At some point running becomes mental....

...then it becomes physical again.. then mental again... then mental over physical... then physical over mental.... then tears.... then, well you get the point.

So, I am still going back and forth on whether to do that 30k in Calico next Sunday. So I decided last night that I'd go for a 12 mile hill run this morning to see where I am at physically.

When the alarm rang this morning at 6 am the winds outside were howling. For those of you that don't live in the Southern California area, there are these winds called Santa Anas that blow every fall and winter. They are incredibly dry and can blow up to 80 mph. Fortunately, this morning they were only a steady 10 mph with gust up to 40 mph ( my guess).

So when I got up, my 4 year old son, Diego, decided he wanted to run with me. I tried to talk him out of it because it was really windy outside. But he went to his room and changed into his "running clothes" so how could I say no. After all, one of my dreams for life is to be able to go on long runs with my boys when they are older, so we can talk and I can teach them life lessons. Long runs are great for talking with friends, how much better will they be with my boys? So, I had to say yes. He got dresses and we ran a slow, for me, but his little feet were moving fast, 1 mile run. He did great. Congratulations Diego on your first "endurance run".

So, once he was back home, now it was time for me to take off on my own. The first part of my run is a 2 mile sustained uphill run right up Etiwanda to the water tower and the trail that runs under the power lines in the foothills. It is a tough part of the run normally, mentally challenging you to not to stop to walk, especially in the top 1/3rd when it gets even steeper. Today, God wanted to strengthen me even more and convinced me once again that he has a sense of humor by having the wind blow directly into my face on that part of the run. Wow! That adds a new twist. 15-40 mph gusts into your face that almost blow you backwards and you've got to keep running up this hill! It felt like I had resistance bands on me and someone was holding me back the entire first 2 miles of the run.

One thing I've learned and use it if you feel it helps you is:

"When the pain comes, smile and chuckle a bit, for some reason it helps".

That is my mantra when I hit suffer points in my training

When I got to the top, I only had to add a 8 mile out and back on an up and down trail. Awesome. The one thing that I did have to look forward to was the last 2 miles which would be extremely downhill and with the wind at my back, but between here and there, a lot of interesting conversations took place in my head.

Here are my totals for this run - 12.3 miles, +1859' of climbing, average heart rate 162 bpm, max heart rate 186 bpm- I can't give you my time or average pace because I forgot to reset my watch after yesterday's bike trainer workout, so my time is all off.

Another note: I have terrible, with a capital T, cramping issues on longer runs. Recently, I have learned that Mona Vie can knock out cramps almost immediately after drinking it. I've used it during jiu jitsu practice but never on runs. So today I took one of the gel packs along just in case

I cramped to see if my stomach could handle it while on a run. I didn't have any issues on the run, but as soon as I stopped my calves started twinging. I downed a gel pack real quick and minutes later the cramps were gone. That part is a success. I still have to see if I can handle it in my stomach "at speed". I'll let you know when I am able to try it again.

Well, it's off to breakfast and play with the kids.

Oh, and to make matters worse in my Calico decision making process. Today's run proved to me that I am in shape to do it......

Gusty Santa Ana Winds Picture