Week in Review: March 26 – April 1

Mt. Lowe Railroad

My longest mileage week yet. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday saw split runs – 6 or 7 miles in the morning, and then the same again in the evening after work; the evenings usually in Griffith Park and the mornings Cherry Canyon, Debs Park, & the Arroyo – the latter two runs straight out the door, keeping it all nearby.

Saturday’s run was 32 miles in Griffith Park – not a first choice for a run that long, but a choice that would keep me at lower elevations and never more than a few miles from the car in case I got hit by another downpour. I’d grown tired of running in the rain. Fortunately, Saturday just brought drizzle.

Constructing a 32 mile run in Griffith Park means a lot of doubling back and repeating short loops. The map of this run looks like a crayon drawing by a 3-year-old after they got into the liquor cabinet.

Sunday’s April Fool’s run was a beautiful run from the AC100 finish line up to Echo Mountain and then back down. There was a cold wind blowing at our house in Mt. Washington when I left, but opposite of usual the wind died down completely once I got up into the foothills, and it was a regular sunny day climbing up into the mountains.

The run was marred a little by a handful of aggressive mountain bike riders. Most of those guys are wonderful and chill but it only takes a couple of macho assholes to ruin things for everyone. I don’t particularly like having to leap out of the way when one of those guys comes barreling down the singletrack, GoPro camera attached to his head and Metallica blaring in the earbuds. These are the assholes I come into the mountains to get away from. I read on message boards about mountain bikers bemoaing the fact that nobody loves them and everyone wants them banned from the trails. Well, guys – the reason is that there are a few of you who just don’t play nice with others. Most people up in nature do not want to be nearly assaulted by some asshole who thinks every moment in life needs to be him winning an MMA contest.

Tuesday: 13.5 Debs Park, Silverlake Reservoir
1,100 feet climbing.

Wednesday: 12 miles. Flint Canyon & Griffith Park.
500 feet climbing.

Thurs: 13 miles. Arroyo Seco (8), Griffith Park (5)
200 feet climbing.

Sat March 31: 32 miles in Griffith Park.
3,700 ft elevation

Sunday, April 1: 17.5 miles, from ac100 finishline to Echo Mtn (and back).
5,000 ft elevation.

Total: 89.5 miles, 10,700 feet climbing.

Echo Mountain looking out over Los Angeles