It’s the season of mini road trips, and I recommend heading north to San Luis Obispo County, where I’ve been exploring trails (and restaurants).

While recently exploring the coast by Cayucos, I went for a run along the Estero Bluffs. Starting from the southernmost entrance to the bluffs, it’s probably about a 6-mile path out and back. It’s not that different from the Ellwood Bluffs, where I regularly run. Like Ellwood, it traces a blufftop route through low grasses overlooking the ocean with the occasional snowy plover down below.

With a morning marine layer, the cool air refreshed me while I ran even if it slightly obscured my views of the pelicans and harbor seals on the shoreline’s rocks.

I only encountered one snake blocking my trail, but there were many scampering chipmunks and ground squirrels. I would not recommend running this on a sunny day because there is absolutely no shade, and I suspect sunny weather would bring more snakes out to bake along the trail.

 

There are tradeoffs. The benefit is that it’s a long trail run without much elevation change, but the cost is that the trail has many cracks and holes that could turn an inattentive ankle.  

TO GET THERE: Take Highway 1 north of Cayucos. Just after the divided highway ends, you’ll see a dirt pullout on your left. From there, you can access the trail toward the ocean. When facing the ocean at the edge of the bluffs, the trail extends for a brief while to your left and farther to your right. Explore and enjoy. 

 

There are more details on the Vicki’s 3,000 page (see the tab above), but I want to say a big thank you to everyone who came out to run and help on a sunny Santa Barbara Saturday. Thanks to the commitment of the Santa Barbara Athletic Association, we are again able to support Special Olympics Santa Barbara.

Check the Vicki’s page for links to photos. Results have been added. Thanks for your patience.

You know you love the feel of the track, that slight lean to the left as you round the corners and the way your heart pounds in your chest as you count down those 7 and a half short laps.

So don’t miss the Vicki’s 3,000m Run this Saturday, June 6!

This is the Santa Barbara Athletic Association’s 2-mile race benefiting Special Olympics Santa Barbara.

8 a.m. registration. There is no pre-registration.

8:30 a.m. first heat. Heats based on estimated times.

Santa Barbara City College La Playa Stadium

$8. Checks can be made to SBAA.

For more information about Special Olympics Santa Barbara, click here.

The Wednesday night tradition is back. Last night was the 3rd Nite Moves of the season — the weekly 5K along the coastline that’s followed by food, beer, live music and the loss of feeling in your fingertips from the slightly freezing beach air.

I’ve run Nite Moves on and off for 10 years (with 3 straight years off when I lived out of town). This year I committed. I signed up for the entire 2009 season so that I couldn’t use my usual “it’s too expensive” excuse. 

Last night I had fun. I attribute this to three things:

1) I like running fast*. I was happy that I shaved a minute off my time between the two races this month. When I crossed the mile mark at 20 seconds faster than the previous week, I felt a momentary “Whoah, tiger.” But since I felt great, I kept going. Pacing is overrated.

*And by fast, I only mean fast by my own body’s standards. I gauge fast by my sweat, my breath, my heart rate and my perception of how fast my legs are turning over. I like when I feel like an athlete.

 2) I like my friends. One group of my friends is Athletes (they get a capital A). They’re training for a triathlon, excuse me, an Ironman (the capital I is well earned). Even though they have a nearly religious commitment to their workout schedule, they have fun when the wetsuits come off. They pretty much find some reason to celebrate with cake or cupcakes every week at Nite Moves.

One friend and co-worker ran her first race ever last night. I loved that other friends and co-workers were cheering her in at the finish and showing her where to get the beer.

I also saw a college friend and his wife — she’s out running after giving birth to a beautiful boy only three months ago. All the familiar faces in the crowd reminded me that this isn’t just a weekly race, it’s a runners’ reunion.

3) I like McConnell’s ice cream. It makes me happy. Thank you for the big scoop.

Like anything, there’s room for improvement. During the milling around time before the run starts, I see a lot of people who look lonely or bored — sometimes I’m one of them. I’m afraid that if I just say hi to someone, they’ll look at me with that “Why are you talking to me?” expression.

My challenge for next week: I promise to try starting a conversation with a stranger. If you read this and do the same, the whole scene may become a lot more friendly. And over time, there will be more familiar faces in the crowd and more people to cheer you on as you pass each other.

I joyfully steal my headline from a friend who is signed up for his first full Ironman race and not even close to putting in the miles.

Friends, 18 minutes on a treadmill was the first time I’ve run in 5 weeks — if you don’t count chasing the water buffalo across the rice field. I am definitely not overtraining.

I’ve been on an extended vacation — from work, from running, from the United States — in Thailand. I highly recommend it.

But now I’m back with a few thousand photos and a few extra pounds from all that good sticky rice with mango.

