Ma-Lel Dunes : Cali beach training for an Alaska winter ultra

"One more day of this sunny, dry weather and it will be the driest stretch in December in recorded history," Matt commented excitedly. I made a comment about him being nerdy for knowing that, a hint of pride mixed in with my teasing. Not many people manage to squeeze a living out of the things they are passionate about. Fortunately, Hubby is one of them. If only he could get the shift work part out of the equation, he could declare bliss in his profession.

But back to the sunshine: Absolutely unprecedented period of sunshine for this time of year. Usually when the weather is setting new records in November and December, it involves cows up to their udders in mud, not them munching on dry grass and lying down in the sunny spots.

Matt and I decided to run the Ma-l'el Dunes for some Susitna-specific training. One day a couple of weeks ago, Alex showed us this place. He only runs trails and seems to be able to sniff out new places naturally. Either that, or he just wanders aimlessly and happens upon things by accident. We ran the dunes as darkness fell that night.

Today, not even a touch of haze tainted the sky. We began running easily along the forested trail. The scrub trees were so densely packed on the sides of the trail, it was almost like running through a tunnel. Just about three miles of running on short spur trails, out-and-back one, and then out-and-back down another, and we finally were warmed up enough to tackle the sand.I calculated my splits based on the terrain I ran. The beginning of the run (and the end) was about a 10:00/mi. Nice trail warm-up pace. Weaving through the twisted foliage, we ran through shade, icy spots, sunny spots --everything. Climbing up loose sand, I moved tentatively to avoid dumping it into my shoes. Last time, I ran with gaiters. Combining sturdy gaiters and bare legs just left me with bleeding shins from all the rubbing. It did keep my feet sand-free. No, this time, I wanted to try something different.

Duct tape. Handyman's Best Friend. Red Green would be so proud of my new gaiters. I use duct tape for everything. The Yooper in me demands it.

Reaching the top of the first dune was like setting foot on another planet. Sand for as far as I could see. No plants grew. Windswept spots were packed hard and I glided across. As we moved along the dunes, I enjoyed the packed areas. Then, just as I let my guard down, my foot sank into a softer spot. Very much like running in the snow, non? The sandy surface looked completely uniform, all windblown to disguise the softer spots. Matt and I ran to the end of the public dune area (the rest is on an animal rehab sanctuary, so it isn't open to everyone), did some zig zags along the trail and then headed for the beach. In comparing to all the other trail runs, this one was different in every way. I'm beginning to love the diversity living in this area provides : lush green Redwood forests; miles of beach; and now the Sahara-esque sand dunes.

With the hills and soft spots, Matt and I averaged a 12:00/mi on the dunes. Then we followed small yellow markers out to the beach. The tide was out, leaving the beach twice as large as we'd ever seen it. Usually we're restricted to running on the heavily slanted soft sand near the vegetation. Running in the firm sand was easy. No hills, almost as easy as running on pavement. But out here, with nothing to break the wind, I ran about a 9:30/mi.

Matt and I moved a little inland. The pack was softened here and the resistance increased, the pace slowed to 10:00/mi with the same effort. Reminded me of riding on an exercise bike. Increase the resistance, turn the knob. When Matt and I grew tired of the extra effort, we "turned the knob down" and the resistance disappeared.

We had planned to run only 10 miles, but we were enjoying ourselves so much that we decided to extend it. Matt brought a little water and we each had some food. When we ran out of water, we decided that it was time to turn back. I could keep on going, but I was getting hungry.

I was also losing a lot of water. Running in the wind seems to make my sweat dry so fast that my body tries to produce even more of it. I can get dehydrated quickly on windy days (ditto for moist ones). So for about about the same level of effort, the beach produced paces at least a minute per mile slower. We may also have stopped the watch to play in the sand :

The return trip to the car was pretty uneventful.

We returned the way we came. When we hit the gravel trail to the car, I picked up the pace. I've decided that I really like to kick in the final portion of my runs. I can do this for every run, I just can't pick it up for too much distance. In this case, it was .25 mi. Perfect distance for just a hint of speed.

We returned to the car with shoes full of sand. My duct tape gaiters stayed on for most of the run, but began to peel off when I ran on the dunes and my shoe flexed a lot. Matt suggested wrapping the duct tape around the whole shoe to get them to stay on. That would eliminate all the grip on the bottom of my shoe, so that wouldn't work. Any suggestions? Most of the sand that entered my shoe did so near my ankle. Perhaps longer socks would work better. I will be running the Su in pants, but probably not training on the dunes. The only experimenting I have ever done with running has been in my pacing, so focusing on gear issues is a pleasant change.

So what's the big deal with monitoring my pace? Aside from curiousity, I calculated pace on varying surfaces because I'm trying to estimate a finish time for Susitna. This research will help a lot in determining how many extra Snickers bars I need to take for the race. Very important scientific research, you know. :)

So the math for this run :
13.75 miles. 2:20. 10:15/mi.

Packed, hilly trail : 2.72 mi. 9:58/mi.
Sand dunes : 1.00 mi. 11:05/mi.
Beach (alternating packed and soft sand) : 7.55 mi. 9:52/mi.
Sand dune again : 0.98 mi. 13:14/mi.
Packed, hilly trail : 1.28 mi. 9:54/mi.
Cooldown walk/jog to car : 0.22 mi. 11:27/mi.