MUDSLIDE

Well, California asked for rain … and we got it. I know we need quite a bit more to make a dent in Folsom Lake, but today’s monsoon made for a great wet muddy run which always leads to some adventure.

Pigeon was working today so I reached out to TiggerT to see if she would be interested in doing 16 miles with me somewhere around El Dorado Hills. She agreed and told me that her friend Dirty David would be joining us. I’ve run with DD before, a few times actually. Along with TiggerT, he’s part of the Java Jogger group and is also known as TiggerT’s running husband.

After some random texting with TiggerT this morning on what we should wear, I decided on shorts thinking any additional clothing would be silly as it would only get wet and therefore make me cold on the run.

Dressed for the rain!
Dressed for the rain!

TiggerT showed up at my house and together we ran the half mile to meet Dirty David who was parked at the CSD.

TiggerT and I had decided in advance, what trails we were going to run to try and get our 16 miles. We started off down New York Creek which runs right near CSD and then headed up the climb to The Ridge Loop of Death.

The Ridge Hill
The Ridge Hill

I ran the whole hill. I was feeling great, my legs were feeling strong and I just was happy to be running! You can see TiggerT and Dirty David down the hill. The wind was pretty gusty on the hill. It was so windy that we had to stop and make a decision, do we run our normal counter-clockwise loop or do we go clockwise for some additional shelter from the crazy wind?

We normally go right here.
We normally go right here.

We opted for clockwise which was kind of fun since I have never run the loop in this direction before. However, when we made it to the streets of Serrano we were hit with major gusts of wind. I was almost sent chasing my hat and so we decided to turn around and run the direction we had just came back towards New York Creek.

Back down the Ridge, across the street and to New York Creek we ran just chatting and laughing away. Soon we came to a new obstacle …

Tree down!
Tree down!

New York Creek was completely blocked so we had to go around the tree.

Hiking around it.
Hiking around it.

When we came to end of New York Creek, TiggerT took us on Wild Oaks Trail. I knew about this trail but I had never been on it before because it is usually infested with turkeys and everyone knows how I feel about birds. I also wasn’t entirely sure which way to go. Now I know and I cannot wait to take Pigeon on these trails!

Soooo Pretty!!!!
Soooo Pretty!!!!

These trails are mostly downhill which is even more fun. We saw a huge deer dart off the trail too. Lots of rocks, which were slippery, I cannot wait to get back out there!

Cute little bridge!
Cute little bridge!

I kept stopping to take photos. Luckily TiggerT and Dirty David didn’t mind. TiggerT has done these trails many times. Vans actually mountain bikes through here at night sometimes.

They just keep going!
They just keep going!

Eventually these trails spit you out near Browns Marina where I have run many times before. We stopped to use the porta potty and tried to take shelter while each of us took a turn. It was definitely very windy out there.

However, we were not alone alone on the trails. We saw quite a few other runners and a mountain biker. Looks like the rain didn’t scare away too many people.

Folsom Lake shot - with a little more water at least!
Folsom Lake shot – with a little more water at least!

Up and down we ran, just chatting away some times and running in silence in others. It was somewhere along this trail that I noticed what felt like a tiny little pebble in my shoe. I even took off my shoe and tried to get it out. I thought I saw it fall but when I put my shoe back on, I still felt it. I assumed that it was stuck in my sock. I just kept going hoping that it would go away.

The trails were pretty slick and muddy out at Browns Ravine. Our original plan was to make it to the levee area and then run the levee to Folsom Point to add more mileage. However, when we stopped at the end of the trail I once again almost lost my hat!

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TiggerT suggested that we just turn around and go back the way we came. That was fine with me as I have always wanted to do that to see what the mileage was and also, I really detest running the pavement hills back to my house.

Dirty David was leading the way. When we came to the down hill (that incidentally we all slipped on when climbing UP earlier) he made the decision that he was going run down it, not walk. I quickly stopped and grabbed my camera. I just knew this would turn out interesting.

