Waterdog

I recently explored a new hiking / biking trail. It's called Waterdog and it's a network of trails that surround Waterdog Lake in Belmont. I think I've found a great spot to work on my mountain biking and trail running skills.

Waterdog is scenic and surprisingly not crowded despite its easy access on the Peninsula. The park can be accessed from San Carlos or Belmont. The park consists of several trails that lead from the hills down into a valley with a lake (Waterdog lake). 

Mountain biking trails are graded like ski slopes - beginner (green), intermediate (blue), advanced (black / red). So far, I haven't seen any mountain bikers in Waterdog, but my two trips there have been during rainy weather.

This is the Trek Fuel 8 bike that I was trialing, in preparation to purchase the Trek Fuel 7. It's a full suspension mountain bike with extra wide tires. It held up well during my trial run. It was complimented by a trail runner who, like me, enjoyed being out in the rain. He was nice enough to pause his rain and take a picture of me.

Near Waterdog Lake, there is unique scenery that is reminiscent of scenery that I saw in Ireland. Enjoy the pictures below!

Purisma Creek Trail

A few weeks ago, I decided to work off some Thanksgiving meals with a vigorous hike. This time, instead of hiking my usual Rancho San Antonio trail, I decided to try another trail that I had hiked once before - the Purisma Creek Trail near Half Moon Bay. It was cold, with drizzle at the start and rain at the end. Just my kind of weather. And, the fall colors were in full display, as you can see in this picture.

Purisma Creek Trail is a scenic, steep trail, nestled in the Purisma Creek Redwood forrest and can be accessed from Skyline road. The trail follows a fire road down alongside Purisma Creek for about 4 miles, where it ends in another parking lot. It's open to mountain bikers as well - I saw 2 yesterday.

The scenery on this trail is stunning. Hikers are surrounded by tall redwood trees providing lots of shade, and every 30 minutes or so you cross a bridge over the Purisma Creek. Every now and then, the trail leads to point where hikers get a peak of the hills. Given the elevation, clouds move quickly and it creates an eerily beautiful and variable scene. The recent rain had cleared out the stale air and with each breath I was rewarded by clean, crisp, mountain air. Could it be that air in these forests has a higher percentage oxygen than elsewhere? It sure feels like it. Or, maybe the lack of pollutants makes the air better to breathe. Or, maybe it's the scents of pine, eucalyptus, and the like. Here's an interesting article on the benefits of spending time in the mountains: https://monq.com/eo/forest-bathing/why-mountain-air-so-good-you/

I started my hike at around 3pm, and hiked 3 miles downhill before turning around. This hike should be started earlier in the day since the trees prevent a lot of the light from coming in. One more mile and I would have reached the next parking lot, but it would have been too dark to return. As I turned around, the drizzle turned into rain. Fortunately, I was nice and warm with pants, gloves, a hoodie and a vest. It was dark when I ascended, and I was the last hiker to exit the trail. A forrest ranger parked at the trail head had his truck lights on for the final hikers to find their way out of the trail.

I usually like my hikes to start by going uphill, and then rewarding myself by a nice downhill jog to the parking lot. This hike is the opposite, but it can be down differently if I park in the Higgins Creek lot. However, that's a much longer drive from the Peninsula.

Now that winter is approaching, it's a great time to hike (if you're like me and like cooler weather and rain). I hope to explore new trails in the Peninsula and north. If I get a mountain bike, I may try this trail from the bottom.

In college, I took a class on music from the romantic era, which is the 1800s. In that class, we studied a song called Erlkonig by Franz Schubert. In tells the story of a rider with a child who is rushing through the forrest trying to escape an evil king. Returning to my car in the late evening reminded me of this song:

https://youtu.be/JS91p-vmSf0

North Face Endurance SF – Half Marathon

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On Sunday, I completed my first endurance race in 4 years, running the North Face Endurance SF – half marathon trail race in a time of 2:53.44. I had signed up for this race in 2018, but smoke from the Paradise fire caused it to be cancelled. This year the race was on, but the lack of rain showed in the scenery, which a lot of dust. The few places where we ran through shade, were beautiful as dew led to more greenery and interesting scenery. Overall, I was thrilled by my performance, given the relatively low expectations I had set for myself in advance (i.e. hoping that I would finish within the 4-hour time limit). The race had gorgeous views, as promised, and was hilly and grueling with 2,400 feet of elevation gain, also as promised. Below, I’ll share the changes I made in my preparation for this race that led to a great experience.

