From Spring raining to Spring Training

Spring officially began on March 20 but you wouldn't guess that based on the weather outside.  For the last week or so it's been wet, windy, wild weather here in the valley.   60 m.p.h. winds took out our power, the track's too boggy for practice, even the dogs don't dare step outside and yet somehow I still ended up sunburned this week.  "How?" you may ask.   Well . . .

For my birthday this year my dad took me down to Arizona to see a few Spring Training baseball games.  Being a lifetime Dodgers fan, I was excited to travel down to their fantastic new training facilities down at Camelback Ranch.  The weather was perfect and it was incredible to see the players up close and even chat with a few of my favorites.

Andre, Phoenix homeboy.

Kemp, the enigma.

Carroll is a cool dude.

G'day, Trent Oeltjen!

Loney, where's your pop?

Great seats.

Tommy's still around.

Donnie Baseball

OK, a little self-indulgent and irrelevant for a running blog, right?  Well, not entirely.  Knowing I'd be down around Phoenix for 30 or so hours, I Googled "Phoenix trail running" and sifted through some possible runs.  Eventually, I settled on the very central Phoenix Mountain Preserve.  When I clicked on "images" to see what I was getting myself into, I came across a picture of a smiling bunch of trail runners with "WMRC" shirts and a link to the Wednesday Morning Runners Club website.  It said they had a group run for about an hour every Wednesday morning at 5:16 a.m. through the Phoenix Mountain Preserve.  Perfect!  How serendipitous! The one morning I'm there, the one place I wanted to run and all these smiling, inviting "Phoenicians" (?) to guide me.

So out off bed I rolled at 4:25 for a quick 20 mile drive in the rented Hyundai over to the park where I planned on running eight miles over loose rocks and rattlesnakes in pitch black conditions.  Isn't vacation great?

I got there a little early and was quickly welcomed by Tim.  Runners are universally friendly folks, and the WMRC proved to be no exception.  Within minutes, the group went from two to twelve to about twenty runners and without much ado they all started shuffling uphill in the dark.  I felt a little out of place initially.  I noticed all the runners were in long sleeves, while I was in short sleeves.  No one else was wearing compression socks and they all seemed a lot more comfortable than me with their headlamps.  I was just glad it was too dark to truly appreciate my orange & black shoes/ lime green shirt   combo.  I'm sure I looked like a clown with that apparel choice and the sunburn on just the right half of my neck and face.

The pace was easy, especially since I unintentionally ended up starting behind some more casual runners. I never run with a headlamp so that took some getting used to, and my stomach was still working on the full rack of ribs and goblet of red ale from Claim Jumpers the night before.  I was a little light-headed and in no rush.  The trail was more technical than most of what I see out here, although it reminded me of the run up Montara Mountain in Pacifica.  I almost rolled my ankle three times and I was again thankful to be wearing my stiffest, most stable pair of shoes.  In the last month or so, my LaSportiva Fireblades have helped me over three feet of fresh snow in Tahoe, through thirty miles of mud at Way Too Cool (see blog below) and proved to be a prudent choice for the tricky terrain in Phoenix. And I'm not just saying that because the kind people at LaSportiva have hooked me up with free kicks in the past, but . . . LaSportiva, if you're reading this, just know that I'd love to try the Wildcats in a size 45.  Grazie!

Up the mountain we went.  My breathing was strong and easy and the pace was . . . crap, I didn't have my Garmin on!  I had turned my GPS on back in the car to acquire the signal and then I left it there.  Damn! I really wanted the map and elevation profile . . . oh well.  Anyway, the run seemed to wrap a little around Piestewa Peak before heading back downhill.  It was spectacular to watch the streaks of blue and red start to stretch across the star-filled sky as the sun slowly rose.  Besides a few near falls and the occasional brush with a cactus, the run was very peaceful.

  

At the Dreamy Draw recreation area everyone took a few minutes to chat, stretch, refill bottles and take advantage of the facilities before heading back.  By then the sun had risen high enough to turn off the headlamps.  I think my eyes/brain were still adjusting to the lighting and I could feel myself drifting a little like a drowsy driver on the interstate when all of a sudden, BAM!  Down went one of the other runners right in front of me.  It was terrifying at first glance to see someone plunge headfirst into a massive rock but thankfully the water bottle seemed to cushion the blow and his headlamp seemed to take the brunt of the impact.  Still, ouch.   Even as an experienced runner (he was wearing a Javelina Jundred shirt) who knows the trails, you can never be too cautious.  Thankfully, he was still smiling (and conscious) half an hour later.

For the second half of the run, I stopped more and more frequently to take it all in and snap a few pictures.  I doubt any of the photos can match the beauty of being there in the moment, but  I gave it a few shots, literally. 

I'd again like to thank the kind members of the WMRC for the gracious hospitality.  If any of you Phoenicians ever plan on heading out for the Western States 100, Way Too Cool or any other event around here, know that you're always welcome to stay with us--we even provide complimentary airport shuttle service most days.  :-)

As for me, usually I'm not a "group" runner, a morning runner, a headlamp runner or a Phoenix runner, but I'm sure glad I tried something new.   I'm pretty sure I'm going to try to make Spring Training an annual pilgrimage and if I can only be in Phoenix for a day or two a year, I sure hope one is a Wednesday.



Cacti on the brain.