Humboldt Redwoods 22 in the Heat

One day last week, Matt, Alex and I ran an easy eight miles together. We proposed the idea of him joining us for our long run. "You'll need to bring food and drinks on this one," I said. "Not unless it's at least 20 miles," Alex replied, trying to act tough. "Oh don't worry, it is," Matt said with an evil grin on his face. "Oh, how long were you thinking?"



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Three of us stepped out of the air conditioned car into a steamy sauna. It was much hotter than we were used to, more sunshine, and really humid with all those darn Redwoods around. We fastened the straps of our running packs and headed out. The first few miles wove through the low Redwood forest. Immediately, the sweat began.

Matt and Alex studied the map before we turned onto the Squaw Creek Ridge Trail. Matt was making sure we made the right turn, and Alex looked for a spot to bail on our run if he needed to. He had never gone this far before. Despite being crazy fast and running about 70 mi a week, he runs 10 miles or so a day instead of doing long runs. He was nervous about the time on his feet and fueling. Plus he was battling a plague that he caught on a work trip. I assured him that even his Grandma could keep up at Karen Pace. "Karen said she wanted a flatter run, but I'm not sure that's what we came up with."



I was both overjoyed and snarly that our trail kept climbing. I was used to the profuse sweating by now, the cooler air higher up just helped. But climbing? It burned my glutes like a mo-fo. I couldn't even run the steepest parts. Two of the miles gained 1,500 ft each without any reprieve.

We did a quick out-and-back on the Hanson Ridge Trail. The trail finally leveled off enough to run. It felt great! By mile 10, we turned onto Preacher Gulch Trail and it was a series of really steep uphills and really steep downhills. Impossible to catch an even pace. Impossible to even walk. I actually had to stop walking on some of the uphills. Talk about knocking all the confidence out of me.



Noticing that I was struggling and probably frustrated with all the stopping, Alex told us a story about one of his runs in Kentucky, where had moved from in April. It kept me from stopping, but I still kept up a fast walk. Matt mentioned that he could go for a cold swim. I wanted an ice cream truck to drive up. "It'll probably be driving away when we get to the top." "I can almost hear the music now!!"







The first 12 miles took us 3:09, and a 15:49/mi to complete. Not too much more climbing, so there would be some time to pick it up for the rest.

Downhill from Grasshopper Peak was brutal, as it always is. My knee began hurting. Caused by the downhill or just the fact that I was actually running again, I didn't know. Periodic walk breaks helped rest my toes, which were bashed into the front of my shoes with each step.

With just six miles to go, we turned onto Johnson Camp Trail. This is my favorite. The downhill is just perfect for cruising. It's single track and feels absolutely effortless. How it felt effortless after the bashing and miles I'd already endured, I wasn't sure...but it did. My feet weren't happy about the running shoes. Blisters I'd gotten from the Pacifica race had callused over, but new blisters formed around the callus. I tied my shoes tighter and that seemed to help a little.

Dizzy from not enough water or food, Alex crashed. Embarrassed, he picked himself up without looking at us and continued on. By mile 19, he had run ahead and Matt and I could tell he'd had enough and just wanted to finish. He stopped every few minutes to let us catch up, and then without a word, continued on. We descended to the bottoms again, the trees suddenly changing from short and thin to massive and mossy. Almost there. Alex suggested we kick it in, I told him that I had been.



He and Matt took off to the car without me. It was really peaceful to run along at my own pace, with only the Redwoods to keep me company. Alex had inhaled half of his food stash by the time I got to the car. I tended to my poor feet. The blister on my left foot had painfully popped somewhere in the last few miles. The one on my right was blood-filled and about the size of a quarter. Yum. "That's pretty impressive, can I watch you pop it?" Alex sarcastically asked. "If you want to." "Would it be crossing the line if I asked to suck the blood out?" "Yes." "Oh, okay, nevermind then." Haha. Matt and I were happy he was in a good enough mood to be joking. That means we probably can get him to come with us on our next adventure, hopefully with more food and water.

Miles : 21.65
Time : 5:02.52
Pace : 14:01/mi.
Elevation change : 8,000ish.
It was nearly 45 minutes faster than the 23 mile run, even though it was a little shorter. Although progress from a 15:00/mi to 14:00/mi still makes me really really slow, it is progress, so I have to be happy with it.

That night, Matt and I went out for dinner at a local Chinese restaurant. Nothing like a really salty dinner to replenish those electrolytes, right? Matt and I officially signed up for the Sequoia 50K a few days before this run. Usually, I am filled with excitement when I hit the "submit" button, but this time it was more apprehensive. What the heck am I doing? I thought, as I clicked the button. After this run, I was a little better. Then I got a fortune cookie after dinner :


Glad the gods think I can do it, too. It will be really really slow, but it'll be fun.