Things I learned in Thailand that may help my running:

• Squats are good for your legs. I would have preferred that they were optional, rather than mandatory, when using the local restrooms, but I should get strength training wherever I can.
• Fruit is a good dessert. After most meals, it was the only dessert option. But with the fresh fruits they grow there, I have a renewed appreciation for pineapple, papaya, dragonfruit and watermelon.
• Stay hydrated. We’d been repeatedly warned not to drink the tap water, but the heat quickly taught us to always have lots of bottled water on hand.
• Sharp reflexes prevent malaria. I’m now a trained assassin when it comes to mosquitos. I learned to move quickly and decisively — like when passing someone in a race.

Admittedly, the above list is a pathetic attempt to connect running to the past month of my life. In truth, running was pretty far from my mind. But it’s good to be back. And I’ll see you out there soon.

1) Eller’s Donuts. I had my first one today, and I don’t know how I’ve lived here this long without trying this wonderful treat. All runners are entitled to a donut now and then.

2) When the Guns N’ Roses song Paradise City plays on my iPod while running. It’s not that the beat is particularly fast paced, but it’s strong. And the last time this song came on, I decided I would push a little harder until the song was over. I forgot that the song lasts forever. But that was good. It made me work.  The fact that the song lasts forever is also worth noting if you’re planning to do karaoke.

3) Using the slide board. Have you tried one of these? You put booties over your shoes and then slide back and forth — good lateral exercise — on a slippery 5′ by 8′ board. There’s a picture here.

It took a couple of tried before I could make it the full width in one motion, but it was pretty fun.

 

I admit: I didn’t run this weekend. But I did snowshoe! If you’re going to be in a few feet of snow in Big Bear, it’s a good alternative to  attempting to run on icy roads.

While snowshoeing, I heard about an event that may make my 2010 calendar: a 5K and 10k snowshoe race in Big Bear. Unfortunately, we just missed it this year. It was Feb. 7. I suppose it would be a little difficult to train for it in Santa Barbara, but the woman who told me about it assured me that no one trains for it. 

We made it safely down the mountain today, despite the storm. I’d never seen so much snow.

Thanks to my friends for a great weekend. We crammed 9 adults, 3 dogs, 1 baby, 2 cans of pancakes in a can and a whole lot of fun into one cabin.

The lupines are back. The purple punctuated the hillsides along Farren Road last week, and I snapped a photo through the rain this morning. 

Before the rain drenched Ali and I this morning, we saw the full arch of a rainbow stretch across the sky (which is where they usually are if you’re ever looking). 

Through some miracle, my camera survived the downpour.

 

I also forgot to mention the Superbowl 4-Miler Race on Feb. 1. It was my first time running the relatively new race, and I enjoyed the course. I vote for more races in Goleta! It started off along La Patera, Cathedral Oaks and Fairview, and then it wandered through neighborhoods, around Lake Los Carneros and back to Stow Grove.

I ran 31:18 for the 4 miles, and I am satisfied with the sub-8-minute miles because, hey, the night before it was cosmopolitans and eclairs with the ladies. We all make choices, and for this particular race I prioritized chocolate and vodka higher than PRs. That’s the joy of being a recreational runner. When I finished, there wasn’t a coach to scold me for not performing my best. Instead, there was a friend waiting with a cup of water for me. The same friend served me a cupcake that night. My friends are very very cool.

It seems that every Monday evening when I change into my gym clothes at work, I’ve left something at home. Whether it’s my socks, a water bottle or, heaven forbid, deodorant, there’s always something I  forgot.

Last night I thought I had remembered everything. Then I realized I hadn’t packed an elastic band for my hair. But I dug through my gym bag and found one. Victory!

I finished up, putting on my right shoe and then reaching for my other, um, right shoe. Did I have my left shoe on my right foot? Nope. I had packed right shoes from two different pairs. Thwarted again. 

I walked out to the parking lot in my socks, having to explain my shoe situation to my co-worker Tom. “That wouldn’t do me any good, I have two left feet,” Tom said without missing a beat.

Fortunately, I keep a spare pair of old running shoes in the trunk of my car. Workout saved. 

I think the moral of the story is to keep extra shoes and gear in your car. But it may just be that I need to slow down and pay attention when I pack my gym bag.

If you’ve got a little Captain Morgan in you, you may be the reason I couldn’t finish my run on Wednesday.

I was running in the Ellwood Bluffs and just as I got to the cliffs, I saw an overturned shopping cart with some plastic bags of trash in it. I probably gave a disgusted grunt and started to turn onto the trail, but I couldn’t run past it. I stopped, pulled the trash out of the cart and started walking back home. I couldn’t run with the trash because even when they’re empty, two large glass bottles of Captain Morgan is pretty heavy. They were appropriately paired with two empty two liters of soda. As I walked, I found more things to pick up.

I’d like to brag about my morning trash collection (an almost complete list):

• two bottles of rum*
• two bottles of soda*
• cigarette pack
• doritos bag
• granola bar wrapper
• a sock
• a beer can*

Last night I had dinner with a group of wonderful people, including an anthropologist. This has me thinking about what we can learn about people from their trash. I think I can draw a few conclusions about the people that preceded me on the bluffs.

*Yes, I recycled.