Day 289: Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space & The Lazy Hiker Gone Mad...

Conejo

Day 289: Tuesday August 30, 2011

Lazy Hiker Gone Mad

Distance: 5.75 miles +550 feet

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Part 2: Las Virgenes Canyon Open Space

Where: Calabasas, California

Trailhead

Directions:

From the 101 Freeway in Calabasas, exit on Las Virgenes and head north.  Follow the road all the way to the end and you will see this sign.

 This trail will link up with the Cheeseboro Trails

 I didn't have a map on me so I turned right (away from where I've been)

 Very dry open space; Extreme Fire Danger

 I took another right turn at the next junction

(Initially, this led lower into some needed shade)

Looking back at the shade below...

I didn't go too much further than this.  It wasn't too hot today, just low 90's, which is cool compared to how it's been.  My mission today was to look for the fire that burnt in the area over the weekend.  

Part 1: Gates Canyon Park

Where: Calabasas

I began my search for fire damage here.  I called the fire department and they advised that 4+ acres burned by Alizia Canyon & Las Virgenes.  I scoped out this park, which is off Thousand Oaks Blvd right down the street from Las Virgenes.  The hills piggyback up against Alizia Canyon  but there was no legit way to climb.  After a half mile of searching on foot for a trail, I decided to head back to the car.  ***This park looks really cool for kids---


I drove down Alizia Canyon Road to the end and into the apartment complex, still couldn't find any proof of fire.  So, I decided to hike the aforementioned open space.

Part 3: Lazy Hiker Gone Mad (Marathon Training)

Where:Ventura, California

When I came home from my Calabasas adventure today, the wife told me that we'll be running a half marathon on September 17th!  Ok---  I just weighed myself and I am 221.2 pounds.  I eat too much, I suppose drink too much and although I am hiking, with authority, I cannot shed the weight.  That is, until now.  We have two weeks to train -- We can do this.

Beginning right now, we ran 2.5 miles at Kimball Park (1 full time around and back +25 feet of elevation)

Quarter Mile Splits 

• 2.25.56
• 2.24.47
• 2.16.40
• 2.10.37  ***1 mile: 9.16.80
• 2.16.87
• 2.25.34
• 2.21.82
• 2.31.29  ***2 mile: 18.52.12
• 2.07.62
• 1.35.81  ***2.5 miles: 22.35.55

Jess was ahead of me by 8 seconds after the first quarter and then 20+ seconds by the halfway point.  As usual, I came back from behind and gave a little extra at the end.  I finished 33 seconds ahead of her.  This is no competition between her and I; we simply just have different running styles.  Ideally, I like to keep a steady pace, gradually increasing as I go and then sprint the end.  The stats above are not a good example of this because of the down hill on the back side and up hill running into the 2nd mile.  Jess always starts off too fast for me.  I could hang but I will pay for it in the end and my overall time would suffer.

My heart felt stiff on today's run--but everything else felt great.  I run often on the trails but unless you are given a good open surface, its hard to keep a good strong pace.  Running like this is the best way to get in shape, IMHO.... It's going to happen!