A week after my triumphant return casual slide back into racing at the St. Patrick’s Day Half, I ran another trail half marathon—this one at Irvine Regional Park in Orange County. I’d never been to the park—heck, never even heard of it, despite living less than an hour away—so all I knew was that the race website promised hills, and lots of them. After the flatness of Coto de Caza, I was ready for some climbing. Bring it.
The hills…they was brought.
Driving into the park, it looked innocuous. Lots of wide grassy areas, footpaths, and picnic tables. I couldn’t see how we would be venturing “into the wild” anywhere nearby. The race started out on some wide trails through the park for about the first 4-5 miles. It had rained quite a bit the previous week, and the trails were mud-dy! I heard that the race had to get special permission from the park to run on some of the trails, because they were so muddy and messy they were closed to the general public. This wasn’t the occasional patch of wet dirt—it was shoe-sucking, grip-slipping, cover-you-in-slime mud, and it went on for miles.
I like a navigational challenge, and in general it was fun to hop, slip, and swerve my way around the biggest puddles. It only got difficult on the steep downhills, when all forward progress ground to a halt for fear of sliding off the mountain side. But I wasn’t concerned about running a fast race, and just wanted to have fun, so the mud just made things a little more interesting.
They also had to change the course at the last minute, because apparently we were supposed to do some sort of creek crossing around this raging river. With the changes, the final course ended up being about 14.1 miles, or a mile over a half-marathon.
After the four miles of wide mud, we entered “the wild,” a different section of the park with narrow, winding switchbacks up mountains. This course was so gorgeous! Rolling green hills, a monster view for miles, and beautiful wildflowers surrounding us. I couldn’t believe I’d never been to this area before.
Enjoying the view
Things got real. Real muddy. Good thing I was prepared with my super-high tech argyle knee socks
If you squint, you can see a white speck halfway up that hill—that’s the trail we took to the top
I felt great during this run. It was so muddy, and so hilly, I did a lot of walking and took a lot of pictures, and instead of worrying about my time, I just enjoyed the scenery and the chance to be outside. One of the things I love about trail racing is the sense of gratitude it gives me. When I was doing more road races, I focused almost exclusively on times and PRs and getting faster. I had to—there was nothing else to distract me! With my trail running, times are a secondary concern, if that. Instead, I’m able to focus on our beautiful planet, and how lucky I am to live in a place where this beauty is protected and accessible, and how fortunate I am to have the financial and physical ability to spend my time training and running every weekend. Road racing narrowed my focus to me and my eagerness for a “good” time, while trail racing broadens my focus to my blessings, my family, my friends, my state, my country, my planet, and on in an ever-widening spiral.
Aaaaanyhow back to the race. It was well-marked and well-organized, and I would definitely go back and do it again. I didn’t stick around much after the race, but I believe there was a post-race picnic and raffle, so it could be a good event to bring the family to and have a fun, relaxing Saturday.
Final Stats:
Date: Saturday, March 26, 2011
Distance: 14.13 miles
Cost: $60-$65
Elevation gain: 2,800 feet
Garmin time: 2 hrs 30 min
Official time: 2 hrs 37 min (25/56, 4th woman, 2nd age group)
