.  She has come up with a awesome 7.25 mile loop that starts out the gate with a 500 foot elevation gain, nice enough to burn out any calf.  It is a beautiful run though, with sweeping vistas of Mt. Diablo, the pinnacles of Castle Rock, breathtaking views of the Diablo Valley, past The China Wall (which looks like what the Great Wall of China would look like in Ireland this time of year), and back down through Pine Valley.  Overall, it is 1,400 feet of elevation gain.

I love running with my wife.  We started this running journey together and know how to have fun on the trails.  I really feel we push one another and complement each other on the trail, just like we do elsewhere in our life.

So the details of the run:


So you leave directly from the lower parking lot (closest to the gate).  This is a nice climb up, with a very steep grade.  Beth and I had seen the trail from Burma a few months back and had wondered how to get to it.  The last 25 yards is pretty intense; however, you are rewarded with some awesome views.  We were also rewarded with a jackrabbit on our climb that look like it was the size of a wallaby.  

At the top of the hill you run a couple hundred yards to a single track that is hidden amongst the oaks.  This is one roller coaster of a trail with wonderful twists and turns. This eventually loops back onto the trail that you were previously on.  You follow this trail downhill and back to the Stage Rd. /Briones Mt. Diablo Trail cut-over.  

Running up the cut-over, we saw on the hillside a coyote.  The cattle had been grazing on the field nearby and we think he was curious.  There is no way a coyote could bring down one of the behemoths, in fact there was a cow facing the coyote ready to chase him off.

Once we got to the Briones Mt. Diablo trail, we hung a left towards the China Wall.  This is about a 1.5 run to the rock formation, with a beautiful view of Walnut Creek and Shell Ridge.  This area is well exposed, but being in the 50's it was nice to feel the sun.

While this route has become a normal path for Beth,  this was the first time on this trail.  It is a wonderful fire road.  Once we got to China Wall, the hills were a lovely emerald green.  The rock formations  there are pretty impressive and it is understandable, if you didn't know better, that this looks more like a man made wall than the awesome force of plate tectonics at work.

We carried on past the Little Yosemite Valley trail to Wall Rd then to Dusty Trail.  We took Dusty trail down to Stage Rd.  The creeks are flowing nicely, so it is really fun splashing through the creeks.  In fact, within the first quarter mile, the trail becomes the creek for 50 or so feet.  It was really funny to watch folks who where watching us run through the water.  They looked at us like we were insane.

I came to to point were I strained my calf a month a go without any problems.  I did have a little trepidation running the creek but no problems.  Beth barreled through.

We finally made it back to the parking lot very happy for the run.  All in all, this was the first week I actually ran a total 30 miles in quite a while.  I also managed to 45 miles on the bike.  No pain!  I think I can now begin the 50K training!

For the map of our run on Sunday (with an extra challenge thrown in), see below:

Pop Went the Calf Muscle......

Well, as mentioned in a previous post, I have lofty goals for this year both in my nutrition, training, and race schedule (a 50K and two marathons).  The first up is the 50K in April which, as of this week, gives 16 weeks to completely train as well as be in my optimum racing weight.

Taking advantage of the day off with my wife,  we had decided to take a nice run out of Castle Rock Regional Park in Walnut Creek.  We had mapped out an eight mile course, not too strenuous,  with a fair amount of elevation gain.  We knew we would get our feet wet since the creeks are running a nice clip.  I also knew it would be cold out, no problem there. 

That said, my calf was a little tender though from a workout I had done a couple of weeks ago.  I thought it wouldn't be a problem though since I had been running on it for the last week and a half.  I did have a little concern about them hitting the cold water, but not great enough to stop a rare run with my wife.

So we started out pretty strong, everything felt fine.  If you have ever run out of Castle Rock, you know there is some technical work about a mile in; however, no problem there.  About 1.5 miles in you come to the first creek, the water was ankle deep.  It was a little shock to my legs, but again nothing noticeable to my legs. 

Then we got to the second creek.The first couple of steps were pretty shallow, so I trotted through just fine; however, I noticed that the last step would be kind of deep.  So I pushed off with my right leg.  That is when I felt a pop...sort as if a stone had been thrown at my calf.  That was when the pain began.  I thought I could walk it out, but it was pretty intense.

