This is how I came home!
Well, I did it again – just bigger and better this time. I was back running Gibralter Road this morning – that gorgeously, torturous and challenging uphill climb. I don’t know how you call what we did a “Hill Run” when we gained more than 3,000 feet in elevation. That sounds (and felt) more like a mountain to me.
Three of us got started at 6:30 this morning and allotted ourselves 1 hour 45 minutes of run time. This time I planned a little better, knew more of what I was in for, and had an actual goal in mind.
I got up earlier, ate a light but good breakfast, and gave my body enough time to have two wonderfully satisfying bowel movements. Now that may have sounded like Too Much Information, but as any runner will tell you, getting good and emptied out is the only way to hit a long run. Otherwise, running just churns everything up, sends it down the pipes, and makes you have to take a dump on the side of the road – which one of the three of us actually had to do today. This person will remain unnamed, but it wasn’t me this time out. I brought two water bottles this time. I had one placed at 3.5 miles and one waiting for me at mile 6. Not bad for better planning, huh.
I was intimately acquainted with the route, having run 7 miles of it last week. Well, I wasn’t quite so intimate with those extra miles I intended to run today. But I knew where the fatigue would hit. I knew where the two tough climbs were and how long they’d last. I knew where to look for morning rock climbers. I knew where the white van would be parked. (I’m pretty sure this guy sleeps in the same spot every night in his van.) I knew the approximate place I’d be stripping off my tank top. I even knew how many cars to expect to see. I’d counted them last Tuesday. (13 would pass us coming downhill and only 1 would pass going uphill.)
And finally, I had a goal in mind. I wanted to see if I could get all the way to La Cumbre Peak. That’s the top of the top. It’s over 3,000 feet of elevation gain, and just over 8 ½ miles of running.
We started our run in the fog and around mile 3 we emerged into the morning sun. What a great feeling. As I got higher and higher, the view just got better and better. I hit last week’s turnaround point in 1 hour 28 minutes. With over 15 minutes left, I knew I had a really good chance of getting all the way to the peak before our time was up. So off I ran with the view of the peak in sight.
I was treated to about ¾ of a mile of flat and downhill before the final climb. This steep climb would take me all the way to the top. It would also give me the most amazing views of Santa Barbara. I looked down to see my town and how far I had come. The valley below me looked like a gigantic bowl of cotton balls. The fog just sat down in there, covering everything all the way out to the Channel Islands.
I got to La Cumbre Peak in 1 hour 44 minutes. I knew the exact spot where the Pier to Peak Half Marathon will end next month. This was my stopping point, my turnaround point. I knew I’d only run about 8 ½ of the miles of the half marathon course, but they were the toughest ones for sure. I knew no one was going to be there to cheer me across the “finish line.” I knew there would be no race clock announcing my official time. No medals, no TV interviews, no fan club to mob me, no requests for my autograph. I knew it was just me and the mountain – I’m done ever thinking of that thing as a “hill.” I crossed that finish line with a smile, a shout, and hands in the air. I’d done it! It was my own personal victory and I was celebrating.
I was standing atop the highest peak in Santa Barbara at 3995 feet. And I got there running the whole on my own two feet. Sure I didn’t set any speed records, not even close. But I ran the whole stinking thing! And that’s not bad for this 46 year old broad.
Once I crossed the finish line, I turned around and started to jog back down the mountain road to meet up with my other two running partners. I just soaked up the most amazing and beautiful view that I had all to myself. My bowl of cotton balls was sitting there welcoming my return back to town. Cathedral Peak, the highest peak I’ve hiked in Santa Barbara, was below me for the first time ever. It was weird to look down at it. I felt as if I had really done something big. And that’s a great way to start a day.
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