Mt. Disappointment Test Runs #2 & #3
I’d run the Mt. Disappointment training run a few weeks back, crashed at about the 3 mile mark, and did the rest in pain. I decided to have another go at it. Not knowing what she was getting into, Kista joined me. The climb up back up Mt. Wilson on Kenyon Devore trail was more [...]
Mt. Disappointment Training Run
Mt. Disappointment Training Run. Down Mt. WIlson road, a turn onto some singletrack, down to Redbox Rincon Road to Westfork and then up Kenyon Devore to Mt. Wilson. 15.5 miles, 3,800′ of climbing. And pretty much a disaster…or at least that was my perception at the moment. At about 3.5 miles in I did a [...]
Round and round and round
The original plan was to run 24 miles, but what’s another 2, to squeeze in an impromptu marathon at years’ end? 12 laps around the reservoir. 26.22 miles. You wouldn’t think it would be an interesting run, but it was. I was out there longer than anyone, I think, and I got to see the [...]
Kista
I took a run through Arroyo Seco with a friend, and shot a roll while we ran. Kista showed me a long single track that winds up into the hills. Sometimes I led, but mostly I followed, and snapped a bunch of random shots as we ran.
Riverside Drive #2
Alessandro down to Riverside. Riverside to Fletcher. The new, yet-to-be-opened LA River Bike Path down ’till it ends, and then back up through Frogtown to Riverside, Alessandro, and home. 8 miles. Alessandro runs alongside the 2 freeway, separated by a wall. There are usually a few folks living in broken down RVs. Alessandro is a [...]
Riverside Drive
Sunday. Still tired from yesterday’s dehydrating midday heat wave hill run through Griffith Park, today was a somewhat plodding 12.5 miler out my door, down the hill, Allesandro to Riverside to Fletcher, LA River bike path to the end and then some, back through Griffith Park and Riverside, with an official end at the bottom [...]
6 Miles Downtown
My urban loop – the first 6 miles of the LA Marathon route, basically: Dodger Stadium to Sunset Blvd down to Main, Main to 1st, 1st to Grand, Grand to Temple, right on Bellevue and then down to Echo Park, around and back to Sunset. If it were the marathon, I’d hang a left and [...]
Your X-Ray is Fine
The nurse left a voicemail: “Your foot x-ray is fine.” I’m not sure what that means. Does it mean that it’s framed correctly and in focus, or are they trying to tell me there is nothing wrong with my foot and that the swelling is imaginary? Yesterday, when I went in, the Dr. was satisfied [...]
Injury
Feet are super complicated. Just look at all the bones. Imagine all the tendons and ligaments and other muscle type stuff all those tiny bones need to work correctly. There’s a lot of stuff down there. And I’ve fucked up one of mine. Based on self diagnosis, along with some suggestions from more experienced folks, [...]
Labyrinth
The labyrinth at Serra Retreat, a Franciscan Retreat in the hills above Malibu. I spent the afternoon there with an old friend. I’m one of the many who confused a labyrinth with a maze, maybe because of the old story of the Minotaur (examination of that story, it is said, results in the conclusion that [...]
Valley Crest Half Marathon, training run
A friend is running the Valley Crest Half Marathon on June 13. This will be her first half marathon, so we decided to do a training run on the race course today, up in the Topanga Hills. It’s not a mountain ultra, but it’s a helluva lot hillier and rougher than any of my normal [...]
Ultra
I’ve decided I’m gonna run an ultra. Well, probably not an ultra, as in just one, but in general. There are these moments, regular moments, out there on the trails, that I don’t experience quite so much on the pavement. I’m never gonna be a Kenyan. The challenge is not to win a race against [...]
LA River
I’ve been running and cycling the LA River bike path for a few years. Just like anything repeated over and over again, it can sometimes be a rather boring run. The good news, though, is that all you ever need to do to view something in a completely new way is change your perspective…and in [...]
Crack or Cactus Gardens?
He says he has three days clean. His eyes are rolling around in desperation; they look like they’re gonna bust out of their sockets. His entire body is tight but his jaw is tightest. He’s grinding his teeth, grimacing, jerking and twitching, and I’m not so sure he’s being honest about those three days. He [...]
Morning Buddha
Wednesday, May 5, 8am. Mile 1.72 of an 8 mile run through Griffith Park. These days I’m paying attention to form – trying to find that spot where my cadence is what I want it to be, my pace is what I want it to be, my feet are hitting the ground in line with [...]
Stormy Wednesday, LA River
Wednesday morning 8am, April 28. In between storms, along the LA River. 6.56 miles. The storm clouds, the concrete and the grey gave everything a very cold, urban look. There’s a certain alone-ness to these morning runs. The traffic is streaming by on the 5 freeway – it’s rush hour & it’s packed. There are [...]
Birthday Morning
The last time I actually celebrated a birthday was when I turned 36, back in 1996, 14 years ago. I was drunk, as always. My buddies took me to Jumbo’s Clown Room, the skankiest of all Hollywood strip clubs, where Courtney Love got her start in show biz long before she hooked up with Curt [...]
