Mt. Diablo - Oyster Point Trail, Twin Ponds Trail, and Eagle Peak

Well we are definitely getting close to the Diablo Challenge 50K.  In just  under two weeks we will be heading out on a bus to Brentwood to complete the race that was our first DNF last year.  To prepare, this past week we ran up the one section of the 50K course we haven't run, ran the Twin Ponds Trail in the Diablo Foothills Regional Park and back through Castle Rock, and finally did a hike/run with the kids on a new trail up Eagle Peak and back down Mitchell Rock Trail. Before all the running, though, we also made a trip out to Mill Valley to check out the new San Francisco Running Company.  Included is the recap.

Oyster Point Trail - Mount Diablo State Park

Last year, due to the heat, Beth and I made the choice to DNF at the 15 mile mark.  It had been in the 90's and, well, didn't train like we should have due to injuries from the Napa Marathon a month and a half earlier.

This year has been different, with Beth putting in between two and three hours, three to four days a week up on Diablo and me putting in miles in at work as well as running trails with her on the weekends.  We also have run a couple of races recently.  So we feel prepared to finish this time.

One of the items on our check list however, has been to run the one section of the trail we haven't run, being between Old Finley Rd. and Curry Point.  More specifically the trail out of Old Finley. 

On Friday, we set out for our run.  Due to the nature of the parking situation, you have to park 0.75 miles from the trail head.  The goal was to run 8 miles and back.  I was breaking in my Cascadia 8's  on the trail as well as the gaiters that I had bought the day earlier at the San Francisco Running Company.

The beginning of the run was good and we felt strong.  We quickly ran into a bit of a challenge with how muddy the hill was.  That, and the realization that the trail is now pretty overgrown with poison oak.  The trail is an awesome piece of single track and the hill out of Old Finley is not as challenging as we had thought it would be.   We got to the top in no time. 

The views are spectacular, especially of Jackass Canyon and compared with other areas around Mt. Diablo, it is very shaded.  In fact, if we had known this part was as shaded, we probably would have decided to continue last year!

Just past the 3.5 mile mark we made the decision to turn around due to the poison oak.  We didn't want to risk further exposure to it, with me having really bad reactions in my previous encounters.  We had achieved what we had set out on this trail, getting to the top and running along the ridge, so we decided to drive back to Castle Rock and run some of the single track Beth had discovered a week or so back in the Diablo Foothills Regional Park.

Twin Ponds Trail - Diablo Foothills Regional Park

We reached the Twin Ponds trail running through parts of Castle Rock, and into Diablo Foothills Regional park, right above Borges Ranch.

Twin Ponds Trail, for the most part is some pretty awesome single track.  Fully exposed, it provides views of Shell Ridge and runs past several ponds.  Definitely cattle country,  the trail is a roller coaster between oaks and grassland.  With the recent rains, the hills are a beautiful green and mustard yellow.

In fact, I was so caught up with the scenery, I missed a root and took a face plant.  Nothing like dirt and last weeks cow E coli to bring you back to your senses.  The funny thing was that my wife also fell at the same spot the week before.

The trail wraps back around above Buckeye Ravine.  I continued out past China Wall and down Little Yosemite to Stage Road and Stage Road to the car.  So all miles in total, we did 13.5 on Saturday.

Eagle Peak Trail and Mitchell Rock Trail - Mount Diablo

On Sunday we decided to hike/run with the kids out an unmarked trailhead with access to the north side of Mt. Diablo.  More single track, it began running the Clayton meadows at the base of the mountain.  The emerald green grass was blowing in the wind with sparse oak trees dotting the rolling landscape. We also came upon a pond full of tadpoles, the kids loved it.  Most of the time we bypass the field when we park at the Mitchell Canyon trail head, so this was a real treat.

