Crescent City

You didn’t think I was serious about taking it easy right after that 20 mile run, did you?  For those of you who have been following me for a couple of marathon training cycles, you know that I was just lying to myself.  But the difference between pre-taper runs and taper runs is this: FREEDOM.  I can do runs if I want to, not because I feel like I have to.  They can be slow, they can be fast, I can run a few miles and stop for a nap if I want.  That’s why I looooove the taper.  As blogging buddy, Ewa, pointed out, I just switch to something else and not really taper.  Touche.

Matt and I decided to go to Crescent City just after we returned from the East Coast.  We decided to cancel just after the deadline passed, so up we went.  Immediately after my 20 mile run, I had a roadside baby wipe bath and changed into dry clothes and we continued on northward up the coast.

 

Saturday night, we took it easy.  We watched some TV and had a nice dinner out.  I scarfed down a burger while he at lobster ravioli.  It rocked.

Sunday, we were up early and headed north.   We toured the Battery Point Lighthouse first.

 

 

Crossing the border into Oregon is always an experience.  California has so many coastal building regulations that Oregon does not and suddenly an explosion of summer homes and resorts dot the otherwise untouched landscape.   

 

 

 

Stopping for only Dairy Queen (twice!!!!), hiking and photos, we thought of this as more of a recon mission than anything else.  The weather was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves from inside the car.  Outside, it was really windy.  At Gold Beach, I stopped for photos into the wind and my eyes watered instantly in irritation.  I wiped the tears with my sleeves and jumped back into the car.  Birds flew into the wind, sometimes turning loop-de-loops in the air and some nearly batted to the ground with brute force.  The only ones enjoying the wind were kite surfers in the lagoon.

 

 

We took particular interest in the Coastal Trail, several broken segments of trail that moved across the bluffs and beaches to connect along the entire coastline.  We eventually picked up a map that showed the trail in its entirety.  Looks like a fun weekend trail adventure.

 

By late afternoon, we found ourselves back in Crescent City.  I’m always itching to explore.  All signs of fatigue were suddenly masked by adventure.  An entire Redwood park that I haven’t seen!  Let’s go! 

 

I took my new trail shoes out for a spin.  Their crooked lacing seemed odd at first, but I just gave into the delicious cushioning only brand new shoes can offer and was in love.  We chose the Hiouchi Trail along the Smith River, California’s largest undammed river.  The water sparlked like a tropical lagoon.  It was beautiful.  I jumped over the rocks and roots in the trail, bouncing along as I went.  I enjoyed the feeling of freedom.  Training was over, now it’s playtime!  I love training for marathons, but I think I love when the pressure comes off just as much. 

 

 

Matt and I stopped for photos, we zigzagged beneath the broken canopy of second-growth trees.  They looked like baby Redwoods compared to the trails we usually run on.  Occasionally a larger old growth tree would come along the path, but mostly stumps of them remained.  We meandered around their trunks, over rocks, and up the ridges.  I dashed around the corner and suddenly the trail disappeared from sight.  I looked to the right and found it, going straight through a hollow stump.  That was my favorite part of this run.  Oh and I also loved how flat it was.  With just 400 ft. of elevation gain over the 4.5 miles, it felt so easy and carefree.  The perfect first run of my taper.