Giving backpacking a shot!

This post might not be the greatest if you're looking for juicy running stuff (because my running life is that interesting). However, I still am running! I run about four times a week now, mainly sticking with flat MAF runs. Things have been going well! I'm still searching for the right workout balance, and this past week my experiment was doing weightlifting/climbing in the morning, and running at night. But who am I kidding, I barely climb now a days. It doesn't even really count. I did however play around at Dogpatch Boulders last week for a couple of hours. I worked on this competition style problem which was fun! I didn't get it though :( But came close enough. 

Competition style V3. A bit stretchy! lol

Running at night has been great though. One minor caveat is that my digestive system hasn't really been nailed down for evening runs. I think just about every time I go running at night I end up in a mad rush for the bathroom (maybe TMI? But who cares, runner's are notorious for their bathroom tales). And UNFORTUNATELY, the rangers that take care of the public bathrooms in the park are irritatingly timely when it comes to locking the doors. Luckily I have found refuge at the Hilton's bathrooms...which I should say are quite fancy!

Yay for pristine bathrooms!

Another negative aspect to running at night: when things get dark, the nocturnal animals come out! I see multiple skunks and raccoons. Which might be a positive for some people, but I think getting sprayed by a skunk might just ruin my day.

Two of the little stinkers crossed my path on this run.

The perks are that it's cooler out. It can get a bit breezy on the ol' bay trail, especially in the evening, but I find the breeze kind of welcome in the heat. Also, the sunset. I really look forward to any time that I can catch the sunrise or sunset. My body is also much more warmed up and ready to run as opposed to going the first thing in the morning.

By the beach in Burlingame - night run.

I just need to adjust my eating schedule I guess. Maybe I shouldn't down a large meal 15 minutes before running.

Aside from running, Jon and I have been focusing on backpacking and training for our upcoming hike up the Mountaineer's route at Mt. Whitney. We are both new to the sport, and knew it wasn't going to be easy, so we've been doing some hikes around the bay area with loaded packs.

Two weeks ago, we did one of the most popular Bay Area hikes - Mission Peak in Fremont. Just a skip and a hop across the 92. We wanted to go somewhere new, and since I had heard so much about Mission Peak I decided it would be a good spot to do our first hike. Plus I heard there were cows. SOLD.

We went with our friend Kelvin, and packed our bags full to ensure a good workout. My bag ended up weighing 34 pounds.

The total elevation for our little loop was just over 2100, however almost all of the elevation gain was within three miles, so it was pretty steep most of the way up.

We left bright and early, and for the first time in a long time, I got to see a sunrise. I knew that there was no shade at Mission Peak and that it was supposed to be a hot day in Fremont.

The first thing we noticed was that it was CROWDED. Even at 7am, we had to park about a mile away. There was a flood of people, and to me it looked like a pilgrimage to the top...something I really haven't seen before on a hike.

We were the only ones with giant packs on, and I think almost everyone that walked by us made comments about it.

Our pace that we maintained was steady. I practiced the "rest step" technique that my mountaineer friends (Rini and Brandon) told me about, and I think it helped from burning out.

We summited in just over an hour, and joined a large crowd that was on the top. There was a long line to take photos with the notorious marker at the top. While the guys sat and took pictures and at their lunch, I decided to hop in the line, the entire time talking myself in and out of standing there. In the end, I gave in, and we snagged a photo.

The stupidly long line to take a photo

Anddd here we are! Complimentary colors!

Oh, and I can't forget the cow photos. We were able to get pretty close to them. So cute!

COW

The hike back down was a relief. I ended up slowly jogging most of the way down, much to the disapproval of Jon, and my quads.

Credit to Jon - hiking down Mission Peak

This morning was our second backpacking trip. I managed to squeeze in another pound, with my bag tipping the scales at 35. Kelvin joined us again, as well as another group of friends that had coincidentally planned a hiking trip at the same place!

Our plan was to arrive at the park at 7 and start hiking. Mt. Diablo gets HOT. The last time Jon and I attempted a run up it, we ended up turning around and not summiting because of the heat. We didn't want to make that same mistake, so an early start was a requirement.

What we didn't realize, was that the state park didn't even open until 8:00am. FAIL. Luckily after about 15 minutes one of the rangers opened it early for us, and we got to a start at 7:30.

Cred to Jon for this photo! Hot hot hot!

The climb up to Eagle Peak was brutal. Some of the parts had up to a 40% elevation grade, which is pretty steep. Having the backpack and hiking those steep grades was really difficult for me, as well as hiking down the really steep sections. There were moments when I would have to slide on my butt and then attempt to stand back up from a deep squat.

Our group at the top of Eagle Peak - Credit to Jon

I also had no idea how large my backpack was, and constantly snagged tree branches and brush. Apologies to my friends that I may have snapped branches in their faces! I think/hope that I was able to maneuver through the gross amounts of poison oak that lined the trails, especially for Jon's sake since he seems super sensitive to it.

Credit to Jon

The trail is undeniably beautiful, but I couldn't spend much time looking around since I was so focused on walking straight and not tripping. I was really feeling the weight of the bag on the uphills this time around, and was definitely the slowest of the bunch. To my defense, I also had the most weight in my bag. My heart was pounding! Luckily my friends were kind enough to wait for me, or hang back to make sure I didn't fall off a cliff (which was actually a real danger considering how clumsy and unbalanced I was with the pack).

Are we in a drought?

I don't think I've ever drank so much water on a workout before, and I am pretty sure I'm still dehydrated. We were all sweating buckets because the sun was really unforgiving, especially towards the end of the summit, and the entire hike back down. I literally watched Kelvin darken about three shades from the sun, even with sunscreen.

Me literally begging for Jon to help me take water bottles out of my pack. "WATER. WATER."

We all celebrated when we finally reached the top, and then proceeded to tear through our packs to eat lunch and refill our waters. The view was spectacular, and we were able to see several landmarks due to the crystal clear skies.

checking out the view

Jon's better pano

After an hour of dilly dallying, we worked our way back down. The sun was much stronger by that point (around 12:30). The way we took back down was a much friendlier road, a fire road for the most part that was on a steady and easier grade. This was the way that I ran up it previously maybe a year ago, and seemed so much easier.

There was about .01% shade on the trail going down. Everyone's feet started to really ache and blister, and you could feel the energy from our group being sucked away by the intense rays. My heels began to blister in strange spots, so I ended up favoring my toes for the second half of the decent.

Hiking down - Credit to Jon

I started chatting with one of my friends, and we were able to make time go seemingly much faster. At least it took our minds off of our aching feet. We talked about many things, but most of the subjects were the cold drinks that we were going to indulge in after. Jamba Juice...pina coladas...bloody mary's...otter pops...

Once again, we were cheering when the cars were in sight, and immediately I took off my pack. It surprised me at how I felt like I cut off a limb of my body when I took it off. Walking without it felt strange!

Total elevation was just over 3900 feet of gain, and 13.6 miles.

After all of our talk of Jamba Juice (or more, me talking up about how good it is after a long workout), we all promptly headed to the nearest one. I drank my Strawberry Whirl sz. Medium in record time.

Pretty sure I'll be sore tomorrow, but I think it was an excellent hike to help prepare us for Whitney. 

Anddd to end this super long post, here are some random photos that describe the rest of my week.

Some of our heirloom tomatoes from the garden

The girls are getting bigger! Treat time!

Chickens!

Sandwich makers are greatly under appreciated. Tuna melt for dinner!