Our destination was the Eagle Peak trail.  We are pretty familiar with Back Creek Trail; however, after recent pictures from 100 Mile Ryan (who is training for Leadville 50) we thought that it would make a decent hike.  And for our kids, a hike up means a run down.  Our intent was not to go all the way to Eagle Peak, but we kept climbing to the ridge.  This again a nice single track but I can’t see running down it with the amount of sage brush overhanging the trail.  Also, there are areas where the two foot track drops an off a cliff on the downhill side.

Once we got to the ridge we decided to head down the Mitchel Rock trail, which also took us over the Twin Peaks.  This is at the 1,700 foot level.  After a little bit of dicey downhill we past the rocky promontories and down some pretty sweet single track.  The wildflowers are in bloom, with orange, red, yellow, blue, and purple flowers.  We had a great time running down the mountain.  While you can see Clayton, Concord, and the Delta in the distance, you still feel extremely remote.  The kids had a great time, swinging around the turns and up and down the dips.  This two mile trail took us past Mitchell Rock and back to the meadows below.  It was a wonderful hike.  Overall, this was a five mile loop back to the car.

The San Francisco Running Company

Besides running trails the past couple of days, we discovered the San Francisco Running Company in Mill Valley.  I have seen twitter posts and other Bay Area trail runners comment about the store’s opening but didn’t know much about it.  Boy was I surprised to be greeted by VictorBallesteros and Brett Rivers.  My wife and I recognized Victor from meeting him at the Footfeather’s hill clinic we did back in October.  While Brett Rivers (one of the owners of the store, the other is Jorge Maravilla) looked really familiar, I felt extremely embarrassed not to know who he was until I got home. This was especially awkward after calling out the pictures of the different runners on the wall.

The San Francisco Running Company is an awesome trail running store, with everything that you will need.  Nicely situated at the base of the Marin Headlands and the gateway to many of the trails, I can see a lot of runners stopping by after their runs for supplies.  Having access to the wealth of knowledge provided by Brett, Jorge, and Victor is priceless.  

I bought my sorely needed gaiters for Diablo as well as some freshly baked bread that was recently delivered from the MH Bread and Butter Bakery.  Nathan Yanko and Devon Yanko, also ultra-runners, have started a bakery up in San Anselmo.  While it isn’t open yet, they are doing bread deliveries to different Marin spots.

While Brett was taking care of the purchases, Victor asked us what we would have done different on Diablo differently so that we could have finished.  As with the trail running community, it is so nice that everyone is open to this type of discussion.  We gave us some suggestions related to hydration as well as some validation to our approach this year to our training.  Thank you Victor, we really appreciated it.

Next time you are in Marin, I would highly recommend a stop at the San Francisco Running Company.  It is definitely worth the trip!

Embarcadero, Wall Road, and Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve

So on the last post, my wife called out that I made it seem as if with a 10 mile run and 8.5 mile trail run, I am ready for the Diablo Challenge 50K.  I would be remiss in saying that my longest run has been the 10 miler.  So in reality, no I am not ready right now for Diablo.  However, I am getting there and felt confident enough to officially sign up this past Friday.  This week my runs consisted of:


Embarcadero

I am finally getting back closer to having the ability to run a 1:50 road half marathon.  My pace this week on my runs were in the 8:40 range which I haven't seen in a while.  And what is even better, my legs feel strong.  My typical run is a little over 5 miles, from Levi Plaza down and around McCovey Cove and back, running some of the piers.  You can't find any flatter run in San Francisco and it is great for speed.  I am now getting between 10 and 20 miles a week running the Embarcadero.

The problem last year, when we trained for the 50K is that we had run the Napa Valley Marathon a month and a half before and came out of it with injuries.  Even with the training for the 50K, I would probably say I got most of my miles running like I do on the Embarcadero.  Not this year!   We are definitely running hills.  That brings me to:

Wall Road and Secret Trail

So on Saturday my wife and I decided to run out Stage Road, up Dusty Trail, and then further up Wall Road.  The wildflowers are in full bloom on Mt. Diablo, with the orange poppies complementing the purple lupine and purple wild daisies (not really sure what they are but they look like daisies), as well as what looks like red salvia.  It was somewhat hot out, in the high 70's, which was good especially for the climb. 