He ALMOST made it!
He ALMOST made it!
You can see his skid mark!
You can see his skid mark!

You can see how Dirty David has since earned his nickname on my blog. The whole rest of the run we were trying to come up different names for him … Skidmark was one of my favorites but he vetoed that one.

What we all ran down (and up)
What we all ran down (and up)

Definitely a muddy day for sure but so much fun!!!! We were all pretty caked in mud but somehow my legs ended up being the cleanest of us all when all was said and done.

Once again, I stopped to take off my shoe and this time I even took off my sock! I couldn’t find that darn pebble so I just put everything back on and continued running back up Wild Oaks Trail.

We finally reached EDH Blvd. and collectively decided to take New York Creek again back towards the CSD to keep adding to our mileage.

When we came to the obstacle tree we’d passed earlier, TiggerT insisted that there was a “hole” in the tree for us to get through … Dirty David and I opted to go around but not before I grabbed my camera!

The hole was clearly TiggerT size
The hole was clearly TiggerT size

I think Dirty David and I made the wise decision here to go around otherwise I might still be stuck out there. I had quite a problem with being stuck today. Apparently the braid in my hair attached itself to a clip on my Jenny Vesta pack and I couldn’t lift my head … TiggerT had to come to my rescue but not without laughing hysterically at me first. Ahh, running with friends is so much fun!

Stream crossing!
Stream crossing!

I totally thought Dirty David would biff it into that stream. He was getting all fancy on us trying to figure out the best way to get around it … he made it across without any more falls though.

Soon we were back at Dirty David’s car where we thanked him for the run and the laughs. TiggerT and I continued running the half mile road to my house. The rain was really starting to come down hard at this point. I mentioned to TiggerT that the drops were getting larger by the minute. We.were.drenched!

Photo by the Peanut (age 5)
Photo by the Peanut (age 5)

When all was said and done, my Garmin read 15 miles. I am okay with that as I was soaked to the core and I really wanted to see what was going on with my foot. As it turns out, I now have the start of a huge blister on the ball of my foot. This is odd to me as I have never in my life had feet or blister problems before and now I seem ridden with them. Maybe it is time for new socks? Maybe it was just the really wet conditions (although I have run in worse). Who knows but I am glad it happened on a 15 mile training run and not next week’s Western States Training Run which is 21 miles (and I am SO stoked about it).

While I was out getting soaked, Vans and the girls were snuggled nice and warm in the house getting spoiled by watching Clifford and eating breakfast at the same time.

Saturday morning cartoons!
Saturday morning cartoons!

What a great start to the weekend!

Happy Trails!

~Trailmomma

 

 

 

 

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10 Replies to “MUDSLIDE”

  1. OMG, my belly hurts from laughing while reading this blog! Sometimes the most challenging conditions make for the best stories. Thank you Trailmomma (aka CrazyTrailMomma) for doing all the crazy things you do and inviting me along. Great times. 🙂

  2. I loved this post! I laughed b/c Wild Oaks not only has plenty of real turkeys, it also has those metal turkey sculptures. Ridge Loop of Death? I am guessing this is for the beating sun or boring gravel. I love the play-by-play of some of my regular trails. Great post!

    1. Yes Kristin, I mistakenly ran the Ridge one summer day when it was like 90 degrees outside and I didn’t realize how LITTLE shade there is on that run. It was a true test but also a great run! And YES!!!! Those fake metal turkeys get me every time! haha

  3. Looks like a fun run! I am glad you are doing so well, and running pain free (besides a blister!) I didn’t know you are doing Western states!!! Awesome lady!

    1. Oh no no no no! I am not RUNNING states but I love doing their training runs. They host 3 or 4 training runs for those running the race as well as those who are not who just want to play on the course. 🙂 I mean I could run the course anyway but it is fun running with a lot of people and having aid stations … it is almost like you are running states, just without 80 more miles! 🙂

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