Running in California

We’ve been in California for a couple weeks now and I thought it might be time to share my adventures! Running wise, it’s been a mixed bag. I’ve had some incredible runs and I’ve also spent a lot of time trying not to die while running on the side of the highway.

I’m training for the Lone Star 100 (100 km) and following a schedule with two hard weeks followed by an easy week. Finding places to run on the weeks where every run is 10km+ has been really challenging. Thankfully, Callum and I have been running together usually 3 out of my 5 runs a week. It’s been really nice to have the company and he has also been pushing me to run a lot faster than I would on my own.

Highlights:

• Running through the redwoods in Humboldt Redwoods State Park – those trees are inconceivably big if you’ve never seen them! We tried to follow a trail for a while but kept getting lost and eventually gave up and ran on the road lined by redwoods.
• Following part of the North Face Endurance Challenge Series course through the Marin Headlands – I had heard a lot about the Marin Headlands so I knew we had to go run there! We parked at Muir Beach and ran up to the Muir Woods National Monument, apparently there are beautiful views but all we saw was fog!
• Running through the vineyards in Napa – while it’s not the traditional way, this was a great way to experience wine country. It was a beautiful run surrounded by miles and miles of vineyard.
• Running along the beach in Santa Barbara – after a lot of rain and chilly weather, we lucked out on a perfect day! It was warm but not hot and it was really sunny. There are lots of km of paved paths along the ocean that are easy to navigate (big bonus and happens surprisingly rarely). It was a day where I happily would have kept running for hours!
• Running in a singlet in December! – obviously we’re in southern California in December so you’d expect warm weather but this one still makes me so happy every time (and it actually hasn’t happened that often)!

I am spending the next week in Long Beach, CA for Christmas and New Years and then heading to Arizona for the San Tan Scramble 50km!

Anyone have any LA area running suggestions?

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and holiday season! Happy running!