When we set out, our heart wasn't in the run even thinking about turning around at four miles; however, we kept on going.  On a trail like Stage, we really don't find ourselves in the grove until after the first couple of miles.  Once we got on Wall, though, we were committed.  We even toyed with the idea of running the extra mile out to Rock City; however, decided to keep with the plan of running down Secret Trail. 

Secret trail is a nice single track.  There are some technical areas, with some deep ruts mid-way down, but it is beautiful.  The poison oak is in full view now and if you are not careful, you will find yourself with a nasty rash.  I love this trail though.  We kept on the 0.6 mile trail until we got to BBQ Terrace which brought us back to Stage Road.   The creeks are starting to dry up; however, with the rain we are supposed to get this Wednesday and a few possible storms between now and race day, there should still be some great creek running!  This run got us another 10,6 miles and 2,100 feet of elevation gain.  In fact, for the week, my wife had over 6,000 feet of elevation. 

In a couple of weeks we will be running Lagoon Valley with our kids (our daughters doing the 10K and our son doing the 5K with a family friend) which meant one more run with the girls.  On a lark, we decided to run:

Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve

There is this trail in Clayton that I have been wanting to try for some time.  It is the Mt. Diablo -Black Diamond Mines Trail, which connects Clayton with the Black Diamond Mines Regional Preserve.  My daughter had recently gone on a field trip up in the mines so I thought today would be a good day if any to try the trail.


You access the Mt. Diablo -Black Diamond Mines Trail off of Marsh Creek Road in the town of Clayton, CA.  The trail starts off promising with green hills covered by oaks. It is a mild climb for the first mile; however, about a mile out you loose the cover of the trees as you begin the climb.  At mile 2 you come to the gate for the Preserve.  You have awesome views of Rio Vista and the Delta.  There was a fire on Sherman Island and it was impressive to see the flames for far away.

Once you are in the preserve, you further climb for another 0.5 mile and are rewarded with the awesome views of Ponderosa Pine and sandstone.  You are really in back-country here.  We climbed further up until we had an awesome view of the Clayton Valley below as well as our neighborhood.  We could have kept on going; however, it was really time to head back.


It was slow going with the girls on the climb; but they knew that we would also have a fun run down the hill!  And fun it was, a non-stop run 3.5 miles back to the car.

Comming up.....

Next up is the first race of the year and the longest run, the Canyon Meadows 30K in the Redwood Regional Park followed by a half marathon at Lagoon Valley.  This should put us in a good place for the Diablo Challenge 50K.

I Miss This.....

So, as I have stated in past posts, my wife and I got into running in 2008 primarily for the health benefits.  We were both very overweight and realized that if we didn't do something about it our bodies were going to see some irreversible effects.  We started off small, maybe a 1/4 mile at first, then a mile, then 2.8.  By the end of 2008, we had run our first race together, the 7 mile John Muir Beach run that was organized at that time by PCTR.  Since then we have completed 6 marathons together as well as attempted (and received our well earned first DNF) a 50K.  We have done countless runs together. 

So it has been different since my work schedule has changed.  I used to work in the town I lived, and even before that, I would get home from work earlier so we could do a run as a family.  However, now I am running at lunch in the San Francisco, and she is on the trails between the drop-off and pickup of our kindergartener.  So I really cherish  any run I can with my wife. 

So this past Monday, I had the day off and we hit the trails out of Castle Rock.  The plan was to run up Stage Road, cut up Dusty Trail to Wall Road, then find another trail to take us to Barbeque Terrace and back to Stage Road.  It was a beautiful sunny day, with the creeks running.  The recent rains had washed the leaves off the trail; however, it wasn't muddy.

