Flew to NYC to run the 5th Avenue Mile. Big trip having been in California, but had sunk enough money into this trip when I thought I'd be around, so still worth going.
Monday: 16 Miles
AM 12 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Had a 16 mile long run on deck pushed over a day due to the race, and just wasn't feeling that at all. Opted instead for a 12-4 double and to explore some trails. There's a big tract of land between the southern edge of Thousand Oaks and the pacific ocean with lots of mountains, and is completely undeveloped. Part is Point Mugu State Park and some is Santa Monica Mountain NRA, but I'm not sure where the cut off is.
Went to explore the northern section of that (10 miles direct to the ocean) and into Sycamore Canyon. Ran the first two miles down the Sycamore canyon fire road, a little bit daunting knowing I'd have to finish up that 400 foot climb. One thing I don't like about the canyons here is you descend first, making for a tough finish (much easier to ascend first, then descend while tired). 2.5 miles paved, then 2.5 miles on singletrack through the typical brownish hills landscape. Some nice trails and views, but quite a bit was overgrown. Tough climb in mile 4 of 450ft then descend down that.
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| Top of Sycamore canyon, before running down (and later up) the road |
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| Nice break in the shade |
The rest was pretty easy on gradual fire roads and eventually returning to Sycamore fire road which became paved for the last 3 miles ish. Got a bit warm but not terrible and felt just fine as I had brought along some water. The final climb out of the canyon was tough as expected, but didn't feel terrible. Cool run. So many more trails to explore that I didn't bother touching to keep the elevation down.
PM 4 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Peppertree loop + out and back on the Conejo open space trail which is a nice smooth singletrack without too much elevation gain.
Tuesday: 8 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Ran from Kimber Park, another small park but is a few miles away from Peppertree so it changes the route options a bit. Both are about a mile away from my apartment so a very short drive. Peppertree is a better park with a longer loop around (0.8 miles versus 0.46 here) and bathrooms, but Kimber is probably a better location as my peppertree loops end with the same road OAB every time. Since this run, these two parks have been a frequent run spot for me.
Stayed mostly on roads to avoid too much elevation gain, but finished up with the Potrero ridge trail which is pretty nice.
Wednesday: 12 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Kimber park again. Workout day. Opted for a 4 mile tempo with a goal of 5:30 pace and a few hill repeats. Had to use navigation for this 4 mile double lollipop, but definitely a better option than doing many loops. Tempo went well. Felt like I was struggling going out with 5:45-5:50 splits on a slight uphill. But then 5:20s coming back and fast last mile downhill close to 5:10. Ended up averaging out exactly to 5:30. Felt like a hard but not brutal effort. Jogged back over to Kimber park and ran 2xwendy drive hill. This is a much steeper hill than Old Conejo- about 140' over 0.5 mile, about a steady 5% grade the whole way (okay that doesn't sound like much, but would be a big hill in a road race). Felt really strong on these and ran them about 5:50-6:00 pace which came out to 5:00 GAP or so. Easy trot up to the Potrero ridge water tower and back to the park. Good day. Happy with the workout. Difficulty: 3/5.
Thursday: 11 Miles- Thousand Oaks, CA
Checked out the Vista del Mar trail, which Chris Garvin indicated was one of his favorite trails while out here. Definitely the best trail in Newbury park that I've been on- quite scenic on the outskirts of the mountains with valley views below, and while hilly, most of the climbs were pretty gradual and didn't feel especially hard. Also checked out some of the trails south of wendy drive which are nice as well.
Friday: 10 Miles- Agoura Hills, CA
Cheeseboro. Another mid-90s degree day so tried to get this one done relatively early and all was fine. There's actually a big difference between running at 8am versus 10am here, where the earlier time can be comfortable but the heat risen enough by 10 that it's miserable.
Saturday: 8 Miles- New York, NY
Long day of travel, up early for the flight and then lost 3 hours due to going east. Central park loop + strides with Andrew. Will add more in the race recap. Two things I noted during the run were the very noticeably difference in humidity after being in California, and this is really just a fantastic urban park. I wasn't as impressed last year, but I think I was in a grumpy mood as I felt terrible and was disappointed how warm it was for November. Felt mostly great on this except I had some arch/foot discomfort.
Sunday: 10 Miles- New York, NY
Another long day. 5th Avenue Mile + warm up + 6 mile central park cooldown which was fun exploring but also pretty tiring. I really like the events NYRR puts on and hope to do many more. I was cooked after this trip, little sleep and back to CA early Monday morning.
Weekly Total: 76 Miles (a little higher than expected with race + trip)
Weekly Highlight: Looking back, this was a great week. Felt good most runs, explored some cool trails, got in a good workout, and was quite happy with how the race went.
Weekly Lowlight: Nothing particularly bad, but the NYC trip was quite exhausting and really took a lot out of me.
Movies Watched: Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, Zoolander*
*Rewatch. Both on the plane and both pretty enjoyable.
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