La Cuesta Trail Run
As we all lined up for the start of the La Cuesta run this past Saturday morning at 8:00am race director Luis Escobar with his usual keen sense of humor and irony announces, “If you all don’t like hills or cows… you’re going to have a really tough day ahead of you”. The La Cuesta trail runs have been taking place over the last at least three years thanks to the support of the ranch owner Gabriel Miossi who allows us to travel though this incredible property.
The day started off four and a half hours earlier with a 3:30am wake up in Los Angeles, and managing to get myself out of the house at 3:50am thanks to a successful routine of pre-packing the night before. The drive up to San Luis Obispo was uneventful which is always my goal of travel to and from events. The stories should start once we arrive not on the way to these magical events. I arrived at the ranch just before 7:00am and had time to get checked in and catch up with some old friends before heading out in the hills.
It’s always a joy seeing Luis’s wife Beverly at events as she is almost always behind the table handing out race bibs to anxious and excited runners. Luis is up on the stage giving instructions and says his usual lines about the course markings, taking care of yourself out there, be kind to the support staff, and then of course if you have any complaints, “Go find my wife Beverly”. I had the opportunity to run into Darrel who was a client that I used to train while I worked at Conditioning Specialist and just recently our mutual friend Greg Lowe has suckered him into trail running. Luis usually makes a point to call out some notable runners in the crowd including Michelle Evans who’s completed a couple 200 mile runs, Mauricio Puerto, Ian Seabury the eventual winner for the day in the 50K.
At just after 8am the race was started in usual fashion with a shotgun blast into the air and we were off. I should say we were off and running for about a quarter mile and then in true trail runner fashion took a left up this steep climb which brought over half the athletes to a steady hill climb hike. You couldn’t ask for a better morning for a run on the ranch. I had a slight wardrobe issue with my compression socks. I think the sizing is a bit small and as I was climbing up the hills I could feel a little pre-cramping in my calves so I decided to take the time just a mile into the course to take the 2 minutes to take the compression sleeves off rather than to push a bad situation. The sunrise earlier in the morning was stunning and as the sun continued to slide up the horizon line the green grass, small trees and shrubs and the local wildlife came alive. The first 5 miles of the course is different from past years to capitalize on adding more elevation to the challenge. About two miles in there was a small reprieve and I heard some rustling in the bushes about 50 yards downhill. I watched closely and could make out the horns of a decent size buck startled by the runners and bounding down the hillside in elegant leaps as we made his escape.
I had just started to think to myself, “maybe” I’ll run most of this solo and not run into anyone to pace with when I met Steve Sears a pastor at the Church of Rocky Peak in Simi Valley. We chatted for about a mile, talked about our kids, life, ministry, and leaning into opportunity and I once again was brought back to the essence of and why I am so drawn to ultra endurance sports and the people that choose to be out at these events. As we arrived at aid station one at Hurricane Ridge I ran into Todd Hymes who’s a regular aid station volunteer when he’s not out on the course himself. I also spotted Mauricio ahead of me, which is out of the norm because usually he’s miles ahead of me. I quickened my pace and caught up with him to chat. We ended up pacing each other for the next five miles or so and caught up on life, racing, the upcoming year plans. He was taking it pretty easy for the day because he’d been sick as a dog through the holidays and just being out on the course was a win for the day and a good last training run before he heads to the Hurt 100 in Hawaii in two weeks. At the 8 mile mark I was right on pace for a sub 7 hour 50K and was feeling very strong considering the significant climbs for the day.
The middle section of the course is composed of these steep rolling hills which are almost comical in how they propel you from a fast downhill travers to climbing and then repeating half a dozen times. After the rollers is a zigzag single track that you have to scramble a little bit before following a barbwire fence along the route to the tunnel which fortunately this year was dry but in the past has been filled with more than just a few inches of water to plod through. I passed through the next aid station and then off to the large climb up the backside of the hill that faces the barn where the race start is. The hill is only a little over a half a mile climb but with the rocky scrambling and basically just sighting on the barbwire fence which leads you to the top it’s a notable journey. I pulled out my cell phone and returned some calls to Kristin and my buddy Adrian. I figure if I’m walking up the hills anyways I can put them on speaker phone and chat with them for 5-10 minutes to break up the tempo from my inner dialogue.
Once I hit the summit I turned off the call and scrambled down the hill. After a few switchbacks I arrived back at the road and made it to the half way checkpoint at the barn in 3 hours 25 minutes. I gathered a few supplies and was back out on the course. It was at this point that my pride got the best of me for a minute and I texted my family that I was feeling amazing and was going to push to see if I could get inverted splits (faster second loop than first) and come in at 6:45 for the event. Within a mile those visions quickly erased as I struggled up the long climb back up the hill. It’s not that I was going that slow it was rather the accumulation of miles, the heat of the day coming up, and so I got into my rhythm and quickly readjusted my goals to forget about the time, put in a consistent effort and enjoy the course and the community of runners and volunteers around me.
Once I got past the steep section and into the Hurricane Ridge I was back in good spirits and energy and felt steady as I trekked up the rollers for the second time. My calves started to cramp up on me a bit at this point so I continued to take salt pills and increased my water intake in the hopes of staving them off. This combination combined with slowing the pace just a little kept them in good form. After passing through the tunnel again I headed to the aid station which I laughed to myself a bit because it seemed like it took me quite sometime from when I first saw it to when I arrived and had the slight feeling of a desert mirage which gratefully was actually an oasis on the course. I passed on the usual fireball shot as I continue my dry streak which I’m planning on keeping up until after the Uberman event in October. I sat down for the first time in the run for a few minutes and fully rehydrated, stocked up on food and was off for the last climb up the backside of the hill leading to camp. I called up Adrian again and am always grateful for his availability and friendship over the years. I’ve probably called him at least 20 times in the midst of an event and it’s a comforting familiar friend when I’m pushing through some small challenges and I don’t think he realizes how meaningful those small conversations are to me. After summiting the hill I zigzagged once more down the steep hillside and onto the roadway leading to the barn and the finish line. My official finish time is 7:33:11 an improvement of over an hour in a half from the run three years ago when I ran a 9:15:57. That is of course like comparing apples to oranges as in 2017 the course was a wet mess and I finished with my HOKA’s completely coated in mud, but I’ll take it!
At the finish I received my born to run amulet, grabbed some burgers and seltzer water and sat around the fire with good friends to share stories. After about an hour I packed up my things and made my way to the car for the trip back to Los Angeles. I was surprisingly feeling very stable so I made a quick gas and coffee stop in San Luis Obispo and hit the road straight through to Los Angeles for a 3 hour 15 minute uneventful commute home.
It was such a blessing to arrive home just before 8pm and have some time to connect with Kalea and Hudson before we put them in bed. Tomorrow is a new adventure as I pack up my bags and am off for an 11 day whirlwind trip in India where we will be putting on a series of 4 human trafficking prevention trainings and I get to spend time with my good friends Luke Rafferty, Darren Sweeney, and Tom Overton. That is whole other adventure and I’ll share that journey with you soon!
#gorobgo #ubermantraining