No race this week, used the opportunity to get a long run in at the famous Yosemite National Park.
Monday: 9 Miles- Los Angeles, CA
Elysian Park loop. I had been parking at the Los Angeles State Historical Park which costs $5 to park there. So changed it this week to park in the actual Elysian Park for free. But not the best timing to switch lots as there was a Dodgers playoff game (Dodger Stadium is in Elysian Park), which made parts of the run a bit different. Fortunately able to find parking just fine, although the first few miles had so many cars parked on the road compared to usually just a few.
Tuesday: 11 Miles- Los Angeles, CA
I run in Griffith Park 2-4 times a week now so there's not much to remember these individual runs by. The first few times I ran here with Matt we went through the popular areas: Observatory, Mount Hollywood, Hollywood sign. But those areas are not only more crowded, but require an OAB at some point. So running from the railroad or Greek theater (Eastern side of park) is usually better to make a good loop. This one was from the railroad, with the last 5 miles on the flat main trail.
Wednesday: 10 Miles- Los Angeles, CA
Griffith Park workout. Ran hard up to the observatory and mount hollywood, and then finished out the 3 miles with a little bit to vista del valle. Overall 880' of climbing and 360' of downhill. I paced this effort much better than last time I attempted a very similar workout and overall was pretty strong. This was a good effort.
Thursday: 10 Miles- South Pasadena, CA
Arroyo Seco lollipop. This route is pretty mediocre, but the few miles of trails just north of the Rose Bowl are nice.
Friday: 23 Miles- Yosemite National Park, CA
Long run checking out Yosemite. One great thing about trail race training versus road race training is you can just have fun and explore. Road race training is generally a long time suffering on a boring, familiar loop. Trail race long runs you can go to some really nice park or trails and enjoy being out in nature while also building your endurance and getting time on feet. So this and Sequoia run served a dual purpose of getting to check out cool California national parks and train for the 50K.
Unlike Sequoia, or most runs I had done in 2024, there were some long steep climbs and actually a few sections that would get up to sustained 20% grade climbing. The drive was just under 6 hours, so I drove up to the Fresno area the night before. Driving on I-5 in california is so boring.
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| Found this guy in my hotel room |
About 2 hours in the morning. 38 at the start, which felt quite cold to me and I wanted to get going quickly. About 2 miles at a gradual climb (8%) grade on road and then a washed out dirt/paved road before hitting the trail. The singletrack was quite a bit steeper with about 1,600' of climbing over miles 3 and 4. And my legs pretty flat, so I had a few stretching breaks. But tried to run most of it. Really beautiful forest here.
Much of the difficulty of the run was in the first half so it was nice to get climbing out of the way. Unlike Sequoia, I felt pretty good and got the miles done quickly. The vast majority of the route was in a thick, beautiful pine forest with the occasional scenic viewpoint of the famous yosemite valley and cliffs. Great views on a clear day. After 12 miles, it got quite crowded. Final point on the ridge at 14 before the big descent. My knees started bothering me here. There weren't as many streams as Sequoia and at one point I ran out of water, but I managed. I can't imagine going for long runs in the desert as I have no idea how you'd get water.
The descent wasn't that fun due to really sharp switchbacks, crowds and some of it being paved. My knees were also starting to bother me, likely from all the elevation. Last three miles on a rolling, non-technical and I forced myself to gut it out but I was definitely bonking a few times.
Good run- 23 miles with 5,700' of gain in a really cool environment. It was so nice to be in a forest again as the SoCal shrubland landscape gets old quick. And the fall weather felt amazing as there are no seasons in Los Angeles.
Saturday: 10 Miles- Los Angeles, CA
Griffith easy loop. Hot.
Sunday: 10 Miles- Los Angeles, CA
Griffith harder loop. Hot.
Weekly Total: 84 Miles
Weekly Highlight: Great week, highest mileage week of the fall and PR for most elevation gain in a week at 12,372 feet. Best run was Yosemite of course.
Weekly Lowlight: It's so depressing to come back to Los Angeles after a cool run like that and experience the heat and lack of shade.
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