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Showing posts with the label ultra running

"Pro-tips" and Mexicali Desert Trail 30k Trail run with Gabriel

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Pro-tips are a fun way for us to share little nuggets of information with each other.  I decided on this trip to Mexicali to share some of my tips for driving on Baja Mexico Highway 1 with Gabriel.  He is now 15 and will be driving soon.  In fact, Grandpa Gary spent a great deal of time on his recent visit teaching both kids to drive. Now in no way am I saying that I am an expert or that my knowledge is supreme.  But I've been driving in Baja for 38 plus years.  And over the past three years, I've been making the trip north almost once a month.  So I figured, it was time to share some of my wisdom nuggets with Gabriel.  We thought it might be fun to make a video and share it with others as well.   I recently bought a Go Pro 12 as I've wanted to tell our story with more than just words and pictures.  I started a YouTube channel  The Adventures of Famila Bajaboy  years ago mainly as a repository for our family videos.  But at the urging of our good friend, Anita, I've dec

Trail Running: Long Beach-Family Mtn.-Backbone

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 This morning we ran one of my favorite routes nearby.  From our house, we head west towards the beach and run north about 3 miles.  Then we go up to Family Mountain.  Years ago, we found a natural pile of rocks on top of this mountain.  We started a tradition of placing a rock on the pile to commemorate a special person or memory.  Over the years the rock pile has grown.  From there we return south along the ridgeline and return along the Backbone trail behind our house and village.  The route is just under 7 miles with about 1600 ft. of elevation gain.  I hope you enjoy! Running along Long Beach Looking back towards Bahia Asuncion, Baja California Sur, Mexico San Roque is in the distance. Starting the climb up Family Mountain.  Boogie Board beach and the horse race track in the distance. The Family Mountain memorial.  So many great memories there! Running the ridgeline with Family Mountain in the distance. San Roque Island in the distance and Tracy hammering a fun section of the trai

San Diego 100, Year Two: This one's for you Dad!

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With less than a week to go, I am trying to wrap my head around my fitness for next weekend's race.  I started off the year making huge strides.  Unfortunately, a late season injury slowed my progress to a halt. My injury occurred at Lost Boys 50 mile trail run in at the end of April.  Talk about an epic, challenging race.  The point to point race, with 9,000 feet of gain, starts in Anza Borrego desert, heads up Pinyon Mountain, up Oriflamme Canyon, up to Cuyamaca Peak, over Middle Peak finishing at Cuyamaca Lake.  The race started off with Brian Gonzalez warning us about severe weather conditions.  As it turned out, we had wind gusts between 50-60 mph coming out of the desert and then windy and cold rain the for the final 20 miles of the race. I was running in the top 20, way beyond my expectations as I hit the summit of Cuyamaca Peak.  Suddenly my left knee seized up leaving me to hobble down the hill frustrated and cold.  I still managed to finish with a time far better