Fitness Preparation

In the months leading up to this race, I hiked Rancho San Antonio’s PG&E Trail 10+ times. With ~1k elevation gain, this trail is great preparation to strengthen core and quads for climbing and running downhill. In my last week before the event, I planned to hike Rancho’s Black Mountain trail for the first time. This is a ~12-mile hike that goes beyond the usual turning point in the PG&E trail and enters largely unhiked territory, as I would guess that only 10% of hikers attempt this trail when they reach the PG&E / Black Mountain turn off. However, there were mountain lion sightings, and so this trail was closed off. In fact, the day that I hiked Rancho, a mountain lion was sighted in one of the open areas. The same mountain lion, or maybe a new one?

I also did a few longer runs going from Mariner’s Point golf course going north towards SFO airport, culminating in a 10-mile run. These runs were mostly flat, but were still good practice to get used to running consistently for a few hours without walking.

In addition to my running workouts, I added core workouts in the last month before the race. This was something I hadn’t done in preparation for my previous races, and I think this added tremendous benefits. I signed up for a few Sunday classes at Yoga Health Center in San Carlos for 50-minute core workouts. I’ve learned that core includes more than abs – it includes some elements of chest, back, groin, and quads. Core is important for running, but is even more important for trail running. Trail running involves running on uneven surfaces which requires balance, which requires core strength.

I also switched my insoles from the green super feet to a more aggressive Pulse Power Step orthotic, which has a higher arch but still has the gel foam forgiveness. I added even more height in the arch support by placing a felt metatarsal pad on the arch. Despite a very uneven surface in the run with steep downhills, which normally would have caused a lot of pronation and ankle tendon stretching, I found that my new orthotic kept my foot stable.

Lastly, and possibly most importantly, I significantly changed by diet in the 3 months prior. First, I engaged in two fasts (water, herbal tea, salt), one ~40 hour, and one ~ 80 hour. I mostly kept the weight off through these fasts. In the process, I lost about 9 pounds and reached my lowest weight in about 5 years. I modified my diet, reducing carbs and curtailing my late-night snacking. I increased by intake of fruits and vegetables, snacking on carrots and celery when I need to reach for something to eat. At this lower weight, I found running much easier.

Race Day Preparation

A few simple prep steps helped me on race day. First, I was careful of what I ate on the day before, sticking to simple foods and avoiding alcohol. Second, I got to bed early. Third, I woke up early, and go to the shuttle bus early enough to avoid any major stress. Fourth, I dressed super warm with leggings, shorts, inner shirt, long sleeve shirt, sweatshirt, gloves, and hat). When you’re nervous and it’s cold and dark, it helps (mentally and physically) to be extremely warm, knowing that you can shed layers right before the start. It also helps get the muscles ready to work. Fifth, I didn’t eat any breakfast. North Face’s website recommends not eating breakfast unless you do so 3-hour before your race starts. Avoiding breakfast limits the risk of cramping, lethargy, or general discomfort. I don’t like eating when I’m nervous, as I don’t digest well under those circumstances. Last, I was dressed appropriately for the conditions. At race start, the temperature was in the mid-50s, and the temperature rose to low-mid 60s by the end of the race. I wore shorts, an inner thin shirt which minimizes chafing, and an outer long sleeve shirt. This combination allowed me to stay warm in the early parts of the race, while not allowing me to overheat as the day warmed up. If anything, the outer long sleeve shirt was not strictly necessary. I saw many runners in long sleeve shirts and long pants, and I feel that would have been too warm for me. The only thing I forgot was my anti-chaffing gel, which is a pretty big miss, but fortunately I got some gel at the first aid station and didn’t have any issues.

During the Race

When I signed up for the race, I projected my finish time to between 3:30 and 4 hours, so I was put in the last wave. That’s where I like to be, as it helps me start at a slow pace and gradually build speed as the race goes. I made a critical mistake when running the Portland marathon in 2015. I had come off a fairly good performance in Chicago marathon in 2014, and projected a finish time in Portland that was too fast for my state of preparation and fitness at the time. As a result, being with a faster group, I started too fast and crashed halfway and struggled through the last 13 miles.