My wife had me sit in the stream, which was great; however, my whole leg stiffened up.  I figured that this wasn't a good thing with a 2 mile walk / limp back to the car.  So we got going back to the car.  I hated the hike back.  I really was disappointed that I wouldn't finish  the run with my wife.  And then really upset to realize how my training schedule is now up in the air until it heals.

Image: jubileesportsphysio.au

When we got back home, I did everything I was supposed to do: Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation (RICE). You actually can find a lot of information on this.  I found this site most useful.  Doing my research I found that I am closer to a stage one strain than a stage two strain which is great.  I also feel a lot better today, able to walk on it with very little pain; however, still wearing the compression sleeve.  

A couple of years back, my wife actually ran on this type of strain; which I do not recommend.  It took her a year to heal properly.

So looks like my grand training program will have to wait a bit.  Hopefully I will be back up and running soon!

Trail Running feels soo sweet!

So this past weekend, Beth took me on a run to Burma Rd. up at Mt. Diablo.  It is so gorgeous back there that I was really excited to do it.  Especially since this would be the first run in awhile that we could do together, without the kids.

The run starts in the Castle Rock Regional Park in Walnut Creek and continues out the park into Mt. Diablo State Park along Stage Rd. After about two miles, we took a single track up Sunrise Trail to the main fire road that would take us up to Burma.  In all, there is about 1,900 feet of elevation gain.  

We saw nine deer this morning, and the weather was perfect.  Everywhere else in the Bay Area appeared to be socked in with fog, but not where we were.  Once we got to the top of the tough climb up Burma, we could see the entire Diablo Valley, the China Wall, and back over to Castle Rock.  Going down Burma Rd. trail was tougher than going up requiring us to sidestep most of the way.

Once we got back to Sunrise, we decided to run the ridge behind Castle Rock.  The prior week, Beth had found a trail down from the ridge and we attempted to find an easier way down.  Unfortunately, I am not the greatest trailblazer, so my way ended up being harder than the way Beth had discovered.  It required again, sidestepping down the mountain and climbing over two barbwire fences to get back to the main trail.  It was funny to see after our excursion the Contra Costa Search and Rescue practicing at the base of the trail.

That said, the view from the ridge is beautiful, with plenty wonderful rock formations to see; though, I wouldn't recommend the trail we used to come down.

So this weekend includes the much anticipated Rocky Ridge Trail run.  I will be running the 10K with my daughter and Sophie and Myles will be running the 5K with Beth.  The next day, Beth and I will get some long awaited hill training Clinic by Tim Long's (a.k.a. Footfeathers) ,Tim Waggoner (a.k.a. Lucho), and Victor Ballesteros   in the Marin Headlands. I will post on Monday how it all went!!!

Diablo Trails Challenge

So running has definitely become a family affair.  This past weekend we participated in the Diablo Trails Challenge.  Since the girls would be running we did the 5K, and it was such a great time.  This great time included muddy trails,  several creek crossings, and a wonderful BBQ.

Courtesey Brazen Racing

The run was organized by our favorite trail running company Brazen Racing for the Save Mt. Diablo group. There was a race for everyone: a 50K, half-marathon, 10K and 5K. This is a first rate company.  Besides the traditional shirts, everyone gets medals. In fact, everyone who comes in 1st to 3rd gets a medal.  The aid stations are fully stocked and the volunteers are so friendly.  There is so much attention to detail down to the care and concern of the runner, I have no problem having the entire family run with them.

Located in the Castle Rock Regional Park and Mt. Diablo State Park, the race was fun.  This was definitely not a day to get your PR.  In fact we got over an 1.5 inches of rain on Saturday.  Emma, our eight year old, and I placed ourselves at the starting line.  Beth and our daughter Sophie, our six year old, were in the middle of the pack.  The strategy would be that I would run ahead and if the creeks were too deep, I would ferry the girls across.  No need.  They plowed through.  The trail was extremely muddy, but you knew this going in. 

We had several friends running this race, with one being his first race ever. He bested my time by 3 minutes.  My ego slightly hurt, I was so happy that he had a great time.  In fact he came in third in his age group.  He will be running another race in Tilden Park in April with another company, I am just glad he started out with the best.

I did good, especially with the conditions, at 31 minutes.  Emma was 10 minutes behind me followed by Beth and Sophie 10 minutes after her.

Brazen typically has the finish area well stocked with recovery food.  This race included a BBQ also provided by Save Mt. Diablo. Soaking wet and cold, we had lunch and headed home for a warm bath and a cup of coffee.  I love that we can do this as a family!!!