Stage Road was fun.  I don't know how many creeks we crossed; however, we attacked them with full abandon.  In fact, we came across a couple of hikers that scolded me for getting my feet wet. "All you would have to do is slow down a couple of seconds," they counseled.  A few yards to the next creek crossing and they too would have to get their feet wet, unless they turned around.
 
About a couple miles in we had to run across the edge of a pond that had overflowed its banks.  What I am think were either willows or cattails had been knocked down by the weight of the current.  About another 1/4 mile up, the trail became a creek!  That was really fun.  It kind of reminded me of the old westerns when someone was trying to get away from a posse or the calvery and would use the riverbed to hide their tracks.

Once we got up Dusty Trail to Wall Road, we settled in with the beautiful vistas of Pine Valley and Mt. Diablo on one side and Alamo and Danville on the other.  Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of climbing here. But the nice thing about this trail is that it is wide and basically paved with sandstone.  This trail, if we would have continued on, would have taken us to Rock City.  

About a 1 mile before Rock City, we took Secret Trail.  I am not sure how much of a secret this trail is since it is shown on any map.   It is a 0.6 mile single track trail that links Wall Road with Barbeque Terrace.  This trail, in it present condition, is definitely an ankle breaker, so it was definitely
 meant we had to slow down.  While it is pretty, and about 0.35 shorter than if we had just turned around at the trail crossing, I think the reverse course returning back on Wall Road is probably quicker and much more scenic.

Once we got to Barbeque Terrace, it was a quick downhill run back to Stage Road.  The Secret Trail connects about 2/3rds down and therefore you do not face as much of the steep parts of Barbeque Trail.  I was surprised though how much the rain had washed the topsoil.  Back in August, when I ran this trail last, it was pretty much boring fire road.   Now, it has become technical in places, with a lot of rocks and ruts showing.  Back on Stage Road, we hit the same creeks as before and then we were back.

Like I said at the onset, I miss and cherish these kinds of runs with my wife.  We are partners in everything we do, so she is my best running partner a husband could ever ask for.

The Diablo Half Marathon - Costal Trail Runs

So what can I say about this run other than it was awesome!!!   This was an over 13 mile, almost 3,800 foot elevation gain, challenge that was worth every moment.  I never thought I would summit Mt. Diablo on foot, but we did it.

Our family is familiar with the first three miles of the trail.  A little over 3 years ago, when the kids were much little and I would push a jogging stroller on fire trails, we tried to climb up to Deer Flat.  Mind you, it was in the 90's that day and I was not as healthy as I am today.  That said, the trail is beautiful, with sweeping views of Mitchell Canyon and of the Clayton and Concord valleys.

Today the run started at a chilly 48-degrees.  By the time we would finish (3 hours and 54 minutes, not bad for this type of run) it was 81-degrees.

This was also the first time we have run with Coastal Trail Runs. The race was well organized, challenging courses, two aid stations; however we have definitely been spoiled by running Brazen.  That said, we would definitely run with Coastal Trail Runs again.

The run begins at the Mitchell Canyon Staging area on the north side of Mt. Diablo State park.  For the first two miles, there is a mild incline.  The majority of the elevation gain happens over the next 5.25 miles.  Most of this is on fire trail up to the Juniper Campground, then gets technical to the summit.  What goes up must go down on this race and my quads were crying for mercy after the first 2 miles down.

As I have stated before, my wife and I got into running about three years ago and we run most of our races together.  This run was definitely an accomplishment that I really am proud to say we can share. When it came to this run, climbing is my specialty (due to my bicycle training) while Beth's specialty is the decent. So I was support for Beth on the way up, and she kept me going down hill.  We also ran into our friend Alan (this is his blog) almost to the Juniper Campground aid station which gave us added support.  You can follow his blog here.

Again, if you want a challenging run, this is the one.   Next up is the Long Beach half-marathon, which should be a cake walk.  Fun times......