In this race, starting in the way back allowed me to pace myself and not burn out too quickly. The first 3 miles almost straight uphill, and I power walked at a good pace. I walked in all moderate and steep uphill segments, ran all downhill and flat stretches, and jogged in slight uphill terrain. I found that my downhill running performance was pretty good and I passed a lot of runners in these segments. I credit yoga with increasing my flexibility to really open up my stride and gain speed during these stretches.

I carried my dolphin pack and stayed relatively well hydrated through the race, taking sips of water where I needed it. I didn’t have any solid food except for a few organic ‘starburst-like’ fruit chewies, and I avoided risk of cramping (except for having half a cup of coke before the last 6 miles, which was not the smartest idea). I did forget to collect hammer gels at the start, which have caffeine, but was okay without these gels. In a marathon, not having these would have been a huge mistake for me.

Conclusion

All of the above strategies led to an enjoyable experience and good results. I had energy in reserve to sprint the last .25 mile, which is a great feeling to know that you have managed your energy well. The finish area was fun as I chowed down on some oranges, bagels and almond butter, and a Sierra Nevada Servaza. I even took a picture with the reps from Waterloo, which is my all-time favorite sparkling water brand. 

Subtle changes in so many different areas of preparation made a real difference, and I know have a blueprint on how to train for future races. I’m glad to be back to running, and am hoping to get back to a cadence of races over the next year. I’d love to do another North Face race, maybe in another state.

The Lesser Known UK

I'm back in the UK on vacation after several work trips here with Stryker. And I'm back to my blog after 4 years? I can't believe it's been that long. My first visit to the UK was in 2002 on a family visit. After that, a long break. Then, more recently about 3 trips to the UK including Northern Ireland, London, and several cities in England. Given my past trips to the UK, this visit focused on cities less commonly visited by new tourists.

On this trip, I have been taking some day trips. On my first day I visited Canterbury and Dover. In Canterbury, I visited a museum dedicated to the Canterbury Tales. I then visited the Canterbury Cathedral. Unfortunately, I reached Dover too late to visit the Dover castle (but it was impressive looking from outside), and I was also too late to visit the White Cliffs. Getting a taxi is difficult in Dover and there are no Ubers. I'll have to return to Dover another time and spend the whole day here.

The next day was spent in London, mostly taking it easy and watching Wimbledon. The original plan was to watch Wimbledon in person, but we underestimated the difficulty in getting tickets.

The following day, Aroon and I went to Manchester to watch the semifinals of the one-day cricket world cup. We had great seats, and watched about 47 overs of batting from New Zealand. The Kiwis started off slow, but eventually finished with 240 runs. On the low end of acceptable for a one day score, and we expected India to easily surpass this total. However, the rain came and we took refuge in a hotel adjoining Old Trafford football stadium. The rain didn't let up and the rest of the day's play was cancelled. So, we took a train back to London.

The next day, we set off for Newcastle and Durham in the far North of England. Newcastle has an interesting castle and a 'black gate' - very medieval. The city was one of the hubs of the industrial revolution. People here speak with an accent that is between Scottish and English, but closer to Scottish. After the castle, we had lunch in a local bar and watched Cricket. India was batting and had lost four early wickets, putting New Zealand in a great position to win the match. On this trip, if nothing else, I've developed into somewhat of a cricket fan? I can see myself gravitating towards this sport over baseball. For me, the advantages of cricket include the ability to play the ball to all parts of the field, and the ability to customize fielding positions. I rooted for New Zealand as they were massive underdogs, and had very little fan support in the stadium.

After New Castle, we took an Uber to Durham. Durham is home to one of the top universities in the UK (Durham University). It's also home to a magnificent castle built by William the Conquerer and an amazing cathedral.

After Aroon continued to France, I took the train to Wales. I visited Cardiff and Pembrokeshire. In Pembrokeshire, which is on the southwestern coast of Wales, I did sea kayaking and "coasteering". Coasteering is based on 'canyoning', and essentially involves scaling down craggy cliffs, jumping into the ocean from rock platforms, and generally exploring the coastline. It's a great workout and thoroughly exhilarating. I need to visit Snowdonia at some point in the future.

Of course, throughout this trip, many locals gave me their opinion on Brexit; some for and some against. It will be interesting to see how tourism in the UK changes once Brexit has happened.